Friday is Theme Day!! Soundtracks Soundtracks Soundtracks!

Oh, how we love a good theme! Huzzah and Hoorah! And what better than to combine two of the things that most of us love in the whole big wide world: MUSIC and MOVIES. Thus, we will present Soundtrack Fridays for the next little bit.

Ah, the beauty of setting music to a story. It accomplishes so many things at once. Music can cue us in to what the director wants us to feel: Love, terror, tension, drama, sadness, boredum—a whole spectrum of emotion. Music helps the director to really create an atmosphere; afterall, what would Deliverance be without "Dueling Banjos"?

A fantastic soundtrack can take a decent movie and catapult it into greatness. A good song can stay with us as we leave the movie theater, can bring our thoughts back to a beautiful moment, and can add a fourth dimension to the artistry of the film. Show me a movie with a bad soundtrack, and I'll show you a bad movie. They ultimately go hand in hand.

For my Soundtrack Friday post, I'm going to present a musical buffet. It is so hard to pin down one good soundtrack—they really need to be divided into their proper genres. I'm gonna chose my own genres here, and hopefully my pics will make sense within each one.

Glorious Guilty Pleasure Soundtracks
Dirty Dancing
I'm getting this one out of the way first, because it is by far the guiltiest. The reason this particular soundtrack made the list is not for the furiously insulting "I've Had the Time of My Life," or even the mediocre at best "She's Like the Wind," but for the undercurrent of music that runs throughout the movie. Otis Reddings "Love Man," Mickey and Sylvia's "Love Is Strange" really save it for me, among other classics.



The Best Soundtrack Featuring One Artist or Group
Harold and Maude: Cat Stevens
This was a tough one, but ultimately I think the soundtrack affects the mood of this movie more than my other choice, so I'm going with it. It has some of the happiest music ("If You Wanna Sing Out, Sing Out") and some of the saddest music ("Trouble") to ever grace the silver screen. This song is actually my favorite under-1 min song ever. (I hate the Happy Birthday song. Hate.)

Tea for the Tillerman


The Best "Harken Back" Soundtrack
Almost Famous
The Who. Simon and Garfunkel. Yes. The Beach Boys. Lynyrd Skynard. Led Zepellin. Nancy Wilson. David Bowie. The Allman Brothers Band. Elton John. And the best sing-along scene ever.

Tiny Dancer


The Best Without Words (Mostly) Soundtrack
The Proposition: Nick Cave and Warren Ellis
Not only did he capture the mood the director was going for, Cave and Ellis created almost another entity within the movie with his haunting violins, didgeridoo, deep slow drum beats, and spares piano. It not only underscores the harshness of the Outback (the violins buzzing like flies and crisp humming like hot sun), it gives the characters and even more intense reality and emotion. Powerful.



The Best Covers on a Soundtrack
No, not "The Wedding Singer." Ha ha.
The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou
Seu Jorge, a Portugese guitarist, covering David Bowie! Ah, love.

Sunday is gloomy, the hours are slumberless

I don't really want to kill myself. At least, not yet. But we have all thought what it would be like; the morbid mind game of choosing an end for oneself. And we all probably know someone that, if not succeeded, has at least attempted it; surely it is not a joking matter.

We all have that dark place. When I go to that dark place, I listen to the music that reflects my inner gloom. Only some of these song are about suicide, but they are all songs that I gravitate towards when I'm low; they are the ones with the most impact for me. A few might be cliche—hell, one is even straight up cheesy—but they all touch something in me, something that I rarely let anyone else see, much less touch. I let this music touch me so that I don't feel so alone in that dark place. So that I can feel like life is worth living.


Gloomy Sunday (Reszo Seress), covered by Bjork
Bjork can really tear me to pieces (see Dancer in the Dark). Hearing her sing these lyrics with that passionate pain behind her voice, I imagine that she feels every word; they aren't just lyrics for her, she lives the words as they emit from her soul.




Fade to Black (Metallica), covered by Apocalyptica
The cello is by far my favorite instrument for its ability to pull from me a feeling of loss. It's tone vibrates deep within, and when you combine this resonant sound with Metallica, well, it's an amazing product of raw emotion.




Hurt (Trent Reznor), covered by Johnny Cash
Oh Jesus. Just watching this video puts me on the edge. Cash's eyes are filled with memory, loss, and pain. If you can't relate to this song, then you have had a far happier life than 99% of the rest of the world.




Needle in the Hay (Elliott Smith), covered by Kermit the Frog
It is almost too much for me to listen to Elliott sing this song, especially considering that he did commit suicide, and in a way far too brutal for me to imagine. So I give you Sad Kermit, which in all honestly isn't that much better. But at least he's just a puppet.




Fire and Rain James Taylor
If I need to have a good cry, I start singing this song. Inevitably, I break down through the second line.




Mad World (Tears for Fears), covered by Gary Jules
This heartbreaking rendition reaches directly to the emotion that I believe the original writers were seeking, but couldn't quite attain with their style.




Everybody Hurts R.E.M
Granted, a cliche. But it is a cliche for a reason. Everybody does hurt.




At Least That's What You Said Wilco
Not quite a typically sad, suicidal song, but I hear such pain when I hear this. It is almost an anthem.




Lived In Bars Cat Power
This video brightens the tone of this song tremendously, because I feel it much more strongly with my earphones on and my eyes closed.




Roads Portishead
Ah, I can't begin to express what this song does to me. I love it so so so much. But again, if I need to cry, I just start singing it.




Fly Away Poe
This is pretty much the dedicated song to anyone that dies. Enough said.




Trouble Cat Stevens
A sad enough song if you have seen Harold and Maude, and an excellent song to listen to while driving around at night with nowhere to go.



Other songs for when I'm down:

Everything is Free, Gillian Welch
With or Without You, U2
Angel, Sarah McLaughlin (cheese, I know)
Wild is the Wind, Nina Simone
I Don't Like Mondays, Tori Amos
Comfortably Numb, Pink Floyd
Bang Bang, Nancy Sinatra
Yesterday, The Beatles
Disarm, Smashing Pumpkins
Wanting Memories, Sweet Honey in the Rock
I See a Darkness, Bonnie 'Prince' Billy
Back to Black, Amy Winehouse
Are You There, Anathema
Another Little Hole, Aqualung
Cup of Coffee, Garbage
Danny Boy