Tag: Soundtracks

A Few Underrated Soundtracks Worth Checking Out

by KevinLeave a Comment on A Few Underrated Soundtracks Worth Checking Out

Volume 8 | August 2025: Sam & I go to the movies

Good morning!

Today Sam Colt and I are each sharing a few of our favorite soundtracks…ones that might’ve been overlooked or deserve more time in the spotlight.

Welcome to the eighth installment of our (not so) new series! For those of you who may have missed previous editions, here’s a bit of context:

In this monthly series, Sam Colt and I will each share our picks for artists and/or titles that haven’t received their due. You’ll recognize Sam’s name from our On Repeat and Friends Best of Series, and also our Top 100 of all-time series last fall. These posts will adopt the latter’s format; I will make my case for my three picks and my reaction to Sam’s. Sam’s page will do the reverse.

In the inaugural post, we noted that successive editions would narrow things down slightly. Maybe a specific genre…maybe a specific era…maybe a specific…well, who knows!

In college, I took a 200 level film course as an elective. The syllabus covered several of the usual suspects ( Citizen Kane, Cabaret), and a few I never saw coming. All well and good, and I got far more out of the class than I assumed I would going in. Turns out I didn’t know very much at all about technique and cinematography.

But what I do know is records. And what really stuck with me were the soundtracks and film scores from each of the films. The way sound sets up & supports a scene is something I tend to focus on a lot. Case in point; if asked, I could maybe give you a rough outline of Cabaret’s plot. Ask me to sing a few bars of Willkommen, and we’re in luck.

And then there are soundtracks. To Live and Die In LA is a fun movie (and one of my faves), but it’d be nothing without it’s soundtrack. If you’re Gen X, Singles is iconic; but again, its the music that takes a good movie and makes it great. And that doesn’t even touch on all the John Hughes movies, and the soundtracks they gifted us. Don’t You Forget About Me? We couldn’t even if we wanted to.

This month, Sam and I are sharing a few picks that for whatever reason might’ve been overlooked. Some far outshined the movies they’re attached to, others might’ve been lost to time. Either way, we think they warrant a second chance.

Grab your popcorn, turn your phone off, and enjoy!

When you’re done here, remember to check out Sam’s take at This Is a Newsletter!

Let’s get to it!

KA—

Various Artists- The Saint

My first roommate was a huge fan of Val Kilmer—we’d call him a “stan” today, but back in the mid-90s this just meant watching whatever film he happened to be in, sometimes more than once (okay, like a lot more than once). I also happened to really like the original TV show, so when The Saint came out it was pretty much a lock that I’d be there to see it. The movie is… okay. I mean, Kilmer’s good and Elizabeth Shue costarred, but no one does Simon Templar the way Roger Moore does. This is another case where the soundtrack outshines the film it’s supposed to be supporting.

The record overindexes on EDM, with tracks from Moby, Daft Punk, The Chemical Brothers, and more. Orbital does a bang-up job reworking the original theme. You can also find Sneaker Pimps’ “6 Underground” here, a track that is far and away the biggest hit of the lot. Duncan Sheik’s here as well, and his “In the Absence of the Sun” proves there’s more to him than just “Barely Breathing.” Like any Music From the Motion Picture, there’s bound to be some filler, and a couple of tracks here are less than stellar (looking at you, Duran Duran)—but in their defense, they at least fit the vibe of the film. That said, this works much better as a record per se than as part of the movie.

The whole thing screams “90s sound,” but when it’s packed with bangers from start to finish, who cares?

Sam’s pick and my take: Various Artists- Baby Driver

Sam shared his picks first, and seeing this made me say “f**k!” at my screen. Not because I was mad at him; rather, I was mad at myself for not having thought of this one. This soundtrack is one of my faves. I mean, it starts with the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and just heats up from there. Jonathan Richman, The Damned, and Martha & The Vandellas? All in one place? Are you kidding me?! Yes please. I just wish I’d grabbed it first.

(punches air)

Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross: Challengers (Original Score)

One of the things about being a parent they don’t tell you is the weird side quests you’ll find yourself on. I have no idea how tennis is played. I mean, I get the general idea, but no clue on the scoring or terminology. My player trajectory consists of a few lackadaisical games played over beers at my first apartment. But there I was last week, watching my son’s girlfriend play in a high school match. I was a little lost, but it was a great night and I’m glad we went.

Likewise, I have no idea when Trent Reznor moved into soundtrack work, but I’m glad he did.

My Nine Inch Nails trajectory starts and peaks at the same spot—the beginning. Pretty Hate Machine is a masterpiece, and Reznor set the bar impossibly high. The rest of their discography ranges from “1–2 killer tracks, but I’ll pass on the rest” to “I didn’t listen to it.” YMMV.

