The Great Gatsby Soundtrack Review

1920s style and modern music all in one

The soundtrack for Baz Lurhmann’s new film The Great Gatsby has received quite the attention. And it should. A soundtrack produced by Jay-Z, with tracks by Jack White, Florence + Machine, Fergie, Andre 3000, Lana Del Rey, and Beyonce, the album is full of top quality stars from a vast array of genres. Of course the album itself leans to a 1920s style, especially the horns, combined with dance synths and hi-hats, plus there's the obvious hip-hop feel coming from Jay-Z’s input no doubt. 

Hip-hop has a history of sampling older music, from Run DMC to A Tribe Called Quest to Jay-Z himself; this soundtrack is a sample of today's musical era transplanted in the 1920s. Some of it works, some not so much. Even if it doesn't work as an album I think some of the songs I don't enjoy much will translate well on screen. My example for this will be will.i.am's “Bang Bang.” It's super catchy and his voice matches the tone of the song really well for part of the track. A snippet of this track would work wonders to support the era... then the dance music drops in and destroys the song and the feel in an instant. 

The women of the album nail every track though. Lana Del Rey and Florence have particularly excellent songs. Rey's “Young and Beautiful” is one of those haunting love ballads that sticks with you – her voice was made to be on this soundtrack. Florence’s track, “Over The Love,” once again shows she has one of the best voices out there. On top of that, Sia, who I've always had a soft spot for since hearing “Breathe Me,” has the least era specific track, I read on NME.com "it sounds more like a James Bond theme" and I agree, but it is a fantastic track, one that ends the album really well too. 

The one that surprised me was “A Little Party Never Killed Nobody (All We Got)” by Fergie, featuring Q-Tip, GoonRock. Fergie’s voice fits so wonderfully into the era, yet still feels like she's in the new millennium. This is a party song that samples Duke Ellington with dubstep and high-hats, an odd combination that works wonders - at least to my ears. The revamped “Crazy in Love” by Emeli Sande, in a foxtrot style, failed for me, but is still good, it is just trying too hard to stay within the 1920s confines and does not embrace the new era like the rest of the album. They may have chosen to do this as it is the most direct recreation and probably used almost in its entirety in the film (my assumption). 

Jack White is also superb, but then again when is he not?

On my first listen I didn't enjoy the Jay-Z track "$100 Bill" with his chopped and screwed take on getting rich, which is prefaced by some "great" Gatsby dialogue to start the album and explain the era yet comparing it to ours. 

Of course some of the tracks are clunkers.  Cough… cough… Gotye.

Overall I did enjoy the album. But it did take me a couple of listens before I really got into it. Check out some of the songs on YouTube before buying it would be my suggestion, as the Gatsby soundtrack may not be for everyone. 

Thumb Print IIPA

An imperial thumbprint

Beer: New Glarus Thumb Print IIPA

Brewery: New Glarus Brewing Company

Brewed In: Wisconsin, United States

Style: Imperial IPA

ABV: 9.75% 

Price: $4

Notes: Rotating.

Story: I had never had any New Glarus before this beer and I bought Thumb Print IIPA on the reputation that they have great beers.  This one did not disappoint at all.

Appearance: Thumb Print IIPA poured a hazy straw gold with a fluffy white head.

Smell: Covering a lot of the hoppy aromas – citrus, pine, floral.  It also has a sweetness to it.

Taste: Sweet and piney to start but finishes with a very strong citrus and grapefruit flavour.  Doesn’t have a strong lasting finish but it does linger for a while.  I think I get a hint of toffee in here as well.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied and the carbonation bites the tongue before it fades.

Drinkability: Love to get my hands on more of this beer and other New Glarus beers.

Pub Chat: Episode 34 - Downtown Brown

Plus Danny Boyle

Well a Danny Boyle film, which is a favourite of mine. It is a short one where Adrian and I discuss the film and drink Lost Coast Brewery's Downtown Brown.

Download here. Or subscribe in iTunes here.

Show Notes

00:00 – Intro
00:21 – Dishevelled
01:00 – Beer cracking time
01:45 – Colin gives us the lowdown on Lost Coast Brewery
02:00 – Tasting time
05:30 – Beer went up his nose
06:51 – We’re talking about the movie Sunshine.
07:40 – Spoiler alert!
11:00 – Colin tells us why it’s awesome
14:05 – WASA
17:55 – Colin makes excuses for the films flaws
22:00 – The films lack of romance
23:30 – Wrap up! Thanks for listening.

Back in Black

Maybe pair this with an AC/DC album?

Beer: Back in Black

Brewery: 21^st Amendment Brewery

Brewed In: California, United States

Style: Black IPA

ABV: 6.8%

Price: Bought in Minneapolis for about $12 a 6-pack I think.

Notes: Rotating availability – on tap, in cans, bottles, and growlers.

