httpss://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDxoj-tDDIU
Only Quentin Tarantino could turn Urge Overkill’s cover of Neil Diamond’s “Girl, You’ll be a Woman Soon” into a radio hit, but the soundtrack really defined itself by mixing QT’s iconic dialogue amidst decades-spanning selections like Dick Dale’s “Misirlou,” Kool & the Gang’s “Jungle Boogie,” Dusty Springfield’s “Son of a Preacher Man” and Chuck Berry’s “You Never Can Tell.” Currency may have been the old way soundtracks sold, but Tarantino made clear that it’s the songs, not their release dates, that matter.
Just try not picturing the movie when listening to, say, Iggy Pop’s “Lust For Life” or Underworld’s “Born Slippy.NUXX.” Aside from a few old tracks, including Lou Reed’s “Perfect Day,” the songs were largely recorded or remixed for the film or previously unreleased, a rarity in the soundtrack world which helped cement the album’s subcultural status.
Though “The Breakfast Club’s” Simple Minds theme “Don’t You Forget About Me” was also my high school graduation song, the rest of its soundtrack leaves something to be desired compared to John Hughes’ other Molly Ringwald classic “Pretty In Pink,” which was actually inspired by the same-named Psychedelic Furs song that was re-recorded for the movie.
The alternative revolution went from a whisper to a scream, with songs from Alice In Chains, Soundgarden, Screaming Trees, Smashing Pumpkins and Mudhoney, whose song “Touch Me I’m Sick” was parodied in the movie band Citizen Dick’s song “Touch Me, I’m Dick.” Pearl Jam, who cameos as Matt Dillon’s bandmates, landed two songs plus the eight-minute epic “Chloe Dancer/Crown Of Thorns” by ill-fated PJ precursor Mother Love Bone.
Mixing dialogue samples from film with the expertly selected songs gave the soundtrack a unique identity all of its own, something more akin to a radio play.
The film, despite its critical acclaim, quickly became a footnote, but the soundtrack still provides a great sampling of pre-millennial electronic music, from Fatboy Slim’s upbeat “Gangster Trippin'” and Air’s atmospheric “Talisman” to Esthero’s dour trip-hop “Song For Holly.” Bonus points for including Len’s still-awesome one-hit-wonder “Steal My Sunshine.”
If you had to name a disco song off the top of your head, t’s a pretty good chance it would be the Bee Gees “Stayin’ Alive.” The song was a smash hit from the John Travolta flick “Saturday Night Fever.” The film’s soundtrack went on to sell 15 million copies thanks in large part to “Stayin’ Alive.” We still can’t shake the image of Travolta in a leisure suit.
It’s actually the hit R&B song “I Believe I Can Fly” from “Space Jam.” No matter what you think of Kelly and his behaviour, this song is a classic.