Soundtracks of Significance

Soundtracks of Significance: “Pure Country”

28, Apr 2012
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After being persuaded by Col. Parker that a movie would be a good career move, George Strait agreed to make Pure Country for release in 1992. It was a surprising move, given “King” George’s reputation for shying away from attention off stage. Unlike nearly every other mainstream country artist, Strait never made the move to Nashville, preferring to go back home to Texas when his tours conclude. There’s an amusing anecdote that survives to this day that when he was introduced to a woman at Warner Bros. who worked in publicity, he replied, “Hi, I’m George Strait and I don’t do publicity.” Even if said tongue in cheek, his notorious resistance to interviews must have appeared entirely sincere and surely gave her pause! Read the rest of this entry »

Soundtracks of Significance: “The Living Daylights”

30, Mar 2012
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“As a director, what could one say to John Barry about the music for a James Bond film? His contribution to the success of the series has been enormous. His needs were always simple; a piano, a Moviola and not very much time.” – John Glen, quoted in The Living Daylights soundtrack CD liner notes, from an interview published in From Silents to Satellite. Read the rest of this entry »

Soundtracks of Significance: Softcore Films of the 1970s

16, Feb 2012
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For those of you who read my Guilty Pleasures article on ABBA: The Movie, you may recall that my love affair with the group began when I saw the film Muriel’s Wedding. That experience was unquestionably the single most important event in my Europop awakening. It was not, however, the first. The seed was planted years earlier by cable television’s after hours programming. Read the rest of this entry »

Soundtracks of Significance – “American Graffiti”

29, Aug 2011
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“Source” music in a movie can be dicey. This is music that plays within the movie in such a way that we understand the characters in the scene can hear it, rather than music that plays over the film solely for our benefit. American Graffiti wasn’t the first movie to use source music effectively by any means, but perhaps no film before or since has used it as well. If for some reason you’re part of the 67% of Flickcharters who shamefully have not seen the movie, the premise is simple enough: four teenage friends spend the last night of Summer, 1962 together. The whole film spans that one night, from sundown to sunup. The various characters split off and reunite throughout the film, their individual and collective stories told across Modesto, California. Read the rest of this entry »

Soundtracks of Significance – “Silverado”

14, Jul 2011
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Sometimes I am introduced to movies in odd ways. I’ve already shared how the teaser poster to Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country is directly responsible for me becoming a Trekker, but this story is probably far less common than being swayed by a poster. For twenty years, my family owned and operated a consignment shop. Most of the items we took in and resold were clothes and household items, but every now and again a consignor would bring us entertainment. Sometime in the late 90s, we received the soundtrack album for Silverado on cassette. I think my mom priced it at $3.00. Eventually, curiosity overcame me and I bought it myself. Read the rest of this entry »