“Music is the shorthand of emotion.” – Leo Tolstoy
*****
Cowboys riding into sunsets, gangsters toting machine guns, and superheroes hurtling over buildings should be enough in themselves to stir an audience. But in movies, such scenes are always accompanied by music to help set the mood, as well as audience expectations. Sometimes these collected slices of atmospheric cues take on lives of their own, and last far beyond the motion pictures that they were intended to support.
The best soundtracks are those that became de facto documents of emerging musical movements while perfectly capturing the spirit of their times. Saturday Night Fever = disco, Car Wash = funk, American Graffiti = 50’s rock-n-roll, The Harder They Come = reggae, and so on. Soundtracks are ideally geared towards representation of musical movements because they usually have money to burn, as well as the luxury of carefully assembling the parts. Sometimes those parts come together to define an era.
Conversely, concert films like Stop Making Sense and Rust Never Sleeps seem like little more than a performing artist holding a mirror up to their own coronation. In contrast to the formula above, Stop Making Sense = Talking Heads, Rust Never Sleeps = Neil Young, etc. That’s not to say these aren’t excellent films and albums, but they aren’t as powerful as cohesive yet eclectic soundtracks, and thus they faced a steeper path to inclusion here.
Pink Floyd’s The Wall was disqualified on the basis of the album preceding the movie by a full two years. There was no soundtrack as such to the movie version of The Wall – although one was planned and eventually scrapped. It’s an excellent rock movie, and a great album, but to call The Wall a soundtrack is to cast it as self-fulfilling prophecy. The Floyd were good, but not Nostradamus good.
Here are 20 soundtracks that were that good. They anticipate or perfectly curate musical or cultural trends and have lasted long after the final credits rolled, the popcorn was swept from the aisles, and the magnetic letters removed from the front marquee, to make way for the next blockbuster…
*****
#1 – Rushmore (1999) – Listening to Rushmore is like riffing through a really cool person’s record collection. And it’s exactly what a soundtrack should be: You hadn’t heard 90% of the songs on first listen, and it jumps from style to style and era to era without ever feeling disorienting. Quite the opposite – it all holds together magnificently and every step feels carefully plotted but never forced or put on. Featuring songs from the likes of Chad & Jeremy, Creation, Unit 4 + 2, Yves Montand, and the mastermind of the whole thing, Mark Mothersbaugh (late of Devo) on a series of plucky interludes, this is a great musical journey.
#2 – American Graffiti (1973) – It’s no exaggeration to say that American Graffiti changed the way modern soundtracks are constructed. Before this, it was rare for Hollywood to license “period” music, particularly on a scope and scale this ambitious. American Graffiti’s 41 “original hits” include tracks from Bill Haley & The Comets, Fats Domino, Chuck Berry, The Beach Boys, Buddy Holly and many, many more greats. This is an excellent primer on 50’s (and early 60’s) rock-n-roll and the spirit that made rock so potent – right down to the Wolfman Jack cameos.
#3 – Purple Rain (1987) – This epic soundtrack – to a ridiculous, self-absorbed film – is beyond excellent from start to finish. ‘Let’s Go Crazy’, ‘When Doves Cry’, and the title track, along with many others, would play as many artists’ Best Of album, but it was another day at the office in the 80’s for the Purple Wizard. It’s a certified classic – even if ‘Darling Nikki’ caused a shocked Tipper Gore to launch the PMRC and sticker the world with warning labels.
#4 – The Harder They Come (1972) – The movie is a tough Jamaican take on the gangster film, with Jimmy Cliff in the starring role – and much the same could be said of the soundtrack. Featuring The Maytals, Desmond Dekker, and the Melodians (in addition to Cliff’s three excellent tracks), it’s a virtual starter kit on reggae, and one of the first albums of that genre one should own. The colorful, super-cool cover art perfectly heralds what’s inside, and like the film it punctuates, it’s an absolute – if bittersweet – joyride.
