What is it???
If I am rating soundtracks, I tend to think that there are two obvious elements to what makes a great one great. It has to stand on its own as a collection of music and it must add something to the film. Pretty obvious, right? I would also say that most good soundtracks have songs on them that instantly conjure up imagery associated with the film. Examples include:
Uma Thurman dancing around her living room singing along to Urge Overkill's version of "Girl, You'll Be A Woman Soon" just before snorting an awfully big hit of heroin up her nose. If you don't know what movie that's from, I can't really help you. But for those that do, you know exactly what I mean.
Or how about one of the most obvious? John Cusack standing in Ione Skye's driveway, boombox held high overhead as Peter Gabriel's "In Your Eyes" comes through as the perfect statement of his affection for and dedication to the love of his young life.
Ladies, if you hear Kenny Loggins' mid-80s hit "Playing With The Boys", do you not immediately flash back to the infamous, highly homo-erotic volleyball scene from Top Gun? Of course you do... or from the same film, who can hear "Take My Breath Away" from Berlin without thinking of that love scene with Cruise and McGillis where the closest you get to gratuitous nudity is the silhouette of their tongues as they make out like 8th-graders waiting for the late bus to bring them home?
A good soundtrack can unveil new music from an already established artist (Metallica: Mission Impossible 2, Singles: Pearl Jam), reintroduce an already well-loved song to a modern audience (Almost Famous: Tiny Dancer by Elton John, Reservoir Dogs: Stuck In The Middle With You by Gerry Rafferty) or introduce new artists to the general population (Reality Bites: Lisa Loeb, Garden State: The Shins).
So, I'll throw out some of my personal faves, with a quick note on each. What I really want to know is what your favorites are and why...
My top 5, in no order:
Singles - Pretty much every band I loved at the time was on this one and almost all the songs were new at the time, including tracks from Alice In Chains, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Smashing Pumpkins and Paul Westerberg. The relevance is that other than the Pumpkins, all the bands were from Seattle and most from the early 90s, which is when and where the film is set. Gotta love the cameos in the film from the boys from Pearl Jam, Chris Cornell, and Tad Doyle, as well as the live performances from Alice In Chains and Soundgarden.
Fast Times At Ridgemont High - Most easily identified with Jackson Browne's "Somebody's Baby", this is another soundtrack that is so perfectly suited to the film that you almost don't notice the music. Great cuts from Billy Squier, Joe Walsh, and Jimmy Buffett help round out a collection of late 70s era guitar rock that Jeff Spicoli probably still listens to while he's getting wasted in his bathroom.
The Breakfast Club - That John Hughes not only knew how to write and direct brilliant films about teenage living in the 80s, he also knew exactly what music to include. Trust me, everyone knows Simple Minds' career-defining hit "Don't You (Forget About Me)" and knows it's from this movie, but you also know every other nugget of music in the film, even if you have no idea who the artists that created it are or what the titles of the songs are.
The Wedding Singer - Almost self-explanatory, but a whole hell of a lot of 80s one-hit wonder artists are wanting to buy Adam Sandler a drink for helping them get a new influx of royalty checks in the late 90s. Classic 80s songs like Love My Way by Psychedelic Furs, Hold Me Now by Thompson Twins, How Soon Is Now? by the Smiths, and Do You Really Want To Hurt Me? by Culture Club, plus a bunch of other old favorites. Shit, it was so good, they released a second album's worth that was almost just as good... As comprehensive a soundtrack as there's ever been...
Pulp Fiction - How the fuck did Quentin Tarantino so perfectly nail the retro-chic look, feel and sound of this film? How did he combine Al Green, Urge Overkill, and Dick Dale so perfectly together to make a fluid, flowing soundtrack that is as easy to listen to on its own as it is vital to the film's success and pop culture iconic status? The answer is, I have no idea, but I'll keep listening to see if I can figure it out...
I realize I'm leaving out plenty of classics, but those are the ones that come to my mind. What are YOUR favorites???
Rock on,
Cru
29 comments:
Okay- I'll bite...
[Both 'Singles' and 'Pulp Fiction' would have been on mine, but will exclude on grounds of unoriginality. :)]
1. Lock, Stock, & Two Smoking Barrels. Perfect use of James Brown, and even the filler music is fantastic. Also exposure to obscure songs that deserve to be known.
2. Pretty in Pink. I know, child of 80's- but between the Furs (special mix just for the flick), Morrissey, and the great 'I'm an outcast' song "Left of Center" by Suzanne Vega, not many misses.
3. Swingers. I don't even think I need to explain that one!
4. Velvet Goldmine. Not the Best movie, but some really wonderful versions of Glam (ala NY Dolls glam) hits. The remake of Ferry's 'Ladytron' is at the top of the heap.
