Top Five Soundtracks

I don't know if anyone else has noticed this, but the marketing campaign for the movie "The Watchmen" is friggin' insane. The movie is everywhere. I read the comic book and it's pretty good, not as good as its critical acclaim, but good nonetheless. I think the movie will be very cool, that's probably because I have seen the previews like six thousand times (great advertising). But the one thing that is more exciting to me is the soundtrack. The previews have songs by The Smashing Pumpkins and Muse, which got me extremely excited. This made me think that all of the music was going to have a dark kind of alternative dream pop/metal feel, with a little electronic stuff mixed in. I looked up the soundtrack online and, much to my dismay, not only were the two aforementioned bands not on there, but the what is listed on the CD and my expectations are completely different. At first, I was disappointed, but I look at some of the tracks and it includes a lot of music that is mentioned in the comic. It has some very good songs by good artists, such as, Bob Dylan, Simon & Garfunkel, Janis Joplin, Nina Simone, etc. It looks like a good soundtrack, but way off from what the previews lead you to believe.

Anyways, my efforts weren't completely unfulfilling as this search for the "Watchmen" soundtrack has prompted me to come up with my top five favorite movie soundtracks of all time. I was looking online for some critics' lists, just to remind me of ones that I liked, and it prompted me to lay down some rules for this particular list. First, it can't be a movie that is made by a band ( i.e. "A Hard Day's Night" by the Beatles or "Purple Rain" by Prince), it's just too easy to name those. Second, I am not going to list musicals or film scores, this is going to be a list of compilations. Here it is.

1. "Singles"- This movie is set in the early 90s grunge scene of Seattle, so I guess the music is expected to be good. Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, and The Smashing Pumkins are all members of alternative rock's royalty,. and they all contribute on this CD (Alice in Chains and Pearl Jam are in the movie!). Their songs are great, but there is much more. "May This be Love" by Jimi Hendrix is track number eleven, this is one of his best songs in my opinion and it fits well. The very underrated Mudhoney also makes an appearance on the soundtrack. The real gem of the album is the song "Chloe Dancer/Crown of Thorns" by Mother Love Bone. This song has never gotten old to me. It's an eight minute love song that leaves you feeling like you've been in an ethereal unconsciousness for the better part of ten minutes with its beautiful musical arrangement and the harrowing story it tells. I can't say enough about that song and that soundtrack, it's an absolute keeper.

2. "Almost Famous"- Not surprisingly, two Cameron Crowe movies are in the top five. the guy obviously likes good music. This one features tunes by great bands of the 60s and 70s. It's highlight by songs like "America" by Simon and Garfunkel and "Tiny Dancer" by Elton John. the CD also features an original song by the fictional band Stillwater called "Fever Dog". I'm not sure who actually performs it, but it's a really good tune. My favorite song is "That's the Way" by Led Zeppelin. It's an acoustic song that is one of their softer melodies, but it is one of my favorites by them and this is one of the few times that Zeppelin has allowed one of their songs to be on a soundtrack.

3. "The Crow"- This soundtrack features music from some of the bigger artists of the time. This is one of the few soundtracks in which the tone/style of the music fits perfectly with the movie. The theme song of the movie is "Burn" by the Cure. It's no secret that this is my favorite band and this is a great song that coincides with the tone of the film. The album moves from goth and grunge songs that represent the depressing darkness that the main character goes through. Then the tone of the soundtrack changes along with the film. When the main character comes back and begins to take his revenge, the music gets much heavier to go along with the increased action in the film. My favorite song in this mold is Pantera's "the badge." The film's intensity manifests itself in the overpowering guitar and electricity in the song by this heavy metal great. Those aren't the only two songs of note on the album. Stone Temple Pilots' the "big empty" features as well. There are also tunes by the Violent Femmes, Helmet, Nine Inch Nails, Rage Against The Machine, and the Rollins Band. It's a great mix of industrial metal and goth grunge, an eclectic mix that coincides perfectly with the movie.

4. "High Fidelity"- This is one of my favorite movies and the idea of top five lists came from it, so its only right that I include the movie in one of my lists, and the music on the soundtrack is definitely worthy. The first track is by a band called the 13Th Floor Elevators. They are an older band that is considered the pioneers of psychedelic music. The song "Your Gonna Miss Me" has a psychedelic instrumental feel, but the vocals are very much sang in the mold of 70s punk rock, and the lyrics go great with the angst of the character. The soundtrack also features popular songs by artists such as Bob Dylan, the Velvet Underground, the Kinks, and many more. My favorite song on the album is "Shipbuilding" by Elvis Costello. It's kind of a jazzy song, but Costello's vocals are what make it great, his range is fantastic and you can sense a sort of mellow emotion in his voice, but it is still very powerful and heartfelt. Another great track is "Dry the Rain" by the Beta Band. Their style is very different to the rest of those on the soundtrack as they do sort of an electronic folk/indie sound. The song has very good beats that reoccur. It starts out very slow and then builds up to culminate with great melody and powerful lyrics. The final chorus goes something like this "if there's something inside you wanna say, just say it out loud it will be ok..... I will be your light." Great stuff, and it introduced me to a band I would have never known.

5. "Garden State"- Any compilation that includes Nick Drake needs to be praised. Many people haven't heard of him, but he is a folk singer from the 80s that has a soft melodic voice, I could fall asleep listening to him. This soundtrack also introduced me to the Shins. The have two songs on the album, "Caring is Creepy" and "New Slang." Both are very good and the band kind of resembles a modern version of the Beach Boys. The CD also includes my favorite song by Simon and Garfunkel, "The Only Living Boy in New York." My favorite song in the album is "Fair" by Remy Zero. If you haven't heard this band you have to check them out. The singer has a voice very much like that of Thom Yorke of the Radiohead fame. The song itself is very slow to begin with light acoustic guitar and he sings in a whispy tune. Then the chorus picks up and he cuts loose with uncontainable emotion, and it is at the climax of the movie when the guy gets the courage to kiss the girl.....really good stuff.


Honorable Mentions: I Am Sam, Trainspotting, Easy Rider, Godzilla (1998), Dracula 2000, and Say Anything.

Top Five Albums of the 80s

Over the weekend I went out and had some drinks with some of my friends. When I hang out with these guys we always end up having this discussion, if you were stranded on an island what five albums would you want to have if you knew that is all you could listen to for the rest of your life. You aren't allowed to pick soundtracks, greatest hits, or compilations either. It can be very difficult to pick and I always find myself picking three albums all of the time and then I throw in a couple that have been on my play list recently. Well, Saturday we broke it down by decade and I would like to throw out my list from the 1980s and see what kind of reactions I get.

1. The Cure "Disintegration"- My number one favorite album of all-time, so it obviously merits inclusion for me.

2. The Smiths "Meat is Murder"- Another one of my favorite bands and this is their best effort in my opinion.

3. Metallica "And Justice For All"- This was a tough choice. They had three albums from the decade that I could put on this list, but this is the one I am into right now so that's why it's here.

4. Faith No More "The Real Thing"- The album is much more than their first commercial hit "Epic." "From Out of Nowhere" and "Falling to Pieces" are great tunes as well. This album was a precursor to the 90s rap-rock crossover phenomenon that made bands like Rage Against the Machine popular. Definitely worth a listen if you haven't heard it.

5. Prince "Purple Rain"- Great album by a great musician. Whether you are a fan of his music or not there is no denying how inordinately talented he is, both vocally and instrumentally. I love this album.

Please send in your list, especially if it is a lot different. Hopefully I see some things I have never been exposed to.