Over the previous couple of weeks, I’ve been posting a sequence of lists based mostly on what I feel are the most effective film soundtracks of all time. I’ve already executed the eighties and the nineties, so now it’s time to finish the trilogy with the most effective soundtracks of the 2000s.
Keep in mind, this has nothing to do with movie scores. These will probably be coated in one other record. Reasonably, that is devoted to soundtracks full of licensed music. They aren’t listed solely based mostly on how good the songs are, but additionally on the influence that they had throughout the movies themselves. So, right here we go along with our record (ranked chronologically).
Nearly Well-known
Nobody is aware of learn how to compile a soundtrack like director Cameron Crowe and his former music supervisor, Nancy Wilson (of Coronary heart). Because the film was based mostly on Crowe’s real-life experiences on the highway as a teenage rock critic within the seventies, you may think about the observe record is impeccable. Crowe made certain to throw in some all-time bangers (like Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer”), however a lot of the soundtrack is supposed to evoke the period somewhat than function a continuous barrage of hits. Therefore the deep cuts, like The Seashore Boys’ “Feel Flows,” in addition to authentic songs from Stillwater, the fictional band throughout the movie, reminiscent of “Fever Dog,” written by Wilson.
O Brother, The place Artwork Thou?
Of all of the albums on this record, T Bone Burnett’s bluegrass- and gospel-filled soundtrack for the Coen Brothers’ masterpiece will be the very unlikely hit. It went eight occasions platinum, whereas The Soggy Backside Boys’ “I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow” turned one of many coolest karaoke songs of the last decade.
Snatch
Man Ritchie’s crime caper sported one of the vital iconic soundtracks of the 2000s. The truth is, a number of the songs turned so intently recognized with the crime style—reminiscent of “Diamond” by Klint and Large Assault’s “Angel”—that they ultimately turned clichés.
Moulin Rouge
This was definitely the last decade of the jukebox musical, and Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge! was among the many most iconic. The medleys of pop classics, sung by stars Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor, turned so in style that each actors ended up slicing singles shortly after launch—McGregor with the theme track of his film Down With Love, and Kidman with a duet alongside Robbie Williams on a canopy of “Something Stupid.” Neither had anyplace close to the influence of their singing right here, although, with a spotlight being the baroque cowl of The Police’s “Roxanne” (“El Tango de Roxanne”). Plus, Christina Aguilera, Lil’ Kim, Mya, and Pink’s “Lady Marmalade” topped the Billboard charts.
Donnie Darko
Some could object to me itemizing this soundtrack, because the film barely made a dent in theaters and the album initially offered poorly attributable to being launched by a tiny indie label. But, because the film’s cult fame grew, so too did album gross sales. A lot of the report is devoted to Michael Andrews’ rating, nevertheless it additionally incorporates the now-iconic cowl of “Mad World” by Gary Jules, which hit #1 because the UK Christmas single in 2003 (two years after the movie’s launch) and has since turn into a normal.
Misplaced in Translation
One other ultra-hip soundtrack from Sofia Coppola, this one featured 5 songs from Kevin Shields (of My Bloody Valentine), plus tracks from Phoenix, Air, and The Jesus and Mary Chain. All of them turned immediately tied to the imagery of Invoice Murray and Scarlett Johansson (in a star-making half) wandering by a dreamlike Tokyo. After I was in college, this was the report the cool children performed at their events.
Shaun of the Useless
Edgar Wright’s characteristic directorial debut had one of many hippest soundtracks of the last decade, full of retro hits like Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now,” library cuts like “The Gonk” (from Daybreak of the Useless), and remixed Goblin tracks. Plus, our leads rap alongside to “White Lines.” The observe that impressed it, Liquid Liquid’s “Cavern,” additionally served because the centerpiece of one other iconic 2000s film—Spike Lee’s twenty fifth Hour.
Kill Invoice: Quantity 1
Like Snatch, most of the songs Tarantino included right here turned overused to the purpose of cliché. I cringe every time somebody drops Tomoyasu Hotei’s “Battle Without Honour or Humanity,” although that’s hardly QT’s fault (he lifted it from a Japanese movie himself). Different iconic tracks from these albums embrace Nancy Sinatra’s “Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down),” Bernard Herrmann’s whistled “Twisted Nerve” theme, and Santa Esmeralda’s epic cowl of “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood.” Quantity
Backyard State
You’ll be able to’t write a severe record of the most effective soundtracks of the 2000s with out together with Zach Braff’s Backyard State. It helped push indie rock into the mainstream, went platinum, and gave bands like The Shins and Iron & Wine their huge break. It additionally paved the way in which for TV’s The O.C., which had an analogous vibe and helped launch bands like Loss of life Cab for Cutie into stardom.
As soon as
Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová’s achingly romantic ballad “Falling Slowly” received an Oscar and made the duo breakout indie stars within the second half of the last decade. Almost a musical, John Carney’s masterful movie is stuffed with soul-crushing ballads, and each the film and soundtrack stay beloved virtually twenty years later.
Nicely, that’s my record—although virtually all of the picks come from the primary half of the last decade, as thoughtfully crafted soundtracks stopped promoting within the second half due to the rise of streaming music and the decline of the report trade. What different ones do you assume belong right here? Tell us within the feedback!
