What’s That Song? Neil Young and Tim Buckley in “Beautiful Boy”

Although it’s received a fair amount of critical acclaim since it first started appearing in film festivals and gradually earned a limited theatrical release, it would not be entirely surprising if you hadn’t yet had an opportunity to catch BEAUTIFUL BOY, the new film starring Steve Carell and Timothee Chalamet. Being as it’s based on two books – Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey Through His Son's Addiction by David Sheff and Tweak: Growing Up on Methamphetamines by Nic Sheff – with titles that pretty much clarify what the film itself is about, you can imagine that it’s the sort of picture that tends to draw a bigger audience on home video.

When you do see the film, however, which you certainly should do, you may be wondering about a couple of the songs contained therein, so we thought we’d help you out.

Yes, you probably already know Neil Young’s “Heart of Gold” from the many, many times it’s been played on the radio, but your kids might not recognize it, so now that you know it’s in there, be sure to help them out if they come asking about it. A decidedly lesser known track, however, is Tim Buckley’s “Song of the Siren,” which is a beautiful number (as is only appropriate for a film by this title), and it’s also poignant when you consider the whole Tim Buckley / Jeff Buckley story.

Listen to the music from the appropriate albums by these artists in the provided playlist. But definitely don’t miss BEAUTIFUL BOY.