5. The Big Chill. Smokey Robinson, 3 Dog Night, Temptations- doesn't get much better for classic, feel good music, and fitting backdrop for the mid-life angst of the flick itself.
Pretty in Pink = John Hughes again... You'll get no argument from me. Agreed on the title track, Morrissey and isn't this the film that introduced OMD's If You Leave to the world? Or had that already been released as a single? That's the song I most associate with the movie... great choice, either way.
Swingers is probably #6 for me... Definitely no explanation necessary.
Having not ever seen the Big Chill, I can't comment on that one, but I know it's one of those flicks I have to check out and I remember how big the soundtrack was when the movie came out .
I nominate Office Space. The Geto Boys and Ice Cube contrast wonderfully to the white suburban office setting. "Still" emotes the right amount of rage which Michael Bolton channels into destroying the fax machine. Several awesome songs complimented and added to the emotions of the characters.
Indeed, you have overlooked the soundtracks to Repo Man, Zambriskie Point, Less Than Zero and Easy Rider. All unique in their own sense. Unlike The Highlander; " There can't be only one!"
Unlike The Highlander; "There can't be only one.
In no particular order:
Zambriskie Point
Repo Man
Less than Zero
Easy Rider
Not Applicable, but worth mentioning...
Pink Floyd's The Wall was an album before the movie, though I do appreciate Bob Geldolf's siinging in some regards, not all, just some.
Obscure, pun intended:
La Valée
Some good ones in there as well... Zabriskie Point was an interesting film. Can't say I remember much from Less Than Zero, other than Poison's god-awful cover of "Rock and Roll All Nite" by Kiss. I do remember some Goth-sounding dance music from a few different scenes as well.
Of course, Easy Rider gave us "Born To Be Wild" by Steppenwolf, introducing the term 'heavy metal' into the American lexicon... certainly influential, and the music was highly reflective of the counter-culture mindset of the film.
Lob, the fax-machine destruction scene is an iconic image from Office Space, so I can appreciate what you're talking about as well.
Good additions, although I still like my top five more.
Good blog Nick. I remember after we saw pulp fiction we were leaving movies and you immeadiatly drove straight to School Kids records, bought the sound track and we listened to it in your car for a while before taking it back to house on Wade Avenue. I think it was me, you, Billy Shipp, and possibly Lob or BJ that saw the movie. Anyway I would think that would be a good way to know how good the soundtrack was based on how soon after seeing movie you had to purchase cd. Other times you find the album first and that makes you want to see movie. (Garden State soundtrack was like that for me)
Some of my Fav's (few mixed in from 80's and 70's when I was just a Lil' Big Cat)
Garden State
Valley Girls
Footloose
White Nights
Saturday Night Fever
Back to Future
Grease (Had this sweet double album back in 2nd or 3rd grade, had a little thing for Olivia Newton John)
Physical (Ditto except 5th grade and still had thing for Olivia, in double album she was swimming with a Dolphin or something?)
Say Anything (favorite song was Taste the Pain by Red Hot Chili Peppers)
Lost Boys (INXS and Echo and Bunnymen)
Purple Rain
Blues Brothers
Interesting, Big Cat... Does Purple Rain count??? I suppose it has to, but for me, I loved the album for years before I saw the movie. For some reason, my parents deemed it ok for me to listen to the music and lyrics on that album, but not see the movie. Go figure... Damn, if that's a soundtrack, and it most certainly is, I think that's gotta sneak into my top five somehow... just not sure what to kick out.
That's great that you remember us going to Schoolkids. I remember that as well. So much of that music was new to me when I saw the film, I had to have it right then. Good times...
If you loved Olivia so much, surprised there's no mention of Xanadu, haha
Ooh...Valley Girls..."I'll stop the world"...excellent pick
Axel F from Beverly Hills Cop is still the song I immediately play whenever I am in a music store, toy store or doctor's office and there is a keyboard on display.
Legends of the Fall has a beautiful soundtrack - not rock but still killer music.
I don't know who any of the artists are/were but Blade Runner has some intense music.
Risky Business - Tom cruise in his underwear playing air guitar...remember that?
Surprised Spinal Tap is not on your list...maybe it doesn't count?
Very nicely stated. I think the only soundtracks I owned were The Crow, Last Action Hero, and Singles soundtracks.
Oh, my. Footloose? Back to the Future? Really? It took me 20 minutes to even think of the music from Back to the Future, and I can still only think of Huey Lewis and the News. Awful. Just awful. Why not also include The Lion King and Ghostbusters? Thanks for ruining my day, "Big Cat".
