When I first stumbled across the Australian magazine Monster Children, Dave Grohl was gracing the cover in an ape suit. I fell hard and fast. Where had this magazine been all my life? Monster Children covers art, music, photography, surfing, snowboarding and the all-consuming action-sport culture. Campbell Milligan and Chris Searl publish it quarterly, though (perhaps my only criticism) it’s tough to find a copy in North America.
Monster Children’s latest issue bears the appropriate cover line “Inside All of Us Is a Monster Child” — it features behind-the-scenes photos from the making of Where the Wild Things Are and an interview with the film’s director, Spike Jonze. Where the Wild Things Are provoked a strong reaction from everyone I know; I saw it in a small town on opening day and was surprised and delighted when I witnessed parents bringing their 5-year-olds to a matinee on a sunny October afternoon.
A big part of the equation was Karen O’s contribution to the soundtrack, which Jonze executive-produced. Karen — currently taking the world for a ride as the frontwoman of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs — drew inspiration from raw clips of the film to collaborate with Carter Burwell on the soundtrack, which was nominated for a Golden Globe. (It lost to the Up soundtrack, which was also brilliantly executed.)
The Wild Things soundtrack, available via iTunes here, includes a cover of Daniel Johnston’s “Worried Shoes” and drew inspiration from the Swedish band Love Is All. Although it’s emotional and creative, overall the music is also quite simple. Karen’s use of children’s voices on the background tracks was a well-chosen nod to the wonder Maurice Sendak’s book evokes in every kid who reads it. (Karen and Jonze discussed the album with Pitchfork TV here.) If you haven’t seen Wild Things, it’ll be released on DVD on March 2 — and it’s well worth a watch.
Steve Aoki included 20 pages from the ever-elusive Monster Children and a feature about Karen and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs from NYLON in his MYMAG, AOKI.
