Best Soundtrack of all Times
Originally published in Q Magazine on August 1, 1998
Anyone's who's ever found themselves- to their own embarrassment-humming the theme from ET as the cinema empties will testify to the power of the soundtrack. Film music covers many bases from the rock compilation to the full orchestral monty to the weird montage hybrid of Natural Born Killers. From the 102 years of the cinema, a choice of just 12 is bound to have some tearing at their copy of the Halliwell's film guide, but lighten up Barry, each of these is a real quality item and illustrates something a little different about the soundtrack art. Omissions imply no criticism except in the case of Trainspotting, a fine soundtrack which we have left out purely to annoy Irvine Welsh. Feels good, doesn't it?
"Produced, concerived and assembled " by Trent reznor, NBK was a revolution in the soundtrack album. Similar gambits had been tried before (Philip Glass's Then Blue Line, for instance) but this was the first attempt to make the soundtrack disc something more than a few Simple Minds or Celine Dion tunes heard under the credits. A fractured, scary collage of dialogue, original music, gunshots, and old tracks (Leonard Cohen and L7 to name but two), it really is something else, Seek it out if you haven't already.
Best Tracks: Its more of an "overall thing" but how about Patti Smith's Rock And Roll Nigger or Nine Inch Nails' Something I can Never have.
Best Moments: Juliette Lewis' coy "Are you flirtin' with me?" to the barroom rednecks pre-carnage and splatter.
"Produced, concerived and assembled " by Trent reznor, NBK was a revolution in the soundtrack album. Similar gambits had been tried before (Philip Glass's Then Blue Line, for instance) but this was the first attempt to make the soundtrack disc something more than a few Simple Minds or Celine Dion tunes heard under the credits. A fractured, scary collage of dialogue, original music, gunshots, and old tracks (Leonard Cohen and L7 to name but two), it really is something else, Seek it out if you haven't already.
Best Tracks: Its more of an "overall thing" but how about Patti Smith's Rock And Roll Nigger or Nine Inch Nails' Something I can Never have.
Best Moments: Juliette Lewis' coy "Are you flirtin' with me?" to the barroom rednecks pre-carnage and splatter.
Transcribed by Keith Duemling