Steven Drozd: The Heart Is A Drum Machine (The Score)

The Heart Is A Drum Machine is a music documentary with a laundry list of notable interviewees, from film (Jason Schwartzman, Tim & Eric, Fairuza Balk, Elijah Wood) and music (Isaac Brock, Kimya Dawson, George Clinton, John Doe). The Heart Is A Drum Machine (The Score) is, of course, the music behind the movie, created by The Flaming Lips’ multi-instrumental genius, Steven Drozd. Its dozen tracks—all but one an instrumental—are about what you’d expect from the guy who helmed the spacey, vocals-free interstitial music of modern-day classics like The Soft Bulletin and Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots, with similar track titles (“Quaalude Youth,” “Requiem For A Dying Star/Ode To A Twinkling New…”) to boot. The lone exception is a cover of Elton John’s “Rocket Man,” which features Tool/A Perfect Circle frontman Maynard James Keenan’s vocals accompanied by acoustic guitar and a trippy beat. Those who haven’t seen the movie and aren’t Flaming Lips superfans may find it hard to listen to this for fun. But as the soundtrack to a film exploring what music is and why it moves us, this record is a decided success.