Are there James Bond movies without the iconic surf guitar-infused theme? Does Star Wars carry the same punch without John Williams’ score to wow us from the start … a long time ago? Is Michael Madsen’s character in Reservoir Dogs made more or less unhinged as he tortures a cop, dancing around the bound officer while Stealers Wheel’s “Stuck in the Middle With You” replaces the screams?
While that feels like a conversation I’d love to have sitting around a bar, a cold beer in hand, I’ll save that debate for that moment. What we can all agree upon – music and movies are nearly inseparable. The right song at the right moment can elevate a scene from good to sublime, while at the same time absolutely wreck a cleverly designed moment with the worst possible choice in song.
Some soundtracks have even gone beyond the movie they were built around – The Crow gaining more and more of a cult following based on the absolutely insane strength of its goth/industrial soundtrack – didn’t we all want to go to that nightclub featuring My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult as the house band – while movies like Repo Man are known as much for the movie as they are the album. Certain directors, Quentin Tarantino for instance, elevated the art, building scenes around a certain song plucked from the director’s legendary collection.
We missed August’s Mixtape Madness, slightly overwhelmed with a full-throated start to fire season, and for that I apologize, but we’re roaring back this month with a collection of some of our favorite songs from movies. But even more than our favorite songs, each one truly served the moment, nearly impossible to separate what was depicted on film from what your ears were hearing. This list is of course subjective, so let me know in the comments what I should have included. What was my dunder-headed misfire, and what do you think should have been there?
Note - Well color me dissappointed, “Why Can’t I Fall In Love” by Ivan Neville is arguably my favorite track on this mixtape and it’s not available via Apple or Qobuz, only YouTube. Guess I’ll just have to dust off my copy of the Pump Up the Volume soundtrack! Please listen via your preferred streaming service, just know we have a strong preference toward Qobuz as they’re one of the highest paying streaming services out there.
🎧 Qobuz| Apple Music | YouTube
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**SIDE A**
1. “Free” — The Martinis (Empire Records)
2. “Lovefool” — The Cardigans (Romeo + Juliet)
3. “Black Sheep” — Metric (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World)
4. “Snakedriver” — Jesus and Mary Chain (The Crow)
5. “Lose Yourself” — Eminem (8 Mile)
6. “Birth Ritual” — Soundgarden (Singles)
7. “Natural One” — Folk Implosion (Kids)
8. “Nightclubbing” — Iggy Pop (Trainspotting)
9. “Everybody Knows” — Leonard Cohen (Pump Up the Volume)
10. “Dry the Rain” — The Beta Band (High Fidelity)
11. “Susanne” — Weezer (Mallrats)
**SIDE B**
12. “Why Can’t I Fall in Love” — Ivan Neville (Pump Up the Volume)
13. “There She Goes” — The La’s (So I Married an Axe Murderer)
14. “Sugar High” — Coyote Shivers (Empire Records)
15. “Shitlist” — L7 (Natural Born Killers)
16. “Stuck in the Middle with You” — Stealers Wheel (Reservoir Dogs)
17. “Fuckin’ in the Bushes” — Oasis (Snatch)
18. “Fight the Power” — Public Enemy (Do the Right Thing)
19. “A Hero’s Death” — Fontaines D.C. (Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man)
20. “Such Great Heights” — Iron & Wine (Garden State)
21. “Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth with Money in My Hand” — Primitive Radio Gods (The Cable Guy)
I'll dust off my Pump Up The Volume soundtrack too! And wow, Weezer soundtracked in Mallrats?!?! I'll totally add "Tiny Dancer" from Almost Famous for end-of-summer sing-along vibes.:)