Soundtrack Mix For Thought

OK Goose. I know you DON'T like movie soundtrack CDs. Lots of reasons, some even valid. So, I thought I would build a "Soundtrack Mix" for you to highlight many of the songs that would NEVER have made it to market without a soundtrack as a vehicle.  Some of these are soundtrack only tunes, some are rare b-sides, and some are just great songs that you haven't heard in awhile! These are in no favorite order, simply alphabetical by song title.

So here we go!

Track 1. All These Things That I've Done by the Killers from the movie Southland Tales.

You probably have to see this movie to truly appreciate this tune. It features a mangled faced Justin Timberlake playing a soldier back from tour in Iraq who was involved in some evil civilian killings. This scene from the movie shows Justin in a drug induced trip after taking a shot of 'Instant Karma' - movie version starts about 2:30 minutes into the song.

Track 2. Anyone Else Buy You, by Michael Cera and Ellen Page, from the movie Juno.

This is acutaully the actors from the movie covering a great "Lo-Fi" tune by the Moldy Peaches. Fun song.

Track 3. Better World by Rebel MC from the movie Career Opportunities.

First off, movies are ALWAYS better with Jennifer Connolly. Again, might have to see the movie to really appreciate. Great scene with the dorky hero of the movie stuck in a closed Target store after hours jammin' to this song as he roller skates around the store. Classic early 90's rap before it went 'gangsta'.

Track 4. Born Sippy by Underworld from the movie Trainspotting.

Wow! This track is just awesome. This is a soundtrack only mix that really gets the blood pumping. Some good old mid-90s techno-club!  There are two movies that would get any user to quit drugs cold-turkey.  This is one and the other is Requiem for a Dream.  Both are great, but will make you a bit queazy.

Track 5. Cruising by Huey Lewis and Gwyneth Paltrow from the movie Duets.

Pretty cheesy, but where else would you hear Huey Lewis wax on with Gwyneth Paltrow on this Karaoke classic??

Track 6. Danger - High Voltage by Electric Six from the movie Charlie's Angels 2.

Rockin' song. Sounds like AC/DC meets Erasure. Very dancable.

Track 7. Deadweight by Beck from the movie A Life Less Ordinary.

Soundtrack only song that wasn't on his album. Seriously, I think this is the BEST Beck song ever. Always reminds me of Love and Rockets in their prime. Love this song.

Track 8. Driving Sideways by Aimee Mann from the movie Magnolia.

This movie is on my top 25 for sure. Great mind-bender. PT Anderson, who directed this, had Aimee Mann (of Til' Tuesday fame of the 80s) do almost the entire soundtrack. She has such a great voice.

Track 9. Dry the Rain by The Beta Band from the movie High Fidelity.

This is the movie for every "name that tune" music junkie (like me). I think I can relate to this guy making tapes for friends and girlfiends. This was a monthly ritual back in the 80s-90s for me. Anyway, a great scene in the movie where John Cusak (the owner of the cool record store) says, 'Watch this. I bet I can sell 3 copies of the Beta Band's The Three EPs album" and plays this song - and everyone in the store says, "who is this? It's great!"  Yes, I bought one of the three...

Track 10. Everybody Wants Some by Van Halen from the movie Better Off Dead

OK, so this is pretty much a metal radio song from 1980. But it has completely new feeling when you watch the movie! The dude that made this movie with the talking hamburgers was brilliant!  My first experience with "Booger" as he snorts a snow drift and contemplates the street value of the mountain of snow...classic.

Track 11. Eyes Of A Stranger by The Payola$ from the movie Valley Girl.

This is a 'retro' staple on modern rock radio stations. But still a great tune from the New Wave era.  Nickolas Cage was 'totally awesome' - and who didn't want to shave a "V" into their chest hair after this movie?

Track 12. Going Back to Cali by LL Cool J from the movie Less Than Zero.

Do you remember this movie? You couldn't figure out if you were supposed to think Robert Downy Jr. was cool or to be shunned for playing the 'sex for drugs' role. Anyway, LL put this song on the soundtrack only. What a great rap tune from the 80s! LL, Run DMC, and the Beastie Boys ruled from 85-89.

Track 13. Heavy Metal (Takin' a Ride) by Don Felder from the movie Heavy Metal.

I think this was the ONLY song Don Felder ever did (probably not, but it's the only song worth having!). This movie really had an visual impact on me. It was animated by something like 30 teams of animators from 19 countries, so each story looks and feels completely different. This song was from the B-17 story and the rest of this soundtrack was nearly 90% perfect (including an awesome version of DEVO's Working In the Coal Mine). This song really captures the whole mood of the film. A Heavy Metal rock-n-roll sci-fi trip!

Track 14. Hong Kong Garden by Siouxsie & the Banshees from the movie Marie Antoinette.

This film was made by Sofia Coppola (daughter of Francis Ford - director of Apocalypse Now fame). She is a total new wave fan and it shows on this soundtrack! This is a soundtrack only remix of Hong Kong Garden. What a great song! Siouxsie had such a distinctive voice. I wish she still would be recording.

Track 15. I Go Crazy by Flesh For Lulu from the movie Some Kind Of Wonderful.

Any soundtrack compilation would be incomplete without at least ONE movie from John Hughes (we have two, so we're covered). John Hughes was the voice of our generation. He had the BEST taste in brit-pop/new wave from the early 80s. In fact John actually started his own label called "Hughes Music" to release some of his soundtracks.

