Recent film music spotlights Donovan, King Crimson

Chills ran down my spine as the first strains of "The Court of the Crimson King" played during an intense moment in the movie Children of Men. This harrowing film about a future Earth without the ability to reproduce children chose some very interesting songs for its soundtrack. But it's the King Crimson song, with its melancholy melody, that made the movie work for me. I am always amazed that film producers are so clever at finding obsure yet wonderful tunes for their soundtracks. Remember how a cover of the Tears for Fears track "Mad World" transformed Donnie Darko?

This weekend, I had another amazing movie-song experience. This time it was hearing Donovan's "Hurdy Gurdy Man" in Zodiac. This film about finding a serial killer was very, very well made. Even at 2 hours, 30 minutes, the movie's fast pace kept me rooting for the good guys to catch the monster that took lives for several years beginning in the late 60's. Jake Gyllenhaal and Robert Downy, Jr. were expertly cast as investigative newspaper reporters. Even though I was never a huge fan of Donovan, hearing "Hurdy Gurdy Man" in Zodiac makes me want to sample more of his music.

Note for younger music fans: King Crimson were a progressive rock band that featured the phenomenal guitarist Robert Fripp on guitar. Their best album, In the Court of the Crimson King, featured Greg Lake on vocals before he left to join Emerson, Lake and Palmer. You may have heard "20th Century Schizoid Man," which is considered by many to be the best progressive rock song of all time. If you play guitar, you need to hear this album.