The 19 tracks on Party Monster: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack ( TVT Soundtrax ) , the music that fills the gay-themed movie about the rise and fall of NYC club kid and party impresario Michael Alig, bridges the expanse between the electronic dance music of the '80s and the electroclash tunes of today. You may not realize how much songs such as Nina Hagen's 'New York, New York,' Stacey Q's 'Two Of Hearts,' 'Go!' by Tones On Tail, 'Kiss Me' by Stephen 'Tin Tin' Duffy,' Shannon's 'Give Me Tonight,' and ABC's 'How To Be A Millionaire,' have in common until you hear them in such close proximity with 'Seventeen' by Ladytron, 'Frank Sinatra' by Miss Kittin & The Hacker, 'Inside Out' by W.I.T., and 'It Can't Come Quickly Enough' by Scissor Sisters, to name a few. Whether you prefer your parties in a club with a cast of thousands or in the comfort of your own home, this soundtrack is a party waiting to happen. Monster not included.
There are times when a movie and a soundtrack are so perfectly matched that it is hard to imagine one without the other. Such is the case with Thirteen: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack ( Nettwerk America ) . A mix of songs by acclaimed, but still somewhat obscure performers such as Kinky ( 'Mas' ) , Clinic ( 'The Equaliser' ) , The Folk Implosion ( 'Make It With The Beat' ) and MC 900 Ft. Jesus ( 'Killer Inside Me' ) . There are also a couple of tracks, such as 'Super Bad Girl' by Iffy and 'Ivanka' by Imperial Teen, by bands with openly queer members, as well as a song by Liz Phair ( 'Explain It To Me' ) . Additionally, young teenage artists, such as Katy Rose ( 'Lemon' ) and Orlando Brown ( 'Pay Attention To Me' ) , are having their songs heard alongside music written for the score by Mark ( Devo ) Mothersbaugh.
Not as unpleasant as the movie from which it is drawn Freaky Friday: Original Soundtrack ( Hollywood Records ) opens with 'Ultimate,' a song by the movie's co-star Lindsay Lohan, and can be skipped without guilt. More entertaining are covers of well-known songs by lesser known artists, including 'Happy Together' by Simple Plan, 'What I Like About You' by Lillix, '… Baby One More Time' by Bowling For Soup, and the late Joey Ramone's interpretation of 'What A Wonderful World.'
Music From The Original Motion Picture How To Deal ( Capitol ) features songs by artists Liz Phair and The Donnas, that appear on both the Thirteen and Freaky Friday soundtracks. On How To Deal, Phair performs her recent hit 'Why Can't I,' while The Donnas do 'It's On The Rocks.' To its credit the album also contains a couple of Beth Orton tunes ( including her cover of Cat Stevens's 'Wild World' ) , 'Do You Realize' by The Flaming Lips, and 'Surrender' by Echo.
The clock is ticking on Brittany Murphy's questionable acting career and her latest dud, Uptown Girls, ought to signal that the end is near. I always worry when I see the phrase 'inspired by' in the title of a movie soundtrack, such as Uptown Girls: Music From and Inspired by The Motion Picture ( Nettwerk ) , as if this waste of celluloid might actually inspire someone to write a song. So, it's no surprise to find ubiquitous religious rocker Leigh Nash ( of Sixpence None The Richer ) on this album singing 'It's A Charmed Life.'
Yes, I'm sure it is. More surprising are contributions by the brilliant Erin McKeown ( 'Slung Lo' ) , fluffy club act Cooler Kids ( 'E Is For Everybody' ) and new singer/songwriter Toby Lightman ( 'Frightened' ) .
Contributions from Foo Fighters and The Wallflowers ( who cover Van Morrison's 'Into The Mystic' ) can't save American Wedding: Music From The Motion Picture ( Universal ) from being just another thrown together collection of faux punk rock tunes. But what did you expect?
Bob Dylan acts in the movie Masked And Anonymous, alongside Jessica Lange, Jeff Bridges, Angela Bassett, John Goodman, Penelope Cruz and others. He also wrote 12 of the 14 songs on Masked And Anonymous: Music From The Motion Picture ( Columbia/Sony Music Soundtrax ) and even performs four of them himself. The remaining renditions of Dylan's songs are by a variety of performers including Sophie Zelmani, Los Lobos, and the Dixie Hummingbirds, to mention a few.
The story of Clam Dandy, a fictional all-girl rock band in late '80s Los Angeles, Prey For Rock & Roll stars Gina Gershon and Lori Petty among others. Prey For Rock & Roll: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack ( Hybrid ) was produced by Stephen ( Hedwig and the Angry Inch ) Trask, and features Gershon on lead vocals, backed up by Trask, Gina Volpe ( Lunachicks ) , Sara Lee ( B-52's ) , Samantha Maloney ( Hole ) , and the movie's co-writer Cheri Lovedog. Gershon, who recently sang on the Denis Leary Roast on Comedy Central, sounds like Chrissie Hynde on 'Stupidstar,' a song she co-write with queer songwriter Linda ( Four Non Blondes ) Perry, who has also written hit songs for Pink and Christina Aguilera. Also noteworthy is 'Every 6 Minutes,' a song about rape. Gershon is coming soon to perform at House of Blues as part of a promo tour for the film.
Randy Newman temporarily steps away from his Disney soundtrack affiliation for Seabiscuit: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack ( Decca ) . On par with his finest soundtrack work, including Ragtime and The Natural, Newman captures the majesty and the emotions of this underdog ( or should I say underhorse ) story with his exquisite and expressive score.
Young Canadian crooner Michael Buble, who has been billed as the second coming of Frank Sinatra, appeared, appropriately enough, as a night club singer in the movie Totally Blonde, which is being released on DVD and home video in September of 2003. Andrew Van Slee, who wrote and directed the 2001 feature, also wrote or co-wrote all seven songs on Totally Buble ( DRG/Koch/Extraordinary Media Group ) , which functions as both a movie soundtrack and a new Michael Buble album. The toe-tapping swirl of 'Peroxide Swing,' the finger-snapping whirl of 'Me & Mrs. You,' and the touching ballad 'Anyone To Love,' are just a few of the contemporary period pieces that make Buble's singing style so distinctive and familiar. The CD also features the music videos to three of the disc's songs.
I've never seen the movie Honeysuckle Rose, Willie Nelson's second film role ( following The Electric Horseman with Jane Fonda and Robert Redford ) . I probably avoided it because the idea of Nelson being romantically involved with Dyan Cannon and Amy Irving scared me as much as Irving's big-screen debut Carrie. Still, with a Willie Nelson movie, one thing you can be certain of is good music. The expanded reissue of Honeysuckle Rose—Music From The Original Soundtrack ( Columbia/Legacy ) not only includes 'On The Road Again,' but also songs performed by Emmylou Harris, Hank Cochran, Dyan Cannon ( ! ) , and for the first time on CD, Amy Irving singing 'If You Want Me To Love You I Will.'
