Lost in Translation (soundtrack)

Sofia Coppola said much of the soundtrack consisted of songs that she "liked and had been listening to",{{Cite web|title=Sofia Coppola Discusses 'Lost in Translation' on Its 10th Anniversary|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/sofia-coppola-discusses-lost-in-translation-on-its-10th-anniversary |first=Marlow|last=Stern|date=September 12, 2013|website=The Daily Beast|access-date=June 14, 2020}} and she worked with Brian Reitzell to make Tokyo dream pop mixes to assist her writing of the film.{{cite news |last1=Hundley |first1=Jessica |title=An invisible role |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-sep-11-wk-pop11-story.html |access-date=May 3, 2020 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=September 11, 2003 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200615040620/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-sep-11-wk-pop11-story.html |archive-date=June 15, 2020}} Several of the tracks in these mixes were ultimately included in the soundtrack, including "Just Like Honey" by The Jesus and Mary Chain, as well as "Tommib" by Squarepusher and "Girls" by Death in Vegas.

Agathi Glezakos, an academic writing a review of Lost in Translation shortly after its release, wrote that the music in the film's karaoke scene constitutes a common "language" that allows Bob Harris (Bill Murray) and Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson) to connect with some of the Japanese people amidst their alienation.{{cite journal|last=Glezakos|first=Agathi|date=15 October 2003|title=Movie Review: Lost in Translation|journal=Reflections: Narratives of Professional Helping|volume=9|issue=4|pages=71–72|publisher=California State University, Long Beach|issn=1080-0220}} In that scene, the rendition of the Pretenders' "Brass in Pocket" was selected to showcase a lively side of Charlotte, and "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding" was chosen to establish that Bob is from a different generation. Both Coppola and Murray finally selected Roxy Music's "More Than This" during the shoot itself because they liked the band and thought the lyrics fit the story.{{cite journal|last=Chumo|first=Peter N. II|date=January–February 2004|title=Sofia Coppola|journal=Creative Screenwriting|volume=11|issue=1|pages=60–61|issn=1084-8665}}

The songs that were featured in the film but did not appear on the soundtrack include "The State We're In" by The Chemical Brothers and Patti Smith's cover of "When Doves Cry".{{cite web | url=https://consequence.net/2010/05/cinema-sounds-lost-in-translation/ | title=Cinema Sounds: Lost in Translation | website=Consequence of Sound | date=May 26, 2010 | access-date=December 7, 2014 | author=Mojica, Frank}}

{{Album ratings

| MC = 84/100{{cite web | url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/lost-in-translation-ost/original-soundtrack | title=Lost in Translation OST | website=Metacritic | access-date=December 7, 2014}}

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite web |last=Phares |first=Heather |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/lost-in-translation-mw0000316244 |title=Lost in Translation – Original Soundtrack |website=AllMusic |access-date=2010-10-10}}

| rev2 = Entertainment Weekly

| rev2score = B+Included are (somewhat disappointing) new tunes from Air and My Bloody Valentine mastermind Kevin Shields. [10 Oct 2003, p.124]

| rev3 = Drowned in Sound

| rev3score = 8/10{{cite web | url=http://www.drownedinsound.com/releases/3556/reviews/8792- | title=Lost In Translation: OST | website=Drowned in Sound | date=January 15, 2004 | access-date=December 7, 2014 | author=Dobson, Gareth | archive-date=March 4, 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304045936/http://drownedinsound.com/releases/3556/reviews/8792- | url-status=dead }}

| rev4 = No Ripcord

| rev4score = 8/10{{cite web|url=http://www.noripcord.com/reviews/music/various-artists-lost-in-translation/lost-in-translation-ost|title=Various Artists (Lost In Translation) - Lost In Translation OST|website=No Ripcord|last=Roylance|first=Paul|date=15 February 2004|access-date=11 March 2025}}

| rev5 = Pitchfork

| rev5score = 6.3/10{{cite web | url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141222141740/http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/7714-lost-in-translation-with-various-artists/| title=Lost in Translation OST | website=Pitchfork | date=October 1, 2003 | access-date=December 7, 2014 | author= Richardson, Mark}}

| rev6 = Q

| rev6score = {{Rating|4|5}}Shields' four contributions are everything you'd hope for. [Oct 2003, p.126]

| rev7 = Stylus

| rev7score = 6.8/10{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030920161552/http://www.stylusmagazine.com/review.php?ID=1308|title=Various Artists - Lost in Translation|website=Stylus Magazine|last=Unterberger|first=Andrew|date=September 11, 2003|access-date=March 11, 2025}}

| rev8 = Uncut

| rev8score = 8/10Shields' four contributions are everything you'd hope for. [Oct 2003, p.126]

| rev9 = URB

| rev9score = {{Rating|5|5}}Amazing new music from Shields.... The perfect soundtrack to a brilliant movie. [Dec 2003, p.89]

