Cat Power and Coldplay – Wish I Was Here

Just like he did on Garden State, Zach Braff has assembled quite a soundtrack for his new film Wish I Was Here. The film opened in limited cities yesterday, and will see a bigger release next week.

We already heard the new songs that both The Shins and Bon Iver did for the film. But Braff himself said his favorite part of the soundtrack is a collaboration between Coldplay and Cat Power that the artists made after seeing the film. This song is very much Chan Marshall’s show, as she takes a firm hold over the vocals, over a gentle and subdued Coldplay who sound more like their older selves on the song. Martin does come in to help out with some backing vocals towards the end, giving the song the perfect closure.

This wouldn’t be a collaboration that anyone really saw coming, which makes it that much better. NPR premiered the song, and spoke to Braff, who described in detail how exactly the song came to be:

Chris had the idea that it would be sung by a woman. I thought that was a genius idea, because one of the things the film is about is a strong woman (Kate Hudson’s character) becoming the matriarch of her family. When Chris and I were talking, we both kind of simultaneously said, ‘Cat Power.’ I reached out to Chan Marshall (aka Cat Power) and she and I met and really clicked. I set her up to watch the film in her apartment. The whole time she was watching she kept texting me all the different parts she was loving. She said yes the instant it was over. Chan Marshall went to Electric Lady studios in NYC and tracked her voice. Chris Martin would later add his harmonies with Coldplay producing the song.

Stream “Wish I Was Here” below.