Pirate Radio—originally titled The Boat That Rocked when released in the UK—is a comedy that follows a rock music-broadcasting crew aboard a boat in the '60s. Although the trailers would have us believe that the premise of the movie—an American DJ and cohorts transmitting rock 'n' roll, or "pop music" as it was called at the time, from their boat to the British masses against the government's wishes—is based on a true story, that may be stretching it a bit. The British never actually banned rock & roll, though the government did enact a law prohibiting broadcasting without a license. The story as imagined, though, makes for a pretty entertaining voyage—especially when mixed with plenty of vintage rock from artists such as The Who, Cream, The Hollies, The Turtles, The Kinks, Otis Redding, The Supremes, and more. Even if you don't happen to see the film, the soundtrack stands out as a nice collection of more-or-less mid-'60s blues and rock classics (with the exception of retro-diva Duffy's cover of Lorraine Ellison's "Stay With Me"—don't let it fool ya!). This one's sure to be enjoyed by all.
You may look at the track listing for the soundtrack to the Michael Jackson documentary Michael Jackson's This Is It and see it as another repackaging of his greatest hits. In a way, it is—it features many of his hits, but after all, those are what he would have been performing had he been able to go on tour. But the album also contains a few gems that are a must for die-hard Jackson fans, including previously unreleased demo versions of classics such as "She's out of My Life," "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'," and "Beat It," a spoken-word poem entitled "Planet Earth," and the recently disputed title song "This Is It." After watching the many amazing moments captured on film during the rehearsals for the tour, you have to wonder why the actual audio from the movie wasn't included. But then you have to remember—the scenes shot were, in fact, rehearsals, and Jackson was trying to conserve his voice. The effort wasn't entirely there. And while one may argue whether some of MJ's minimal efforts are better than no MJ at all, those moments on film are still magical and justly add to the legacy and mystique of the King of Pop.
Argentinian composer and pianist Lalo Schifrin is best known for his unforgettable theme to the original TV series Mission: Impossible, but the range of his work both in Hollywood and beyond is breathtaking. Recently, several of Schifrin's other scores, including most of the Dirty Harry series, Black Widow, The Cincinnati Kid, and The Amityville Horror were added to Napster. And although we're still missing a few of Schifrin's key works including the soundtracks to Cool Hand Luke and Bullitt, this closes the gap in his catalog significantly. His unique mix of worldly aesthetics with cool and sensual jazz elements has made quite an impact on films over the years, recognized through his four Grammy Awards and six Oscar nominations.
"The French Canadians are coming! The French Canadians are coming!"
Okay, so maybe that sentence doesn't pack the same dreadful punch as it used to when it was used with "Russians," or "Redcoats," or even "Mongols." Quite the contrary. These days, if a large number of French Canadians descend on your town, either a) you live in South Florida; or b) your town is hosting the world-famous Cirque du Soleil, Quebec's second-largest cultural export, behind Céline Dion.
There are relatively few examples of mainstream entertainers who so completely bridge the gap in taste between young and old, male and female, and all other demographic categories the way the astonishingly talented Cirque performers can. Obviously, audiences will remember the fantastic art direction, costumes, and choreography of these opulent shows. But equally important to the experience is the music—all original (save for the show Love, which incorporates The Beatles' catalog) and international in flavor. The soundtracks to the shows have sold quite well, regularly peaking near the top of Billboard's Top World Music Albums chart.
The latest soundtrack, Zed, comes from a Cirque show that took up residence at the Tokyo Disney resort in 2008. It tells the story of Zed, an embodiment of the human condition, as he travels the world. His globetrotting is accompanied by multi-ethnic musical styles, including pieces inspired by Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, East Asian, and African traditions, but arranged and executed in a very contemporary manner. The music is dramatic, stirring, and alternately bombastic or sentimental, depending on the experience of the main character.
If you've ever been to a Cirque du Soleil performance, listening to René Dupéré's soundtrack for Zed may evoke many of the live show's hallmarks: The anticipation, the humor, and the sense of wonder common to all of their productions. And if you haven't seen Cirque yet, do yourself a favor and splurge for a ticket one of these days; it's nothing if not memorable.
