Turn it up to 11

My car radio is still messed up and will most likely stay that way since I don't feel like shelling out $$$  for a new one.

Here's a selection of what I've been listening to for the past week or so...

Music Listography #3 - Favorite Movie Songs

As a palate cleanser, it's the return of "Music Listography - Your Life in Playlists". This is the 3rd installment. This awesome birthday gift was courtesy of TORC.

Today's topic, "List your Favorite Songs from the Movies"

OMFG, where do I begin?

From "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" (One of the greatest teen films ever made!)

"Somebody's Baby" by Jackson Brown

SCENE - When Stacy and Ron the Stereo salesman have sex in the baseball dugout at "The Point". This song is possibly one of my top faves of all time. I also like the remake by Phantom Planet which was featured in the teen parody movie,"Not Another Teen Movie". To add more unwanted trivia to your already addled brains, the lead singer of Phantom Planet had a bit part in "Donnie Darko" as one of Seth Rogen's prep school friends (yes, THE Seth Rogen before he got all famous).

"Kashmir" by Led Zeppelin

SCENE - Right after Damone gives his advice to Mark Ratner, "When it comes to making out, whenever possible, put on side one of "Led Zeppelin IV". The scene cuts to the Rat in his station wagon blasting this song. What's funny about this is that people think this is a mistake since "Kashmir" IS NOT even from this album; it's supposed to seem that the Rat is such a loser that he plays the WRONG album. Also, Cameron Crowe (who penned the novel) was a teen wunderkind, traveling with with bands such as Led Zeppelin as a young Rolling Stone reporter. Led Zeppelin was notorious for NOT releasing any of their songs for film usage but this was one of the songs they allowed Crowe to use for his film.

"Moving in Stereo" by The Cars

SCENE - The song playing in the background while Brad Hamilton spies on Linda Barrett (Phoebe Cates). Yes, this is the infamous pool scene in which Linda is wearing the fabled "red bikini". If you are over the age of 30 and breathing, you should know this film. If not, then where the fk have you been, you Luddites! This pool scene was later spoofed by the band Fountains of Wayne using Rod Stewart's hot MILFY ex-wife, Rachel Hunter in the video, "Stacy's Mom" (YouTube that one; it's pretty funny).

From "Say Anthing"

"One Big Rush" by Joe Satriani from "Say Anything"

SCENE - Lloyd Dobler trying kick boxing and getting his ass kicked by Don "the Dragon" Wilson. Joe Satriani had just released "Surfing with the Alien" in 1987 and was really big. I was totally into Satriani, Steve Vai and Eric Johnson (the holy trinity of kick ass guitarists; each with their own unique style and sound). This was the perfect song for that scene.

"In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel from "Say Anything"

SCENE - Lloyd Dobler in long trenchcoat outside his girlfriend's house with arms raised holding a boombox. So romantic...I think every girl back in 1989 wanted their boyfriend to do this.  Ha ha, this puppet parody hit the nail on the head down to the "Clash" t-shirt!

From "16 Candles"

"Little Bitch" by The Specials (here's an obscure one!)

SCENE - Where Farmer Ted tries to talk to Samantha Baker and her friends while sitting on the bleachers and you can hear this catchy ska song in the background...

"True" by Spandau Ballet

SCENE - Samantha Baker fantasizes about Jake Ryan while watching him dance with Caroline. "Huh huh huh huh, huh! I know...this...much...is...True!" (sing in an anguished voice). This song also made a memorable appearance in 1996's "The Wedding Singer" towards the end when Steve Buscemi's character is crooning the now classic 80's love song to Robbie and Julia (Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore's characters).

From "Crybaby"
"Doin' Time for Being Young" - sung in reality by a dude named James Intveldt but performed and lip synced impressively by Johnny Depp!!!!
SCENE - When Crybaby is dancing in jail with the inmates a la the Elvis "Jail House Rock" sequence. Holy hell, Johnny Depp was (and still is) HAWT!!!

From "Donnie Darko"
"The Killing Moon" by Echo and the Bunnymen
SCENE - The opening sequence with Jake Gyllenhaal's character riding a bike down a mountain. In the director's cut, the original song is the equally haunting, "Never Tear Us Apart" by INXS

From "Pretty in Pink"
"Thieves Like Us" (instrumental version) by New Order
SCENE - I believe this song is the montage where she is making her prom dress. I'll have to check my dvd again because unfortunately, this movie is not yet available on iTunes. Damn them! But yeah, this is a great version of "Thieves Like Us".

From "Remember Me"
"Andvari" by Sigur Ros
SCENE - The love scene between Tyler and Ally (RPattz and Emily de Ravin). Too bad it was only PG-13! It's really a very pretty song even though I can't understand what the dude's singing (it's in Icelandic).

