Episode notes
The Album: Chungking Express Soundtrack (1994)
Legendary Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar Wai has long been known for how he integrates pop songs into his films and soundtracks. Chungking Express, Wong’s breakout international hit, was no exception as he worked in everything from ’60s folk pop to ’70s reggae to ’90s alternative in the mix, alongside an original score by longtime composer partners Roel Garcia and Frankie Chan. To discuss the melding of sound, image and story in Wong’s fanciful tale of two cops and the women who (may or may not) love them, we brought in the hosts of Heartbreak Radio, Lady Imix and DJ Phatrick.
Heartbreak Radio which began as an internet show devoted to the sounds of “beautiful sadness” and now it broadcasts every two weeks on KQBH LP, 101.5 FM, a micro-transmitter station out of Boyle Heights, Los Angeles. Imix (aka Sol) and Phatrick (aka Patrick) are now old hands at the sounds of love and longing and it was obvious why they’d want to muse on the music of Chungking Express. Together we talked about how Wong Kar Wai’s movies use pop, how the right song can enhance a character and whether or not Oliver is bugging out when he says that he can’t stand to hear “California Dreamin'” anymore.
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More on Lady Imix and DJ Phatrick
- Lady Imix profiled on KCET’s Artbound.
- Interview with DJ Phatrick (Artnois)
- Lady Imix’s Twitter | Instagram
- Phatrick’s Twitter | Instagram | Website
More on the music of Chungking Express
- “The ‘Chungking Express’ Soundtrack Makes Repetition Beautiful” (Noisey)
- “The Use of Music in ‘Chungking Express’” (Explaining Film)
- Brian Hu on Wong Kar Wai’s use of pop music.
Show Tracklisting (all songs from the soundtrack of Chungking Express unless indicated otherwise):
- Fornication in Space
- Things in Life
- Heartbreak Interlude
- Flying Pickets: Only You
- Los Indios Tabajara: Always in My Heart
- Nat King Cole: Quizas, Quizas, Quizas
- What A Difference A Day Makes
- Urge Overkill: Girl You’ll Be A Woman Soon
- California Dreamin’
- Lee Moses: California Dreamin’
- Fornication in Space
- Things in Life
- Dreams
- What A Difference A Day Makes
- Dreams
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In this episode...
Guests
- Lady Imix
- DJ Phatrick
About the show
Hosted by Oliver Wang and Morgan Rhodes, every episode of Heat Rocks invites a special guest to talk about a heat rock – a hot album, a scorching record. These are in-depth conversations about the albums that shape our lives.
Our guests include musicians, writers, and scholars and though we don’t exclusively focus on any one genre, expect to hear about albums from the worlds of soul, hip-hop, funk, jazz, Latin, and more.
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