}}

Upon its release, the soundtrack received positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from critics, the album received an average score of 84, which indicates "universal acclaim", based on 9 reviews. AllMusic critic Heather Phares wrote: "Perfectly defined in its hazy beauty, this soundtrack loses nothing in its translation from a quietly wonderful movie into a quietly wonderful album." Critic Gareth Dobson of Drowned in Sound said the soundtrack "gently guides you through a myriad of woozy joys", and called it "a beautifully-fashioned record that works completely outside of its film setting but also acts as a haunting centrepiece to the movie itself." Similarly, Consequence of Sound critic Frank Mojica called the music "the third star of the picture", adding that "[t]he atmospherics of shoegaze dream pop and the feelings of longing they evoke, coupled with the beauty of sadness, reflect the emotions and moods throughout the film".{{cite web |last=Mojica |first=Frank |title=Cinema Sounds: Lost in Translation |url=https://consequence.net/2010/05/cinema-sounds-lost-in-translation/ |website=Consequence of Sound |access-date=May 20, 2020 |date=May 26, 2010}} Mark Richardson of Pitchfork wrote: "For the most part, the tracks hang together and flow relatively well, orbiting the shimmering dreampop mass that serves as the record's unstated inspiration." Andrew Unterberger of Stylus Magazine described the soundtrack as "disappointing, but still a worthy purchase."{{cite web | url=http://www.stylusmagazine.com/reviews/various-artists/lost-in-translation.htm | title=Various Artists – Lost in Translation | website=Stylus Magazine | date=2003-09-11 | access-date=December 7, 2014 | author=Urterberger, Andrew | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924133817/http://www.stylusmagazine.com/reviews/various-artists/lost-in-translation.htm |archive-date=September 24, 2015}}

Consequence of Sound critic Frank Mojica stated that "Lost in Translation is renowned for its soundtrack, and the music serves as the third star of the picture." On the film's possible legacy, Mojica also wrote: "One has to wonder how much of a role the film and its soundtrack had in the rebirth of shoegaze in the mid '00s. After all, My Bloody Valentine eventually reformed, as did The Jesus and Mary Chain, with the latter performing with none other than Scarlett Johansson at their Coachella reunion." The head of one record label, Sonic Cathedral, cited the soundtrack as an important factor that led to a resurgence of the genre.{{cite news |last=Bonner |first=Michael |title=Going Blank Again: a history of shoegaze |url=https://www.uncut.co.uk/features/going-blank-history-shoegaze-102240/7/ |access-date=May 20, 2020 |work=Uncut |date=November 3, 2017}} The soundtrack has been placed on several "best of" lists, including Rolling Stone{{'}}s "The 25 Greatest Soundtracks of All Time" at number 22,{{cite web |last1=Dolan |first1=Jon |last2=Hermes |first2=Will |last3=Hoard |first3=Christian |last4=Sheffield |first4=Rob |title=The 25 Greatest Soundtracks of All Time |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-lists/the-25-greatest-soundtracks-of-all-time-41108/head-1968-220556/ |website=Rolling Stone |date=August 29, 2013 |access-date=May 20, 2020}} Pitchfork's "The 50 Best Movie Soundtracks of All Time" at number 7,{{cite web |title=The 50 Best Movie Soundtracks of All Time |url=https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/the-50-best-movie-soundtracks-of-all-time/ |website=Pitchfork |access-date=May 20, 2020}} Note: Click on page 5 and "The 20 Soundtracks That Defined the 2000s" by Empire.{{cite web |title=The 20 Soundtracks That Defined The 2000s |url=https://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/decade-defining-soundtracks-00s/ |website=Empire |access-date=May 20, 2020 |date=May 19, 2013}}

