It’s the soundtrack of our lives… or at least, the movie.
Before I continue any further, the list made is more of a personal touch, rather than a “Oh, it won blah blah blah amount of awards/sold a shitload!” creation. Inspired by the umpteenth viewing of the movie or TV show, you end up getting very familiar with the music played in particular scenes, and they become earworms. So much so, you buy the soundtrack. Here are some selections.
High Fidelity
Being John Cusack-avich.
Yeah, I know – cliché, right? I might as well drag out Empire Records while I’m at it. But other than the whole dream of owning a record vinyl store and selling original near mint prints of The Smiths or Bob Dylan to hipsters at a mark-up price, this album has a delicious range of tunes that would be great to break in the tweens-turn-teens-turn-I+need+guidance+to+which+music+to+love+as+I’ve+outgrown+One+Direction to expose them to quality music.
With a smorgasbord of artists who many people would love to have at a dinner table and discuss musical stylings with (The Kinks, Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello, Smog, The Velvet Underground) and with a guest appearance by Fidelity co-star Jack Black covering Marvin Gaye’s well known tune Let’s Get It On, it is an unoffensive soundtrack that could help you with your relationship woes (just watch the film) or just to listen to while making your own mix tape and rolling a fat cigarette while you re-arrange your vinyl collection in autobiographical order.
The Sopranos
‘ey, how you doin’?
Other than keeping you on the fucking edge in nearly every episode, the soundtrack to the show was a killer (pun if you want to take it). There were over 200 songs used in the show and there were various soundtrack releases, the one CD album with the cover above is enough not to get yourself drowned mobster-style.
With the opening theme from Alabama 3 to get you started, a blend of rhythm and blues (R.L. Burnside), crooning jazz (Frank Sinatra), heavier rock (Los Lobos) classic rock (Bruce Springsteen, Cream) and the fact Little Steven & The Disciples Of Soul features with Springsteen – which cast member Steven Van Zandt is a main part of both bands, adds extra flavour to something that is quite alive and energetic, but has a dark side under the layers. Maybe a bullet-proof vest…
Godzilla – 1998 version
Rooaarr… it doesn’t translate in text, does it?
This is one of the cases where the soundtrack is nearly better than the actual movie itself. The Hollywood version of the Japanese monster classic wasn’t a money failure, but more of a plot and acting failure. But the soundtrack was pretty impressive and sold extremely well as a whole, just not the singles individually. The soundtrack was heavily alternative rock based, with many songs used were covers or remixes.
Puff Daddy – Come With Me was a re-imagined version of the Led Zeppelin classic Kashmir but with some .. um.. ‘rapping’ in it. Even Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page got in on the song, providing his well known guitar riffs. However, the coolness of the song itself is destroyed on the video clip where it’s had the Puff Daddy Ego fragrance sprayed all over it. The less egocentric contribution by The Wallflowers doing a cover of David Bowie’s We Can Be Heroes did well and is a tolerable update for the 90s. As the album goes on, tracks by Rage Against The Machine, Ben Folds Five, silverchair and Fuel provide the alternative rock formula. Green Day – Brain Stew seems it was lifted from the session tapes and given to an orchestra for a revamp. It tastes delicious too. But to make sure you know it came from the Godzilla soundtrack, the studio added in the famous Godzilla roar throughout the song, ruining a beautiful re-vision.
Oh, and it ends with the orchestral opener and mid movie track score by David Arnold. The end.
Sucker Punch
Not to be confused with the low budget ‘Donkey Punch’.
Not many people liked this film – being left disappointed with the plot overall. Girl gets sent to mental ward for attempted murder on step-dad who kills her family. Mental ward filled with hot women. She is about to get a labotomy but ‘escapes’ into another world which involves a fantasy brothel which seduces its clients with interpretive dance that we don’t actually see – other than 99% CGI over-the-top action scenes that are awesome. What do the girls dance to?
This soundtrack.
Director Zack Snyder even boasted about the soundtrack and how important it was:
“In the story, music is the thing that launches them into these fantasy worlds”, Snyder explains. Composer Tyler Bates said that the songs “function as the subconscious mind of Baby Doll and her journey”
The soundtrack is lifted from the movie, with re-imagining/covers of famous tracks like Eurythmics – Sweet Dreams, Jefferson Airplane – White Rabbit, Roxy Music – Love Is The Drug, The Beatles – Tomorrow Never Knows and others, sung by the actual cast members.A Queen – I Want It All/We Will Rock You hip-hop mashup is part of the list that will knock your speakers off their stands. So crank this baby up for an adrenaline rush! Or watch the movie again for sexy girls with sexy guns. Your call.
The Blues Brothers
Mission from God – accomplished
A comedy movie that’s purely all about promoting the blues in the best way possible. The cult classic movie from 1980 has one of the best soundtracks ever put together, going gold/platinum/titanium/adamantium all over the world.
Performed by the ensemble cast from the film, with Jake (John Belushi) and Elwood (Dan Aykroyd) supplying the vocals for their covers, plus James Brown, Cab Calloway, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin re-performing their songs from their tracklisting past, if the song was in the movie – it’s on this album. To hear an extended version of Sweet Home Chicago that seems to go on and on for ages on the album is fantastic, even with an uninterrupted version of Gimme Some Lovin’ on the list (remember that they got booed on-stage at Bob’s Country Bunker?) – it’s all there. Even the follow-up in the sequel Blues Brothers 2000 – while the movie was a flop, the soundtrack made up for the pain and suffering.
So, what are your choices? Feel free to share the love.