From "Shawn of the Dead"
"Don't Stop Me Now" by Queen
SCENE - This has got to be one of THE BEST uses of a Queen song EVER! It's towards the end where Shawn and his friends are holed up in the local pub, the Winchester. A zombie breaks in and tries to attack them and they start to attack him while this song is being played on the jukebox! Hilarious times to be had by all!

Honorable Mentions:
"Wild Sex in the Working Class" by Oingo Boingo (from "16 Candles)
"Sandy" by John Travolta (from "Grease") - totally cheesy!
"Left of Center" by Suzanne Vega (from "Pretty in Pink")
"Bring on the Dancing Horses" by Echo and the Bunnymen (also from "Pretty in Pink")
"Oh Yeah" by Yellow (from "Ferris Bueller's Day Off")
"Are You Ready for the Sex Girls" by the Gleaming Spires (from "Revenge of the Nerds")
"You Took My Heart and You Tore it Apart (So F--k You) by Harry Nillson (from "Private School" which also starred the babelicious Phoebe Cates)
"Que Sera Sera" by Sly and the Family Stone (from "Heathers")
"Here's to Love (Down with Love) performed by Ewan McGregor and Renee Zellweger (from "Down with Love")

And there's tons more songs but those are the first few I can think of!  You can tell I'm a child of the 80's! (Actually I was a teen, but you know wut I mean, eh!)

So dear readers, what are your favorite songs from the movies and why?

Soundtracks!!!

Warning - This is a very long post with a lot of video content. Skip if you don't like music (or rather, my taste in music) or my prattle. Also, this post isn't as detailed as I'd like it to be, but I just want to get it out already.

Listening to music is one of my favorite pastimes (or is it pasttimes?). Well, that and eating and enjoying good food of course. As in my previous post with the "Twilight Soundtrack", I tend to buy or collect soundtracks to movies that I really really like. I have to really like and want it in order to get it. Sometimes, most of the the songs are pretty good and there is very little "Fast Forward Factor" (FFF). If I can listen to a whole CD without hitting the FF button, that that soundtrack kicks ass. If not, it's hit and miss. Soundtracks serve as an aural reminder of the movie. If it's a good soundtrack, I associate certain songs with certain scenes and that usually makes the movie more enjoyable or memorable for me.

What chick over the age of 30 doesn't remember Spandau Ballet's breathlessly romantic "True" in the dance scene featuring forlorn Samantha Baker achingly watching dreamy senior Jake Ryan dance with his girlfriend Carolyn in the John Hughes brat pack classic "Sixteen Candles"? If you don't know what I'm talking about, you must either be really fkn old or living under a rock. But seriously, some movies are pretty crass when they include music in their soundtracks with producers throwing in shit just to make a buck even if the song(s) don't relate or if the songs are so obvious it's lame (ex: "Notting Hill", "Alvin and the Chipmunks" - don't ask, to name a few and any chick flick movie for that matter). Others are put together with more thought and subsequently (at least for me), the movie is a lot better as a whole because of the excellent musical choices.

These soundtracks are in no particular order. Some have the FFF but I do like most of these.

My favorite movie (tie with Fast Times) and Soundtrack is...

1. "Sixteen Candles" (1984)

Okay, I have to clarify here. Although the original soundtrack only had a six songs (plus it sucked big time), the "unofficial" soundtrack contains the songs listed here. This is what I consider to be the "Real" soundtrack. I love how that guy listed all the songs in order as well as the differences between the theatrical, tv and video version. There are some slight differences due to copyrights but I applaud him for making that helpful chart which I consider the Holy Grail of making your own "Sixteen Candles" mix tape, I mean mix CD. In fact, I burned my own copy complete with sound bites from the movie.

Even though I never saw the movie in the theartres (it came out in 1984 in my freshman year), my friends and Iwatched this over and over again to the point of memorization, thanks to the then fledgling Betamax and VHS technology. Go Betamax! One of my favorite bands, Oingo Boingo is paired up with the scene of Anthony Michael Hall as Farmer Ted exclaiming "Hot, hot! Very hot!!!" to the object of his affection, "freshly aged sophomore meat", Samantha Baker during their raucously hilarious"Wild Sex in the Working Class" while she stands there in utter lipbiting mortification. John Hughes, like another one of my favorite directors, John Waters, has a knack for putting together cohesive musical compilations for his movies. His love of New Wave, British bands, punk, ska and garage rock can be plainly seen and felt in his soundtracks.

Nick Heyward, former lead singer of the Brit New Wave group, Haircut 100 is on the "unofficial" soundtrack. Whatever happened to them anyways? This song, "Whistle Down the Wind" plays when Jake and Carolyn are dancing...

