Immediately after watching Steven Soderbergh‘s ‘Contagion‘ I was pissed off. Pissed that I let this film pass through the cracks of my film consciousness. Pissed even more after getting on my laptop to find out who this, Cliff Martinez, cat was who scored the film. Because… I loved it. As well crafted and acted I felt ‘Contagion’ to be, the score of the movie moved me even more. It was subtle, paced perfectly with the intensity of the scenes. Then I discover Cliff scored ‘Drive‘, ‘Solaris‘, and ‘The Limey‘ just to name a few. All films I recall recognizing for more than just the visuals, all films I am determined to revisit. You can find a bunch of information about Mr. Martinez here, as well a virtual trove of free music that he has completed for numerous projects. I recommend. This may wet the proverbial whistle to do so: Cliff originated as a rock drummer, most predominately playing for the Red Hot Chili Peppers on their ‘Uplift Mofo Party Plan‘ album. Anthony Kiedis and Flea fired him. So what? He got a gig doing the score for an episode of Pee Wee’s Playhouse (also found on his site) and since then it has been all up as far as I’m concerned. Soderbergh saw, or rather heard, his work on Rueben’s creation and signed him up to do ‘Sex, Lies, and Videotape‘. I don’t care who you are that’s classic. When we see names like John Williams and Danny Elfman attached to projects our attention perks to the experience that we expect to get from a film. There are some names, particularly Cliff Martinez, that now need to be added to that list.
Here are a few samples. Close your eyes.
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