I literally just finished watching Boomerang. It’s one of those films that I find on a random channel surf every few years, and end up watching until the end and laughing my ass off. It’s really hysterical! What every happened to Grace Jones? Strangé!!! I digress…
One of the best parts of the film is the soundtrack. Even though the movie is stowing its age a bit – the early 90’s outfits were cracking me up – it’s the music that sort of brings it all together and helps it withstand the passing years. Yes, it’s the comedy too, but also the music.
I started searching through my stack of CDs to find the soundtrack so I can upload it onto my iPod. I have a trip planned for this weekend and my iPod can use a change. And of course, at first I found every film soundtrack I own other than that one. But I did find it eventually. And the search got me to thinking about how films and music go together. Or, how sometimes even a bad film can be saved by a great soundtrack. So I pulled a bunch of movie music and made a Jukebox.
I’m sure I have more soundtracks than this – and even more on tape, probably. This is not an exhaustive list, to be sure – I just grabbed a bunch on the fly. But they are a pretty mix. Grab a popcorn and enjoy.
Boomerang. This is a great soundtrack – you have upbeat tracks, nice ballads, a bunch of, um, well, booty-getting joints, and a song that goes right with one of the lines Halle Berry said to Eddie Murphy: “What do you know about love? I’m tired of men like you talking about love. Love shoulda brought your ass home last night!”
Essentials: Love Shoulda Brought You Home, Toni Braxton; Give U My Heart, Babyface feat. Tony Braxton; End of the Road, Boyz II Men; There U Go, Johnny Gill.
Pulp Fiction. I don’t think I even need to explain. I mean, it all goes without saying, right?
Essentials: Let’s Stay Together, AL Green; You Never Can Tell, Chuck Berry; Son of a Preacher Man, Dusty Springfield; Jungle Boogie, Kool & The Gang; Girl, You’ll Be A Woman Soon, Urge Overkill (Not as good and Neil’s, but still good).
Batman. Prince could have made a living just doing soundtracks. He doesn’t even need to be in the movie, although it helps. But it’s enough to see Jack Nicholson dancing as the Joker dancing to a Prince song. That is all!
Essentials: Partyman, Prince; Scandalous, Prince; Batdance, Prince. Arms of Orion, Prince and Sheena Easton.
Parade (Music from the Motion Picture Under the Cherry Moon). OMG, I LOVE Under the Cherry Moon!! The adventures of Tricky and the Christopher Tracy? Kristin Scott Thomas? The Wrecka Stow? Brilliant. It really think I need to own this film. The soundtrack is just not enough. But even if there was no movie, this is one of the best albums that I own.
Essentials: Under the Cherry Moon, Girls & Boys, Mountains, Kiss, Anotherloverholenyohead, all by Prince & the Revolution.
Purple Rain. Again, this needs no explanation. I know some kids will see this movie today and not understand it. But those of my generation see it as a work of brilliance. We’d gladly purify ourselves in the waters of Lake Minnetonka.
Essentials: ALL OF THEM! Namely, Let’s Go Crazy, Take Me With U, The Beautiful Ones, Computer Blue, Darling Nikki, When Doves Cry, I Would Die For U, Baby I’m A Star, Purple Rain, all by Prince & The Revolution. Literally the whole album. No exceptions.
The Jazz Singer. Neil Diamond. Sir Laurence Olivier. ‘Nuff said.
Essentials: Love on the Rocks, America, Hello Again, all by Neil Diamond.
Boys On The Side. The caliber of ladies they got for this soundtrack truly proves that men need not be the main course.
Essentials: You Got It, Bonnie Raitt; I Take You With Me, Melissa Etheridge; Somebody Stand By Me, Stevie Nicks; Dreams, Cranberries; Why, Annie Lenox; Ol’ 55, Sarah McLachlan; and one of the greatest songs to grace the planet: Willow, Joan Armatrading.
Detroit Rock City. Honestly, I know I saw this film, but I don’t remember it. The soundtrack, though, is unforgettable. You gotta lose your mind in De-troit Rock City!
Essentials: Shout it Out Loud, Detroit Rock City, both by Kiss; Iron Man, Black Sabbath; Surrender, Cheap Trick; Rebel Rebel, David Bowie.
Pretty Woman. I’ve developed a complete repulsion by anything related to Julia Roberts in the years since I first saw this film. But I still love the soundtrack.
Essentials: King of Wishful Thinking, Go West; Fallen; Lauren Wood; It Must Have Been Love, Roxette.
Streets of Fire. Again, no one who reads this blog needs an explanation.
Essentials: Nowhere Fast, Tonight Is What it Means To Be Young, both by Fire Inc.; I Can Dream About You, Dan Hartman; Never Be You, Maria McKee; Sorcerer, Marylyn Martin.
Flashdance. Because this is me we’re talking about here!
Essentials: ALL OF THEM. Ok, I’ll narrow it down. A little: Maniac, Michael Sembello; I’ll Be Here Where the Heart Is, Kim Carnes; Lady, Lady, Lady, Joe Esposito; Imagination, Laura Branigan; Flashdance …What A Feeling, Irene Cara.
OTHERS: Some other soundtracks with really amazing stuff: Cruel Intentions; Boyz N Da Hood; The Devil Wears Prada; Fame, Waiting to Exhale, Slumdog Millionaire; Saturday Night Fever.
That was fun, and I have a new playlist for my weekend trip to New York City. Have a safe holiday, y’all!
[Roll credits]
This was awesome. A few more:
- the Kenny Loggins 1-2 punch of ‘Footloose’ and ‘Top Gun’;
- ‘The Big Chill’ (despite the fact that it did something I HATE which is exclude a song that was prominent in the movie- in this case ‘You can’t always get what you want’)
- ‘Singles’ was all I knew of grunge for a while;
- ‘Garden State’ introduced me to all this hipster stuff;
- I love Wes Anderson soundtracks but none more than ‘Rushmore’
OMG, how could I forget Footloose?! And Top Gun?! Take My Breath Away was epic!! All the rest are great too! Nice Job.
I also left off Eddie and the Cruisers.
Eileen I detect a minor obsession with The Artist Formally Know As. What’s that about?
Great. misspelled your name. Just like me. Sorry.