Kimya Dawson Reflects on the Music Behind 'Juno'
- Posted on Jan 7th 2008 3:00PM by Mike Spinella
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While practically every motion picture has a soundtrack, the songs in most films are often nothing more than background music to be compiled into an album that hopes to create additional revenue for the production. However, there are exceptions where the movie's identity is greatly shaped by the music chosen for it. The positive word of mouth for 'Juno' couldn't be stronger, and it's largely due to the music delivered by Kimya Dawson, who is known for her work as one-half of the Moldy Peaches. Composer Mateo Messina based the film's score on Dawson's music, which helps tell the story of Juno, the witty and hilarious Minnesota girl who is dealing with pregnancy at age 16. The score often reflects Juno's bittersweet character and serve as a metaphor in the film. The soundtrack is pieced together with artists including Belle & Sebastian, the Velvet Underground, Cat Power among others. As integral as Dawson's songs were integral to 'Juno,' the songstress gives a more intimate side to the creation of each one.
'My Rollercoaster'
This song is about feeling the need to constantly tour and play house shows and meet people and make friends and have crazy adventures. I can't stand the idea of going from town to town and not meeting everyone, getting a million hugs, eating local food with local people, seeing the sights and getting shown the fun stuff. It boggles my mind that there are musicians who travel and just hole up in dressing rooms and tour buses and hotel rooms and miss out on all the coolest s---. This song is about meeting someone else who feels the same way and being so happy to know someone who understands how great that way of living can be, and knowing you need to live the s--- out of your life through the ups and the downs. We don't have tons of time here. Could you get all that from the instrumental? Of course, right!
'Tire Swing'
I wrote this song after a relationship I was in ended because I was on tour so much. So it is for that person and also for a bunch of the friends that I was doing a lot of touring and music making with. It's exciting because the whole second verse is about a dream I had about Paul Baribeau (one of the greatest songwriters ever!), and he just happened to call passing through the town I was recording in. So he was able to come by and play keyboard and sing with me. In my dream we were singing together, so it is amazing that we are singing together in the song. His voice gives me chills. He is amazing.
'Loose Lips'
This is a song I wrote for all the people out there who are speaking out against social, political and corporate injustice. I know so many amazing folkies and hippies and punks and revolutionaries who just won't be brought down and keep on fighting the good fight. And I am not just talking about f---ing s--- up and saying "Screw you" to The Man. I am talking about people who are fully living the dream and creating artistic communities and planting gardens and living sustainably and feeding the hungry and throwing potlucks and putting on shows and being bold and being sweet and supporting each other. This song is my way of saying we need to have each other's backs. Hooray to the kids who have each other's backs. And I have your back.
'Sleep'
This is a song I wrote while babysitting, basically pleading with the kid to go to sleep because I was so tired! The original version has words where I am bribing the kid with promises of a very fun next day.
'So Nice So Smart'
I wrote this one for a very good friend that I felt very wronged by. I put it on an album, and then he was super-hurt by it. So I felt bad and he felt bad and we patched things up. I have never played the song live. We let it fade away. And now here it is on this soundtrack. Weird. He texted me, though, and told me he saw the movie and said it was OK to hear the song. It has new meaning now.
'Anyone Else But You' (by the Moldy Peaches)
Me and Adam Green wrote this song sitting in Tompkins Square Park [in Manhattan], sitting on a bench. We didn't write it about each other. We both had other imaginary people in mind. Like our dream best friend/dates. We used to call our crushes "hippies." We would wander around NYC in the cold all night long looking for hippies. I guess this is kind of what we would have sung to our hippies if we ever found them. We didn't find hippies back then, but the song's still nice. I am nine years older than Adam, so he was still kind of a kid back then. It would have been gross if we were singing to each other. It is cute to see Juno and Bleeker sing it to each other, though. It feels right. It's a song for awkward kids. We're old hags now. Pass the torch.
Get 'Juno'
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