Hollywood Elsewhere respectfully regards Mike Kaplan‘s “2001: A Garden of Personal Mirrors,” a long-buried song composed for Stanley Kubrick‘s 2001: A Space Odyssey, as the aural equivalent of dandelion fuzz.

Talk about a composition that not only doesn’t complement the 1968 classic but strenuously argues with everything it is, was and ever could be…it’s just stunning that Kaplan could have hoped that Kubrick might find it to his liking. I just gave it a listen and I couldn’t even make it to the end.

Excerpt from Vanessa Thorpe‘s “Space Oddity: Song Rejected by Kubrick for 2001 released after 52 Years“, posted yesterday (1.17) in the Guardian.

“’I know it doesn’t sound like anything else, and I am not sure how I managed to work it out,’ said Kaplan, 77. ‘I could never do it again. But it is great to hear it being played.’

“The publicist was challenged to write the song, ‘2001: A Garden of Personal Mirrors’, during a meeting with Kubrick and MGM records after they had all listened to the demo tape of another song that had been intended to help promote the film. Declining to use the downbeat tune, Kubrick turned to Kaplan, who he knew wrote music and who he felt understood his film: ‘I hear you write music. Why don’t you write something?’ he said, according to Kaplan.”