The first soundtrack that I really remember loving (and my siblings can tell you, I freaking LOVED it) was the Muppet Movie. We had an eight track of that thing on a road trip to Florida and I wore my family OUT with the repeated listens to that thing. I may be paying for that now with the Frozen songs, but whatever. Loved that stuff - still love Rainbow Connection, Movin' Right Along, and Hope that Something Better Comes Along.
The next one I remember getting was the Rocky 4 Soundtrack. James Brown! Livin' in America! Owwwwww!!! I had my eighth birthday at a bowling alley and remember being beside myself excited that I got Rocky IV Soundtrack, the Pretty in Pink Soundtrack, and the Breakfast Club (not the soundtrack, the truly awful band called Breakfast Club). Cassette Tapes. Awesome.
Next, was the Stand by Me soundtrack. I knew nothing about oldies music at that time (at least that I can recall), but this thing brought me to Lollipop, Get a Job, Yakkity Yak, Great Balls of Fire, Stand by Me, and Buddy Holly! Really a well-done soundtrack to this day. Great little slice of 50's rock and roll. While I thankfully didn't have to hike through the woods and dodge insane teenage reprobates to see a dead body, I have good memories of listening to that soundtrack with my buddies.
There were loads of other good ones that came out around this time that I didn't pay much attention to. Top Gun, Dirty Dancing, Good Morning Vietnam, Big Chill, Wayne's World, etc. But when the Singles soundtrack came out in 1992, it perfectly matched up to my musical tastes. Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Paul Westerberg's solo stuff, Jimi Hendrix (and the Jimi was a non-radio-hit, which was infinitely more cool), and Smashing Pumpkins. If it weren't for the painful cover of Battle of Evermore on here, this collection would be perfect.
It also helped that this came out right in the height of my obsession with Smashing Pumpkins, and included a song not on any other album at the time, Drown. This song closes out the soundtrack, and at the time, I thought it was the absolute height of all music. Loose and loving psych rock there at the start, picking up into a reverb-soaked crunch, laying back down into a chill interlude complete with Gen X'ey lyrics, then kicking back in for a bit before the extended feedback outro. This was a great bridge between the Gish era and the Siamese Dream era. And a great song to loudly sing along to when you are a teenager who is totally, like, misunderstood, man.
After Singles, it was the Pulp Fiction soundtrack. The Pulp Fiction soundtrack was this hyper-cool, excellently-curated package of eclectic old-school tunes and hip dialogue. My first exposure to it was with my friend Jordan, driving to either New Mexico or Colorado, and his mom put the soundtrack into their suburban. First off, the soundtrack starts with some lines from the movie (innocuously titled Pumpkin and Honey Bunny) where a sweet little gal named Honey Bunny threatens to execute everyone if they move during a robbery. Holy hell, what is this? And then Dick Dale's surf-rock Misirlou tears in. Great intro.
Then you have Kool & the Gang and Al Green and Chuck Berry out of no where - I mean, no one was listening to this music at the time, but now freaking Dusty Springfield was getting tons of love decades after her last popularity? Son of a Preacher Man was made in 1968 and did well back then, but wasn't even on the musical map in the early 90's. Tarantino did the same thing with Little Green Bag in the Reservoir Dogs, but this time he made an entire album of tired songs into fresh, sparkly hits that people from 15 to 55 were playing on repeat.
Other honorable mention:
- Saturday Night Fever. I found this on vinyl in my house when in high school, and broke it out to be funny. However, I soon realized that this was not only awesomely funny stuff (Night on Disco Mountain is high comedy) but it was a great intro to disco.
- Forrest Gump. I never bought it but I remember my mom having a copy and loads of other people having that fat, two-disc case for this collection of great historical hits from the 50's (Elvis) through the 80's (Bob Seger). Really good collection of well-known American-centric tunes.
- Oh Brother, Where Art Though. Awesome. This was a huge shot in the arm for all roots, folk, bluegrass, americana music. Man of Constant Sorrow kick-started a huge pile of new roots music that still hasn't run out of gas.
- Judgment Night. What?! You have no clue what this is? Get thee to the Internet, son. This was a terrible movie, as I recall it was about some whitebread dudes in an RV who get lost in the wrong neighborhood and terrorized by those awful urban youths who have guns (gasp!) and drugs (horror!). But the soundtrack is an awesome mash-up job matching alternative bands to rap groups. Helmet with House of Pain. Living Colour with Run DMC. Cypress Hill with Pearl Jam. This was before Linkin Park or Limp Bizkit was making rap-metal, and it was awesome.