#5 – O Brother Where Art Thou? (2000) – The soundtrack to this classic Coen Brothers film brought widespread and overdue recognition to Bluegrass music almost overnight. The performances are all letter perfect, from Ralph Stanley’s chilling take on ‘O Death’ to Dan Tyminski‘s (ie the Soggy Bottom Boys) ‘Man Of Constant Sorrow’ to Emmylou Harris, Alison Krauss and Gillian Welch going otherworldly on ‘Didn’t Leave Nobody But The Baby’ and beyond. The movie and soundtrack spawned several tours and albums, but the original article best captured the levity, sadness, tradition and invention that are (now, mainstream) Bluegrass.
#6 – The Virgin Suicides (2000) – The French duo Air was an inspired choice to provide the score for Sophia Coppola’s moody film. From the opener ‘Playground Love’ – with its smoky saxophone – onward, the emotional context of the music swirls and changes, making it akin to a musical Rorschach test. What you get out of it depends on your mood going in, but rather than feeling like a rollercoaster, the album has a way of getting right at the center of emotion, that narrow strip where the heavy stuff meets; love and hate, distance and intimacy, happiness and tears. This net effect makes the Virgin Suicides one of the few albums that is equally well-suited for a candlelight dinner or a deep dark bout of mourning.
#7 – Superfly (1972) – The soundtracks to many blaxploitation films nodded and winked at inner-city issues while paying off movies that glorified the very violence that made living there such a nightmare. But Curtis Mayfield’s songs for Gordon Parks Jr.’s Superfly rise above the genre (and this movie) to truly capture what was going on in the American ghettos in the 70’s. ‘Pusherman’ and the title track took critical views of small-time hoods and their vices, and ‘Freddie’s Dead’ sounded the real consequences of living within the urban blight. This vivid, intense, and moving album might be Mayfield’s best, and stands alongside What’s Goin’ On as the best social commentary in a decade that sorely needed more of it.
#8 – Repo Man (1984) – This cult classic film was filled with punk thugs, aliens, and Harry Dean Stanton – and spawned a similarly odd and endearing collection of songs. Featuring both well and lesser-known (and mostly West Coast) punk artists, Repo Man reflects the sense of humor and juvenile fun that make punk, at its best, so vital. Nonetheless, Black Flag, Circle Jerks, Suicidal Tendencies Fear, and Iggy Pop rail with righteous boredom at the concrete wasteland of Southern California. Slam-dancing, Mohawks and “Beer” not required, but strongly encouraged.
#9 – Wild Style (1982) – Of all the movies documenting the early hip-hop scene, only Wild Style resisted the Hollywood trap(ping)s of a romantic plot line, established leading actors, and rough edges smoothed into non-existence. The soundtrack too is one of the few as-is documents of its era, and for that we should be extremely thankful. Busy Bee & DJ Starski, The Cold Crush Brothers, and Funky 4+1 take you back to a time before bling, gangsta or beef. This album is all about getting the party started and that’s it. Old skool indeed.
#10 – Singles (1992) – More than Ten, Nevermind, or Badmotorfinger, the Singles soundtrack is the defining album of the grunge era. Featuring Alice In Chains, Smashing Pumpkins, Pearl Jam, Mudhoney, and Chris Cornell, it helped lay the boundaries of both what this new sub-genre was, and what it could become. It’s weighted down by two lame Paul Westerberg tracks, and the movie it supported was a weak soap opera, but those facts should be forgiven and forgotten as it’s recognized as the seminal document of a genre bursting forth in full flower.
#11 – Saturday Night Fever (1977) – The gold standard of movie soundtracks, Saturday Night Fever has sold in excess of 25 million copies worldwide. The Bee Gees led the way with three number one hits; ‘Jive Talkin’ ‘Night Fever’, and ‘Stayin’ Alive’ – but unfortunately, there was little else of note here. If this had been a more focused single record, it might very well be the best soundtrack of all time, but the abundance of filler brings it down several notches. In spite of that, it’s still the potent party starter it was in the summer of ’77, especially if you’re not afraid of moving the needle around on the record.
