一聽音樂網

獨立電影奇才Todd Solondz，是個典型郊區小孩、成長于紐澤西，在NYC電影碩士畢業后，自編自導的作品全都將焦點對準了類似的生活處境，以及那些用平常眼光看來簡直是怪胎的角色們；而他不具批判意味的呈現方式，使得96年他的第三部作品《歡迎光臨娃娃屋》(Welcome To The Dollhouse)，成功贏得了日舞影展大獎；98年的黑色喜劇《愛我，就讓我快樂》(Happiness)更被公推為滿分經典！Todd Solondz因此成了獨立制片觀眾的新寵，Belle And Sebastian那伙人顯然也是其中之一，因此當他們接到Todd Solondz的邀約，為他的新片《Storytelling》譜寫配樂時，便拉拔著大隊人馬從格拉斯哥前往紐約。 
 
很難想象這么一群連媒體訪問都不怎么愿意曝光的家伙，居然應允替他人作嫁，跟著劇情角色的指引與導演的要求，混著自己的想象，完成幾乎是一張全新Belle And Sebastian的迷你專輯，除了那些用鋼琴、口琴、豎琴等輕巧織就的，充滿復古好萊塢經典的簡短主題及其變奏，還有動用了銅管與弦樂組張羅出的情境配樂片段之外，我們還得到了幾曲由主唱Stuart Murdoch、大提琴手Isobel Campbell與吉他手Stevie Jackson等人再度合力展現其清新魅力的甜美歌謠：諸如標題曲"Storytelling"及帶點西班牙佛朗明哥風情調味"Wandering Alone"等，已成招牌的男女合聲對唱如此美妙，絕對是Belle And Sebastian迷的夢幻逸品。壓軸曲"Big John Shaft"則像是一記回馬槍，態度一派云淡風輕，但歌詞簡直是暗諷好萊塢電影工業的極品?？上н@些成品最后只有六分多鐘剪進了電影里，所以這張《Storytelling》嚴格說來已不能算是Todd Solondz電影的配樂，而是Belle & Sebastian自己詮釋的《Storytelling》！ 

by Heather Phares
Much like the film Storytelling itself, which was drastically edited and censored before finally reaching theaters at a running time just short of 90 minutes, Belle & Sebastian's music for the movie barely appeared in the final cut. All of their work appears on Storytelling, for better or worse -- it's an occasionally jumbled, yet undeniably pleasant, collection that unsurprisingly feels like a hybrid of a proper Belle & Sebastian album and a more traditional film score. The strings, horns, and harmonicas that drive instrumental tracks like "Freak," "Night Walk," "Consuelo," and "Fuck This Shit" have a definite retro vibe that also extends to songs like "Wandering Alone" and "Black and White Unite," which sounds a bit like the band covering Simon & Garfunkel's soundtrack for The Graduate. Though some of the other songs, such as "I Don't Want to Play Football," are disappointingly short, more substantial songs like "Big John Shaft," the surprisingly upbeat "Scooby Driver," and the bouncy title track make the album worthwhile for die-hard Belle & Sebastian fans. The only real misstep is the inclusion of so much dialogue from the film -- it didn't work that well in the movie, and in this context it's especially distracting. In all, Storytelling is a frustrating release from Belle & Sebastian; it's not exactly a complete album, it's not as satisfying as their best EPs, and yet it displays enough of the group's charm that it's difficult to dismiss entirely.