In Sofia Coppola’s acclaimed 2003 movie Lost in Translation, there’s a scene in which Bill Murray’s character, Bob Harris, attempts to sing Roxy Music’s “More Than This” at a Tokyo karaoke club, surrounded by his American friend Charlotte (played by Scarlett Johansson) and other Japanese patrons. Harris’ performance of the dreamy song starts off awkwardly, but then somewhat improves a little, to the point where he’s almost crooning to Charlotte. In some ways, it recalls a bit of Murray’s overly confident lounge-singer character, Nick Winters, who famously sang “Star Wars” on Saturday Night Live.
That moment in the movie captures the lead characters’ sense of yearning, which makes the choice of the song somewhat appropriate. But on another level, the inclusion of “More Than This” introduced Roxy Music to a whole new generation, especially here in America, where the influential British rock band’s stature was somewhere between cult and mainstream popularity.