And of course, Spandau Ballet "True" - a ubiquitous non r & b slow song during many a high school dance in the mid 80's:

2. "Pretty in Pink" (1986)

By the way, this was the first movie I ever saw with Bert. It's a John Hughes thing. We saw it for probably less than $5 after school at the Sweetwater Town & Country movie theatre which is now being refurbished as a church of all things. The first movie we saw on video was "Wierd Science". which we watched at my house.

This soundtrack was and still is made out of awesome! It is one of the rare few with out the FFF! How much better could it get? The song list reads like a who's who of 80's music: OMG, the soundtrack listing is like a roster of great 80's artists! They even threw in Prince protege Jesse Johnson (ex-guitarist of The Time) and the Furs even rerecorded another version of "the eponymous song. One song I thought they should have included (which was in the movie) instead of "Shellshock" was "Elegia", also by New Order. It's an instrumental and it sounds really atmospheric and depressing, but I loved it! This is only a partial listing of all of the actual songs that appeared on the soundtrack. As with "Sixteen Candles", I've made my own version of the "Pretty in Pink" soundtrack with all of the songs including snippets of dialogue from the movie. Yes, I'm that obsessive and compulsive! It makes for a much better listening experience!

1. If You Leave - Orchestral Manoevres in the Dark (the prom scene song at the end)
2. Left of Center - Suzanne Vega w/ Joe Jackson
3. Get to Know Ya - Jesse Johnson (Prince protege and former guitarist of The Time)
4. Do Wot You Do - INXS (Michael Hutchence - what a voice)
5. Pretty in Pink - The Psychedelic Furs (wow, Richard Butler's dangerous croon)
6. Shellshock - New Order (very 80's)
7. Round, Round - Belouis Some
8. Wouldn't It Be Good - Danny Hutton Hitters(there is also another version by Nik Kershaw)
9. Bring on the Dancing Horses - Echo & the Bunnymen (another one of my favorite songs - love Ian McCullough's voice!)
10. Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want - The Smiths (later, this song was covered nearly two decades later by Muse in the teen movie spoof, "Not Another Teen Movie")

Here's OMD's "If You Leave" which plays at the prom scene at the end. My only gripe is that Andy ended up with wimpy rich kid Blaine (Andrew McCarthy) instead of her friend, the outrageous Duckie (Jon Cryer) who was madly in love with her. Test audiences preferred to see her end up with Blaine. Gahhhh!

3. "The Piano" (1993)

Other than the abject horror of seeing Harvey Keitel's infamous bait and tackle and trying to erase that horrid memory from my mind (Aagh! My eyes! My eyes!), I absolutely loved the music in the piano. Famously described in an SNL skit featuring Garth and Wayne during their Oscar's review... (to the tune of the "5th of Beethoven), "This movie sucked...this movie sucked"! Actually, I didn't think that it sucked but I wanted to throw that in. The piano playing here is magnificent. Holly Hunter actually played the piano for this movie - I wish I could play like that. This is one of those soundtracks that I listen to if I want to just chill out and not have to listen to any lyrics.

4. Pink Flamingos (1972)

Ah yes, Pink Flamingos by trashtastic director, John Waters. It was so hard deciding which soundtrack to include. "Pecker"? "Hairspray"? When you hear the Trashmen's version of "Surfing Bird", you will never think of that song in the same way again. Can you say "talking butthole" kids? I won't even bother to post a clip from that movie. Especially the ending in which the song, "How Much is that Doggie in the Window?" plays. ! Ha ha.

John Waters is the king of choosing great songs for his movies. He tends to pick songs with that sleaze factor, you know, those kind that you feel really dirty after listening to them. Like strip joint nasty. For example, anything with a really mean saxophone ("Apache" during the ass rape scene in "Pulp Fiction") or scratchy 60's surf guitar ("Intoxica" in this movie)

1. The Swag - Link Wray & His Wray Men (one of the greatest intros to an album)
2. Intoxica - The Centurions (dirty surf rock instrumental)

3. Jim Dandy - LaVern Baker
4. I'm Not a Juvenile Delinquent - Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers

5. The Girl Can't Help It - Little Richard (from 50's rock exploitation flick)
6. Ooh! Look-A-There, Ain't She Pretty? - Bill Haley & His Comets (ironic use of this song as it pertains to 300 lb drag queen Divine)
7. Chicken Grabber - Nite Hawks (another song with that dirty sax)

8. Happy, Happy Birthday Baby - The June Weavers
9. Pink Champagne - The Tyrones
10. Surfin' Bird - The Trashmen (this song plays during the infamous "talking @$$hole scene)

11. Riot in Cell Block #9 - The Robins

12. (How Much Is) That Doggie in the Window? - Patti Page (this song shows up at the end when Divine picks up a piece of dog feces and proceeds to eat it)

5. "Say Anything" (1989)

I thought I'd include another Cameron Crowe movie (before he got all sucky with "Jerry Maguire" and "Vanilla Sky", - he redeemed himself with his semiautobiographical flick "Almost Famous" though). This is another rare soundtrack album that has very litle, if any, FFF! First of all, I love this movie. John Cusack was amazing as Lloyd Dobler and Ione Skye was perfect as his brainy girlfriend Diane Court.

