You know when you're listening to the radio, or watching television and a song starts to play and that song instantly makes you think of a specific movie?
Well, I've created a list of my Top 20 most memorable soundtrack moments. This list is dedicated to the songs, that when heard, instantly pop an image into my brain of a specific movie. Additionally, my only intention was to mention songs that had already been recorded, before they were placed in the movie (and on the accompanying Original Motion Picture Soundtrack). Outside of number 20, I believe I achieved that goal.
--#20--
THE SONG: "King of Wishful Thinking"
THE FILM: Pretty Woman (1990)
THE ARTIST: Go West
Directed by Gary Marshall
SCENE DESCRIPTION: Opening Credits - Edward (Richard Gere) gets lost driving his friend's Lotus Esprit through Hollywood and runs into Vivian (Julia Roberts), a prostitute. (I know, I know... you're thinking "this doesn't fit his profile about being a film snob", but honestly, I really like this movie.)
Click here to hear the song... and watch the horribly dated music video.
--#19--
THE SONG: "It's Your Thing"
THE FILM: Out of Sight (1998)
THE ARTIST: The Isley Brothers
Directed by Steven Soderbergh
SCENE DESCRIPTION: Opening/Closing Credits - The song bookends the film, perfectly reflecting the spirit and attitude of the main protagonist, Jack Foley (George Clooney).
Click here to hear the song.
--#18--
THE SONG: "Uptight (Everything's Alright)"
THE FILM: Mr. Holland's Opus (1995)
THE ARTIST: Stevie Wonder
Directed by Stephen Herek
SCENE DESCRIPTION: Glen Holland (Richard Dreyfuss) attempts to teach one of his students (then unknown Terrance Howard) how to keep rhythm.
Click here to hear the song.
--#17--
THE SONG: "This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)"
THE FILM: Wall Street (1987)
THE ARTIST: Talking Heads
Directed by Oliver Stone
SCENE DESCRIPTION: End Credits (It's such and odd little number, but for some reason the song just stuck with me after all of these years.)
Click here to hear the song... and watch the Talking Heads live in concert.
--#16--
THE SONG: "Lust For Life"
THE FILM: Trainspotting (1996)
THE ARTIST: Iggy Pop
Directed by Danny Boyle
SCENE DESCRIPTION: Opening Scene - Renton (Ewan McGregor) and Spud being chased down the street by the police. (A brilliant introduction of the four main characters.)
Click here to see the opening scene.
--#15--
THE SONG: "Sister Christian"
THE FILM: Boogie Nights (1997)
THE ARTIST: Night Ranger
Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson
SCENE DESCRIPTION: Dirk Diggler (Mark Walberg) sits with his buddies through a very nerve-racking drug deal, while Rahad (Alfred Molina) talks about how he makes his own mixed tapes and a young Asian male randomly sets off firecrackers. (It's one of the most silly-yet-tense scenes I've ever witnessed on film.)
Click here to hear the song... and watch the horribly dated music video.
--#14--
THE SONG: "Your Nobody Till Somebody Loves You"
THE FILM: Swingers (1996)
THE ARTIST: Dean Martin
Directed by Doug Liman
SCENE DESCRIPTION: Opening Credits - Montage of still photographs of people enjoying the nightlife in Los Angeles. (This was the only song that I couldn't find on youtube.com as the right version played in the film.)
--#13--
THE SONG: "Where Is My Mind?"
THE FILM: Fight Club (1999)
THE ARTIST: The Pixies
Directed by David Fincher
SCENE DESCRIPTION: Final Scene/Ending Credits - As Tyler Durden expresses to Marla that she's met him during a "very strange time in my life," buildings off in the distance detonate one-by-one.
Click here to hear the song.
--#12--
THE SONG: "Fortunate Son"
THE FILM: Forrest Gump (1994)
THE ARTIST: Creedence Clearwater Revival
Directed by Robert Zemeckis
SCENE DESCRIPTION: Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks) and Bubba are dropped somewhere in the middle of South Vietnam by a UH-1 Huey helicopter. (The 32 song double-disc soundtrack is just fantastic.)
Click here to hear the song... and watch some disturbing videos of H-bomb detonations.
