The Darjeeling Limited - Working Out The Kinks

The Darjeeling Limited is finally out in France (usually big films come out about the same time but I guess the latest Wes Anderson flick didn't have quite enough hype) and that means posters of Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman and Adrien Brody and their deadpan faces everywhere. They do not instantly bring to mind my recollection of this touching off-beat comedy (that I saw while in Canada over Christmas) but rather the soundtrack, and more specifically The Kinks song that I had to find in the credits.

So I found the song and got the 'Greatest Hits' and have to say that I think The Kinks are probably one of the most underrated bands out there (or ever?). Wikipedia says that they were part of the 'British Invasion' and incredibly influential but many people I've spoken to don't seem to know all that much about them or be all that into them.

As a group they are incredibly diverse with pop songs that remind me of a somewhat toned-down St. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band ('Denmark Street'), harder classic rock à la Led Zepplin ('Lola'), folk-infused Dylan-esque melodies ('Death of a Clown') and probably a ton that you didn't ever know were The Kinks, but are The Kinks ('Apeman', 'Waterloo Sunset', 'You Really Got Me', 'All Day and All Night', 'Plastic Man').

For my part, I prefer the earlier albums. The three tracks from 'The Darjeeling Limited' soundtrack are from the album Lola versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One (1970) and is arguably one of their best albums. The group stopped recording in the mid-90's, which already is a fairly substantial career, but like so many of my favourites (The Rolling Stones, Leonard Cohen) I prefer the earlier recordings.

Tracks from 'The Darjeeling Limited'
[mp3] Powerman
[mp3] This Time Tomorrow
[mp3] Strangers

And here is the official trailer with 'This Time Tomorrow' very audible in the background (it's like a montage but with talking).


Buy 'The Darjeeling Limited' Soundtrack from Amazon