Music in films has always acted as a device to evoke emotion from the audience when it is absent in the narrative. In most films, there is usually a sweeping, composed score that generates excitement, sadness, or peril, but other films excise the score to instead use popular songs to showcase a montage sequence of a couple falling in love or time passing. Soundtracks have always served to sell a movie and help bolster sales from the artists involved, but in the past few years, there seems to have been a slight demise of the soundtrack album. The Bodyguard motion picture soundtrack is listed as the highest-grossing soundtrack of all time with 16 million units sold over a decade ago in 1992. Whitney Houston contributed what is now considered over-saturated and obsolete sappy songs. Saturday Night Fever, Dirty Dancing and Purple Rain all have bestselling soundtracks, and Titanic literally went overboard with Celine Dion singing one of the most popular yet redundant songs of all time with “My Heart Will Go On”, which still creates the visual of Leonardo DiCaprio yelling at the top of his lungs: “I’m King of the World!” But since the late 90’s, not a single soundtrack has made a major breakthrough despite the fact there are some really good ones out there waiting to be discovered. Here is a list of some of the best contemporary soundtrack albums in the past 20 years from some beloved and some not so beloved films.
Best 80’s soundtracks for films that are about the 80’s but were not made in the 80’s:
The Wedding Singer, volume 1-2(1998): The Wedding Singer is Adam Sandler’s best film because it centers on the 1980’s with warmth and sweetness. But even better are all the fantastic and classic 80’s pop hits including: The Smiths “How Soon is Now,” New Order “Blue Monday,” Psychedelic Furs “Love My Way,” and songs from Billy Idol, David Bowie, Culture Club, Thompson Twins and the lesser known “Pass the Duchie” by Musical Youth. The second volume contains chessy rifts like Kajagoogoo’s “Too Shy”, a Hall and Oates track and Spandau Ballet’s “True”. The album also has a good Flock of Seagulls song, “Space Age Love Song,” Depeche Mode’s happy “Just Can’t Get Enough” and an original Adam Sandler tune. If you’re going to make a film set in the 80’s there just has to be popular 80’s music to create credibility.
Grosse Pointe Blank (1997)—The Wedding Singer supplied mainly widespread radio hits, but John Cusack’s dark comedy Grosse Pointe Blank welcomed the less radio friendly, more New Wave alternative/punk songs of the 80’s. The Violent Femmes perform “Blister in the Sun”, The Clash, English Beat, Faith No More, David Bowie, The Specials and The Jam all contribute tracks along with oddity Guns N’ Roses covering “Live and Let Die.” The music is used as a backdrop to hired killer Martin Blank’s (John Cusack) tenth high school reunion where nostalgia isn’t the main event.
 |
24 Hour Party People (2002)—This is a somewhat unknown gem of a film that came out two years ago to virtually no box office, but critical appeal. The film centers around Manchester, England from the late 70’s to early 90’s and covers the period when record label Factory Records released albums from now renowned bands like Joy Division and New Order. The soundtrack contains several tracks from Joy Division who then became New Order after lead singer Ian Curtis hanged himself. Included tracks are: New Order’s biggest hits “Blue Monday,” “Here to Stay” and “Temptation”, Happy Mondays “24 Hour Party People,” Buzzcocks “Ever Fallen in Love”, The Clash “Janie Jones” and the Sex Pistols’s classic, “Anarchy in the U.K”. The contributions from New Order and Joy Division are great with Division’s most popular and best song, “Love Will Tear Us Apart” making an appearance. Both the film and the soundtrack are educational because it explains where modern day Brit pop evolved from.