Will The Twilight Saga's New Moon album be the most popular soundtrack of the year? Its #2 ranking on the Billboard chart after being out for only a week strongly suggests it might. Regardless, the demand for it is a given following the massive success of the first installment, and the brigade of artists appearing this time would appear to guarantee even greater success: Thom Yorke of Radiohead, Death Cab For Cutie, Grizzly Bear, and Muse are among the elite to lend their musical skills and reputations to the franchise. In fact, the entire soundtrack consists of songs exclusively written for, inspired by, or even in some cases re-written for the film. Apparently, music supervisor Alexandra Patsavas had to turn down quite a few acts who would like to have been on the soundtrack, which apparently is quite a different situation from how for the first Twilight soundtrack was put together. With that level of intensity going into it, it's no wonder that this is a mix that "Twihards" will delightfully feast upon until the movie hits theaters on Nov. 20.
Recently the second installment of the Transformers movie franchise, Revenge of the Fallen, was released on DVD and Blue-Ray. To coincide with the release, Linkin Park frontman/singer Chester Bennington shared some of his favorite music with us (Linkin Park, of course, has contributed songs to both Transformers flicks). You can check out Bennington's picks, including songs from Muse, Santigold, and The Smiths (as well as the Linkin Park hits "What I've Done" and "The New Divide" from the Transformers soundtracks) by clicking on the image. Enjoy.
With Halloween right around the corner, several new compilations containing themes from classic horror films have just come out. Halloween Film Theme Classics contains some of the best from the original composers, along with some that may come as a surprise. Some obvious selections make the cut (so to speak): Bernard Herrmann's "Psycho Suite," Pino Donaggio's "Bucket of Blood" from Carrie, and Joe Renzetti's "A Chucky Is Born" from Child's Play. But you'll also find some more subtle choices, such as John Morris' "The Elephant Man Theme," Howard Shore's "Crash" and "Naked Lunch" themes (the latter's original soundtrack is excellent and contains stellar work by Ornette Coleman), and Javier Navarrete's "A Long, Long Time Ago" from Pan's Labyrinth, the adult-themed fairytale that hopefully not too many beguiled parents took their kids to see. Anyway, this compilation is a nice mix to put on in the background for the haunted holiday. Its scary, ominous sounds will make everyone feel a little spooky.
The new documentary More Than a Game features music from such artists as Drake, Jay-Z, Mary J. Blige, Tank, and Lil Wayne, to name a few. And it's only fitting that the biggest rap and R&B stars should appear on the soundtrack to a film about Lebron James, who's a force of nature and one of the biggest names in basketball.
The album includes the current radio favorite "Forever" featuring heavy-hitters Drake, Kanye West, Lil Wayne, and an inspired verse from Eminem. The mysterious newcomerEster Dean leads things off with the infectious "Drop it Low" featuring Chris Brown, while the illustrious Ms. Blige delivers on "Stronger." The uplifting finale "If You Dream," meanwhile, features a collection of R&B heavyweights including Tank, Tyrese, Toni Braxton, Jordin Sparks and Omarion, among others. More Than a Game is currently in theatres.
In just a little over two weeks, Spike Jonze's film adaptation of Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are hits theaters. The soundtrack, helmed by Yeah Yeah Yeahs' singer Karen O. with additional orchestral work by Carter Burwell (Fargo, Adaptation, Twilight), sets an adventurous musical tone for the film. The single "All is Love" is a charming parade of a song that incorporates indie-rock sensibilities with the cute and whimsical characteristics of children's music. Can we call this "indie-child-rock"? Childrindie? Regardless, the combination, as on the touchingly introspective, piano-carried "Worried Shoes" and the head-bopping "Heads Up" add a lot of charm. Karen O. has been able to provide the big-screen version of the children's classic with music that's quite free-spirited and creative, and just feels good—an aesthetic of which, one imagines, Sendak himself would approve. Additional contributors to the album include other members to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Deerhunter, The Raconteurs, and Liars.
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