Once upon a time I featured a post on Saturdays that spotlighted 80s music and MTV. I also selected a song/video that was inspirational to me on that given day.
This post isn't like that... exactly.
It's still 80s and music, but I wanted to take a moment to depart from the songs that rocked MTV and focus on the inimitable soundtrack. A movie soundtrack, if done well, can launch a movie even further into the stratosphere of success. With the advent of MTV, a successful soundtrack combined with video coverage on television... these forums stairstepped one another to success.
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| image found at www.weheartit.com |
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Back in 1986, my senior year of high school for the curious, the movie Pretty In Pink came out. It was another brain child of John Hughes and immediately became the Movie To See among my peers. However, another interesting phenomena happened shortly thereafter: their was buzz in my high school about the
soundtrack. I started hearing things like, "This is the first movie soundtrack I have actually liked - ever." Naturally, I was curious. I bought it. Here are the tracks (courtesy of Wikipedia):
| 1. |
"If You Leave" |
Andy McCluskey, Paul Humphreys, Martin Cooper |
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark |
4:25 |
| 2. |
"Left of Center" |
Vega |
Suzanne Vega with Joe Jackson |
3:33 |
| 3. |
"Get to Know Ya" |
Johnson |
Jesse Johnson |
3:34 |
| 4. |
"Do Wot You Do" |
Andrew Farriss, Michael Hutchence |
INXS |
3:16 |
| 5. |
"Pretty in Pink" |
John Ashton, Tim Butler, Richard Butler, Vince Ely, Duncan Kilburn, Roger Morris |
The Psychedelic Furs |
4:40 |
| 6. |
"Shellshock" |
New Order, John Robie |
New Order |
6:04 |
| 7. |
"Round, Round" |
Neville Keighley |
Belouis Some |
4:07 |
| 8. |
"Wouldn't It Be Good" |
Nik Kershaw |
Danny Hutton Hitters |
3:44 |
| 9. |
"Bring On the Dancing Horses" |
Will Sergeant, Ian McCulloch, Les Pattinson, Pete de Freitas |
Echo & the Bunnymen |
3:59 |
| 10. |
"Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want" |
Johnny Marr, Morrissey |
The Smiths |
1:51 | | |
Having seen the movie, I recognized OMD's If You Leave right away. It was featured prominently in the movie at at the end, plus it was on the radio a lot. Wikipedia indicates that it charted at #4 on Billboard in May of 1986. That sounds right to me. I was already a HUGE fan of INXS, but many of these other bands were a mystery to me. Their sound was very different than anything that was getting Top 40 radio play. I soon learned it was 80s Alternative Rock Music.
It turns out that many people were already plugged into this Alternative Rock Scene and these bands were just the tip of a fairly large iceberg. John Hughes was, once again, at the forefront of what teenagers like. Yeah, I was a few steps behind him. ::shocking::
Since I think EVERYONE knows OMD's song If You Leave, I am not going to post it here. It is a great song, mind you, and I still love it. It was a strong start for the soundtrack and absolutely the right choice. Instead, we will jump through this thing and hit some of the more alternative sounds for the day.
Let's start with the second cut. Suzanne Vega singing Left Of Center was, in my opinion, a perfect choice for this soundtrack. If you are familiar with the movie, it fits in nicely with the overall theme of the film.
Now, keep in mind that most people were still buying their music on cassette tapes in 1986, so track #5 was actually the last cut on the first side. I am not sure I would have done that. Pretty In Pink, by The Psychedelic Furs, is one of the strongest cuts on the album. I would have placed it in the #6 spot, making it the first cut on the second side, but that is just me. The video is alluring and plays hard to the movie. Now that is working the room, so to speak.
Wasn't that great? I don't recall it getting much play on MTV, but most Alternative bands still hadn't broken into MTV. Maybe someone with a better memory than I can shed some light on this one....
I am not going to play the New Order song, but this soundtrack began a little love affair with that band. I also had a couple Echo & The Bunnymen cassette tapes. They finished this soundtrack off with a song that lasted less than 2 minutes. 2 minutes of genius that is. The Smiths. I don't think I really need to say more. They are one of the most successful Alternative bands from the 80s and don't need little ole me promoting them:)
If this song sounds familiar, you may remember it from the movie 500 Days of Summer. This song was featured (again) in that film twenty years later. I suppose the saying is true: You can't keep a good song down... or something like that.
When I was on Wikipedia pulling the tracks for this album, I discovered a tidbit of information there that I think is worth sharing. Spinner chose the Pretty In Pink Soundtrack in their 2012 article Best Movie Soundtracks: The 15 Film Music Compilations That'll Change Your Life. I know that it shifted how I related to music back in 1986, so I can agree with that assessment.
Were any of these bands new to you? Any long-time favorites here? Have you heard the Pretty In Pink Soundtrack? Do you own it? Did you stumble into 80s alternative music and love it or hate it?
