Search - Michael Andrews :: Me And You And Everyone We Know (Score)

Moody Broody Pop Music for Dreaming T(w)o

Pete Magritte | Santa Monica, CA USA | 07/17/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Wonderfully bright yet moody, minimalist mix of ambient electronica and indie folk. Great music to dream, to think, to breathe or to write Amazon reviews to. The kind of music that gets you to thinking how miraculous it is to be alive, you know, like, hey, look at my hand and how all my fingers move when I want them to and what about all the blood that's flowing through my body right now and what was the world like before I existed and what will it be like when I'm gone? And so on. Evocative of some of Brian Eno's early ambient stuff but with more purpose and character, Andrews' mini-anthems never last too long, indeed one always wishes they might go on longer. The music has a certain thread running throughout the CD, a "personality," and yet there are a range of different styles and sentiments. I haven't seen the film, I just heard this playing in a record store and said "Wow!" Feeds the soul. Get it. Your soul will thank you (not to mention your hand and all those fingers, who seldom get the acknowledgment and recognition they so richly deserve)."

Near Perfect Daydream Music (4/5)

M. Starr | Kansas City | 08/26/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

""When I was little I had a theory that you should draw a picture using all the colors except yellow, making it as good as you could, and then, finally, after giving up, you should add yellow. And yellow had the magical property of instantly making everything come alive, it was light itself, and thus the picture came into being. Mike Andrews' score was the yellow for this movie." - Miranda July, May 7, 2005



))((

FOREVER



As I sat in the theatre watching Me and You and Everyone We Know, I was instantly fascinated by the wistful sounding score delivered by Mike Andrews in the opening minutes of the film. Andrews, of course, is the same musician responsible for the equally great Donnie Darko soundtrack from several years back. Throughout the 90 minutes of Me and You and Everyone We Know, he delivers patches of fragile sounds that enhance the quirkiness of Miranda July's direction, imagery, and dialogue, and it's quite possibly one of the best score/cinematic combinations in several years.



In the same way Sofia Coppola improved Lost in Translation with her stellar music choices, Andrews, along with help from July, has followed suit with compositions that don't compete, but rather enhance the quality of the film. Since Andrews' music is so subdued, it never really forces its way onto the viewer. But while listening to the soundtrack in the car or at home, it becomes a much different affair. There is a gift of elation that presents itself to the every day tedium of life and a sense of careless daydream that we could all certainly use.



"The Opening" begins with dialogue from the film, spoken by Miranda July. It's a glimpse into the quirky behavior that takes place in the film with July's character, Christine Jesperson, having a fictitious conversation with her imaginary lover. As the conversation develops, the song opens up with the first moments of Andrews' minimal electronic contributions. The gallop of subtle drum beats with the interaction of pensive sounding keyboards is the modus operandi for this and the rest of Andrews' songs.



There are a few guest appearances on the soundtrack, such as the often overlooked Cody Chesnutt. Along with Chesnutt, Spiritualized and Virginia Astley also have their brief appearance. Chesnutt's "5 On a Joyride" is the obvious favorite of the three, while "Any Way That You Want Me" from Spiritualized is also a very welcome addition to the non-score songs. These three, while potentially unnecessary to the overall flow of the score, give the listener a few moments to step back from Andrews' music.



With such a great music companion at its side, it's hard not to enjoy a film like Me and You and Everyone We Know. I appreciate the attention to detail that July put into constructing a soundtrack that doesn't compete with her film. Too many times directors simply take some of their favorite songs and slap them together for the purpose of having something in their film. Only on rare occasion is the soundtrack portion of the film composition looked at as something that adds to the final product. Miranda July and Mike Andrews have certainly succeeded here by creating one of the best soundtracks of the year.

"

Great Movie, and Great SoundTrack!!

Jessica H. Hoffman | Southampton, NY | 09/19/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The movie was simply wonderful and I reccommend that you go and see it, I saw it 3 times; and then came to the conclusion at the rate I was paying to see the movie I could just wait and purchase the movie and watch it all the time.



The Soundtrack fit perfectly with the storyline, and reactions in the movie and the emotions of the characters. The music is very inspiring and very indie.



I def. agree with the first reviewer that this music is something good to listen to when your writing or doing something creative.



It's def. good mellow music, and I def. think I'm burning a hole in my CD because I've been listening to it so much."