quinta-feira, março 25, 2010

1201. The Big Blue - Soundtrack by Eric Serra


As a kid I fucking loved this movie, and I still do. I wanted to be out in the mediterranean with those guys - I also wanted to be in NYC with Rosanna Arquette - the whole dolphin plot wasn't my thing really but it worked well for the film. The soundtrack plays like a dialogue in my head - I know every scene for every part. Yes it's cheesey and dated now, but who cares.

7.4 out of 10

1200. Passion: Music For The Last Temptation Of Christ -Peter Gabriel


If i had all the LPs, CDs and tapes I have purchased throughout my lifetime, I'd have a ton of music and a ton of crap too. I have no idea why I bought this, but hey it's Peter Gabriel and it's interesting. I remember this movie causing a major uproar in Brazil but the soundtrack is void of any controversy, it showcases Gabriel as more of an artist than his pop star 'Sledgehammer' days.

6.7 out of 10

quarta-feira, março 24, 2010

1199. Music for a darkened theatre - Danny Elfman


Burton's films would not be the same without Elfman's scores - and all the big ones are, Batman, Beetlejuice, Pee Wee and the non Burton ones too, like The Simpsons and Darkman. A scoring master for some of my fave flicks.

7.8 out of 10

terça-feira, março 23, 2010

1198. Woodstock - Soundtrack


I don't know how anyone could not have been a hippie back in the day. This film is still great no matter how many times you watch it. It's shot brilliantly and captures a moment in time to never be repeated. The soundtrack is of course great - Santana's Soul Sacrifice is jaw dropping, and Hendrix's entire set is perfection.

8 out of 10

segunda-feira, março 22, 2010

1197. Black Orpheus - Soundtrack


A classic pagode/samba/bossa nova soundtrack that is sometimes muddled by the inclusion of film dialogue that can't help but distract instead of adding to.

7 out of 10

1196. Saturday Night Fever - Soundtrack


Such a classic flick the soundtrack is pretty timeless too with strong grooves from the Bee Gees, Kool & The Gang, K.C. and The Trammps.

7.8 out of 10

sexta-feira, março 19, 2010

1195. Dead Presidents Vol. 2 - Soundtrack


One of the great things about music is rediscovering a song, or a movement, a genre - there is so much history that one can dig through. The second volume to this flick does more of the same - pulling tried and true soul classics.

7.8 out of 10

quinta-feira, março 18, 2010

1194. Dead Presidents - Soundtrack


I've always loved soul music, which my mom listened to when I was growing up. This soundtrack though really shed a light on the whole blackxploitation soundtrack phenomenon which I always thought only lied within Superfly and Shaft. Great songs from an ok film.

8.8 out of 10

1193. Swingers - Soundtrack


It's great when one little movie can launch so many careers. This is a classic guy flick from the mind of Favreau starring a skinny Vaughn. The film also helped solidify the return of ragtime be pop in 90s. In addition to the Zoot Suit bands there are staples by them all here from Dean Martin to Average White Band.

6.6 out of 10

quarta-feira, março 17, 2010

1192. Beautiful Girls - Soundtrack


The classic staples here are a bit boring, but what's exciting are the two Afghan Whigs tracks 'Be For Real' and 'Can't Get Enough Of Your Love Babe'. The Ween song is also pretty great. The balance of original tracks are stale.

6.6 out of 10

terça-feira, março 16, 2010

1191. Jackie Brown - Soundtrack


More stellar tunes from QT. He cheats a bit here by using other classic soul tracks from blackxploitation films - regardless his signature is all over this. Film dialogue included.

7.9 out of 10

1190. Reservoir Dogs - soundtrack


Another great soundtrack from another great QT film. What's great about this one is that we get Steven Wright playing dj through all these different interludes, and the tracks are a tad more obscure and fall more within the rock realm than soul or r&b.

7.6 out of 10

segunda-feira, março 15, 2010

1189. Pulp Fiction - Soundtrack


It seems like QT is the only director capable of making a film as cool as this one. He's the Radiohead of directors. He also has such a love and respect for the past - films, music and actors that he's able to bring them back in a new and fresh way. His soundtracks are no exception.