{{Track listing

| headline =

| extra_column = Artist(s)

| title1 = Intro / Tokyo{{ref|a|[a]}}

| length1 = 0:34

| title2 = City Girl

| writer2 = Kevin Shields

| extra2 = Kevin Shields

| length2 = 3:48

| title3 = Fantino

| writer3 = Sébastien Tellier

| extra3 = Sébastien Tellier

| length3 = 3:12

| title4 = Tommib

| writer4 = Tom Jenkinson

| extra4 = Squarepusher

| length4 = 1:20

| title5 = Girls

| writer5 = {{hlist|Tim Holmes|Richard McGuire}}

| extra5 = Death in Vegas

| length5 = 4:26

| title6 = Goodbye

| writer6 = Kevin Shields

| extra6 = Kevin Shields

| length6 = 2:32

| title7 = Too Young

| writer7 = Phoenix

| extra7 = Phoenix

| length7 = 3:18

| title8 = Kaze wo Atsumete

| writer8 = {{hlist|Takashi Matsumoto|Haruomi Hosono}}

| extra8 = Happy End

| length8 = 4:06

| title9 = On the Subway

| writer9 = {{hlist|Roger J. Manning Jr.|Brian Reitzell}}

| extra9 = Brian Reitzell and Roger J. Manning Jr.

| length9 = 1:10

| title10 = Ikebana

| writer10 = Kevin Shields

| extra10 = Kevin Shields

| length10 = 1:38

| title11 = Sometimes

| writer11 = Kevin Shields

| extra11 = My Bloody Valentine

| length11 = 5:19

| title12 = Alone in Kyoto

| writer12 = {{hlist|Jean-Benoît Dunckel|Nicolas Godin}}

| extra12 = Air

| length12 = 4:47

| title13 = Shibuya

| writer13 = {{hlist|Manning|Reitzell}}

| extra13 = Brian Reitzell and Roger J. Manning Jr.

| length13 = 3:26

| title14 = Are You Awake?

| writer14 = Kevin Shields

| extra14 = Kevin Shields

| length14 = 1:35

| title15 = Just Like Honey

| writer15 = {{hlist|James McLeish Reid|William Reid}}

| extra15 = The Jesus and Mary Chain

| length15 = 3:01

| title16 = More Than This

| note16 = Hidden at the end of track 15 after 8:00 of silence; total time: 12:38. Only available on the CD version of the soundtrack.

| writer16 = Bryan Ferry

| extra16 = Bill Murray with Roger J. Manning Jr. and Brian Reitzell

| length16 = 1:35

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Japanese edition bonus track{{cite web |url=https://www.cdjapan.co.jp/product/V2CP-160 |title=Lost In Translation Original Soundtrack [CD] |website=CDJapan |access-date=September 18, 2021}}

| extra_column = Artist(s)

| title16 = 50 Floors Up

| note16 = 12:58 including 8:00 of silence and the hidden track "More Than This"

| writer16 = {{hlist|Manning|Reitzell}}

| extra16 = Brian Reitzell and Roger J. Manning Jr.

| length16 = 3:21

}}

Notes

• {{sup|{{note|a|[a]}}}} "Intro / Tokyo" contains samples from the following tracks performed by Yellow Generation: "Lost Generation", composed by Sora Izumikawa; "Kitakaze To Taiyo", composed by Miki Watanabe; and "Carpe Diem – Ima Konoshunkanwo Ikiru", composed by Akinori Kumata. All lyrics were written by Masato Ochi.

• Richard Beggs – sound design {{small|(tracks 1, 13)}}
• Kevin Shields – production {{small|(tracks 2, 6, 10, 11, 14)}}; engineering {{small|(tracks 2, 6, 10, 11, 14)}}
• Brian Reitzell – drums {{small|(tracks 2, 14)}}; engineering {{small|(tracks 2, 6, 10, 11, 14)}}; production {{small|(tracks 9, 13)}}
• Bryan Mills – bass guitar {{small|(track 14)}}; engineering {{small|(tracks 2, 6, 10, 14)}}
• James Brown – engineering {{small|(tracks 2, 6, 10, 14)}}
• Rob Kirwan – engineering {{small|(tracks 2, 6, 10, 14)}}
• Roger Joseph Manning Jr. – production {{small|(tracks 9, 13)}}
• Justin Stanley – mixing {{small|(tracks 9, 13)}}
• Air – production {{small|(track 12)}}
• Nigel Godrich – mixing {{small|(track 12)}}
• Dan Hersch – mastering
• Bill Inglot – mastering

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Category:2003 soundtrack albums

Category:Albums produced by Brian Reitzell

Category:Albums produced by Kevin Shields

Category:Comedy-drama film soundtracks

Category:Emperor Norton Records albums

Category:2000s film soundtrack albums