Best 80’s soundtracks for films that were made in the 80’s:
Valley Girl (1983): Like, ohmygod! Gag me with a spoon! If this doesn’t sound familiar, then you shouldn’t be reading this. Valley Girl was released in 1983 starring then and still unknown Deborah Foreman and then unknown, but unfortunately known today, Nicholas Cage. The soundtrack boosts three tracks from the Plimsouls including their biggest hit, “Million Miles Away. ” The Psychedelic Furs contribute “Love My Way” (see Wedding Singer), chanteuse Josie Cotton sings the subversive “Johnny Are You Queer?” and two other tracks; Flirts contribute a poppy/alternative “Jukebox (Don’t Put Another Dime)” and well-liked 80’s groups Men at Work and Modern English add their hits with “Who Can It Be Now?” and “Melt with You” respectively. The film and soundtrack commented on the pop culture of the time and how cool it must’ve been to grow up in California in the 80’s.
 |
Pretty in Pink (1986): Hands down one of the best teen and 80’s films of all time from teen God John Hughes, the film offers some of the most memorable songs from the decade of excess. The best track is Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark, aka OMD, “If You Leave” that plays during one of the unsurpassed endings in any 80’s or romantic drama film. It starts when Blaine (Andrew McCarthy) leaves the dance thinking he’s lost Andie (Molly Ringwald) forever, but Duckie (Jon Cryer) gives Andie his approval and she rushes out into the parking lot to find Blaine and then they kiss as the music penetrates our souls making us cry for joy….Sigh….Also featured on the soundtrack is omnipresent soundtrack provider the Psychedelic Furs doing their self-titled hit, “Pretty in Pink,” New Order and Inxs contributing non-hit tracks, Echo and Bunnymen’s excellent “Bring on the Dancing Horses” from their greatest hits collection Songs to Learn and Sing, and the Smiths with “Please Please Please Let me Get What I Want This Time” that could be even better if it were just a little bit longer.
Best soundtracks from bad movies, or when the soundtrack is better than the film:
Vanilla Sky (2001)—Cameron Crowe usually has a good track record making affable movies (see Say Anything, Singles, Almost Famous) but he totally went off the map with this incoherent and bizarre pile of surreal mush. On the bright side, the soundtrack contains tracks from established luminaries REM, Radiohead, the Chemical Brothers, Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Jeff Buckley and the overlooked Icelandic import Sigur Ros. Looper contributes its contagious electronic tune “Mondo 77,” which is now featured in a computer commercial, and the band The Red House Painters offer their depressing song “Have You Forgotten?”
 |
Empire Records (1995)—Before Liv Tyler spoke Elfish in Lord of the Rings, she played a struggling teen working in a record store with Ethan Embry and then-unknown Renee Zellweger. The film itself wasn’t a hit, but the soundtrack spawned a couple of hit songs from the popular GinBlossoms with “Until I Hear it From You” and British one-hit-wonder Edwin Collins with “Girl Like You.” The film is just another cutesy, dialogue-driven ensemble piece that is flat and unentertaining, but the soundtrack speaks more to Generation X than the film ever did. The soundtrack includes mid-90’s hitmakers Toad the Wet Sprocket, Better than Ezra, Innocence Mission and the Cranberries. The first few songs are good until the album segues into louder, more obnoxious fare from never heard from again bands of Drill and Ape Hangers.
So I Married An Axe Murderer—(1993) This early Mike Myers vehicle didn’t make him the star he had hoped–he would have to wait several years later when Austin Powers became a pop culture phenomenon–but the movie isn’t as terrible as say Myers last film, The Cat in the Hat. So I Married an Axe Murderer focuses on Charlie (Myers) who suspects his new girlfriend Harriet (Nancy Travis) may be a killer. Hijinks ensue. The soundtrack endures as it opens with the Boo Radley’s doing a cover of The La’s quintessential pop song, “There She Goes” that Sixpence None the Richer also covered and had a huge, undeserving hit with. The original version is the last track on the soundtrack. The rest of the album features then hot Toad Wet Sprocket and Soul Asylum, Big Audio Dynamite performing the palpitating “Rush”, a poem being recited by Mike Myers, the Darling Buds infectious “Long Day in the Universe” followed by three hit wonder Spin Doctors with “Two Princes”, and a decent track by British outfit Suede.
