Soundtracks are everything.
In Joel and Ethan Cohens adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s No Country For Old Men there is famously barely any music incorporated. It was a creative decision from the brothers who believed a sonic sparseness would add to the isolating feeling that they were attempting to convey throughout the movie.
That film was certainly an outlier, with pretty much all of our favourite flicks relying heavily on music to inject tone, mood and energy to whatever we’re seeing on screen. And sure, it’s hard to quantify exactly how important a soundtrack is, but there are definitely a boatload of films wherein the soundtrack is equally as memorable as the movie itself.
Have a listen to some of them below:
Pulp Fiction
It was pretty hard to narrow it down to one Tarantino film for this list, with Jackie Brown and the Kill Bill series being right up there as well, but his 1994 masterpiece has to take the cake here. On top of Dick Dale’s iconic ‘Misirlou’ used for the titles, there are tracks on this playlist that instantly transport you to the scene of the film, like ‘Girl You’ll Be A Woman Soon’ and ‘You Never Can Tell’.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnI7fcP_Pnk
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
You’ve gotta love the way Wes Anderson cuts to Seu Jorge performing acoustic versions of David Bowie tracks in French. There’s something really organic and cool to this – maybe it’s because it’s Bowies, maybe it’s because he’s French. Either way, it’s hard to imagine The Life Aquatic without him.
Goodfellas
Easy Rider
Dennis Hopper’s homage to ‘60s counter culture, Easy Rider is awash of open highways, drugs and good times. The soundtrack reflects that, with more classic American rock songs than you could stuff into a gas tank, including the Steppenwolf banger ‘Born To Be Wild’ which summed up the ethos of the film and the movement.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTss9K0LXJ0&list=PL0Yz-P1uQT4qFq0xtOvGJYGClW8RNR_Ly
Donnie Darko
Celebrating those slightly off putting ‘80s hits that sway in between moody and plain dark, this soundtrack opened up a whole world of listening for many of us when we watched it for the first time. The tunes sync up sweetly with the surreal and dreamlike notion of the films, and fit the film’s 1988 setting. We can easily imagine Donnie and Gretchen being listening to these tunes whilst being the weirdos that they are.
There’s Something About Mary
Enlisting Modern Lovers frontman Jonathon Richman to add original tunes to an already awesome group of ‘90s bangers was a nice touch. Featuring him in the film, playing the tunes in the background is pure genius.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1Ev4kebjq0
Mid90s
Jonah Hill said that the music in Mid90s reflected his appreciation of hip hop when he was growing up, and we have to say he had some pretty good taste. The ‘Tearz’ X ‘Gyöngyhajú lány’ mashup in the trailer hits harder than Ian hits Stevie’s face into the wall after he catches him in his room. Ooft.
The Virgin Suicides
Sofia Coppola would go on to marry Phoenix frontman Thomas Mars 12 years after the release of Virgin Suicides, with Mars having sung on the soundtrack’s opening tune ‘Playground Love’. Maybe the tune was about her? Who knows. His fellow Frenchmen, Air, wrote the album which features dizzying strings and swirling synths, capturing those notions of butterfly-in-stomach adolescent love that the movie centres around.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9Bqu81QrIA
Gone In 60 Seconds
For a high-octane, bros, cars and babes kinda blockbuster, Gone In 60 Seconds has a pretty tasteful collection of accompanying tunes. Moby’s ‘Flower’ playing over the opening credits is one of the best intro sequences ever and who could forget Cage and the gang chucking on ‘Lowrider’ by War before they go about their night of thieving.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Igv_ChOEp2E
Boogie Nights
Would you really expect a soundtrack for a movie following a pornstar transitioning from the ‘70s to the ‘80s to have anything but this playlist. Paul Thomas Anderson delivers a playlist that is sexy enough to warm the coldest of hearts, with his huge tracking shots syncing up perfectly to tunes like ‘Best Of My Love’ by The Emotions.
Black Panther
Kung Fu Kenny took the reigns for curating the soundtrack to the 2018 blockbuster, writing original tracks of his own which featured collabs with some of the biggest names in hip hop. It came a year after the release of his highly-acclaimed album DAMN when he was arguably at the peak of his powers.
The Big Lebowski
The soundtrack for the Coen Brothers’ iconic 1998 film is a mixed bag of genres and vibes, much like the main characters. Apparently when licencing the Rolling Stones ‘Dead Flowers’ for the closing credits, Allen Klein, who owned the rights wasn’t convinced until he saw The Dude say “I hate the fuckin’ Eagles, man!”. He then lent them the song for free instead of the initial $150K he’s been chasing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHAGbD3dlhE&list=PL71VXrAAl44WhMGRDVNJCKKfxUXguW2ub&index=22
Drive
Watching Ryan Gosling cruising the streets of LA with Kavinsky’s ‘Nightcall’ blasting out the speakers is up there with Gone In 60 Seconds as the best intro sequence. Not sure why car movies pull it off so well… Anyway, this soundtrack’s ‘80s-influenced electro tracks really hit the spot adding to the nostalgic feel of the film perfectly.