1. All for Love - Nancy Wilson (power ballad by wife of Cameron Crowe and guitarist of Heart) 2. Cult of Personality - Living Colour (I thought it was great that this was included. Living Colour was just coming out - hard hitting and ferocious)
3. One Big Rush - Joe Satriani (Joe Satrianni is one of my favorite guitar players! this plays during the kick boxing scene with Don "The Dragon" Wilson - awesome adrenaline rush, this song!)
4. You Want It - Cheap Trick (OMG! Robin Zander!)
5. Taste the Pain - The Red Hot Chili Peppers (I thought it was cool that the Red Hots were in here - they were just getting big during the late 80's)
6. In Your Eyes - Peter Gabriel (see accompanying video clip below)
7. Stripped - Depeche Mode

8. Skankin' to the Beat - Fishbone

9. Within Your Reach - The Replacements
10. Keeping the Dream Alive - Freiheit (if anything, this is the one song I would fast forward. Never heard of this group and I don't know if they've done anything since then, plus the song kinda sucks!)
11. Lloyd Dobbler Rap (This is pretty funny - it's the scene where Lloyd Dobler and his loser friends are sitting outside and they are rapping about Lloyd - "Lloyd Lloyd null and void!" See clip below). I have the LP to this and this song is not credited; it plays on the end grooves.

Two Words - The Boombox.

Who can forget that scene of John Cusack holding the boombox outside of his girlfriend's window while it blared Peter Gabriel's romantic "In Your Eyes"??? That to me, is one of the most iconic scenes in filmdom.

6. "Donnie Darko" (2001)

Kind of a wierd movie, but a killer soundtrack and score (which is separate). ANY movie that begins with the deeply dark and mysterious "The Killing Moon" by Echo & the Bunnymen is a fave of mine! "The Killing Moon" is one of my favorite songs and I was floored to see it featured so prominently in "Donnie Darko". Ironically, the original choice for the opening song, and featured in the director's cut, was the just as intensely sexy "Never Tear Us Apart" by INXS.

Taken from IMDB's trivia for "Donnie Darko" - The song that plays as Donnie is riding his bike home in the theatrical version is "The Killing Moon" by Echo & The Bunnymen. As Gretchen waits for the school bus, a Volkswagen Rabbit vehicle quickly passes in front of her. When Elizabeth Darko is sleeping on the recliner, there is a stuffed rabbit next to her. As Donnie reaches for the car keys, there is a Polaroid picture of him and his sister in Halloween costumes on the desk. Donnie is dressed as a rabbit. When Donnie is talking to his sister after his mom leaves near the end, a "jack o lantern" bunny is seen on the table. Frank, the rabbit, often appears near a water source (sprinklers, water main, faucet).

7. "The Terminator" (1984)
Believe it or not, this is one of the first soundtracks I've ever bought and truly enjoyed. The composer is Brad Fiedel and the songs, particularly the ones heralding the arrival of the Terminator, are bleak and futuristic sounding. There are some other songs on there that sound dated - those are the songs they play in the nightclub when Sarah Connor is trying to hide from the Terminator.

Gotta love Arnold's lines:
"Nothing clean right..."
"Your clothes...Give them to me!"
"Fk you @$$hole!"


and let's not forget this:
"I'll be back."

8. "Bride and Prejudice" (2004)

This is the Bollywood version of "Pride and Prejudice" directed by Gurinder Chadha (director of "Bend it Like Beckham"). I really liked this movie - it had gorgeous colorful costumes, British/Indian humor and really fun musical numbers. There are two versions of the soundtrack, the American and the Indian. The one pictured below is the Indian (import) version. In the American version, they sing in English; in this one they sing in Indian dialect (not sure if it's Hindi or Punjabi). The scene below is at the beginning of the movie. Ashwarya Rai is gorgeous by the way. Her love interest, on the other hand, is not. The song is "Balle Balle":


9. "Reservoir Dogs" (1992)

As with Waters and Hughes, Tarantino's soundtracks are also quite memorable in their clever choices of songs. This soundtrack to his debut film "Reservoir Dogs' is one of my favorite to pop in the cd player.