Best Soundtracks from Indie Movies:
Igby Goes Down (2003)—This Holden Caufield youth in despair movie contains some of the best indie rock groups to come out in recent memory: Coldplay’s melancholic acoustic song “Don’t Panic,” Travis doing a cover of The Band’s “The Weight”, Badly Drawn Boy performing the fun “Everybody’s Stalking,” and a psychedelic Beta Band track, “Broken Up a Ding Dong.” The Dandy Warhols contribute two songs with their popular “Bohemian Like You” and “Boys Better” that is also featured on the Good Will Hunting soundtrack. Equivalent to the Psychedelic Furs and New Order, The Dandy Warhols have cornered the soundtrack market with their rocking, good music.
Trainspotting (1996)- Being one of the best reasons not to do drugs, the soundtrack for this drug-induced film supports the film’s trippiness with electronic and ambient tunes. Included are a pulsating Underworld song “Born Slippy”, Leftfield’s “Final Hit”, Brit Rock royalty Iggy Pop’s recognized “Lust for Life” and less appealing “Nightclubbing,” Lou Reed’s classic “Perfect Day,” Brian Eno’s lush “Deep Blue Sea” and mid-90 Brit-rock staples of Elastica, Blur (lead singer Damon Albarn contributes a solo track), Pulp and New Order. There’s a good combination of modern day Brit rock mixed with more classic tunes from the 70’s. Director Danny Boyle went on to reuse several of these bands on the decent soundtrack for the disastrous film The Beach.
Movern Callar (2003) A little seen indie film about a woman who wakes up on New Year’s Day to discover that her boyfriend has killed himself and left her a mix tape of some of his favorite music. Movern (Samantha Morton) acts nonchalant towards his death as she doesn’t call the police or tell anyone about it, but instead she just picks up and sets out on a road trip to allow the mix tape to guide her journey. What makes this soundtrack unique is the inclusion of a couple of tracks from Kraut rock superstars Can, a alt country song from Ween, songs from Brits Velvet underground and Broadcast, and some tracks from ambient bands Boards of Canada, Aphex Twins, and Stereolab. Ambient musician Holger Czukay, reggae inspired Lee “Scratch” Perry, and Nancy Sinatra also contribute songs to the eclectic soundtrack.
Best Artist Contribution to a soundtrack:
Aimee Mann—Magnolia (1999): Aimee Mann has had a prolific career from starting out with 80’s band ‘Til Tuesday to her current divine solo career. Mann contributes several songs from her previous albums and a few novelty songs to P.T Anderson’s epic and interconnected ensemble film. Her music constantly plays throughout the film including a scene where all the characters sing her tune “Wise Up” during an elaborate montage sequence. It’s no wonder why Anderson chose her to do most of the soundtrack with riveting tracks like “One,” “Momentum” and her Oscar nominated original “Save Me,” which gives the existential film a deeper sense of meaning. The soundtrack also includes a couple of incongruous tracks from 70’s group Supertramp and a early 90’s dance song, “Dreams Do Come True” that’s adequate.
Elliot Smith—Good Will Hunting (1997) Good Will Hunting might have made Matt Damon and Ben Affleck instant celebrities, but it was gloomy singer/songwriter Elliot Smith who contributed his depressing yet poetic tunes to the soundtrack garnering him an Oscar nod for his impressive “Miss Misery.” His other offerings are from some of his previous albums which include the tracks “Between the Bars,” “Angeles” and “No Name #3.” The soundtrack also includes the ever-present Dandy Warhols track “Boys Better” and an uplifting Irish song by the Waterboys, “Fisherman Blues” and a score by Danny Elfman. Too bad Smith killed himself last year as he was one of the brightest songwriters around.
Stephin Merritt—Pieces of April (2003) –Stephin Merrit has become quite an accomplished singer/songwriter with his band the Magnetic Fields and side project the 6ths. In 1999, he released a three -volume c.d entitled 69 Love Songs containing short vignette tunes related to love that has been deemed a masterpiece. A couple of those tracks and others exclusively fit into Katie Holmes quirky film about a girl living in New York trying to make Thanksgiving dinner for her estranged family including her cancer ridden mother played remarkably by Oscar nominated Patricia Clarkson. Just like the film, the soundtrack warms the heart with 69 Love Songs tracks “I Think I Need a New Heart,” “The Luckiest Guy on the Lower East Side,” and the 6ths tracks of “You You You You You” and “As You Turn to Go.” Seminal music recorded primarily for the soundtrack includes the beautiful and lovelorn “All I Want to Know”, “Heather Heather” and “Stray With Me.”