#12 – The Last Waltz (1978) – Martin Scorsese’s film of The Band’s last ever performance(s) – shot at Winterland in San Francisco – is as good as it gets in concert movies. Scorsese glossed over the internal strife that was pulling the group apart, but the interview segments and rehearsal numbers make The Last Waltz a compelling reflection of one of the greatest bands of all-time. The star-studded guest appearances indicate how well regarded The Band were, and also help prevent this from becoming just another rock-star vehicle (see below for more on this phenomenon).
#13 – 24 Hour Party People (2002) – The soundtrack to this pseudo-bio-pic of Tony Wilson, Ian Curtis, and the Manchester music scene explains the missing link between punk and electronica. Smitten with the Sex Pistols, Wilson formed Factory Records and signed punk-noir geniuses Joy Division. After their lead singer Ian Curtis hung himself, the surviving members formed New Order and gave early electronica a much-needed kick in the trousers. The songs here connect the dots nicely – from the rough sweetness of Buzzcocks to the sweet roughness of Happy Mondays – and build a strong case that the influence of punk has been longer-lasting and farther-reaching than most people suspect.
#14 – The Triplets Of Belleville (2004) – Appropriately enough, the highest-ranking soundtrack to an animated feature sounds like the work of the demented offspring of Warner Brothers cartoon musical genius Carl Stalling and 30’s jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt. Ben Charest infuses all the songs with a pervasive sense of joy that ensures these songs zero in on the spot in your brainpan where giddiness and pudding reign, and you don’t mind singing the same funny tunes over and over to yourself.
#15 – Car Wash (1976) – Featuring the young Pointer Sisters, Rose Royce, Richard Pryor, and heaps of wah-wah, the Car Wash soundtrack is the perfect groove for a laid back, sunny day in the ‘70’s. It’s also one of the finest, smoothed-out funk albums of the decade. Side one of the first album alone has the title track, ‘6 O’Clock DJ (Let’s Rock)’, ‘I Wanna Get Next To You’, ‘Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is’ and ‘Zig Zag’ and the rest of the album – especially the stuff you’ve never heard – is nearly as great. Don’t let the novelty-esque quality of the title track fool you, Car Wash is not only a fabulous soundtrack, it’s one of funk’s all-time high points.
#16 – Until The End Of The World (1991) – Many bands that were “alternative” or flew beneath the critical radar for much of the 80’s were superstars by decade’s end. Until The End Of The World serves as a de facto coronation for many of them, and is loaded with great (and mostly original) tracks by the likes of U2, Talking Heads, R.E.M., Elvis Costello, Depeche Mode, and Nick Cave. Strong songs are also contributed Lou Reed and Patti Smith, who were the 70’s antecedents to many of the acts listed above. And the album is rounded out by extraordinary, but lesser known, talents like Daniel Lanois, T-Bone Burnett, and Jane Siberry. A perfect time capsule of the movers and shakers of music at this time – it couldn’t be better if it had been constructed strictly for that purpose.
#17 – Zabriske Point (1970) – Any soundtrack that boasts Jerry Garcia and Pink Floyd as its main calling cards is bound to be good, and Zabriske Point doesn’t disappoint. Garcia allegedly recorded his rambling John Fahey-esque solo guitar suites while watching a looped tape of a lengthy orgy scene from the film. The original single album soundtrack also features Kaleidoscope, Patti Page, Fahey, and the Youngbloods. But it’s the double disc version, which includes a bunch of Floyd and Garcia outtakes, that makes this such a worthwhile listen and one of the great soundtracks of all-time.
#18 – Crumb (1995) – R. Crumb is a cantankerous old goat who draws filthy cartoons, loathes modern society, and listens to nothing but old-time 78’s. Thank goodness for all of it. The soundtrack is a faithful recreation of the ragtime, jugband, and stomp music that Crumb is so fond of, and features David Boeddinghaus performing spot-on renditions of songs by the likes of Scott Joplin, Jelly Roll Morton, and “publisher unknown”. Every note of it came from public domain, and it’s all brilliant. If you like this, check out Cheap Suit Serenaders, a band Crumb and director Terry Zwigoff – both avid record collectors – formed so they could play exactly this kind of old-timey goodness.