8.2 out of 10

1188. Touch - Soundtrack


There are a lot of Dave haters out there but the man is talented. Sure the Foo Fighters went from great to mediocre with each release, but he managed to give Nirvana its edge, helped QOTSA make one of their best lps, and has championed great side projects like Probot and Them Crooked Vultures. With Touch Dave single handedly writes and performs every track. The majority sound like a rip off of a wanna be Tarantino soundtrack, but there are some pleasant moments like the duet with Veruca's Post on 'Touch'.

6.7 out of 10

sexta-feira, março 12, 2010

1187. Good will hunting - soundtrack


This soundtrack turned a lot of people on to Elliot Smith. Old and new tracks of his carry the balance of this soundtrack. I am a massive Elliot Smith fan, and wish he were still here today to record and share his music with us. This film will always be eclipsed by Elliot's awe inspiring performance at the Oscar's.


7.8 out of 10

1186. Magnolia - Soundtrack


I love this film and soundtrack. I was back in school for design and I remember seeing the film and connecting with it so much - it was an amazing mesh of drama, comedy, a musical and completely unpredictable. The soundtrack was in heavy rotation in my discman on the way to school while driving. Aimee's tracks are the perfect compliment to the film, which originally inspired the Paul Thomas Anderson to make the film to begin with. It's not really a 9 but I'll give it anyway since I like it so much - if the two Supertramp songs had been Aimee tracks it would be perfect. Oh, and Jon Brion contributed as well.

9 out of 10

quinta-feira, março 11, 2010

1185. Man on the Moon - Soundtrack


I got this for my love of REM, and the main track by them doesn't disappoint, "The Great Beyond" - if it had less orchestration in it it would be perfect. The rest of REM's contributions are a bit lame, sort of animated filler music. I wish the band would return to its classic sound of the late 80s and early 90s - The Great Beyond takes them there, but their last 3 or 4 albums have been an over indulged bore.

5.7 out of 10

quarta-feira, março 10, 2010

1184. Lost Highway - Soundtrack


Any soundtrack to a David Lynch film is going to be fucked up. Get one produced by Trent Reznor, scored by Barry Adamson and Angelo Badalamenti and it's going to be really messed up. Add in tracks by NIN, David Bowie, Marilyn Manson and Rammstein, well then it's just in a really weird, weird place.

8 out of 10

1183. I shot Andy Warhol - Soundtrack


A well balanced soundtrack featuring steady tracks from top notch acts like Yo La Tengo, Bettie Serveert, REM and Pavement. A few misfires by the likes of Jewel.

7 out of 10

1182. Suburbia - Soundtrack


What a great surprise - i don't remember this being so good or interesting - it may have to do with the heavy involvement of Sonic Youth who contribute 4 tracks along with Beck, Boss Hog, Skinny Puppy and The Flaming Lips.

7.8 out of 10

terça-feira, março 09, 2010

1181. A life less ordinary - soundtrack


This fun little flick had so much promise in terms of its soundtrack but like many discs from the 90s it got bogged down in its electronic stump. Highlights include BEck, Luscious Jackson, Cardigans, rem, and folk implosion - lowlights include everyone else.

6.4 out of 10

segunda-feira, março 08, 2010

1180. Kids - Soundtrack


This disc introduced me to Folk Implosion, Daniel Johnston, and slint in one fell swoop. I never saw the flick but all I know is that Chloe and Rosario turned out just fine...

7.9 out of 10

1179. Brain Candy - Soundtrack


All of Matador was commissioned for this soundtrack. And some tracks work really well and others are just flat, especially those that overtly reference the overall theme of the film. I remember being really excited for this flick but that it was just ok... ditto with the soundtrack.

6.5 out of 10

sexta-feira, março 05, 2010

1178. Hype! - Soundtrack


Ahh my beloved grunge. There are some true gems here, and also some what the fucks - like Pigeonhead's song, which isn't grunge at all and seem to have been included as a promo. Check out the documentary too, it's pretty good.

7.6 out of 10

1177. Singles - Soundtrack


I got this in my grunge daze back in the day, which I am sort of still in - I love true grunge. Some great tracks are weighed down by only a few duds like the The Lovemongers track and one of the Westerberg tracks. Still I love this shit. I haven't seen the film in a while, but I can say that I am older than all of those characters in the film which is depressing, and Seattle isn't really that great as I thought it was when I was 18 and I don't think people really watch films about relationships like Singles anymore. Sadly.