Best 90’s teen film soundtracks:
Cruel Intentions (1999)—Cruel Intentions was released at the apex of the late 90’s teen heatwave, but luckily the soundtrack didn’t get caught up in too much of what was popular at the time. The soundtrack includes mainly alternative acts with Aimee Mann’s previous released “You Could Make a Killing,” the Verve’s excellent “Bittersweet Symphony”, Blur’s “Coffee and TV”, a cool Placebo song, “Every Me, Every You,” the ubiquitous Fatboy Slim song “Praise You,” a Counting Crow’s track, and Abra Moore’s upbeat love song, “Trip on Love.” Even though the teen explosion thankfully died down, the songs and bands still are relevant today even if the movie isn’t.
Rushmore (1998) Wes Anderson is probably one of the best filmmakers of his generation, so it’s no surprise his music plays an important role in his films. He uses jovial 60’s inspired rock anthems to convey the angst his characters are going through. Anderson’s long time collaborator, Devo member Mark Mothersbaugh, wrote the whimsical movie score here as he did on Anderson’s following film, the equally classic rock centric The Royal Tenenbaums. Rushmore’s tracks are: Cat Stevens’ “The Wind” and “Here Comes My Baby”, John Lennon’s great “Oh Yoko”, Creation’s psychedelic “Making Time”, the wistful “A Summer Song” by Chad and Jeremy and songs from 60’s legends The Kinks and The Who. All of the songs add sentimentality to this funny and touching film.
Best soundtracks from this year (so far):
Garden State—Hyphenate Zach Braff wrote/directed/acted in this coming of age film and made some interesting soundtrack choices. The talented indie group Shins have two songs on the soundtrack from their excellent debut album, Oh Inverted World: “Caring is Creepy” and “New Slang,” which features significantly in a key scene in the movie. Also included is Coldplay’s “Don’t Panic” (see Igby Goes Down), Zero 7 and Thievery Corporation contributing electronic music, one man band Iron and Wine doing an acoustic cover of the pop/electronic song “Such Great Heights” originated by The Postal Service, and Frou Frou’s weepy final track, “Let Go.” Also on the soundtrack is a track from folky pioneer Nick Drake, and akin to the film Garden State has been compared to, The Graduate, there is also a Simon and Garfunkel song—“The Only Living Boy in New York.”
Wicker Park– The movie isn’t out yet, but from the trailer, it looks to be another cliché attempt at a Fatal Attraction thriller except this time with twentysomethings. It remains to be seen if this film will be worthwhile, but it doesn’t matter because the soundtrack is solid. If Garden State has a lot of good indie rock music, then this soundtrack furthers even more obscure and compelling indie music. Icelandic group Mum, The Shins, Postal Service, Mazzy Star, Death Cab for Cutie, Mogwai, Aqualung, and +/- contribute great tracks. The Shins offer a never released before track called “When I Goosestep,” and The Postal Service do a cover of Phil Collins’ “Against All Odds” from the self-titled film. The stunning “Strange and Beautiful” by Aqualung and Mum’s contemplative “We Have a Map of the Piano” definitely make the soundtrack a must have.
Honorable mention: The best reason to buy the High Fidelity soundtrack:
“Dry the Rain”—Beta Band
High Fidelity is a heavy dialogue driven relationship movie about music and creating the perfect mix tape. The soundtrack has music by The Kinks, Velvet Underground, Stevie Wonder and Bob Dylan, but the song that stands out the most is Beta Band’s “Dry the Rain” (the song can also be found on Beta Band’s The Three EPs album). In the film, Rob (John Cusack) remarks he will sell some Beta Band records, so he plays “Dry the Rain” in the record store to instant acclaim from the customers. The one-minute scene probably wasn’t enough publicity for the band who recently announced they are breaking up, but the song will forever endure.