#19 & #20 – Wattstax (1972) & Woodstock (1970) – As tempting as it is to draw parallels between lily-white Woodstock and the more soulful Wattstax, (which was, for example, held nearly three years to the day after Woodstock) these music festivals had very little in common. Everybody behaved at Wattstax, for one thing. Nobody was killed, no babies were born (or conceived) and nobody took any brown acid (although that clearly would have been the color of the good acid at this festival). Wattstax was a single day event, held on August 20th, 1972 at the Los Angeles Coliseum. Memphis label Stax Records sponsored the event, and its artists – including Isaac Hayes, Rufus and Carla Thomas, The Bar-Kays, and Albert King – thrilled a capacity crowd of 100,000.
Culturally, Woodstock is a mushroom cloud to Wattstax’ cloud of dust, but musically the roles are reversed. Woodstock has a number of fine moments, led by Jimi Hendrix’ frenetic take on the ‘Star Spangled Banner’, Santana’s blistering ‘Soul Sacrifice’ and Richie Havens’ million watt performance of ‘Freedom’, but the rest of the soundtrack rarely approaches these peaks. Still, it’s a fun trip back to the time when rock festivals were strange and threatening beasts that deserved 36-point type on front pages across the land.
*****
Also nominated…
Spinal Tap
Requiem For A Dream
Ray!
Dogtown & Z-Boys
Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels
Easy Rider
Bladerunner
High Fidelity
Almost Famous
Willie Wonka & The Chocolate Factory
Blow Up
A Clockwork Orange
Dazed & Confused
Heavy Metal
Lenny
The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly
How High
Boogie Nights
Wag The Dog
Animatrix
Hedwig & The Angry Inch
Out Of Sight
The Big Lebowski
Moog
*****
Don’t hold this disclaimer up to a mirror…
These are clearly great albums that deserve recognition. However, since they’re mostly soundtracks of the performer creating the soundtrack itself, it didn’t seem right to include them. And before you start pointing out The Last Waltz from above – that’s Scorsese, man, so shut it.
Neil Young – Rust Never Sleeps
Lynyrd Skynyrd – Free Bird
Bob Dylan – No Direction Home
Talking Heads – Stop Making Sense
Pink Floyd – The Wall*
*[Floyd being Floyd as recreated by cartoons, puppets, and Bob Geldof]
*****
Overlooked gems…
The Lost Boys
9&1/2 Weeks
Bob Roberts
The American Astronaut
Ascenseur pour l’eschafaud [music by Miles Davis]
Decline Of Western Civilization, Pt 1
*****
Lifetime Achievement Awards…
Ennio Morricone – The king of the spaghetti western has been providing scores and soundtracks for movies of all kinds for more than 4 decades. A genius and giant of the genre. Nominated for 4 Acadamy Awards, he’s won none.
Carl Stalling – Warner Bros cartoons music man for nearly the breadth of their golden age, he provided the sound effect laden music that Bugs, Daffy, and friends enacted their comic operas to.
Wes Anderson & Mark Mothersbaugh – The director (Anderson) and musical director behind the brilliant soundtracks for Rushmore, The Royal Tennanbaums, and The Life Aquatic. If they never make another, their fame is still sealed.
John Hughes – The Breakfast Club, Pretty In Pink, and Sixteen Candles, were classic 80’s teen fare, but Hughes always crammed his films with as many good tunes as possible. From Simple Minds ‘Don’t You Forget About Me’ to Psychedelic Furs ‘Pretty In Pink’ there are many memorable musical moments in his movies.
Cameron Crowe – The long time Rolling Stone journalist turned director has put together some of the best soundtracks of his generation. Singles, Almost Famous, and others are terrific, and scenes like the ‘Tiny Dancer’ singalong in Almost Famous and the John Cusack holding his boombox over his head in Say Anything are classics.
*****
[An abbreviated version of the words above became the liner notes for my mix-tape The 20 Greatest Soundtracks Of All-Time. Check out the cover art and music here...]