--#11--
THE SONG: "Blinded By The Light"
THE FILM: Blow (2001)
THE ARTIST: Manfred Mann's Earth Band
Directed by Ted Demme
SCENE DESCRIPTION: After sealing the deal with Pablo Escobar, a photo slideshow flashes across the screen of George Jung (Johnny Depp) and the thousands upon thousands of drug deals that take place afterwards. (I honestly can't go more than a week to ten days before I end up hearing this on the radio.)
Click here to view the scene.
--#10--
THE SONG: "Six Blade Knife"
THE FILM: Desperado (1995)
THE ARTIST: Dire Straits
Directed by Robert Rodriguez
SCENE DESCRIPTION: Opening Scene - Steve Buscemi enters a bar, drinks "piss warm" beer and proceeds to tell the the bartender, along with all the patrons about the mysterious Mariachi. (This mostly unknown Dire Straits song sets the mood perfectly for this scene.)
Click here to view the scene. -NSFW
--#9--
THE SONG: "In Your Eyes"
THE FILM: Say Anything... (1989)
THE ARTIST: Peter Gabriel
Directed by Cameron Crowe
SCENE DESCRIPTION: "In Your Eyes" plays on the radio after Lloyd (John Cusack) and Diane have sex in the back of his car; Lloyd plays this song again, standing outside of Diane's house, holding a boom box over his head, trying to change her mind about their relationship.
Click here to hear the song... and watch the vintage "80s" video.
--#8--
THE SONG: "I'm Shipping Up To Boston"
THE FILM: The Departed (2006)
THE ARTIST: Dropkick Murphys
Directed by Martin Scorsese
SCENE DESCRIPTION: This song over-powers your senses as we watch Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) transform into an undercover Massachusetts State Police Officer while in a state prison. (After I heard this song I had to go out and buy the Dropkick Murphys CD that had this song... and I then proceded to play it about a dozen times on my way home from work.)
Click here to hear the song.
--#7--
THE SONG: "Oh Yeah"
THE FILM: Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)
THE ARTIST: Yello
Directed by John Hughes
SCENE DESCRIPTION: End Credits - Principal Rooney gets a ride back to his office on a crowded school bus, after his unsuccessful attempt at catching Ferris Beuller all day. (Honestly, who doesn't think of this film when they hear this song?)
Click here to hear the song... and see the rather twisted music video.
--#6--
THE SONG: "Tiny Dancer"
THE FILM: Almost Famous (2000)
THE ARTIST: Elton John
Directed by Cameron Crowe
SCENE DESCRIPTION: After a tumultuous night, band members from Stillwater, along with their traveling companions, sing along to Elton John's "Tiny Dancer" while riding on the bus en route to their next destination.
Click here to watch the scene.
--#5--
THE SONG: "Bohemian Rhapsody"
THE FILM: Wayne's World (1992)
THE ARTIST: Queen
Directed by Penelope Spheeris
SCENE DESCRIPTION: Wayne (Mike Meyers) and Garth (Dana Carvey) head-bang to this Queen tune while driving with some of their buddies in the back seat of Garth's AMC Pacer. (One of my favorite rock songs of all time.)
Click here to view the scene.
--#4--
THE SONG: "Jungle Boogie"
THE FILM: Pulp Fiction (1994)
THE ARTIST: Kool & the Gang
SCENE DESCRIPTION: Opening Credits which lead into the second scene - "Jungle Boogie" oozes from the car radio as Vincent (John Travolta) discuss with Jules (Samuel L. Jackson)legalities the of marijuana in Amsterdam, frequenting a McDonald's while there, and the metric system. (This was a hard choice to make, since every song on this soundtrack makes me think of this film.)
Click here to hear the song... and watch Kool & the Gang's performance on Soul Train.
--#3--
THE SONG: "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)"
THE FILM: The Big Lebowski (1998)
THE ARTIST: Kenny Rogers & the First Edition
Directed by Joel Coen
SCENE DESCRIPTION: The Dude (Jeff Bridges), after being drugged, succumbs to quite an elaborate dream sequence, where he's starring in his own porno entitled "Gutterballs." (The perfect blend of 1920s spectacle, neo-noir and bowling.)
