Marie Antoinette Soundtrack (2CD)

Say what you want about her films, but Sofia Coppola definitely has an ear for music. The Virgin Suicides was an iffy movie with a wonderfully breezy soundtrack provided by Air. Lost in Translation was a critical darling, due in no small part to her song selection, with high points from ambient rock bands like My Bloody Valentine and Jesus and Mary Chain.

The film Marie Antoinette has mostly taken a beating from the critics, but the soundtrack is unlikely to draw any complaints. Picking up where the Lost In Translation soundtrack left off, Coppola has assembled an epic, two-disc soundtrack of '80s rock, techno, classical, and any other fancies she could throw into the mix.

Before you ask, the answer is yes. Yes, the music here is entirely anachronistic. None of these songs were near existence when the eponymous protagonist said, "Let them eat cake." This is almost all modern music, and aside from about three tracks, including one by ambient pop duo Air -- the only band with the distinction of appearing on all of Coppola's movie soundtracks -- none of this comes from France. But the contrast of new music with old times is by design; call it Coppola's transcendental form of expressionism.

The general feel of the first disc of this sprawling album can be summed up by the artists with multiple tracks. Bow Wow Wow makes three appearances, including the classic hit "I Want Candy," a song that clearly relates to the film's obsession with sweets, treats and other desserts. Coppola is a longtime fan of My Bloody Valentine, so it shouldn't be a complete shocker that former MBV brainchild Kevin Shields remixes two of Bow Wow Wow's songs, "Fools Rush In" and "I Want Candy." Airy ambient/synth pop band Radio Dept. has three excellent tracks, best captured in the relaxed "I Don't Like It Like This," and the Cure concludes each disc with a song, "Plainsong" on the first and "All Cats Are Grey" on the second.

While the first disc contains most of the vocal rock tracks, the second is more straightforward instrumentals and scoring. Aphex Twin unleashes his unique genius on "Jynweythek Ylow" and "Avril 14th," which favor his ambient body of work as opposed to his frantic drill and bass. Dustin O'Holloran tampers with classical and neo-classical on his opuses, numbered 17, 23 and 36. "Tristes Apprets, Pales Flambeux" is the lone opera entry and "Le Barricades Mysterious" and "K.213" are traditional, harpsichord-driven classical.

Such eclecticism probably seems like the tastes of an amateur making a mixtape of her favorites without any regard to genre boundaries, but Marie Antoinette is quite the opposite. Coppola expertly compiled these tracks, almost as though making a great CD was the first priority and making a great film literally played second fiddle. The movie may not win her a new audience, but the soundtrack certainly should.