Tags: 24 Hour Party People, American Graffiti, Car Wash, Crumb, O Brother Where Art Thou?, Purple Rain, Repo Man, Rushmore, Saturday Night Fever, Singles, Superfly, The Harder They Come, The Last Waltz, The Triplets Of Belleville, Until The End Of The World, Virgin Suicides, Wattstax, Wild Style, Woodstock, Zabriskie Point
2 August 2008 at 5:12 pm |
I’d throw in:
Desperado
1969
PInk Floyd’s Obscured by Clouds (Film=The Valley)
Tom Petty She’s The One
2 August 2008 at 6:42 pm |
Great post. The Mothersbaugh output is the highest in the art, and Rushmore is hands-down my #1 as well.
2 August 2008 at 7:13 pm |
I’d also toss in Danny Elfman’s 1993 “Nightmare Before Christmas” As a parent of an obsessed six-year old who watches the movie over and over and sings all of the songs, I’m appreciative of this slightly off-center take on the traditional musical. The songs tell the story, they’re fun to listen too (Kidnap the Sandy Claws) and production is great. The only disappointment is that on the CD, Patrick Stewart doesn’t do the narrated intro and conclusion as he does in the movie.
2 August 2008 at 7:15 pm |
The Rushmore and 24 Hour Party People soundtracks kick ass. But I would argue that the 24 Hour Party People soundtrack falls into similar category as some of the other collections you exclude. As in, It wasn’t exactly a selection of songs somebody put together. Those were the songs that documented the somewhat non-fiction story itself.
2 August 2008 at 7:17 pm |
You have some good ones, but left out two of my very favorites, “Out of Africa” and “Elizabethtown”
2 August 2008 at 8:31 pm |
Great line up, man…
Don’t forget the “Friday” soundtrack from ‘95… another West Coast rap classic.
Random side note: The American Graffitti soundtrack (8 Track, no less) got hella play in my household growing up… as did the film.
Good times.
2 August 2008 at 8:56 pm |
dude – great idea. I know you mentioned ‘Decline’ pre-emptively because you knew I would hit you up with that. One of my favs not on this list is Judgment Night, which was awesome because it had a completley unique sound (rap/grunge combo) – where else are you going to hear Pearl Jam and Cypress Hill sing together?
Not sure if you’re including musicals, but I’ve always liked Grease, West Side Story and Beauty and the Beast.
There are a lot of the “period” soundtracks that are pretty good including the Big Chill (got a lot of play in my house), Forrest Gump and Stand By Me. In the “ashamed to admit it” category (a la Purple Rain) I would include Sleepless in Seattle, Footloose and Top Gun.
Oh, and Sage put in a plug for Garden State.
Lastly, I can’t believe you forgot the Honeymoon in Vegas soundtrack, which has a great rendition of “All Shook Up” by Billy Joel. Clearly you suck.
2 August 2008 at 10:13 pm |
I love movies so I have tons of soundtracks that I dig. But here are two that rise to the top:
1. The more obvious one is “Blues Brothers.” One could argue that no album popularized blues in that last 30 years more than this one. For a couple of comedians, Jake and Elroy–and the eight-man backup band–were solid.
From classics like “She Caught The Katy,” “Gimme Some Lovin’,” “Sweet Home Chicago,” to the original takes on “The Theme From Rawhide” and the “Peter Gunn Theme” that surpass the TV originals, these guys jam. Add to that Ray Charles’ soulful rave-up “Shake A Tail Feather,” James Brown in the gospel classic, “The Old Landmark,” Aretha Franklin’s “Think,” and Cab Calloway rocking the live audience with “Minnie The Moocher.” Big time Winner.
2. But here’s my top choice, probably a bit obscure and may not fit the bill as it is not you’re conventional soundtrack: the original “Apocalypse Now” soundtrack.