So I was a little surprised when I saw him starting to work with artists like Fever Ray on their Radical Romantics record. I also have no idea when the duo moved into the soundtrack realm, but I’m glad they did. Challengers is a tennis movie—at least nominally. I can’t comment on the film, ’cause I haven’t seen it. But I’d like to think the soundtrack at least follows the plot arc—beginning, peak, denouement. Sure sounds like it does, anyway.

What I liked best about Pretty Hate Machine is what I like best about Challengers—the tracks sound like they belong more on a dance floor than in a dungeon. It’s unmistakably Reznor and Ross, but these are tunes that make you want to move as opposed to evoking images of an angle grinder or whatever fever dream Fever Ray is having.

Sam’s pick and my take: Master of None

I’d never heard of this show (if this sounds like a recurrent theme, trust your gut) before Sam suggested this soundtrack. Pulling it up on the platform we all love to hate, I was surprised to see it had over 7,500 saves… and then I looked at the songs themselves. Joy Division? You know I’m already sold. New Edition… Lou Reed… The Cure… it just keeps going.

I’m mindful this is an extremely narcissistic take, but this is the sort of list that feels like it was made just for me. Should I be watching this? Wouldn’t be the first time I watched a show for the music. If you’re a fan, weigh in below—I’m curious to hear your thoughts.

Various Artists- The Wild Life

Oh hey, an ’80s movie with Lea Thompson and Eric Stoltz? That’s interesting news (rolls eyes). Actually, this is a movie best forgotten. It’s also got a Penn and a Quaid (as in Chris and Randy). So yeah…

But we’re not here to talk about the film, we’re here to talk about the soundtrack. And if ever there were a case of the soundtrack outshining and outlasting the film, this is it, and follows the lead of Streets of Fire (which came out a few months earlier).

The Wild Life is from the same finishing school that gave us such Oscar contenders as Hot Dog…The Movie, and Zapped—mildly tawdry, some action scenes, a couple of A (or B) list talent, and a thin veneer of a plotline to ostensibly tie it all together. Yeah, sure.

In the same way that The Saint embodies late ’90s EDM, The Wild Life’s roster is a snapshot of the mid-’80s; but here’s the twist: with the exception of Bananarama (the title track) and Eddie Van Halen, these aren’t people you’d usually associate with the big screen. In ’84, Andy Summers was still doing big things with The Police, not solo work. Ditto Peter Case, who might be known more for tracks like this from his time in The Plimsouls—or this one later covered by Blondie.

The Paisley Underground is well represented here (speaking of things that don’t get enough due). In addition to Case, The Three O’Clock are here as well. And there’s a Go-Go track, because why not? (Spoiler: it’s not Belinda Carlisle or Jane Wiedlin.)

Sam’s pick and my take: Various Artists- Pulp Fiction

If you ever want to see how old someone is, play a few bars of Stealers Wheel’s “Stuck in the Middle With You,” and see what happens. If they reflexively start dancing like Mr. Blonde in Reservoir Dogs, that’s a tell. Same story with playing Naughty by Nature’s “Hip Hop Hurray” (waves arms). And if you’re of a certain age, you know how this trifecta rounds out: play a few bars of Chuck Berry’s “Never Can Tell” and see what moves are busted.

In the streaming era, we can have everything, anywhere, all at once. On one hand, that’s phenomenal. But by design, that also means audiences are irreparably atomized. Appointment viewing is something your parents carry on wistfully about as they scroll Facebook looking at style memes (and using their index fingers to do it).

A lot of people have seen Pulp Fiction, but not nearly enough. It would be disingenuous to call the film underrated. It is absolutely appropriate to describe the soundtrack that way. Say what you will about Quentin Tarantino’s style, but he knows what he wants out of a film and knows who to tap to get it—in this case, Karyn Rachtman, who did both Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction (and worked on Reality Bites at the same time). Whether she uses Dick Dale’s “Misirlou” or knows just when to work in a Maria McKee song, Rachtman is masterful at soundtracking his vision—and we’re all the better because of it.

That’s a wrap! What are your thoughts on these records? Do you own any of them? Share your thoughts in the comments! Rants, raves, and spicy takes are all welcome. And if you have any ideas on future themes, please share those as well! Don’t forget to check out Sam’s thoughts over at This Is a Newsletter!

Thanks for being here,

Kevin—

The Best Record of 1989: Day 14

by KevinLeave a Comment on The Best Record of 1989: Day 14

56 The Vaselines, Dum-Dum vs. #73 Peter Gabriel, Passion of the Christ soundtrack

Good morning!

Today we’re taking a look at records from The Vaselines and Peter Gabriel.

Note: As many of you know, I recently wrote about a Best Record of 1989 challenge and noted that I’d be occasionally writing some of these up.

I’ve started doing some quick hits of each matchup and posting them directly to the page. Some will be longer, some won’t, and some might just be a handful of sentences. There’ll probably definitely be some typos.

