If 2011 wasn’t quite Johnny Jewel‘s year, then 2012 will be. I can’t think of a harder working person in the independent music industry. Johnny’s “rejected” soundtrack for the sexiest film of 2011, DRIVE, is now released under the name Symmetry. Themes For An Imaginary Film bags up all evidence of pop elements and throws it from the window of a speeding Pacific Muscle car. It’s a moody two hours of music Johnny and collaborator (Chromatics drummer) Matt Walker have been working on for years. Johnny has said that about a quarter of Themes was originally considered for the film and the Ryan Gosling was super into it. But as it goes when there’s a deadline, and too many cooks in the kitchen, the score didn’t make it in.
Director Nicolas Winding Refn featured Glass Candy’s “Digital Versicolor” in mega-fox Tom Hardy’s breakout performance as BRONSON, and was still all about getting some of Johnny’s Jewels. When DRIVE was released here in the states, the buzz around the soundtrack was that it was as sexy as its star. Chromatics and Desire are Johnny’s projects aside from Glass Candy and his role in the Italians Do It Better label (with Mike Simonetti.) Their songs are featured repeatedly throughout the film. Desire’s “Don’t Call,”, which wasn’t in the film, just got a makeover with a new video just released today.
Check it out and watch for Glass Candy, Chromatics and/or Desire on the road this year. Like I said, the hardest working man out there right now.
Glass Candy and Chromatics play the 20th Anniversary of the Noise Pop festival in San Francisco on February 24th with Seattle’s Soft Metals.