1. Little Green Bag - George Baker Selection (Great opening song, which plays during the establishing shot of the hitmen walking in slow mo)

2. Hooked On A Feeling - Blue Suede ("Ooga chaka ooga chaka! )
3. Bohemiath (Dialogue) - Quentin Tarantino (loved the deadpan dialogue of the 70's station DJ played by comedian Stephen Wright. "You're listening K-Billy's Super Sounds of the 70s...")
4. I Gotcha - Joe Tex (this is a wanna be James Brown, if there was ever a song about date rape, this would be it - this guy sounds angry but the song is so funky, I feel guilty for liking it!) 5. Magic Carpet Ride - Bedlam

6. Madonna Speech (Dialogue) - Quentin Tarantino ("Dick, dick, dick, dick, dick!")
7. Fool for Love - Sandy Rogers (this song is an FF, NEXT~)
8. Stuck in the Middle With You - Stealers Wheel (see clip below)
9. Harvest Moon - Bedlam (same with this...FF!)
10. Let's Get a Taco (Dialogue) - Quentin Tarantino

11. Coconut - Harry Nilsson

Every time I hear Stealer's Wheel, "Caught in the Middle With You" I will forever be reminded of this scene (see below)!!! I don't really like the song, but it just fits with the movie. You know what sounds like this song? That annoying , "All I Wanna Do (Is Have Some Fun)" by Sheryl Crowe.

10. "Velvet Goldmine"
Yes, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers may have cracked out eyes and meth face but he is beautiful here as an androgyn along with pre-"Dark Knight" Christian Bale and pre Obi Wan Kenobi Ewan McGregor. The soundtrack is an homage to early 70's glam.

From Amazon.com's description of the soundtrack:

" Director Todd Haynes's celebration of the sex, drugs, and rock & roll of the British glam era of the early '70s, Velvet Goldmine, would be nothing without the music that inspired it. A few unusual absentees (no Bowie, Iggy Pop, or New York Dolls?), but folks such as Brian Eno, Roxy Music, Lou Reed, and T-Rex are represented. Several covers from the glam era are performed without much deviation by two supergroups: the Venus in Furs, featuring members of England's elite--Bernard Butler, and Thom Yorke of Radiohead; and Wylde Ratz, featuring Mark Arm of Mudhoney, Ron Asheton of the original Stooges, and Thurston Moore and Steve Shelley of Sonic Youth. Strongest are the originals submitted to the film: Shudder to Think tame their own experimental excesses to put forth two glam-worthy originals with "Hot One" and "Ballad of Maxwell Demon." Pulp deliver "We Are the Boys," which runs amuck with the dramatic stagepower of the finest glam. --Rob O'Connor

Clip with Christian Bale from "Velvet Goldmine" featuring the song "Hot One" by Shudder to Think:

11. "Revenge of the Nerds" (1984)

One of the best parts is the classic song by the Gleaming Spires, "Are You Ready for the Sex Girls" . The video below is just the song but in the movie, it's the song the Lambda Lambda Lambda's play at their party with the fraternity advisors (stone faced Blaxploitation actor Bernie Casey) and the nerdy female sorority, the Omega Mu's.


And of course, the classic rap performed by the very non masculine Lamarr Latrell and the rest of the Tri-Lambs...

12. "Cry Baby"
Johnny Depp's first post "21 Jumpstreet" film role... Chock full of 50's juvenile delinquent/Elvis movie cliches...Again, a John Waters film and soundtrack. In the movie, he made sure that the songs were accurate and would represent the era well.

13. "Nightbreed"

The soundtrack is by Danny Elfman - lead singer of OIngo Boingo, but more recently better known as the main composer for most of Tim Burton's films (*"Pee Wee's Big Adventure", "Edwards Scissorhands", "Sleepy Hollow", et al). This movie is based on the books by British horror writer Clive Barker ("Hellraiser", "Candyman"). The movie didn't too well in the theatres (or on video either), but it still brought Clive Barker's horrific vision of misfit monsters to life .

14. "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" (1982)

This is the soundtrack that is a tie with "Sixteen Candles". Based on Cameron Crowe's debut film which was based on his book of the same name which detailed his year undercover at Clairemont High in San Diego, California. I have the book and it's pretty funny. There are a lot of scenes in the book that weren't in the movie. I found the paperback version at a thrift store somewhere. The hardback version is going for more than $100. Yikes. Crowe chose a lot of Southern California rock bands for this soundtrack so you see a lot of songs by members of the Eagles on here. Becasue of copyrights, there are certain songs which were not included on this soundtrack, such as "American Girl" by Tom Petty (it's one of the opening songs for the "first day of school" scene), "We Got the Beat" by the Go Go's (also plays in the opening sequence), and "Kashmir" by Led Zeppelin (the band graciously allowed Crowe to use this one song). The song "Kashmir" was played by the Rat in his car when he goes out on a date with Stacy. The most HEINOUS AND EGREGIOUS OMISSIONOF A SONG EVER has got to be the glaring absence of The Car's "Moving in Stereo", which, especially if you are a guy over the age of 30, you KNOW is featured during the infamous and oft-rewinded Phoebe Cates pool scene. Yes. The Red Bikini. "Hey Brad..."

