The New Yorker's 50 Greatest Rock Soundtracks of All Time

wow. i've seen some dubmass lists. but that is a dumbass list for the ages.

how is O Brother Where Art Thou a "rock" soundtrack?

I understand lists are made to generate discussion. But how does one have a discussion with a list that is clearly retarded?

I'm guessing "rock" to them means "not rap".

*Awaits DaveB to administer a verbal schooling*


EDIT: And what do you know, there's 8 Mile. Alright, I guess it just means "soundtracks that have vocals".

If it's an actual "reunion," in which the actors get together for an interview, I'd guess that his absence wasn't the New Yorker's call. Hansard's been distancing himself from The Commitments for years. He didn't want the Frames to be known as "the band with that one guy from the movie." I guess there's some irony that they're, once again, "the band with that one guy from the movie," but Once is, in large part, the movie it is because of his own music.

There are too many "throw it at the wall and see what sticks" compilations on here. As great as the music cues in Boogie Nights work in the context of the movie, the soundtrack has nothing on Magnolia, which is so incredibly specific for that movie. Multi-artist comps can have a unity that works in soundtrack form, but Dazed and Confused, American Graffiti, the Big Chill - these don't really create a mood the way that Pulp Fiction and Goodfellas do. They could just as easily be K-Tel Hits of the 50s, 60s, and 70s collections.

Also, Velvet Goldmine should be on here. Haynes did a great job of matching the actual glam rock stuff to the glam rock recreations and covers, and it comes off as a primer on an alternate history of the genre. I'd also be tempted to put I'm Not There on the list, too, on the strength of the strong stuff, but the two-disc running time unfortunately provided ample room for some less-than-great covers, too.

I've argued this elsewhere, but the music in American Graffiti is just as much a character as any of the human beings in that film. It's far from a K-Tel hits collection.

That said, leaving GoodFellas out of the top ten is a goddamned crime. The "Layla" montage alone is better than half the films in the top ten.

Is this just a list on how good various collections of songs are, or is it about how they're actually used as soundtracks?

Yeah, in the movie it works that way. As a standalone soundtrack, it's just a collection of 50s songs. You could turn on an oldies station on any given day, and if the same songs came on in exactly the same order, it wouldn't be all that surprising. Same goes for Dazed and Confused. They're perfect for the movies, but when you take the visuals away, they're just a bunch of random songs. Pulp Fiction, Rushmore, even Almost Famous to a smaller extent - they work as albums.

Cameron Crowe is vastly underrated here.

My only problem with Almost Famous is the placement of "Fever Dog" on the soundtrack. I know Crowe was going for a linear soundtrack but it's really jarring after the far more mellow beginning songs of "America", "It Wouldn't Have Made Any Difference" and "Feel Flow". It's still a fun song but seems somewhat out of place.

Well, isn't that how a soundtrack is supposed to work?

He never said they were bad, but we're talking the greatest soundtracks. These are the ones that do more than just their job.

Right. Purple Rain isn't just great because of perfect placement in the movie. You can listen to it and never even care that the movie exists.