A Taste:

The Beach Boys, Arctic Monkeys, Julian Casablancas

Every sly fox needs a fully loaded iPod.

That’s just a fact of forest life. So what was The Fantastic Mr. Fox star Jason Schwartzman listening to in order to get into the character of Ash the fox?

“The first thing that I ever do when I get to work on a character is make his playlist. It helps me a lot to know what my character would listen to. I’ll only listen to that music the whole time I’m working. For Ash, I was listening to The Beach Boys,” says Schwartzman with a big smile.

There’s definitely a classic vibe to the film balancing humor and whimsy perfectly. So The Beach Boys definitely serves as the perfect soundtrack!

Schwartzman continues, “I’d compare this movie to Smile by The Beach Boys because it’s a combination of beauty and a little bit of spookiness.”

Jason’s musical palette extends beyond The Beach Boys as well. He sat down with ARTISTdirect.com editor and Dolor author Rick Florino for this exclusive interview about what’s on his personal playlist. Check out Jason’s playlist below and don’t miss The Fantastic Mr. Fox in theaters everywhere November 25, 2009!

Jason Schwartzman’s Playlist:

1. The Beach Boys — Smile

2. Arctic Monkeys — Humbug

3. Julian Casablancas — Phrazes for the Young

4. Animal Collective

5. The Dirty Projectors

6. Roxy Music

I’m listening to the new Arctic Monkeys album, the new Julian Casablancas album, Animal Collective, Dirty Projectors and then like Roxy Music [Laughs]. I’ve always dreamt of being part of a kids movie. It just makes me excited. I hope kids go to see this movie and remember it. I remember a movie I saw when I was a kid more in detail than a movie that I saw two weeks ago [Laughs]. It’s exciting to me that we made something that could make an impression on a young person and maybe make them happy.

—Rick Florino
11.24.09

Check out Rick Florino’s new novel Dolor available now for FREE here…

A Taste:

Paul Weller, Arctic Monkeys, Nick Cave

9 is quite beautiful for a tale about the end of the world.

“The film really looks like a painting,” says 9 star Jennifer Connelly. “The use of light is extraordinary. It’s simply stunning.”

The movie remains visually breathtaking, and there’s a certain pronounced rhythm to the narrative. Given that cinematic musicality, we talked to Jennifer about what’s on her playlist right now.

Check out Jennifer’s playlist below and in the video! Don’t miss 9 when it hits theaters September 9, 2009 either!

Jennifer Connelly’s Playlist:

1. Arctic Monkeys

2. Paul Weller

3. John Lennon

4. Nick Cave

“It’s a pretty eccentric list! My kids are kind of obsessed with Arctic Monkeys and Paul Weller. So there’s a lot of Arctic Monkeys, Paul Weller, John Lennon and Nick Cave on my playlist. I’m all over the place!”

—Rick Florino
09.07.09

A Taste:

Rage Against the Machine, Common, Arctic Monkeys, Ben Harper

Once you get Barbara Streisand’s stamp of approval, you’ve officially made it.

Not that anyone is actively seeking it, or should be for that matter, but it’s quite an accolade nonetheless. Jeremy Piven got it because of his uproariously funny performance as Don Ready in The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard [Paramount] alongside Babs’ hubby James Brolin.

“The movie was as funny as I’d thought it be,” Piven laughs with a big smile. “Barbara Streisand liked it. I don’t know if she thought it was going to work, but guess what it worked! It worked, Babs [Laughs]!”

It works because Piven has got rhythm. He continues, “I’ve played the drums and I have my whole life. Maybe having some sort of rhythm helps with timing.” That makes it easy from him to slyly slip into Don Ready’s car salesman skin, and his performance has made for one of the funniest films of the whole year.

Music definitely helps him on set too. “Music can be so powerful for me,” continues Piven. “I remember when I was doing Smokin’ Aces, the director Joe Carnahan would actually play music. It can always get you to a place you want to get to. The Goods has more of a Sam & Dave kind of soundtrack. That’s the part where you put Sam and Dave under this entire interview [Laughs].”

Piven just plain rocks, and he spends a lot of time cranking his favorite bands. He shared his playlist with ARTISTdirect.com in this exclusive feature.

Check out Jeremy Piven’s playlist below and don’t miss him in The Goods this Friday!

Jeremy Piven’s Playlist:

1. Ben Harper — White Lies for Dark Times

Right now I’m listening to the new Ben Harper. I like that.

