Nevermind The Posers

This week NVMP tackles our favorite movie soundtracks.  Soundtracks are interesting because depending upon whether it’s an original score or a veritable greatest hits of a particular decade, they can make or break a movie.  I could go on a diatribe about bad movie soundtracks, but let’s jump into our favorite soundtracks instead!

Tina’s Top 5:
5. The Wedding Singer – A perfect compilation of some sweet 80s tracks, both vol I & II.
4. School of Rock – Enough said.
3. Juno – My love for Kimya Dawson started here ❤
2. A Knight’s Tale – I loved the placement of “Golden Years” in this movie, classic.
1. Freddy vs. Jason – The movie was terrible, the soundtrack will live forever.  Heavy metal saved this movie.

Dan’s Top 5:
5. Juno – Off beat and a nice diversion from the usual radio fare you hear on soundtracks, this soundtrack was pleasantly mellow. .
4. Clueless
3. Forrest Gump
2. Cruel Intentions
1. Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas by Danny Elfman – Beautifully scored and sung, the music from Tim Burton’s cult masterpiece is a work of art.  Catchy, funny and wildly macabre, Elfman’s score is as much a part of the overall experience as Jack Skellington.

Dave’s Top 5:
5. Pulp Fiction – If you never heard “Jungle Boogie” before this movie, you’ll never forget it once you own the soundtrack.  And who could forget the Urge Overkill cover of “Girl, You’ll Be A Woman Soon”?
4. The Who’s Tommy Original Broadway Cast Recording – This show was amazing, electrifying and riveting.  The music was so bold, and full of passion, and there’s something about the music being sung by Broadway thespians that gives the songs a more emboldened quality, adding to the legend of the composers.
3. The Matrix – Every techno/sci-fi geek’s life was incomplete after seeing the movie until they bought the soundtrack.
2. The Queen of the Damned – The soundtrack was better than the movie.  Had it been concocted as a collection of lead vocalists in the metal scene of the late 90s, early millennium, it would’ve been hailed as a must-have metal compilation.
1. David Lynch’s Lost Highway – A gritty film noir compendium, more sore than a simple soundtrack.  This dark ride along side Bill Pullman in the movie’s final moments is an incredible collection of shadowy tunes from Nine Inch Nails, Smashing Pumpkins and David Bowie, along side the subtle yet ominous tones of Angelo Bandelamenti, a David Lynch veteran cohort.

Honorable Mention: Reservoir Dogs, From Dusk ‘Till Dawn, The Crow

Stigz’s Top 5:
5. An American Werewolf in Paris – For some reason this soundtrack jumps out in my mind.  Sick jams from old school phenoms like Bush and Better Than Ezra, plus bands I don’t even know are on it, and somehow, I never hit “next track”
4. Transformers – Kick ass soundtrack. Period.
3. American Pie 1 & 2 – The American Pie duo totally rocks out old school style, and reminds me of being back in high school and trying to figure out how to get out of just about everything.  From Blink 182’s “I Guess This is Growing up” to Offspring when they were actually good, these soundtracks kick some adolescent, angst-soaked tunes.
2. The Departed – I guess Marty Scorsese just has some kick ass taste in music.  And the Stones AND Dropkick Murphy’s in the same flick…think I just shat myself.
1. Goodfellas – A lot of the Stones, and a lot of classic old school jams.  Definitely rocks on several levels.

Angela’s Top 5:
5. Scream
4. Fight Club
3. But I’m a Cheerleader
2. Walk The Line
1. American Beauty

Mark’s Top 5:
5. The Last Of The Mohicans – Trevor Jones and Randy Edelman.  Jones and Edelman have created one of the most beautiful and sweeping scores to ever accompany a film.  Both composers really use the orchestra to the fullest, succeeding in filling in the open space in this forest centered film with lush orchestral arrangements.
4. The Wedding Singer – This two volume soundtrack unleashes the best and cheesiest songs from the 80s, Boy George anyone?
3. Grosse Pointe Blank – If you went to high school in the 80s, then this 2 volume release is definitely the soundtrack of your life.  The great selection of genre spanning tunes makes it so much more than your average “run of the mill” 80s soundtrack.
2. Monster – Bt – Electronic Composer ditches the synths and delves into Americana to sonically illustrate the journey that this film’s subject (Serial Killer Aileen Wournos) takes on her hitchhiking journeys through America.  Fucking FANTASTIC score.  Highly recommended
1. Rocky IV (1987)– All hail Vince DiCola for producing one of the GREATEST and easily recognizable 80s film soundtracks of all time.  This synthesizer led score helped the movie montage reach its definitive peak, and showed that even Rocky Balboa had a weak spot for new wave-y goodness.