A little backstory: I heard this for the first time on a my headphones on a hot and humid night (like ‘Nam, man) as I was listening to a college station in Australia. I had no idea what I was in for. It was powerful experience that held me in its grips for almost two hours…and I still remember it vividly 15 years later. (No, I wasn’t high…just drunk like Cpt. Willits)
It sucks you in with The Doors “This is the End” plus helicopter and jungle noises. After that, you’re hooked. The whole album is basically a condensed version of the movie. Wall-to-wall music, SFX and dialog. It’s part soliloquy/voice over by Martin Sheen, and part Carmine Coppola/Walter Murch compositions. Martin Sheen as Captain Willet is spellbinding. Interspersed with genuine jungle sounds, Marlon Brando, Asian gongs and bells, the the whole thing is a dark euphoric trip into madness. It helps if you’ve seen and like the movie. But it is a different, more personal experience than watching it. Highly recommended.
3 August 2008 at 1:47 am |
One major omission – Ry Cooder’s Paris, Texas soundtrack – pretty much defines the sound of the desert!
3 August 2008 at 8:14 am |
Ooohh. I almost forgot: Yentl
3 August 2008 at 8:30 am |
Great suggestions, except for Yentl.
I’m waiting for Cordell or my mother to jump in here and give me hell for leaving off ‘A Hard Day’s Night’…
3 August 2008 at 8:35 am |
Cordell also needs to mention ‘A Mighty Wind’ which he has requested be played at his funeral… I’ll put in two dated options that aren’t my personal faves but need to be on the runner’s up list: ‘Swingers’ and ‘The Commitments’.
3 August 2008 at 10:27 am |
Woodstock has a number of fine moments, led by Jimi Hendrix’ frenetic take on the ‘Star Spangled Banner’, Santana’s blistering ‘Soul Sacrifice’ and Richie Havens’ million watt performance of ‘Freedom’, but the rest of the soundtrack rarely approaches these peaks.
i’d have to say that alvin lee and ten years afters blistering i’m going home is really the highlight of that one, after hendrix of course….
do you consider red headed stranger a “soundtrack”…???
3 August 2008 at 7:14 pm |
well this be a double post for HB and JD. Another vote for Apocalypse Now. Also for Garden State. Representing the Irish vote Waking Ned Devine-great fiddle playing. But seriously representing those who are dated-not even an honorable mention for The Graduate???
3 August 2008 at 7:23 pm |
addendum: old dude says ah yeah Easy Rider and Wag the Dog latter was a great movie because of the sound track. Posts jog the memory, nother honorable mention When Harry Met Sally.
3 August 2008 at 9:20 pm |
What about Swingers, man? And I certainly think Dazed and Confused deserves to be in the Top 20.
I too am a huge Morricone fan. The Mission is, I think, my #1 soundtrack. Shitty movie; great pan flute. No, I’m not kidding.
5 August 2008 at 6:49 pm |
Nice selections there Danny! You got some of my favorites in there (Repo Man, Virgin Suicides, Car Wash, Blade Runner, Heavy Metal, Animatrix, Lost Boys) But when are you gonna hit Hollywood and pump out a few DK presents soundtracks?
I’ll just Ramble On now . . .
What’s up when the soundtrack leaves out some of the coolest music from the movie? (Thank God for IMDB to help track ‘em down) I also really hate it when a trailer has some awesome tune but it never makes it in to the movie (False Advertising?)
OK, is Purple Rain a real bona fide soundtrack or just a Prince album that was released at the same time the movie was? I say an “Official” Purple Rain Soundtrack would have to have Morris Day and The Time and Apollonia 6 in addition to Prince AND THE Revolution!
In the “after the fact” category (similar to your take on The Wall) is Wave Twisters, by DJ Q-Bert, be sure to listen to the CD first and THEN the rent the Movie if you can find it.
When I think of music and movies, I gotta break it down into Soundtracks, Film scores, Concert Films, etc.
Sometimes the Soundtrack/Score really makes the Movie and the two become inseparable (Star Wars, Blade Runner, Heavy Metal)
There are some soundtracks I love but could care less if I ever saw the movie in the first place or ever again (Dead Presidents, Singles)
Some soundtracks get overplayed and lose some of their magic. (Pulp Fiction, Passion) I had listened to “Passion” by Peter Gabriel from the Movie: The Last Temptation Of Christ for many years before I ever saw the movie (Blame that on that Jesuit Education) and I still love it but you have to admit it gets way overplayed.