1. Somebody's Baby - Jackson Browne (plays during several key scenes in the movie such as when Stacy Hamilton sneaks out to meet stereo salesman Ron Johnson, and gets deflowered at the local makeout spot, The Point. Also plays when Stacy and Damone make outand have sex in the changing room)

2. Waffle Stomp - Joe Walsh (this was the theme for Judge Reinhold's character, Brad Hamilton. First heard when Jeff Spicoli and his stoner friends walk into All American Burger, where Brad works. They come in without any shirts. "No Shirts, No Shoes. No Dice!")
3. Love Rules - Don Henley (here's yet another song by a member of the Eagles)
4. Uptown Boys - Louise Goffin
5. So Much in Love - Timothy B. Schmit (Eagles alert!)
6. Raised on the Radio - The Ravyns (the song that's one when Brad is washing his car)

7. The Look in Your Eyes - Gerard McMahon

8. Speeding - The Go Go's (the song that plays when Damone sees the word "prick" written on his car)

9. Don't Be Lonely - Quarterflash

10. Never Surrender - Don Felder (another Eagle!)
11. Fast Times (The Best Years of Our Lives) - Billy Squier (played during the football game where Ridgemont "kills" Lincoln High)
12. Fast Times at Ridgemont High - Sammy Hagar (car scene with Jeff Spicoli and Charles Jefferson's little brother, "Hey, I got the new Playboy.", "Yeah, Bo Derek's tits!")
13. I Don't Know (Spicoli's Theme) - Jimmy Buffet (played at the end of the year dance)
14. Love Is the Reason - Graham Nash

15. I'll Leave It up to You - Poco
16. Highway Runner - Donna Summer
17. Sleeping Angel - Stevie Nicks (song that's playing when Damon is trying to get people to pay him back so he could help pay for Stacy's abortion)
18. She's My Baby (And She's Outta Control) - Jost/Palmer
19. Goodbye, Goodbye - Oingo Boingo (the memorable end credits song - in the TV version the song is different, "That's All There Is" by who knows who!)

Jackson Browne's , "Somebody's Baby ":

15. "Car Wash"

The whole soundtrack is by Rose Royce and it is indeed a masterpiece. Every song is good. No FFF here. I kind of like the idea of having one main group or composer for the whole soundtrack. There's a flow to it, kinda like Willie Hutch for "Foxy Brown".

16. Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)

In the late 80's, I used to have a big crush on Keanu Reeves who played Ted "Theodore" Logan in this classic Oscar worthy flick (ha ha). Now he's in his mid 40's and all old and shit. Who cares if he can't act. Just stand there and look pretty for the camera dammit! Bert and I were one of 10 people in the theatre when we watched this! George Carlin as Rufus! The figures from history: Genghis Khan, Abraham Lincoln, Socrates, Billy the Kid, Joan of Arc, and Napoleon were hilarious! Bit of trivia here - the air guitar bit parts in the movie were played by guitar whiz Steve Vai.

King - Put them in the Iron Maiden!

Bill & Ted - Iron Maiden? Excellent!

King - Execute them!

Bill & Ted - Bogus!

Here is the mall scene. The song featured is "Come and Play" by Extreme (at the 2:23 point). Yes, the lead singer was Gary Cherone, best known for his ill-fated stint as Van Halen's lead singer after Sammy Hagar left.

17. The Princess Bride (1987)

I am not a big fan of Dire Straits yet I like this soundtrack. Why the Dire Straits connection? Mark Knopfler, lead singer and guitarist of aforementioned group is the composer for this 1987 movie classic. He captures the feel for this story book romance with the traditional instrumentation and still manages to sneak in some electric guitar.

"I've got something to tell you! I'm not left handed either! "

18. Heathers (1989)

On the tail end of the shiny happy 80's teen flicks, came this black comedy by director Daniel Waters. "Heathers" starred the elfinishly cute Winona Ryder (one of my favorite actresses) and newcomer bad boy Christian Slater who displayed Jack Nicholsoneque mannerisms galore...This movie was pre-Mean Girls and boy was it dark! I loved that the high school was named "Westerburg High", a reference to Paul Westerburg, lead singer of the Replacements, which was one of Winona Ryder's favorite bands. See, isn't trivia like this awesome? This movie had everything. Snappy dialogue and funny scenes...

