The Lighthouse Soundtrack
Mark Korven
The shitty thing about the vinyl boom is that a once-expensive hobby just got more expensive. The great thing about it is that we’re getting reissues of all these classics we’ve been wanting but have been unable to find. Also, just about everything is getting pressed on vinyl, and that includes silly stuff like vinyl. There are some releases, however, which are just perfect for the format. This is one of them.
Pity the Oscars. It’s all people seem to care about when it comes to the recognition of the best the industry has to offer. But the fact of the matter is, the Oscars wouldn’t know a good movie if it bit them on the ass. In other words, the Oscars don’t matter, except when they do. More on that in our next edition of TV Party Tonight!
But the most recent exhibit in the hall of shame for the Oscars is the Lighthouse. Sure it got nominated for Cinematography, but it should have been recognized for much more. I’m both disappointed and relieved that this movie was “overlooked,” however, because it’s too good for mainstream consumption. If that’s a snobby thing to say, so be it. And let me just say, for all its nominations in all the awards, not a since one nominated the soundtrack, that I can find. It’s just as well.
At first, you can’t really imagine why this movie would have a soundtrack, because the visuals are all anyone can remember. But load up Mark Korven on the ole record player and it’s immediately apparent that his work was a mayor part of the Lighthouse. It’s the eerie sounds and tones that accompanied the visuals so well, that they blended together into a perfect stimulus of the senses. Heavily driven by building strings, and booming horns, it mimics the madness that is the movie. With its lack of melody and relentless eerie atmosphere, it’s enough to drive two wickies alone stuck inside their apartment during a quarantine that shows to have to end in sight completely mad.
A good reason to own this on vinyl is because it’s a beautiful thing that this soundtrack to an underappreciated move can even be noticed enough to merit a vinyl release. It’s simply charming in its existence. Another is because a vinyl record is the only format that would fit for this movie and its soundtrack. Can you imagine Winslow queuing this on his iPod? Don’t be ridiculous. A third reason is because this is a very well done package. Sacred Bones presents this soundtrack with original artwork, printed sleeve, black or colored vinyl (if you look hard enough, you’ll find it), and to finish it off, pressed on 180g wax. Simply delightful.
The vinyl edition of Mark Korven’s Lighthouse soundtrack is great honor to this movie. It’s an eerie, continuous accompaniment to an insane movie, and manages to match that insanity every step of the way. Just like it, it’s a peace of art. The second you play it, you’ll think to yourself, “Of course!”
Get it from Sacred Bones.