- Dazed and Confused. Another well-curated mix, all legit 70's rock and roll burners. With the exception of that awful (terrible, truly bad) Cherry Bomb song, this one is solid from front to back.
- Garden State. Introduced me to the Shins, and otherwise this one is a great mood album. Has a very chill, relaxed, kind of detached sound, just like most of the movie. Nick Drake, Coldplay, Thievery Corporation, Simon & Garfunkle, Iron & Wine's cover of the Postal Service. This one just hits the nail on the head. When we moved back to Austin years ago, this was the only disc I had in the one CD player in the house, so it gives me happy memories of painting our nursery and unpacking things in our first house.
- Friday. I watched this movie about 90 times in college, and so the soundtrack was something awesome for me. Had a few cool old soul/funk songs as well as several great rap songs. I don't think Dre's Keep Their Heads Ringin' was available outside of this soundtrack, which made it worth buying all on its own. And I liked jamming 2 Live Crew's Hoochie Mama at college parties.
In 20 minutes, I'll probably have an epiphany about some soundtrack I missed, but for now I think this is pretty complete. Anyone out there have strong feelings about one I missed?
2 comments:
Aw man. I forgot about Juno. The Juno soundtrack was quirky and cool, another one that captures the movie attitude really well and has good old music mingled with interesting new tracks.
Great list! A few other soundtracks that bear mentioning:
Purple Rain - To me, arguably the best soundtrack ever. It was the first cassette that 7 year old JC ever bought on his one, and it's a good thing that I just liked the music and had no idea what Prince was actually singing about. For instance, I LOVED "Let's Go Crazy" and since this was 1984, there wasn't an internet for song lyrics. So I actually bought a song lyric magazine that had recent hits, and Let's Go Crazy was one of them. At one point in the song he sings "Picked up the phone, dropped it on the floor" and then he just deep breathes into the mike, obviously simulating the sounds of sweet, sweet lovemaking. But in the lyrics book it said "(sex), (sex)" and I couldn't for the life of me make out those words in the sounds, I kept trying and trying too. In other news, everyone is stupid at 8. Plus, "When Doves Cry" is still my favorite Prince song. I love it like a fat kid needs insulin.
I'd also like to take a moment to shout out to Rocky IV, just an insane movie that makes little to no sense upon rewatch, yet it will always remain one of my favorite movies. Living in America! Burning Heart! Hearts on Fire! No Easy Way Out! ("Cranks as Rocky drives his Lamborghini while dealing with both Apollo's death and the fact that his wife is the ultimate wet blanket in movie history)
Trainspotting - This movie hit me like a hammer in the mid-90s, and half of the reason why was the pulsing, Euro soundtrack that punched you in the face as Ewan McGregor sprints down Princes Street, avoiding cars and looking like he hasn't eaten in weeks. For the first half of the movie, who didn't want to do heroin and hang out in Edinbugh? If you stopped watching halfway through, it was a public service announcement for doing the hardest drugs you could find...but then there was the second half, and I never, ever will do heroin like ever. Good god. The whole way through though, that movie is propelled by the soundtrack.
Another soundtrack in the 90s I wore out was From Dusk Til Dawn. A mix of movie quotes and bad ass Texas rock, I didn't know half the artists on it when I bought it, but I could sing the whole album within a few weeks. The Blasters' "Dark Night" is one hell of a song.
You could have thrown Reservoir Dogs in with Pulp Fiction...same style, same quirky mix, and can't think about the movie without thinking about the music. Plus it introduced me to some classic tunes - Little Green Bag, Hooked on a Feeling and Stuck in the Middle With You. The last song a peppy little number that would make me dance every time I heard it...if it didn't remind me of one of the most gruesome torture scenes in movie history.
Swingers - made swing music a thing for like 2 years. Fun stuff!
8 Mile - 2002 was the year of Eminem.
Once - I listened to this soundtrack approximately 1000 times. I'm also a giant wuss - but man, what a great soundtrack.
Off the beaten path pick - Good Will Hunting. Introduced me to Elliott Smith, one of the most soulful, sad voices in music. RIP ES!
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