Check ’em out and let me know your thoughts! Chin wags & hot takes welcome! Sharing and restacks are always appreciated.

KA—

Coming off the massive success of So, it would have been easy for Gabriel to go back into the studio and put out another pop record. I think it’s safe to say that the public would’ve eaten it up, and there would’ve been a couple of chart-toppers (at least). The money would’ve flowed in. Maybe there would’ve been a tour. No one would’ve blamed him.

And the people banking on that happening–or hoping it would–would’ve had to ignore Ganriel’s recording past. That’s simply not how he works.

Instead, he bet the other way and went to work on a film. More specifically, the soundtrack to Martin Scorcese’s The Passion of the Christ.

I want to reiterate one point early and make a second one for context. First, I’m not a fan of soundtracks. We covered this earlier in the week with Batman, but it bears repeating. If this had been my contest, there would’ve been a “no soundtracks, no live records, and no greatest hits” rule on the chalkboard, but it isn’t, and so we get what we get.

The second is that I’ve never seen the movie. I only recall the outrage associated with its release. Scorcese rebounded, but did Jim Jim Caviezel? I should probably look that up, but it’s not relevant here. My point is that I’m listening to his record in isolation, not considering how it may or may not work within the context of the film.

So! With that out of the way, I can say the record flows well. That’s sometimes cheap filler for a review, but it’s genuinely worth noting here. Any story involving religion should by default be large in scale. The music here fits the bill. It’s majestic. It’s magisterial.

This was also the era when Gabriel was big into world music. For many of us, the introduction to world music and artists like Youssou N’Dour was via their appearances on Gabriel’s records. He always did well to blend these artists’ styles with his own, but he takes it to the next level here. Perhaps that thought is colored by the idea that the story of the Gospel is a Middle Eastern or Arabian one, but it just fits.

The story (and, I assume, the film) is a ride through a lot of emotion. The soundtrack pairs well with each. Mostly, though, it’s relaxing. It’s evocative. Listening to it feels nice; enough so that a couple of times I wondered if I was enjoying something that marks a “bad” part of the movie. I’ll have to watch it to find out.

The story of the Gospel is one known worldwide. There was no way this soundtrack could be authentic and NOT represent a plurality of nations. The only knock here (besides being a soundtrack!) is that there are not enough of Gabriel’s vocals here. But that might just be me expecting a “regular” album (read: pop) and ignoring his track record as an artist.

If Passion is an exercise in lush soundscapes and languid sound, Dum-Dum is one whose sugary sweet hooks and quick pace get you moving. Gabriel might have been the on-ramp for world singers, but he was a Washingtonian who introduced a lot of success to the Scottish indie rock band Kurt Cobain. For younger readers, you have to understand that this was an era when people hung on every word he said. When he described the band as one of his favorites ever (paraphrasing), people took it to heart.

When Nirvana covered a couple of their songs, that sealed the deal; we were all Vaseline fans now.

Okay, that’s a bit of hyperbole, but it’s also kinda true. That’s just how it worked back then. They had his stamp of approval, so it was cool to like them. And had Dum-Dum sucked, that would’ve been an awkward spot for everyone. Thankfully, it doesn’t. The record burns bright but burns fast, coming in at just under 30 minutes. But within that half hour is some deliciously hooky pop. If nothing else, The Vaselines were very good at making even the quickest blitzes of pop feel deep. “Sex Sux” is a bright bit of pop (title notwithstanding). The guitars are front and center on “Teenage Superstars.” If this reminds you of a few of your favorite bands, trust your gut. A lot of people heard this, picked up their guitar, and got to work.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, a weird orthodoxy emerged surrounding fame. “Sellout” was a four-letter word, and accessibility was equated with acquiescence. I’m not sure how easy it was to find this record back in the day, but in 2025, it takes some work. I couldn’t find it streaming anywhere. I had to re-listen to it on YouTube.

In an era where you can have everything all at once, this felt almost refreshing. The best things take a little work.

Bottom Line: Passion was a revelation (no pun intended), and Dum-Dum was a visit back to a formative era in my life. I won’t claim to have any idea of the voting demographic in this challenge, but I have to think a lot of people bet the same way I did, and went with Gabriel on name recognition alone. Dum-Dum is more my style, but so is having a fighting chance in any game I play. For that reason, my bracket pick is Passion of The Christ.

My vote: The Vaselines check a lot of boxes for me, and I’m a fan of the sort of sound they made. The vestigial influence of Cobain is also still there all these years later. My vote will be for Dum-Dum. Apparently I’m a fan of dissonance as well.

Any thoughts on either of these records? Agree/disagree with my takes? Which one of these would you vote for? Sound off in the comments!

Check out the full bracket here.

Info on the tourney, voting, and more is here.

As always, thanks for being here.