Click here to view the scene.
--#2--
THE SONG: "Stuck In the Middle With You"
THE FILM: Reservoir Dogs (1992)
THE ARTIST: Stealers Wheel
Directed by Quentin Tarantino
SCENE DESCRIPTION: The sadistic Mr. Blonde (Michael Madsen) tortures a captured police officer while dancing a little jig. He then proceeds to cuts off his ear with a straight razor. (This scene haunted me for quite some time. Now I really enjoy the brilliance of Tarantino's direction.)
Click here to view the scene. -NSFW
--#1--
THE SONG: "Layla"
THE FILM: Goodfellas (1990)
THE ARTIST: Derek and the Dominos
Directed by Martin Scorsese
SCENE DESCRIPTION: The bodies start to pile up when Jimmy (Robert De Niro) doesn't want to share any the money from the Lufthansa robbery with gangsters who help him do the job. (You almost forget that there's two parts to Clapton's masterpiece; it's almost as if they're two completely different songs.)
Click here to view the scene (approx. 2:40 in). -NSFW
Please feel free to reply and post your favorites as well... or if you think that I might have forgotten one.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Thursday, July 2, 2009
MJV - A Life in Videos
Since Michael's passing, I've come across several sites that are listing his best music videos. For those reading this that grew up watching MTV when they actually played music videos for more than 45 minutes a day, then you'll understand the importance of them and how they revolutionized the music industry.
With that being said, Michael Jackson's videos were about 12 levels above almost anyone elses, since a majority of them were mini-movies, or better stated, short films. MTV wasn't really tolerated in my house (and for a very good reason). But that didn't mean I wouldn't watch it when my parents weren't around.
Whenever Michael Jackson premiered a new music video, the broadcast always became a major event. In the 1980s, the world stopped what they were doing, gathered around the television, and waited to see what wonderful sights and sounds Michael was going to present to them.
So, in honor of the "King of Pop" passing, I'm going to share with you my favorite Michael Jackson music videos.
One additional note before I proceed: I have only selected a few to show you. The reasoning behind this is that as much as I am a fan of his early material, some of his videos, as spectacular as they may be, felt too corny upon revisiting them.
Smooth Criminal was Michael Jackson's seventh single release from his album Bad (1987). It was watching this video that I realized how brilliant a physical performer Michael Jackson could be. Everyone was amazed when they first saw him "moonwalk" on stage for the first time, but this video transended his physical abilities way beyond what I could comprehend. This was, however, where I first started to notice the the downward slide in quality performances by Michael (screaming while firing a tommy gun, for example), as well as any other big celebrity name they got to star along side him.
Bad was Michael Jackson's first single release from his 1987 album of the same name. An 18 minute short film written by Richard Price (Clockers) and directed by Martin Scorsese (Goodfellas) that stars Michael portraying a androgynous-looking (which was kind of a new image for him, and something that he unfortunately never got away from after this video) high school-aged kid returning home to the projects after completing a semester at a private school. He comes to discover that his old "gang" of friends have turned to a life of crime. Almost every Michael Jackson video features an entire section dedicated to his dance choreography, and this one isn't any different. It's too bad Scorsese wasn't as good with the whole music part of the music video, since it's really difficult to see Michael Jackson as anything but bad.
Billie Jean was the second single released off of Jackson's 1982 Thriller album. Considered by many as the video that brought MTV, an unknown music channel, into mainstream attention. It was also the first video by a black artist to be aired by the channel, as they felt that most "black music" wasn't "rock" enough. It's probably one of Jackson's shortest music videos, where he didn't get the taste of lengthy musical celluloid until the release of his single, Thriller, at the end of 1983. What fascinated me most about this video was how they illuminated almost everything that came into contact with Michael, especially the concrete beneath his feet. Simple by today's standards, but still rather effective.
Thriller was the sixth single release off of Jackson's 1982 album release of the same name. A true masterpeice in it's own right and considered by many as the greatest music video ever made. Directed by John Landis, Thriller follows Michael and his date, Ola Ray, at the movie theater. His date isn't thrilled at all with the horror movie their watching, so she storms out. As Michael chases her down, and begins to tease her with the opening verses of the song. I don't really remember catching the "World Premiere" of this video, but I sure do remember seeing it dozens upon dozens of times as it played on MTV endlessly, eventually being reduced to under a running time of 5 minutes.
