Watcher_in_the_ Woods
Posts 22
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5/3/2006 1:11 PM
posted awhile ago
Top five favorite Soundtracks
As ridiculous as the 347 year old *** Clark can be, his whole "Music is the soundtrack to tour lives" quotes is...well, pretty ridiculous as well. Still, there's something about it that clicks, I think.
Sometimes music is overused and misused in movies. Like Cameron Crowe's recent film Elizabethtown. You know, it's easy to enjoy a movie just because there's lots of great music, when in fact underneath it all is an all-too familiar plot, silly-shallow characters, and...well, that's about it. But then there's filmmakers who place just the right song in just the right places and as a result makes a great film more magical. I think Wes Anderson is a great example. I mean, when Gwynneth Paltrow (the troubled adopted daughter in The Royal Tennenbaums) meets Luke Wilson on the train station while Neco's version of "These Days" plays...it sets a perfect atmosphere of moments all viewers can relate to.
So what's your top five favorite soundtracks?
Here's mine to start:
1. Rushmore: From obscure Kinks tracks ("Nothing in this World Stops Me Worrying About That Girl") to forgotten Donovan classics, the soundtrack's songs are as quirky and marginalized as Max Fisher.
2. Can't Hardly Wait: If the film had any depth or practical wisdom I wouldn't like it nearly as much as I do. It's just about naive, clueless highshool graduates with only two priorities: have fun and fall in love. I think its soundtrack, with greats like Third Eye Blind, Parliament, and Matthew Sweet, is the perfect pomp and circumstance for the film's characters.
3. Forrest Gump: Sure, maybe a double disc of nearly EVERY pop classic from 1955-1975 was a bit much. But like the movie, these songs never lose their heartwarming charm.
4. Stand By Me: No other film better illustrates childhood friendship. And the songs that the ragtag boys sing and walk along to as they search for a dead body remind us what it was like to be young. Standout track/scene? "Lollipop."
5. Night On Earth: Tom Waits, my favorite singer, did the wonderful soundtrack to Jim Jarmusch's breakthrough film.
Now, what are yours?
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pippin06
Posts 446
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5/3/2006 2:07 PM
posted awhile ago
Re: Top five favorite Soundtracks
Oh my gosh! I am totally serious by saying that I was thinking of starting a group just like this because I watched Elizabethtown last night (great soundtrack; jury's still out on the movie), and it got me thinking how I love movie music! I'm not lying! And movie music is something I can talk lots about. My top 5 favorite soundtracks (a hard one to decide):
1. Forrest Gump - This is the greatest road trip soundtrack ever created.
2. Bridget Jones' Diary - This one of my favorite movies, and the soundtrack is so spot on and features lots of pop artists from across the pond.
3. Pulp Fiction - This quirky soundtrack quickly recalls scenes in the movie (good or bad).
4. Wayne's World - It single handedly revived Bohemian Rhapsody.
5. Stand By Me - It's the only completely 50's music soundtrack I can stomach (and it's also one of my favorite movies).
I also enjoy orchestral movie soundtracks. Are those up for grabs in this group because I have five of those too. :-)
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PammyK
Posts 216
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5/3/2006 2:25 PM
posted awhile ago
Re: Top five favorite Soundtracks
Sometimes I find single songs that I really like in movies. I love the song "Mondo Bongo" by Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros from Mr. and Mrs. Smith. There are probably more, but I can't think of them right now.
Here are some soundtracks that I did like enough to buy...
Titanic - And not just the one song, all of the other songs are just instrumental and they are deep and sad and pretty.
Forest Gump - It really is a good mix of a lot of good songs.
Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? - This is so unique and all of the songs are catchy and go together.
Empire Records - This was a favorite of mine when I was in highschool. I can't say I listen to it much anymore, but it was an interesting mix of songs and brings back memories of highschool.
Top Gun - "Take My Breath Away" was my favorite song for a long time, but all of them are so eighties and classic that the soundtrack has a very distinct feel to it.
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daryn
Posts 9
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5/3/2006 2:35 PM
posted awhile ago
Re: Top five favorite Soundtracks
Top Gun
Top Gun might be one of the best sound tracks ever. Although you
might not want to admit it. I think everyone has caught
themselves hearing a song from the movie and instantly being able to
place the scene in the movie it is from. For instance "Danger
Zone" and you see Maverick (Tom Cruise) trying to race a jet on his
motorcycle. How about "You've Lost the Love and Feeling"
yeah see you know what I am talking about. Maverick signing to Charlie
(Kelly McGillis) and then he follows her into the ladies room and
offers to save her from making a mistake with the old man she was with.