KA—

The Best Record of 1989: Day 8

by KevinLeave a Comment on The Best Record of 1989: Day 8

Weird Al’s UHF takes on 11 by The Smithereens

Good morning!

Today we’re taking a look at Weird Al Yankovic’s UHF – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack and Other Stuff (#48) as he takes on 11 by The Smithereens (#81)

Note: As many of you know, I recently wrote about a Best Record of 1989 challenge and noted that I’d be occasionally writing some of these up.

I’ve started doing some quick hits of each matchup and posting them directly to the page. Some will be longer, some won’t, and some might just be a handful of sentences. There’ll probably definitely be some typos.

Check ’em out and let me know your thoughts! Chin wags & hot takes welcome! Sharing and restacks are always appreciated.

KA—

I want to preface this by adding a few points for context. First, writing humor is hard. Like, really hard. If you think it’s not, just try it and show your work to a couple of friends. See what happens. Anyone who can do it once is worth noting—anyone who can do it for four decades plus is nothing short of amazing.

Weird Al‘s parody songs have delighted generations of fans, and it won’t be me that says anything bad about that.

UHF (the movie) was itself a parody- a parody of all the bad TV we used to be subjected to, where the channels were still changed by hand via a clunky dial. Before there were 57 channels and nothing on. It’s a fun enough premise and the sort of film you might’ve watched on a Saturday afternoon when it was pouring with rain. Yankovic plays a schlub who gets a job running a TV station his uncle won in a card game. Michael Richards plays one of the main characters. Hijinks ensue!

My second point? I have a very low capacity for humor in music. I’ve never gotten the appeal of a novelty band like Ween, and don’t get me started on that fistful of late 90s/early 00’s groups whose whole mission was to make “Zany” a new sub-genre. That goes double for all the ska groups that tried. Christ, some of that was interminable.

There’s none of that pretense here. The value prop with Weird Al is that he’s gonna take a song you love, and tweak the lyrics just enough to make you laugh. Maybe there’ll be enough of us smirking to make it a hit. There’ll be a metric ton of puns, some wordplay, and a liberal dose of accordion—all part of the schtick, and all good things.

The UHF soundtrack is no exception. There’s a take on Dire Straits’ “Money for Nothing” that’s solid. Ditto the spoof of Fine Young Cannibals’ “She Drives Me Crazy.”

Among a few of my friends, Spatula City was an inside joke for so long that it had morphed into something unrecognizable —one of those things that would be impossible to reverse engineer.

And hey, Yankovic’s songs are cool…the first time you hear them. But for me, they’re like a Carolina Reaper or Dave’s Insanity Sauce; you really only need to try them once every few years.

Speaking of movies, the title of The Smithereens’ 3rd record was actually a nod to Spinal Tap (as in “This one goes up to 11”). I am not entirely sure that’s true, but I’ve heard it enough over the years to think it might be. Besides, I want to believe it, so…

Even if you don’t recognize the record, you’ll likely recognize “A Girl Like You,” which cracked the Top 40. That was supposedly written for the movie Say Anything, but didn’t make the cut. Just imagine Lloyd Dobler blasting that out of his boombox instead of Peter Gabriel’s ‘In Your Eyes.’

Woulda, coulda, shoulda.

That song would be their biggest hit, and it would be easy to assume that every track went as hard as it did. But the band owes much more to pop bands than rock bands. There are family-sized riffs and plenty of power chords, but those are balanced with plaintive lyrics and plenty of catchy choruses purpose-built for singing along. I wrote a whole ass love letter to Ed Stasium about his treatment of The Replacements’ Tim LP, and his touch behind the boards here is just as on point.

You get “A Girl Like You,” but also tracks like “Baby Be Good” (this writer’s fave on the record), and “Maria Elna,” which would be equally at home on a Gin Blossoms record.

Anyway, like Weird Al, the value prop with the Smithereens is simple; you get Mack truck-sized riffs, a groove so in the pocket, you owe it some change, and Pat DiNizio’s vocals. With 11, you get a record that is best enjoyed loud.

Bottom Line: My streak of playing the odds on my brackety and voting with my heart aligning was short-lived. But hear me out here: Somehow, Weird Al made the cut to get into this tourney. Do enough people actually like this record for it to be taken seriously, or was it, well, a parody of sorts? When making my picks, I went with the former. Each had to meet a threshold of votes to be invited to the dance, and I just can’t see there being a viable path to collusion. Maybe there’s an inside joke from previous tourneys that I’ve missed. I dunno. Either way, once again, my bracket pick is for one record, and my vote will be for another.

Head: Weird Al

Heart: The Smithereens

Any thoughts on either of these records? Agree/disagree with my takes? Which one of these would you vote for? Sound off in the comments!

Check out the full bracket here.

Info on the tourney, voting, and more is here.

As always, thanks for being here.

KA—