In closing, I've selected the words of one of my close personal friends who said it best:
"Michael Jackson, no matter your feelings on the mans private life and legal troubles, was an amazing man. His music, charity and presence touched millions and millions of people all over the world. He adored children, which in case caused some of the trouble he ran into. He felt the pain and did millions of things to end suffering and starvation of people and children all over this world. From his appearance and the first time he did the moonwalk on stage to his last appearance and plans for a new tour, the man defined the Motown experience and defined pop music."
With that being said, Michael Jackson's videos were about 12 levels above almost anyone elses, since a majority of them were mini-movies, or better stated, short films. MTV wasn't really tolerated in my house (and for a very good reason). But that didn't mean I wouldn't watch it when my parents weren't around.
Whenever Michael Jackson premiered a new music video, the broadcast always became a major event. In the 1980s, the world stopped what they were doing, gathered around the television, and waited to see what wonderful sights and sounds Michael was going to present to them.
So, in honor of the "King of Pop" passing, I'm going to share with you my favorite Michael Jackson music videos.
One additional note before I proceed: I have only selected a few to show you. The reasoning behind this is that as much as I am a fan of his early material, some of his videos, as spectacular as they may be, felt too corny upon revisiting them.
Smooth Criminal was Michael Jackson's seventh single release from his album Bad (1987). It was watching this video that I realized how brilliant a physical performer Michael Jackson could be. Everyone was amazed when they first saw him "moonwalk" on stage for the first time, but this video transended his physical abilities way beyond what I could comprehend. This was, however, where I first started to notice the the downward slide in quality performances by Michael (screaming while firing a tommy gun, for example), as well as any other big celebrity name they got to star along side him.
Bad was Michael Jackson's first single release from his 1987 album of the same name. An 18 minute short film written by Richard Price (Clockers) and directed by Martin Scorsese (Goodfellas) that stars Michael portraying a androgynous-looking (which was kind of a new image for him, and something that he unfortunately never got away from after this video) high school-aged kid returning home to the projects after completing a semester at a private school. He comes to discover that his old "gang" of friends have turned to a life of crime. Almost every Michael Jackson video features an entire section dedicated to his dance choreography, and this one isn't any different. It's too bad Scorsese wasn't as good with the whole music part of the music video, since it's really difficult to see Michael Jackson as anything but bad.
Billie Jean was the second single released off of Jackson's 1982 Thriller album. Considered by many as the video that brought MTV, an unknown music channel, into mainstream attention. It was also the first video by a black artist to be aired by the channel, as they felt that most "black music" wasn't "rock" enough. It's probably one of Jackson's shortest music videos, where he didn't get the taste of lengthy musical celluloid until the release of his single, Thriller, at the end of 1983. What fascinated me most about this video was how they illuminated almost everything that came into contact with Michael, especially the concrete beneath his feet. Simple by today's standards, but still rather effective.
Thriller was the sixth single release off of Jackson's 1982 album release of the same name. A true masterpeice in it's own right and considered by many as the greatest music video ever made. Directed by John Landis, Thriller follows Michael and his date, Ola Ray, at the movie theater. His date isn't thrilled at all with the horror movie their watching, so she storms out. As Michael chases her down, and begins to tease her with the opening verses of the song. I don't really remember catching the "World Premiere" of this video, but I sure do remember seeing it dozens upon dozens of times as it played on MTV endlessly, eventually being reduced to under a running time of 5 minutes.
In closing, I've selected the words of one of my close personal friends who said it best:
"Michael Jackson, no matter your feelings on the mans private life and legal troubles, was an amazing man. His music, charity and presence touched millions and millions of people all over the world. He adored children, which in case caused some of the trouble he ran into. He felt the pain and did millions of things to end suffering and starvation of people and children all over this world. From his appearance and the first time he did the moonwalk on stage to his last appearance and plans for a new tour, the man defined the Motown experience and defined pop music."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)