Life is a State of Mind

I finally broke down and bought the expensive original soundtrack and score to the movie Donnie Darko. I selected the British import version of the CDs because it has all the classical music and the ’80s pop that was remastered specifically for the movie and gave it such a haunting edge. The variation to Michael Andrews’ “Mad World” song is worth the expensive price of the double disc set all by itself. You can get “Mad World” elsewhere (Tears for Fears did the most popular version), but I like this version best of all.

If you are curious about it, you can hear the 30 second samples for free on iTunes Music Store (fire up iTunes, which is free for Mac and Windows, go to the iTunes Music Store, search for “Mad World”). Several versions come up, and they are all good (I have the Tears for Fears version on CD too). Something about the quieter, slower version by Gary Jules and Michael Andrews is the most hauntingly beautiful though… decide for yourself.

BTW; if you have not seen Donnie Darko the movie, and wrote it off (as I did) as another silly teen flick, give it a chance. It is mind-twisting Sci-Fi set inside an ’80s teen flick… awesome. Really twisted in much the same way Body Heat, Eternal Sunshine, Memento, Body Double, The Crying Game, and other films are. You might have to watch it three times to catch on to all the time loop paradoxes. Thank you very much to those friends who insisted I get by the silly teen reputation and watch this film (yes, it’s a film, not a movie). Oh yes, and it stars a very young and handsome Jake Gyllenhaal and has his super-sexy sister Maggie in a bit part as his sister too. Lots of eye-candy.