Based on author James Thurber's fantastical 1939 short tory of the same name, the 2013 big screen rendering of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty features Ben Stiller in the role of the mild-mannered protagonist with incredibly lucid daydreams, and the music that accompanies those reveries reflects the actor's innate quirkiness. Set in the present day, Mitty's larger than life space-outs are lent additional gravitas by a soundtrack that's peppered with sweeping indie rock hymns from the likes of
Rogue Wave and Icelandic anthem design team
Of Monsters and Men (the latter's "Dirty Paws" featured heavily in trailers for the film), a handful of appropriately plaintive folk-rock originals from seasoned Swedish troubadour
José González, who also donates a pair of tracks ("Far Away" and "Don't Let It Pass") from his excellent psych-pop band
Junip, and a trio of eclectic covers; a folksy take on the
Human League's "Don’t You Want Me" from
Bahamas featuring the
Weather Station, a kitschy electro-pop rendering of
Daryl Hall & John Oates' "Maneater" from
Grace Mitchell, and a "Mitty Mix" version of
David Bowie's "Space Oddity" that inserts co-star Kristen Wiig's surprisingly pleasant voice into the original 1969 version of the song. ~ James Christopher Monger