Wow, Nick, another two great ones... The Crow and Last Action Hero... The Crow had some great early 90s stuff and what I liked is that all the songs that were contributed were new from each artist: The Cure, Pantera, For Love Not Lisa (my personal fave on the record), Rage Against The Machine, Nine Inch Nails. That was also the record that was the first official release of new songs from STP, who were coming off the success of Core and getting ready to release Purple, their second album. I think the only other time I had heard Big Empty at that point was on their Unplugged show, which as a side note, had an absolutely brilliant jazzed out version of Sex Type Thing with the famous line from Weiland "Hey there, how's your steak?" (I digress). My only issue with the Crow would be that I don't place certain songs with certain scenes. In other words, a great collection of music, but not essential to the film. To go back to Big Empty, you only hear it for a few quick seconds in a car, if I remember... But still, a great submission for the list. I think Last Action Hero actually fits the 'criteria' I set forth about being great music on its own, as well as being linked to the film. As previously stated, I'm a huge Alice In Chains fan, and I love the fact that when we are first introduced to the main bad guy in the film, Alice is what you always hear, dark and twisted sounding... LAH soundtrack is also the record that introduced me to Cypress Hill. I loved Cock The Hammer so much, that I went and bought Black Sunday even before Insane in the Brain exploded as a single.
Monty, good call on Axel F and Beverly Hills Cop. Between that song, which is also essentially used as a score to the film, there's cuts on there from Glenn Frey, The Pointer Sisters had a couple songs on there, all of which were big hits on the radio and central to the film. How can you picture Axel in the back of that truck of cigarettes without The Neutron Dance by Pointer Sisters running through your head? Good call. With Legends and Blade Runner, you may be leaning more on the scores of the films, a bit different than what I intended, but still good mentions because the music certainly adds a lot. In that sense, my favorite score-type soundtrack is easily from Last Of The Mohicans...
Lob, I have to admit, one of my favorite scenes in Back to The Future is when Huey Lewis has his cameo and tells Marty's band "I'm afraid you're just too darn loud" even though they're playing a version of Power Of Love... I also cannot think of other songs from this soundtrack other than Huey Lewis and 'Edward Van Halen' that gets played through the walkman when Marty poses as Darth Vader from the planet Vulcan and threatens to melt George's brain if he doesn't ask Lorraine to the dance. Quality cinema...
Don't get me wrong-I loved the Back To The Future movies, but I definitely don't think the soundtrack was even remotely memorable or essential. They could have easily replaced "Power of Love" with any of the thousands of pop love songs from the time with no effect on the movie.
Also, "Physical" isn't even a movie. Perhaps your next blog can be a biography of Olivia Newton John and her music catalogue to please all of your readers.
Howard Stern Private Parts pretty decent metal. I too am shocked at Bigcat's selection of Footloose and Back to the Future.
Hey Lob,
Physical was a TV movie on ABC in 1982 and was later released on video in the early 90's. There was classic rock and roll on Backt to Future and I owned the soundtrack, stuff like Chuck Berry...Johhny B. Goode, etc... it was pretty decent. I was a big Huey Lewis fan back then and there were 2 songs by them on there + an Eric Clapton song. Fun fact I saw Back to the Future 5 times in the theater in 8th grade.
Uh, wow. That is a fun fact.
The album "Physical" was released before the TV movie and video you speak of, and was not intended as a soundtrack. After the success of the album, and to attempt to tone down the title track's sexuality, she went on to release the video later.
I am immediately checking myself into Rex Hospital for evaluation because I can't believe I am having a discussion about Newton-John and I know so much about her. I need to be euthanized.
Slightly different flavor than most mentioned already: Elizabethtown.
Interesting choice, Austin. I have neither seen the film nor heard the soundtrack, but I know that was a Cameron Crowe film and he's always got great soundtracks for his movies, including two of my top five (although he didn't direct Fast Times, he wrote it). Singles was also a Crowe-directed film. Others of his that are good/great soundtracks: Almost Famous, Jerry Maguire, and Say Anything...
One more Crowe with a decent soundtrack: Vanilla Sky
Some Favorite Soundtracks
Blues Brothers
Dogtown and Z-Boys
The Shining
2001: Space Odyssey
Dirty Harry
The Good, Bad and the Ugly
Some Favorite Soundtracks
Blues Brothers
Dogtown and Z-Boys
The Shining
2001: Space Odyssey
Dirty Harry
The Good, Bad and the Ugly
Seems like Zabriskie Point is a common choice for alot of (tripped out) folks.
Ive actually been there, but I didnt see any dehydrated hippies or anything. Movie looks pretty cool, Ill have to check it out.
another pretty cool soundtrack is Get Shorty.
How could we have forgotten Dazed and Confused???? Awesome soundtrack!!!
Into the Wild. Or is that too obvious based on previous musical likes for the host?
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