8 out of 10

quinta-feira, março 04, 2010

1176. X-Files Fight the Future - Soundtrack


I saw the movie without having really seen the show. It was ok. The soundtrack is decent and must have had a higher budget than the tv show version. Some inspired performances/alternate takes save this disc from the dollar bin: Foo Fighters, Ween, The Cure, The Cardigans, Bjork, and Soul Coughing.

6.3 out of 10

1175. Songs in the Key of X - Music from and Inspired by


I never got into this show, mainly because I worked every night and following anything on tv was impossible. I did see a few episodes and thought they were good. But this tv series disc pretty much blows. The songs try to be spooky but are just goofy. The best of the bunch is the Foo FIghters song which is saying a lot.

2.4 out of 10

1174. Spawn - Soundtrack


I guess this is what came out of Judgement Night. I was really excited for the film since it was the first superhero film in ages. But this is utter crap.

0.5 out of 10

1173. Judgement Night - Soundtrack


At the time this seemed like a really good idea, little did we know that it would help spawn a genre of rap metal crap. Though the pairings here seem very inspired the results sound more like a WTF?

The predictable:
Helmet & House Of Pain
Living Colour & Run DMC
Slayer & Ice T

The funny:
Cypress Hill & Sonic Youth
Mudhone & /Sir Mix-A-Lot

The surprisingly fresh:
Dinosaur Jr. & Del Tha Funky Homosapien
Teenage Fanclub & De La Soul

Regardless, good memories!

6.3 out of 10

quarta-feira, março 03, 2010

1172. Natural Born Killers - Soundtrack


I remember this movie causing a 'stir' when released - the soundtrack feels like it came out yesterday to me. Sure it was based on a Tarantino script, but we all know Stone made it is own, and he followed suit with the soundtrack too by hiring Trent Reznor to supervise it all, and Trent does a good job mixing dialogue in with songs from everyone: Leonard Cohen to LZ to Patsy Cline to Dr.Dre. It all works, just like Stone's crazy film.

7.8 out of 10

1171. The Crow Soundtrack


Do soundtracks even matter nowadays? They were indespensible - a mix tape of exclusive tracks that accompany an often cult classic film. Today you just download and move on. This came out weeks before the film and Chad turned me on to it while we were at Peaches one day - what a dumb concept for a record store - anyway this goth'ish soundtrack featured some of the hottest alternative bands at the time, it also included some misses. Having revisited it now aside from the memories what stands out is how good the Violent Femmes song is, and how Rollins' song Ghostrider is about another hero altogether.

7.4 out of 10

NOW SERVING: Compiling the Sound track


The lost art of the movie soundtrack, the film score and the brilliant compilation.

1170. Dungen - Ta Det Lugnt


This album sounds like it was written and recorded in the 60's by some mythical foreign band, who we have no idea about what they are signing about or look like. A great document of music.

8.2 out of 10

terça-feira, março 02, 2010

1169. Arbouretum - Rites Of Uncovering


A slow burning, vocally stale but musically ambitious album where jams are heavy with blues and steady riffs. Not for everyday, but a good listen regardless.

7 out of 10

segunda-feira, março 01, 2010

1168. Crystal Antlers - Crystal Antlers EP


A short but tripped out set of psychedelic rock n' roll that is loud and soaked in a reverbed tank of acid. Yeah I'm getting worse at this... it ain't supposed to be pitchfork anyway.

7.2 out of 10

1167. Comets on Fire - Avatar


Not as intense as Blue Cathedral, but still all encompassing, this follow up is more melodic and well paced. I'm praying that their next release is the mind fuck masterpiece I've been waiting for.

7.9 out of 10

1166. Comets on Fire - Blue Cathedral


A sonic fuck of an album that is so pulverizing you almost lay comatose while listening to it, able to only pick yourself up at the end.

7.4 out of 10

1165. Howlin' Rain - Magnificent Fiend


I got this because it features a member from Comets on Fire and I was craving some serious rock. The problem with the disc is that it's just good - and good doesn't cut it anymore, if this had been released in 1974 it would be great, but for the progress that has been made in the genre this should have delivered more.

5 out of 10

1164. My Morning Jacket - Celebración De La Ciudad Natal


Nice little ep released for Record Store Day last year. Played inside of MMJs favorite record store this intimate set features 8 tracks that culminate with a blistering version of Dondante.

7 out of 10