"Greetings and salutations."

"What's your damage Heather?"
"Did you cough up a brain tumor for breakfast?"

"I take you to a Remington party and all you do is pay me in puke?"

"Lick it up baby! Lick. It. Up!"


19. and even though there was not an official soundtrack for this, I need to include "Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1985)

Don't tell me that you don't start singing Yello's "Oh Yeah" whenever you see a shiny red Ferrari?

Songs featured in the film that should have been on a soundtrack:

"Love Missile F1-11" (Extended Version) by Sigue Sigue Sputnik
"Jeannie" (Theme from I Dream of Jeannie)
"Beat City" by The Flowerpot Men
"Main Title / Rebel Blockade Runner ( From, 'Star Wars' )" by John Williams
"Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want" (instrumental) by The Dream Academy (a cover of a song by The Smiths)
"Danke Schoen" by Wayne Newton
"Twist and Shout" by The Beatles - which charted again, 16 years after the Beatles broke up, as a result of its prominent appearance in both this movie and Back To School (where Rodney Dangerfield performs a cover version) which was released the same weekend as FBDO. The re-released single reached #23 in the U.S; its parent album, The Early Beatles, would also re-chart at #197. The version heard in the film includes brass overdubbed onto the original backing track, which (according to Hughes on the DVD commentary) did not go down well with Paul McCartney.
"Radio People" by Zapp
"I'm Afraid" by Blue Room
"Taking the Day Off" by General Public
"The Edge of Forever" by The Dream Academy
"March of the Swivelheads" (a remix of "Rotating Head") by The (English) Beat
"Oh Yeah" by Yello
"BAD" by Big Audio Dynamite

Honorable Mentions:

Crossroads (by Ry Cooder' the devil's guitar parts played by Steve Vai)

Buena Vista Social Club (also by Ry Cooder - very cool Cuban "son" music)

Dazed and Confused (classic rock!)
River's Edge (chock full of bone crunching heavy metal)

Ghostworld (Bollywood, ragtime and old blues)

Foxy Brown (funky and sultry music music composed by the late great Willie Hutch)

Grease (John Travolta crooning "Sandy", ha ha - actually this soundtrack is pretty fun )
Devil in a Blue Dress (killer jazz, real jazz - not jacuzzi jazz - Kenny G that means you!)
The Man without a Past (50's/60's rock/surf rock in Finnish and Japanese)

The Nightmare Before Christmas (Danny Elfman strikes again! Cool and quirky!)

Hairspray (the original John Waters film not the musical that came out later)

Sweeney Todd (I didn't think I'd like this but I do! Johnny Depp can sing! Loved his duet "Pretty Women" with Alan Rickman)

Currently listening to...

On rotation in my car and in the house are these awesome CD's...Awesome to ME that is. They may suck to you. Hey, but that's okayyy. Anyhow, the first is the soundtrack to one of the best action/cop spoof movies EVER. And I don't even watch that particular movie genre , but seeing brilliant Brit Simon Pegg and his real life best friend Nick Frost in this gem of a flick (directed by their mate Edgar Wright) made me a fan. Just like Tarantino's soundtracks, there are snippets of movie dialogue interspersed throughout the CD. Faves include songs by the Fratellis and the Eels. I don't know about you, but I really like soundtracks. I'm a very visual person and if I like a movie and/or the songs in it, I will usually get or download the soundtrack. This compilation had that dirty, grungy garage rock band feel (The Troggs anyone?). None of this Mamma Mia ABBA shit for me.One of my favorite directors who also has a knack for quirky soundtracks (ever listen to "Pink Flamingos", the original "Crybaby" and "Pecker?), John Waters is a genius in collecting kitsch and vintage trashy songs for his offbeat compilations. A sick sense of humor is needed to appreciate his odd, yet appropriate song choices...I can't even get into it here. He just cracks me up. Put it this way, if you play this with a gathering of friends, they would either walk out whilst pondering your dubious taste in music, or laugh at your face OR (and this would be cool) think that you have the most twisted musical taste ever. Sigh, which is why I end up listening to a lot of this kind of stuff solo.