I’ve come across some random soundtracks that introduced me to a few good cuts or a new artist but it’s painful after digging a gem out of the garbage, especially when the Movie sucks too (Higher Learning)
Some Favs-Worth checking out
Malcolm X (minus the Aretha and Arrested Development Tracks)
Dead Presidents
Life Aquatic
Natural Born Killers (I use to make mix tapes like this: Totally random, different genres-all over the map, with weird samples in-between)
Passion (The Last Temptation Of Christ) did for World Music what Harder They Come did for porn eh, Reggae
Krush Groove
Party Monster
Crossing the Bridge (Documentary on the music scene in Istanbul, Turkey)
I’m glad someone mentioned Friday but don’t forget Old School Friday
Pi (as in 3.14~ from the same director of Requiem for a Dream)
Mama was a PIMP!
Scores
Pee Wee’s Big Adventure (Danny Elfman does once it again, but I liked his Oingo Boingo and solo days MUCH better)
The Piano
Fight Club (By the Dust Brothers)
Requiem for a Dream-Remixed
Pink Panther
2001
A few good tracks
Higher Learning
Cool World
Above the Rim
Favorite concert film-Most times I’d rather dig my eyes out than watch a concert video but I love this one!
Pink Floyd Live at Pompeii (with Bootleg concert soundtrack)
Awesome, I Fuckin’ Shot That! by the Beasties wasn’t too bad but it works better just playing in the background for me.
Recommended by my good friend Vaughn:
Liquid sky
Synthetic Pleasures
Phantasm
Music Video Collections –Cheating but some nice pairing of images and music
The Tool videos from the Salival box
Beastie Boys-Criterion collection Video Anthology (but ya gotta get the Bootleg-License to Ill videos)
Run DMC –Greatest Hits
Director’s Series, all Volumes but esp. #3 – Michel Gondry
5 August 2008 at 6:53 pm |
Oops forgot to add the Reservoir Dogs soundtrack
6 August 2008 at 6:56 pm |
More soundtrack Madness!
You got the gears goin’ and I’m on a roll sucka. I also forgot to include Judgment Night, terrible movie-awesome soundtrack. I actually haven’t listened to in for quite a while so I’ll have to go back and see how it holds up.
I bought it at up at Face the Music at the U of O Campus (is it still there?) like a month before the movie came out and was blown away, couldn’t wait for the movie but was utterly disappointed.
It had some pretty cool pairings of Alt. Rock and Rap artists and was way ahead of it’s time for 1993 and this was also well before Kid Joke/Limp Bizquick/Linkin Dork were on the scene.
Pearl Jam and Cypress Hill, Helmet and House of Pain, Teenage Fanclub and De La Soul, Living Colour and Run DMC, Biohazard and Onyx, Slayer and Ice-T, Faith No More and Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E., Sonic Youth and Cypress Hill.
I liked every song on it except for (surprisingly) the Mudhoney and Sir Mix-A-Lot joint-”Freak Mama” (Which will probably be the only track I like now once I hear it again)
8 August 2008 at 2:17 am |
man, you covered em all, and what was left got scooped up in the comments.
GREAT idea. i funking live for this kinda shit. when i think of a positively stunning soundtrack that no one mentioned [and no, im not looking at you, New Jack City soundtrack] i will be sure to let you know.
27 August 2008 at 12:30 am |
In addition to most of the recommendations above, one of my favorite soundtrack albums of all time is “Underground,” the Emir Kustirica film from the mid-nineties that won the Palme d’Or at Cannes. Those who haven’t seen this insane, inspired, maddening film have no idea what they’re in for: deranged Balkan big-band rhythms that very nearly spin out of control with roiling fury. Composed mostly by Balkan maestro Goran Brekovich, the songs of Underground perfectly capture the film’s strange mixture of madcap exuberance, intense melancholy, love and hatred, joy and despair, often within the same tune. And like all great soundtracks, the songs are permanently fused (at least in my brain) with the experience of viewing the film.