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"I'm Not Sticking With You"


Posted by Hartley On Dec 10, 2007

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It's all his fault. But really, say what you will about Wes Anderson's fetishizing of Kinks songs and track suits - bottom line is his brand of "quirk" still has taste. Every endearingly shy, self-pitying, too-skinny, guitar-playing anti-hero in a headband isn't sitting around listening to old Satyajit Ray scores and obscure Joe Dassin folk songs. No sir.

But I do know what they ARE listening to: The Velvet Underground's, Moe Tucker sung "I'm Sticking With You." I was initially shocked that Music Supervisor God-head Randy Poster who not only has sup'd all of Anderson's films, but like every single film that played at the New York Film Festival this year - from I'm Not The to Margot At The Wedding to Redacted (which incidentally, from an individual whose not too keen on making exaggerated sweeping statements, just might be the worst movie I've ever seen), I was surprised that Poster let "I'm Sticking With You" squirrel it's way into The Savages, an outstandingly great film, with an otherwise pitch-perfect soundtrack.

The Savages, no matter what the viral marketing campaign will tell you, is not a comedy. And truth be told, though, it's poster looks like it was illustrated by the Woody Allen of the graphic novel set, Daniel Clowes, The Savages isn't all that quirky either. And so here I am in the theater thinking to myself: "thank god. an actual movie this year that's not as "quirky" as it's billing, that has the balls to just tell a great story with "depth" and skip out on all the trend-fucking." And yet, just as that thought had cemented itself - Moe's so crappy-it's actually good, Kimya Dawson-inspiring voice beamed through the screen. I didn't need The Savages plot points literally sung out for me - I get it - everyone around you sucks, your friends suck, your family suck, i mean really really sucks, and they will let you down, but you stick with them anyway cause it's better than being alone and there's beauty in accepting them for who they truly are, "warts and all." ISN'T THERE ANOTHER SONG IN THE HISTORY OF POP MUSIC THAT MAKES THIS POINT!?!?!?!

Apparently not. "I'm Sticking With You" is also in this month's other press-beloved quirk-bomb, Juno. The irony here being, that not only had I just heard this song a week previous in The Savages - but I thought, that for a movie that has like 4,000 Kimya Dawson songs in it, undoubtedly, because they wanted to capture the vibe of "I'm Sticking With You," without actually having to use "I'm Sticking With You," because fucking everybody and their brother with a hard-on for NPR and Dave Eggers has used "I'm Sticking With You"...Even they couldn't resist throwing this damned song into the mix - not too mention alongside other "quirk" soundtrack all-stars like the aforementioned Kinks and, um, Cat Power. Kill me.

Please people - for the love of God - put this fucking song out of it's misery. Don't let another film with an animated opening credit sequence fall victim to it's ubiquitous deadpan gaze.

You could always use Elk City's "You Got Me" instead:

 

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