Weekend Small Talk: Top Movie Soundtracks since 1990
Movie soundtracks used to be a staple of film promotion and MTV. Every movie had to have a big soundtrack and most major summer movies had at least one related single with an accompanying video. I'm not sure what happened but along the way, the film soundtrack died out and now we don't really see as many films boasting new music from the top bands of the land. Now, most soundtracks are comprised of already released material. There aren't many soundtracks that feature mostly new music.
This week's small talk is which of the original soundtracks of the 90's and Aughts was the best. This doesn't include soundtracks like Dazed and Confused which were all older songs. Also, this is about albums with stand alone songs, not scores so "There Will Be Blood" isn't eligible. Honorable mention goes to South Park, which I'm not going to count because it's a musical but that still had some great songs on it. But what were the soundtracks of late that were able to get heavy rotation on the SoulCD player and still get some plays on ITunes? (And I'm not a fan of the Moldy Peaces so don't expect to see Juno on here)
10. New Jersey Drive: Arguably the most impressive soundtrack because the CD spawned a sequel while I'm not sure the movie actually ever came out.
9. Above The Rim: The 90's were all about the hip hop soundtrack and this was one of the better ones.
8. Batman & Robin: This will probably only show up on my list (and many people might actually prefer Batman Forever's more popular soundtrack) but this CD was on constant rotation when it came out and I still play it on ITunes now and then. Hell, the lead single from the Smashing Pumpkins just made a comeback in the Watchmen trailer. Songs from Soul Coughing, Goo Goo Dolls, Bone Thugs N Harmony, Lauren Christy, and Arkana still make some SoulHonky mix CD's.
7. Into The Wild: If going with the sensitive rock auteur, a lot of people might go with Eliot Smith's "Good Will Hunting" soundtrack but I'm a huge fan of pearl jam and like (but don't love) Eddie Vedder's foray into the soundtrack genre.
6. Rush: Eddie was OK but he doesn't match Eric Clapton's soundtrack for this little scene film. In fact, I think one song, Tears in Heaven, pretty much blows Eddie's chances out of the water.
5. Clueless: While a lot of people seemed to love Coolio's "Rollin' with my homies" (which still has some camp value), this album really separated itself by having some silly new stuff like Supermodel by Jill Sobule or a cover of Kids in America with some new hipper (at the time) bands like Supergrass, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, and an acoustic version of Fake Plastic Trees by Radiohead.
4. Garden State: I know this movie can inspire some heated debates but I think you have to admit that the soundtrack is stellar (even if you aren't a fan of The Shins, which I'm not). The ambient sounds of Zero 7, Frou Frou, Thievery Corporation, Remy Zero, and Iron and Wine make this one of the most listened to soundtracks.
3. Juice: Bar none the best hip hop soundtrack ever. Not only did they get some heavyweights of the era but those artists brought top notch material. Often, soundtrack cuts are leftovers or rushed little ditties but there's no denying the strength of songs like "Juice (Know the Ledge)" by Eric B. and Rakin, "Nuff Respect" by Big Daddy Kane, and "Uptown Anthem" by Naughty by Nature. The R&B songs also weren't even that bad.
2. Singles: The album that arguably helped launch a movement in music, "Singles" helped put the Seattle grunge scene. "State of Love and Trust" is still one of my favorite peal jam songs, "Would?" is classic Alice in Chains, and there's also stuff from Chris Cornell. Straying from Seattle, there's also the Smashing Pumpkins and 90's stalwarts Screaming Trees and Paul Westerberg. The major knock on it would be that it fails as a time capsule of the Seattle grunge era because it doesn't have anything from Nirvana.
1. Judgement Night: Did I say Juice was bar none the best hip hop soundtrack? Technically this counts as a hip hop soundtrack but it's more of a hybrid as rap groups are coupled with rock bands in a soundtrack that is not only filled with good songs from top to bottom but also helped inspire the new Rap-Rock movement. The collegiate favorites were De La Soul/Teenage Fan Club's collabo "Falling" and the pairing of Sonic Youth and Cypress Hill for "I Love You Mary Janes". I was always partial to the opening "Just Another Victim" by Helmet and House of Pain, "The Real Thing" by pearl jam and Cypess Hill as well as the title cut by Onyx & Biohazard. "Judgement Night" was not only a great album but it was musically innovative. And it also gets points for being like New Jersey Drive; more people owned the soundtrack than saw the movie.
Comments
Young Guns II. BOOM!!!
With deepest regards,
Reader #3
Posted by: Reader #3 | February 27, 2009 10:36 AM
Nice work. 80% approval rating. It's a tough list because most mainstream soundtracks are collections of established songs with one or 2 originals. However, I would like to toss American Gangster into the ring, nice work by Jay-Z and probably the best R&B song of the last ten years "Can you feel me?" by Anthony Hamilton (the guy is smooth like Marvin Gaye).
Posted by: JK | February 28, 2009 01:12 PM
alright, what about the spawn soundtrack. atari teenage riot with slayer, are you kidding me? genius.
Posted by: isaac | February 28, 2009 03:54 PM
Great blog post for a great album of 2009.
Posted by: music guy | May 6, 2010 09:54 PM