Track 16. Mad World by Gary Jules from the movie Donnie Darko.

Yes, this movie is also in the top 25 (maybe top 10). So, if you haven't seen it, rent it. This song is wicked cool cover version of the classic Tears For Fears single Mad World from their first album in 1985. This version by Gary Jules captures the eerie mood of this film perfectly.

Track 17. New Slang by the Shins from the movie Garden State.

I had to include this movie since we are both products of the 'Garden State'. Great movie starring Natalie Portman and Zach Braff. This scene has Natalie Portman listening to the Shins on her walkman in the hospital. She tells Zach what a great band they are. Yes, great song and great band Natalie.

Track 18. Night Drive (Reprise) by Giorgio Moroder from he movie American Gigolo.

This song is actually a very cool, slowed down "moog-ish" version of Blondie's song Call Me (which was written for this movie). Giorgio was a master of synth in the later 70 and early 80s. Great piece of music that fits this time in history perfectly.

Track 19. The Origin of Love by Steven Trask from the movie Hedwig and the Angry Inch.

I will not recommend that you watch this movie (it is about a tranny rock band from Germany), but they did have some very interesting songs. Trask, who stars as Hedwig (pronounced Head-Vig) wrote the songs as well.  This one was accompanied with a video on a Greek mythology-style telling of the origin of love. Very cool.

Track 20. Please, Please, Please Let me Get What I Want by the Dream Academy from the movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

Ok, here is the second John Hughes film, and one of my all-time favorites. I think I can quote every great line from this movie. A skill that is in high demand these days let me tell you! This is a soundtrack only version of a classic Smiths song by the Dream Academy (of Life In a Northern Town fame).  By the way, there NEVER actually was a soundtrack CD (or cassette) from this movie.  John didn't think it would sell - too random (included everything from Sigue Sigue Sputnik to Wayne Newton...).  I loved it, so I made my own version of the entire soundtrack including quip quotes from the actual film.  

Track 21. Purple Violets Theme by PT Walkley from the movie Purple Violets.

I am a sucker for a good instrumental, and this one is great. Very unique and very emotional. PT Walkley was a guy/band that was a favorite of the director's: Edward Burns. I think he said he used to see these guys in New York quite a bit before he asked them to do his soundtrack. This movie is somewhat historical as it was the FIRST movie to be released on iTunes before it went to DVD or theater. Decent movie too!

Track 22. Steal My Sunshine by Len from the movie Go.

Great movie! Put this on your Netflix list if you haven't seen it yet. Great cast and great story. The soundtrack is also really great. It was one of the first times I heard the French band "Air", which I think are genius! This song by Len is a very poppy ditty with the music ripped off from the classic 70s disco song More, More, More by Andrea True Connection. This was a favorite song by Christy Paulen back in the summer of 2000.

Track 23. Stuck In The Middle With You by Steelers Wheels from the movie Reservoir Dogs.

This movie shocked me, wowed me, and made me crank-up this song on the jukebox from the Pirates bar on 1st Ave and 77th in NYC after a night on the town with Larry Tulenko. Yeah, this song is over 30 years old, but how cool is it?

Track 24. This City Never Sleeps by the Eurythmics from the movie 9 1/2 Weeks.

A soundtrack only song and worth the price alone. The Eurythmics were great, but this is from the time before they got to poppy. Great moody, sultry song.

Track 25. When You Come Back To Me by World Party from the movie Reality Bites.

This was the movie about our generation. The Gen-X'ers that didn't quite know what to do when we got out of college. Great movie and great song.  "You look like a doily"  is one of my favorite lines ever from a movie.  This was one of my first movies that I saw Jeannie Garafolo.  She is really funny.  Rent it.

Track 26. Who Killed Tangerine? by Tears For Fears from the movie Fever Pitch.

This is a great movie that was filmed during the 2004 Red Sox trip to the World Series - the first since 1918. Once in a lifetime atmosphere to film this movie. This song is from a scene where Drew Barrymore jump onto field and runs across a real game. The chorus of the song (about 2:15 seconds into the song) captures the feeling perfectly!

Track 27. Whole Wide World by Wreckless Eric from the movie Stranger Than Fiction.

Never heard of Wreckless Eric prior to this movie. In this scene Maggie Gylenhall jumps Will Farrell after hearing him play this song. Love her. This soundtrack also has a few by a current favorite band Spoon that is worth picking up!

Track 28. Yoo Hoo by Imperial Teen from the movie Jawbreaker.

Bad movie, great song. Used to rock-out to this with Chris Paulen on our way to the next pub crawl stop.

Track 29. You're So Cool by Hans Zimmer from the movie True Romance.

Awesome instrumental on an xylophone no less! Another great soundtrack song from another scripted movie by Quentin Tarentino (also did Reservoir Dogs).  Believe it or not, this is one of Dixie's favorites as well!

Track 30. Your Song by Ewan McGregor from the movie Moulin Rouge.

OK, another cheesy cover song of an Elton John classic, but Ewan McGregor (Obi Wan Kenobi) did a really good job. Gives me chill bumps a couple places during the song.

That's all for now G-man. I could do much longer playlist, but don't want to burn you out too quickly!  So now you have a bunch of movies to add to your watch list - stick this list up on your white board!

Hope you enjoy.