“Hoppípolla” by Sigur Rós from “We Bought A Zoo”
Perhaps because it’s the first time that he was working from a script by someone else (“The Devil Wars Prada” writer Aline Brosh McKenna), and perhaps because of the bulk of tunes are provided by Sigur Ros frontman Jónsi, but music somehow plays less of a role in “We Bought A Zoo” than in most of Crowe’s works, despite a soundtrack including favorites like Bob Dylan, Cat Stevens, and Eddie Vedder. We always applaud any use of Echo & The Bunnymen in a movie, but the most effective music moment actually comes from Jónsi’s band Sigur Rós, whose song “Hoppípola” accompanies the film’s emotional climax, as Matt Damon’s zoo opens to no guests, only to find a queue of customers stuck behind a fallen tree. It’s more effective than it sounds on paper, we promise: the track had been overplayed in commercials, but it’s truly stirring stuff in Crowe’s hands here.
Honorable Mentions: In terms of other potentials, we also considered most of the live performances in “Singles,” along with the Who-accompanied opening of “Jerry Maguire,” and the latter film’s use of Paul McCartney’s “Singalong Junk” and, more subtly, L.V’s “The Wrong Come Up” in the famous “Show Me The Money” scene.
“Almost Famous” also has some great live performances by the band-in-the-film, Stillwater, and the uses of Led Zeppelin’s “Misty Mountain Hop” and Rod Stewart’s “Every Picture Tells A Story” also stand out there, while “Vanilla Sky” makes effective use of The Monkees’ trippy “Porpoise Song,” Todd Rundgren’s “Can We Still Be Friends,” and Peter Gabriel’s “Solsbury Hill.”
Finally, in “Elizabethtown,” there’s the notable use of Elton John’s “My Father’s Gun,” The Concretes’ “You Can’t Hurry Love,” Ryan Adams’ “Come Pick Me Up,” The Hollies’ “Jesus Was A Cross Maker,” and Ulrich Schnauss’ “Passing By,” while “We Bought A Zoo” showcases Bon Iver’s “Holocene” (Crowe slightly ahead of the curve on the now-overused track), along with Neil Young’s “Cinnamon Girl.” Any others we missed? Let us know your favorites in the comments.