(I don't think that is on the sound track however.)
A close second would have to be Rocky. If you ever played sports
in high school at one point you had a tape you made up that had "Eye of
a Tiger" on it and you know who you are! I think my tape wore out from
me rewinding it so many times to hear the first 45 seconds of that
song.
So what other movies have sounds tracks like this that mean something to someone.
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Watcher_in_the_ Woods
Posts 22
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5/3/2006 3:58 PM
posted awhile ago
Re: Top five favorite Soundtracks
Survivor. Very influential in my musical journey.
Hey, any idea who sings "Hearts on Fire" from Rocky 4?
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bishop
Posts 85
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5/4/2006 1:52 AM
posted awhile ago
Re: Top five favorite Soundtracks
My top 5:
The Crow - its a consistently dark cd.
Lord of the Rings Soundtrack(s) - makes great background music.
Nightmare before Christmas - Elfman is awesome.
BladeRunner, The Complete Score - again..great background music.
Star Wars - I know, I know...but I just can't help myself. :P
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pippin06
Posts 446
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5/4/2006 8:17 AM
posted awhile ago
Re: Top five favorite Soundtracks
ok, here are my top 5 orchestral ones, which i count separately from the song ones.
1. star wars original trilogy (any) - Includes the most recognizable movie themes in history.
2. lord of the rings trilogy (any) - A grand score for an epic trilogy that added so much texture.
3. schindler's list - Simultaenously beautiful and heartwrenching and heavily features Itzak Perlman
4. e.t. - This one of the most complex pieces of music written for screen. I know because I've played it.
5. raiders of the lost ark - Includes perhaps the second most recognizable movie themes in history.
I obviously love John Williams (#1, 3-5) but Lord of the Rings is wonderful (all praise Howard Shore).
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soyem
Posts 2
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5/4/2006 4:26 PM
posted awhile ago
Re: Top five favorite Soundtracks
I don't remember five movies where I loved the music, but the one I always think of is Talk to Her. In Spanish, about weird folks, a bit hard to follow.
But the movie is absolutely beautiful. Can I love a movie only for the color saturation, pace and music?
The music matches the mood of the movie perfectly, and I went directly from watching the film to try and find a good copy of Caetano Veloso's CuCuRuCoo (or however you spell that.)
If you like music in movies, this is one to see.
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ktincu
Posts 6
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5/5/2006 4:21 PM
posted awhile ago
Re: Top five favorite Soundtracks
I hesitate to try to do a real top five list right now (not enough time
to go through my movie list and really think about it) but here are
some I love:
- The Life Aquatic: This was my introduction to Seu Jorge, now
one of my favorite artists. The whole concept of remaking classic David
Bowie songs in Portuguese with an acoustic guitar is just too strange
and wonderful. Mixed in with the other diverse styles on the
soundtrack, it's a very quirky listen.
- The Royal Tenenbaums: Yes, I think Wes Anderson's got good
taste in music AND a great sense for when and where to use it. Think of
the scene with Luke Wilson and Gwyneth Paltrow in the tent, listening
to the Nick Drake record... We will forever be losing ourselves and our
problems in music.
- Dead Man (Jim Jarmusch) is SO utterly about the music--even
more so because the film is in black and white, which somehow focuses
your attention more intensely toward the music. (Think constant Neil
Young guitar riffs, then decide if you'd like that kind of thing or if
it would drive you nuts.)
And I heartily agree with these, already mentioned by others:
- Night on Earth: Yes, Jim Jarmusch has got it going on, too. He gets it just right.
- Talk to Her: The ballet scene at the beginning, with its
musical accompaniment, is almost too heart-wrenching to watch (and it
sets the tone for the rest of the film and the soundtrack).
- O Brother, Where Art Thou? With T Bone Burnett producing it
and huge talents like Alison Krauss, Gillian Welch and Emmylou making
the music, what's not to love? (Unless of course you just don't like
this sort of thing...)
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tmoney
Posts 181
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5/8/2006 12:46 AM
posted awhile ago
Re: Top five favorite Soundtracks
1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind: Jon Brion is a genius. Uses instruments people have never even heard of.
2. Life Aquatic: Sigur Ros at the end blew my mind. Seu Jorge rocks my world too.
3. Vanilla Sky: Sigur Ros, Radiohead, man i can't get enough of this soundtrack.
4. Dark Days: DJ shadow remixed score.
5. Hedwig and the Angry Inch: Does a musical count? I love love love the transvestite rock in this film.
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