Even though this movie, "Marie Antoinette" sucked the saggiest donkey balls ever (please, NEVER watch it - you will thank me for 2 hours of your life you've saved), it had a really awesome soundtrack. Even though Sofia Coppola (cough, overrated) movies are boring, she sure knows how to pick songs for her flicks. This compilation is a 2 disc set but I've been listening mostly to the first CD. It's a mix of 80's, plus ambient, as well as classical. It's kind of cool to listen to this as harmless background music. She must be a big Bow Wow Wow fan because there's three songs on here("Aphrodisiac", "I Want Candy" and the florid "Fools Rush In")! I love Siouxsie & the Banshees' "Hong Kong Garden" (provided great background for one of the early ball scenes), Adam Ant's tribal "Kings of the Wild Frontier" it plays during the scene pictured on the CD cover art), and the moody "Ceremony" by New Order. On disc 2, let's not forget the droning "All Cats are Grey" by the Cure. Gothic Marie Antoinette.

I can't believe I'm posting this, but I'm really digging this bubble-gum-teen-pseudo-glam-alternative rock band from Germany, Tokio Hotel. They recently won "Best New Artist" at the 2008 MTV VMA's, beating out Miley Cyrus (gag) and Jordin Sparks. I was curious. Hmmm, what are the kiddos listening to these days? I caught a snippet of the band on TV and wondered what was so great about this band, apart from the androgynous lead singer's huge tribute to 80's hair band hair (Nikki Sixx lives) and his skillfull use of copius amounts of black eyeliner and eyeshadow rivaling that of Siouxsie Sioux herself. Give that boy an award for killer hair and makeup!!!

Okay, several dozen downloads later...

Wow! They weren't too bad. I feel kind of embarassed to admit I dig this because I'm practically an old fart here! But hey, they're several steps up from the Jonas Brothers (ha ha).

This is their first album, Schrei ("Scream" in German, recently released this year in the U.S. as "Scream" with bonus songs), which came out in 2005. I can't understand what they're singing, but there are some catchy songs in there plus some really nice ballads. For their American release, the band rerecorded some songs because the lead singer's voice changed ("When it's time to change..." Peter Brady action). Yeah, they were pretty young when they started - 15 or so. Now the lead singer (who is a twin by the way - his twin is the guitarist) is 19. His voice isn't that much deeper - but he doesn't like like a girl anymore. Songs like "Der letzte Tag" ("The Final Day") and "Rette Mich" ("Rescue Me") are sticking in my mind. Total trash bubble gum rock!

Zimmer 483 (Room 483) is their second German language album. Featuring the catchy "Übers Ende der Welt" ("Ready, Set, Go!"), the poppy "Deiner Seite (Ich Bin Da)" ("By Your Side"), and the angsty and hard rock like (but hard rock lite-ish) "Ich Brech Aus" ("Break Away"), and other songs in the Teutonic tongue. What else has come out of Germany besides Nena, Nina Hagen (whoa, is she scary or what) and the Scorpions?

Of course, my latest band obsession, English band Muse's "Absolution" (2003), their third CD. Just two words...Stockholm Syndrome. Can the guitars get any more fierce? Then, there's the breathy and sinuous "Time is Running Out" and the quiet ballad "Falling Away With You" - this song reminds me of Queen, and "Butterflies and Hurricanes" (I dig that bombastically romantic piano interlude). What is it with me and guys with falsettos? Matthew Bellamy can rock that falsetto without sounding fey or ghey. No Barry Gibb action here.

This next CD, also by Muse, has also blown me away - "Black Holes & Revelations"(2006). Man, can you say, "Kick Ass?" . This version is a CD/DVD set (the DVD has the Absolution Tour on it). It's not like me to really get into a band so quickly, but once I really latch on to a band, I pretty much get everything I can on them. That is, only if I really really like their music. I love the 80's feel of "Starlight" (the synth line reminds me of this tiny part of ABC's "Be Near Me" - "...all my dreams came true last night, all my hopes and fears"), the Depeche Modesque (shades of "Enjoy the Silence") "Map of the Problematique" and the Spanish guitars and swirly Middle Eastern strings in "City of Delusion", not to mention the funky falsetto in "Supermassive Black Hole". Seems like almost every song on this CD could be played by a different band but with the same lead singer. Matthew Bellamy is a musical genius.

And lastly, another Muse CD on my rotation, the absolutely brilliant live album, "H.A.A.R.P." which was just released this year. This also came with a DVD of their live performance at the opening of the new Wembley Stadium last year. From what I've seen, they are terrific in concert with massive projection screens and thousands of lights and of course, great musicianship.

That's my current aural rotation, that is, until I get tired of it. Who knows when that'll be. I get fixated sometimes. For weeks. This is the most new music I've listened to in years. Perhaps I'm progressing to nearly modern times now. Ha. I'm digging myself out of my 80's time warp. I pretty much stopped paying attention to most music after the 90's. Grunge and dance music just about killed my enthusiasm. Only a few bands/artists nowadays catch my attention. I have a bare inkling of what's new out there - maybe that's a good thing. I don't have any preconceived notions of what's great or not. I just like what I like.