Story: One of the beers George told me I must try while we were in Minneapolis.  I picked up a 6-pack and drank it at the hotel.  Then grabbed another 6 to take home.  But I drank 5 at the hotel.  So this was the only 1 to make it home.

Appearance: Back in Black pours a thick beige head on this black IPA that lives up to its name by being all black, even when held to the light.  The head leaves lots of lacing.  Oh, and the can design is awesome.

Smell: A nice balance between the caramel, roasted malt, and fresh pine notes make the aroma of this beer quite wonderful.

Taste: The initial flavour is sweet caramel and malty, before it ends with a pine and grapefruit finish.  It tingles off the tongue like a freshly eaten grapefruit.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with slightly noticeable carbonation.   

Drinkability: Really wish I could try more beers from 21^st Amendment, and really wish I could get this beer in Winnipeg.  The design on the can is real nice, as I mention earlier, sorry I couldn't get it all in the picture.

Pub Chat: Episode 33 - Rochefort 10

Beer talk and beer drinking

Pub Chat goes back to talking about craft beer the entire episode.  This time with Jym Doolan, aka The Brew Thusiast.  We drink one of the worlds best beers, the Trappist brew Rochefort 10.

Download here. Or subscribe in iTunes here.

Show Notes

00:00 – It’s us! And Jym Doolan!
00:32 – We debat the pronunciation of Rochefort
Sorry about the audio quality, we promise we’ll try to do a better job on the next transcontinental episode of Pub Chat.01:43 – Beer cracking time!
02:40 – Glassware snobbery
03:00 – Digging into the beer
07:00 - Seasonal’s and our beer buying habits
08:17 – Pumpkin beer
10:30 – Home brewing
12:00 – Waxing poetic about Unibroue
14:50 – Trader Joes… It’s an American thing
16:55 – Back on my theory of Belgian beer being cheap in MB
18:05 – Now we’re complaining about beer prices… again
20:50 – This lead to us talking about Sam Adams Utopia
24:50 – Cans?
27:20 – After 20 minutes of sipping, we’re back to the beer
32:00 – The history of The Brewthusiast
38:00 – East Coast beers in Manitoba
43:10 – “It tastes like cream corn, it’s horrible”
45:00 – Barrel aging.
47:45 – Southern Tier Creme Brûlée stout!
49:20 – Dogfish Head 120 min IPA
57:00 – I’m not cool because I like IPAs
58:30 – The strongest beers we’ve ever had
1:05:30 – It’s wrap up time!
1:07:05 – Check out Jym at www.thebrewthusiast.com and on twitter
1:08:13 – Thanks for listening

Bitter Brewer

After having it I was a little bitter...

Beer: Bitter Brewer

Brewery: Surly Brewing

Brewed In: Minnesota, United States

Style: English Bitter

ABV: 4%

Price: Another Minnesota gem where I can’t find the receipt.

Notes: Spring time brew.

Story: I was lucky enough to tour the Surly brewery last summer.  I was unlucky that I didn’t get to try this on the tour.  Or was I?

Appearance: Bitter Brewer pours a light orange with a good amount of white head that didn’t stick around for too long but left some big bubbles in the lacing.

Smell: A lot of citrus and floral hops.  Really about it.

Taste: The citrus hops are really the main character.  I get some yeast and spices but not much.  No malt is noticeable here at all.  I don’t get the marmalade or toast the can promises.

Mouthfeel: A bit cloying and low on the medium body scale with tons of carbonation.   

Drinkability: Definitely not one of Surly’s best brews.  I really enjoyed all of their other beers when I was in Minneapolis.  Kind of sad that I never tried this there, so I could have brought home cans of the other beers.  Kind of miffed by the Beer Advocate score for this one.

Bacchus

If you like raspberries try this

Beer: Bacchus

Brewery: Brouwerij Van Honsebrouck N.V.

Brewed In: Belgium

Style: Flanders Oud Bruin

ABV: 5%

Price: My memory fails me on this one.

Notes: Available year-round.

Story: The beer is packaged in a silk paper that stood out on the shelves.  I grabbed it and bought it based on the fact that it was from Belgium.  They do beer right over there.  So it is always worth it to try new Belgian beers. 

Appearance: Bacchus pours a thick tan head, but the head has a touch of red to it.  The beer itself is a dark mahogany.

Smell: Raspberries are very prominent with a hint of cherries.

Taste: Tart and wine like, the raspberries are the main flavour but grapes and cherries are noticeable.  The cherries linger on the finish.  It is a bit acidic and vinegary too.

Mouthfeel: Surprising light with a bunch of carbonation. 

Drinkability: Not a bad brew.  I would purchase it again.  I was confused by the ABV of the beer at first as the package says 5% but then further down it says 12.5% raspberries.  I am assuming this beer is made with a certain percentage of raspberries.  But really I have no idea.