2. Arctic Monkeys

The new Artic Monkeys is good too.

3. Rage Against the Machine

I listen to a lot of Rage Against the Machine. I like almost every single Rage record. They’re pretty great! I like them live—they’re really great live.

4. Common

I’m also cranking some world beat stuff and a little Common. The last Common record [Universal Mind Control] was good.

5. Afrika Bambaataa

6. The Goods

The Goods should come out with a soundtrack because the music’s pretty cool in it. I like the retro stuff like the “Fox On The Run” song that plays on the trailer. I’m not going to tell you what to do, but you will be doing it [Laughs].

—Rick Florino
08.10.09

A Taste:

Bob Dylan, Arctic Monkeys, The French Kicks

Adam Brody’s feeling quite inspired lately.

Maybe it’s the fact that he’s in one of the most intriguing dramas of the year, Death In Love. Or maybe it’s because he’s got the dark and sexy Jennifer’s Body with Megan Fox on the horizon for September. Most likely though, his state of inspiration is because he’s going through a series re-education musically.

“Music is a big part of my life so I try to take it with me in whatever I do. I’ve been on a real classic rock kick lately though,” laughs Brody.

That “classic rock” kick has inspired him to check out all kinds of stuff that was under his nose for years but he never delved into until now. Brody turned his iPod and gave ARTISTdirect.com an exclusive look at what’s rocking his world right now.

Check out his playlist below and don’t miss his incendiary performance in Death In Love out now.

Adam Brody’s Playlist:

1. Bob Dylan

Right now, I’m all about Bob Dylan. My brother has seen him a bunch of times and is a huge fan. Obviously I’ve listened to some stuff over the years. However, it’s taken me this long to get very into him. Now that I’m into him, I feel like an idiot for taking 20 million years to do it! He’s the coolest guy who ever lived [Laughs]. I really like all of his albums from the ’70s. If you’re a Bob Dylan fan, you’d know these albums. However, I didn’t. I really like John Wesley Harding. I love Blood on the Tracks. I like Self-Portrait. He’s got such a huge catalog, and that’s what I love about him the most. What a wordsmith, man! Especially on top of good beats and music…I’m not a lyric guy first. I listen to the tune and the lyrics typically grab me after. His lyrics are so amazing that you can’t help but be sucked in anyway. He was so young when he was writing about what he was writing about. He’s so cool and manly. Poetry about being a hobo—love it.

2. The French Kicks

I love them. I can never get sick of The French Kicks! Their latest album is great.

3. Arctic Monkeys

Arctic Monkeys released an EP the other day. I totally like the new song they put out. They’re as cool as it gets too. They played Saturday Night Live on their first album, and it was so awesome. They played a five-minute song with a huge musical intro and outro. They were so confident and cocky. They just did their thing and rocked so hard! They get really heavy. Interpol is also one of my favorite bands, and I see some similarities between them and Arctic Monkeys. They have these big instrumental buildups and breakdowns but they’re all very precise. Even when they trade guitar licks, they’ll use two guitars and make one constant sound. I don’t how to describe it. I like Arctic Monkeys’ song structure among other things. I like that, like Interpol, their stuff gets so heavy and loud but they don’t really have to move a lot. They’re not playing with a lot of energy. Their music does it all.

4. Interpol

Their first album is still the best to me. I love that they haven’t put out too much—just three albums and a couple EPs. I like prolific songwriters too. They’re the opposite of Bob Dylan. I appreciate his vast song book, but I’m also a fan of economy and believe that sometimes less is more. I appreciate just a solid album a couple of years. I like whittling it down—a small compact collection. I think the same could be said about their music.

5. Neil Young

I’ve been doing Neil Young a lot, especially On the Beach.

6. Janis Joplin

I downloaded some Janis Joplin the other day, and it’s blowing my mind it’s so good. I’d never got into her before now though.

7. Wilco

The new Wilco is pretty cool.

8. My Morning Jacket

9. The Fleetwoods

I’ve been listening to a lot of Doo Wop—soda pop stuff like this band The Fleetwoods. They’re from the ’40s, and they’re amazing. I think they sang “Lollipop” but they have many more songs that are famous. I’ve been running the whole gamut musically, but I’ve been going older more recently. If a new band comes out now that I know I like, I’ll get it but I’ve given up trying to keep up with new bands. I don’t care about being a “new band guy” anymore. If it’s good enough, it’ll stand the test of time.

—Rick Florino
07.17.09