Movie Tunes

I was browsing through a music enthusiast’s blog when I came across a post she put together of some of her favorite songs from movie soundtracks. I thought that was a great idea! As I read through her thoughts on the subject, it occurred to me that there are a lot of songs that I really like simply because they were in a movie. Somehow, those songs get forever linked to that moment in time, so that whenever you hear them again, you instantly remember a futuristic spaceship learning about the concept of radio, a girl straddling a state line so she can be in two places at once, a boy manically performing strange acrobatic moves in a dark storage room, a woman emerging from a giant seashell to sing, and of course, the moments when two people find themselves in love , even if they are cartoon characters. They say that the sense of smell is the one that is most closely linked with memory, but I think sound has got to come in as a close second, especially musical sound.











I imagine a lot of artists consider their songs being picked for a soundtrack like unto how authors consider their books being picked for Oprah’s bookclub: instant popularity, which equals instant sales. I remember seeing an interview with the lead singer of the Goo Goo Dolls about their song “Iris” and City of Angels. The interviewer asked how he liked recording a song for a film. He was very eager to say how much they loved it and hoped they could do another in the future. Yeah . . . I bet you would!

But maybe all artists wouldn’t feel that way, who knows. Maybe some consider it “selling out” to be so closely involved with films, especially if said films are not really that great. But, if I was a singer/band member, I think I’d be willing to give it a shot. Especially because, some of the songs I like I first heard in a movie that wasn’t so wonderful, but I still like the music, so the film just served in exposing my ears to music I wouldn’t normally seek out. Plus, there’s always that chance: so many songs have become classics because their movies have become classics. I wouldn’t mind riding that rocket if it meant so many more people would hear and like my music.











But alas, I am not a singer or band member. I am simply a lowly listener, and my ever-growing “listening” pool has been much expanded by movie soundtracks. I assembled a little list of ones that I’ve really liked over the years. I hope you enjoy it and assemble little lists of your own! (See below for your listening pleasure.)











Cars – “Life is a Highway” by Rascal Flatts
Ghost – “Unchained Melody” by the Righteous Brothers
Stranger than Fiction – “Whole Wide World” by Wreckless Eric
About a Boy – “Something to Talk About” by Badly Drawn Boy
Flight of the Navigator – “I Get Around” by the Beach Boys
Martian Child – “Mr. Blue Sky” by Electric Light Symphony
City of Angels – “Iris” by the Goo Goo Dolls
Shrek – “Accidentally in Love” by Counting Crows
South Pacific – “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair” by Mitzi Gaynor
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off – “Oh Yeah” by Yello
Bourne Movies – “Extreme Ways” by Moby
A Walk to Remember – “Dancing in the Moonlight” by Toploader
Dirty Dancing – “Love is Strange” by Mickey and Sylvia
Transformers – “What I’ve Done” by Linkin Park
Finding Forrester – “Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World” – by Israel “Iz” Kamakwiwo’ole
Pretty in Pink – “If You Leave” by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark











Breakfast at Tiffany’s – “Moon River” by Audrey Hepburn
Catch and Release – “What If You” by Joshua Radin
Footloose – “Footloose” by Kenny Loggins
An American Tail – “Somewhere Out There” by Linda Ronstadt and James Ingram
The Princess Diaries – “SuperGirl” by Krystal Harris
Meet Me in St. Louis – “The Trolley Song” by Judy Garland
Bed of Roses – “Independent Love Song” by Scarlet
Hope Floats – “I Can’t Get Next to You” by the Temptations
Princess Bride – “Storybook Love” by Mark Knopfler
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves – “(Everything I Do) I Do It For You” by Bryan Adams
Center Stage – “I Wanna Be with You” by Mandy Moore
Pretty Woman – “Wild Women Do” by Natalie Cole
The Rocketeer – “Begin the Beguine”
Sleepless in Seattle – “Bye Bye Blackbird” by Billie Holiday
The Breakfast Club – “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” by Simple Minds