Looking for a Song

April 12, 2006 11:29 AM

I'm looking for a song on an out of print album.

I am having an impossible time finding the Lizzie West song from the Secretary soundtrack "Chariots Rise". The soundtrack is out of print and I don't want to drop a ton of money on ebay just to get one song (the album is going for over 30 bucks). Her original version of the song is lovely, but not the version I want.

I found a website that sells mp3's - http://www.mp3search.ru/

what I want to know is whether anyone has used that site before?, is it legal? or is there an easier option out there that won't cost me an arm and a leg.

posted by Julnyes to shopping (11 comments total)

The Secretary DVD goes for ten bucks new on Amazon.
posted by pracowity at 11:39 AM on April 12, 2006

Here is a previous askme about the legality of Russian mp3 sites.

But, seriously? One song that's only available on an out-of-print album? Not worth the hassle of using a Russian pay site. It's almost certainly available on file-sharing networks.
posted by Espy Gillespie at 11:45 AM on April 12, 2006

Have you thought about emailing her directly and asking for a copy of the song? She's not a big star or anything like that--I bet you could even convince her or or manager to burn you a CD-R in exchange for a small donation to one of the causes her label supports.

(And if you do, tell her Brian from Fez says hello.)
posted by bcwinters at 11:52 AM on April 12, 2006

Pracowity - I own the DVD, how does that get me a copy of the song to listen to while walking down the street? I don't have the ability / technology / knowledge to do that.

Espy Gillespie - thanks for the link to the previous askme thread. The site is kinda sketchy looking, so I'm probably going to avoid it.
posted by Julnyes at 11:52 AM on April 12, 2006

Try something like this.
posted by pracowity at 11:55 AM on April 12, 2006

Here you go.
posted by iconomy at 12:12 PM on April 12, 2006

bcwinters - I'll give that a try. Thanks

Pracowity - and if the direct to the artist route fails, thanks for the link!
posted by Julnyes at 12:13 PM on April 12, 2006

Iconomy - wow thank you so much. This is strange though, the lyrics are different then the version that played in the movie. The movie version has "What grace have I" instead of the line "What a fool am I". I guess the movie version didn't make it on to the soundtrack.

That leaves me with the direct contact option or the audio ripping option then. Hopefully one of those will pan out. My obsession with getting my hands on this song is getting a little out of bounds!
posted by Julnyes at 12:20 PM on April 12, 2006

What I always do is, rent the DVD (usually from Netflix), play it on my computer, go to the spot where the song or desired audio is playing, open up WireTap (there are lots of programs, including free ones, that will do what this does, but I like this one) and record the audio directly off the soundcard. As far as I'm concerned this is firmly in the analog hole and fair use territory (I've argued). Of course when the material is rented that's a little sketchy.
posted by nanojath at 1:10 PM on April 12, 2006

Thanks Nanojath - I emailed Lizzie West and I've crossed my fingers, but it is good to see other potential solutions.

Why does this happen anyway - why don't the songs I hear in the movie show up the same way on the soundtrack album?
posted by Julnyes at 1:30 PM on April 12, 2006

Per IMDB - "The song that plays over Mr. Gray and Lee at the end of the movie is 'Chariots Rise' by Lizzie West. The original lyric is 'What a fool am I, to fall so in love,' but the director did not want to imply that Lee was being foolish, and asked if it could be altered. Because she wanted the song to be in the movie, Lizzie West re-recorded the line as 'What grace have I, to fall so in love.'"

I love that song, too. :)
posted by angeline at 11:53 PM on April 12, 2006