Movie Soundtrack Feature: "When Doves Cry"

MOVIE SOUNDTRACK FEATURE: "WHEN DOVES CRY"

Prince "When Doves Cry"

Purple Rain, the film, was a semi autobiographical film with Prince as the main character. The album of the same name was the soundtrack for the movie, and is considered not only the greatest work created by Prince, but also one of the greatest albums of all time. It had two songs reach #1 on the charts, including today's song selection. The soundtrack has been certified platinum 13 times, and as of 2008, was the third best selling soundtrack album of all time. Following Prince's death, the album ascended back up to #2 on the Billboard 200. Previously, it had stayed atop the charts for 24 weeks straight back when it was released, and stayed in the top 10 for a total of 32 straight weeks. "When Doves Cry" is noted for its lack of bass. According to Genius, this was a choice of Prince, as to make it sound "like something's missing." The song itself was inspired by his relationship with Vanity 6 member Susan Moonsie. Enjoy one of the more popular Prince songs of all time, off of the most popular Prince album of all time.

If you want to learn more about the soundtrack as well as view the track listing, click here

Lyrics to "When Doves Cry"

Movie Soundtrack Feature: "Heathens"

MOVIE SOUNDTRACK FEATURE: "HEATHENS"

Twenty-One Pilots "Heathens"

I tend to be more of a Marvel person when it comes to the two different types of major superhero films out there these days. However, I went and saw Suicide Squad and really enjoyed it. The soundtrack also became widely popular as it was released. It reached #1 on the Billboard 200 weekly charts, and finished #20 on the Billboard 200 year end chart. It had quite a few singles that became radio hits, including "Heathens." It was also nominated for a Grammy for Best Compilation  Soundtrack for Visual Media in 2017. The song featured today peaked at #2 on the weekly Billboard chart, and was in the top 20 of 41 different charts worldwide. It was Twenty One Pilots first huge hit since the success of their album Blurryface. According to Genius, Tyler Joseph stated that he wanted the song to be "a Twenty One Pilots song first, then a song for the movie." He also stated that as the song came together, he could feel that it had the identity they wanted while also fitting in well with the theme of the movie. I hope you'll take some time to enjoy today's selection as well as the rest of the music this soundtrack has to offer.

If you want to learn more about the soundtrack as well as the track listing, click here

Lyrics to "'Heathens"

Movie Soundtrack Feature: "Jungle Boogie"

MOVIE SOUNDTRACK FEATURE "JUNGLE BOOGIE"

Kool and the Gang "Jungle Boogie"

Like many other Quentin Tarantino films, Pulp Fiction is very unconventional. The soundtrack follows that same pattern as it adds some dialogue from the film as tracks, as well as mixing in songs from the actual film. The soundtrack reached #21 on the Billboard charts, and, like a few other soundtracks featured, have a lot of songs from previous decades. That is evident with today's selection, as "'Jungle Boogie" was released in 1973. The soundtrack received praise as being "in tune" with the film in which it is associated. While there was no particular demographic that the film was trying to reach, according to Kathy Nelson, VP/GM of MCA soundtracks, they were still very focused soundtracks that had a certain kind of personality. The music from this soundtrack even appeared in some television ads as much as two years after the release of the film, showing just how popular it really was. While there isn't much lyrically to "Jungle Boogie," it remains a well known song that, in my opinion, is really just trying to get you to dance and move to the rhythm. Whether you enjoy Tarantino movies or not, there's no fiction that this was a popular soundtrack and movie.


If you want to know more about the soundtrack and to see a track listing, click here


Lyrics to "Jungle Boogie"

Movie Soundtrack Feature: "Pump It Up"

MOVIE SOUNDTRACK FEATURE: "PUMP IT UP"

Joe Budden "Pump It Up"

I am probably one of the biggest fans of the Fast and Furious series. I know there are some out there who think it's full of pointless action scenes involving cars, guns and fighting. And, while the newer movies seem to have gone that way, it doesn't make me like them any less. My favorite move in the whole series, which I always feel may be the best one in the whole series, is 2 Fast 2 Furious. It is from that soundtrack that we get "Pump It Up." This was the first movie in the series that featured Ludacris, and it was his label that had a big influence on the music selection for this soundtrack. Luda had a few songs that he put on it, including his hit "Act A Fool," but it really seemed to be Joe Budden's track that really took off. The soundtrack was certified gold in 2003, and reached #5 on Billboard's Top 200. "Pump It Up" has also been featured in a few other movies, as well as Madden 2004. It was one of my personal pump up songs (how fitting) for listening before athletic events. I will warn you that there are some explicit lyrics, but I hope you enjoy today's selection.


If you want to learn more about the soundtrack as well as the track list, click here


Lyrics to "Pump It Up"  

Movie Soundtrack Feature: "Don't You Forget About Me"

MOVIE SOUNDTRACK FEATURE: "DON'T YOU FORGET ABOUT ME"

Simple Minds "Don't You Forget About Me"

One of the most iconic movie endings of the 1980s and possibly all time, "Don't You Forget About Me" plays at the end of The Breakfast Club. When you think of that movie, you think of that ending just as much as the message the movie tries to send. Aside from this song, the rest of the soundtrack is not as well known, and has received negative reviews throughout the years, even though it reached as high as #17 on Billboard's Album chart. However, that doesn't overshadow the success of the song itself.  It reached #1 on Billboard's Hot 100, and has been the bands most successful song in the U.S. to date. There is irony in that fact as, according to Genius, the band recorded this song in roughly three hours and forgot about it, considering it "just another song they recorded for somebody." It is clearly more than that now, and remains etched together with The Breakfast Club for generations to come.


If you want to learn more about the movie, the soundtrack and see the full track list, click here


Lyrics to "Don't You Forget About Me"

Movie Soundtrack Feature: "(I've Had) The Time of My Life"

MOVIE SOUNDTRACK FEATURE: "(I'VE HAD) THE TIME OF MY LIFE"

Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes "(I've Had) The Time of my Life"

Dirty Dancing is one of the most iconic movies from the 1980s. It is still beloved today, and,  every now and then, people like to slip in a "Nobody puts Baby in a corner" quote. The soundtrack for the movie subsequently was also successful. It spent 18 weeks at #1 on the Billboard charts. Today's track selection from the soundtrack was the most successful song from it. It was specifically recorded for the movie, and won awards across multiple platforms: Grammy for Best Pop Performance by a Group or Duo, Academy Award for Best Original Song & Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song. It also reached #1 on the Billboard charts. Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes were handpicked by the music production crew to record the song. The soundtrack as a whole created an oldies music revival, which created an unexpected boost for RCA records. That sounds similar to yesterday's soundtrack from Guardians of the Galaxy, which was also composed entirely of older songs. Hopefully nobody puts you in a corner today to check out today's selection.

If you want more information about the movie and the soundtrack, as well as the full track listing, check it out here

Lyrics to "(I've Had) The Time of my Life"

Movie Soundtrack Feature: "Escape (The Pina Colada Song"

MOVIE SOUNDTRACK FEATURE: "ESCAPE (THE PIÑA COLADA SONG)"

Rupert Holmes "Escape (The Piña Colada Song)

You probably didn't need to see Guardians of the Galaxy to recognize this song. It is one of those songs that almost everybody seems to love and can sing along to. If you have seen the movie, than you know that all the songs on its soundtrack come from the 1970s. The Awesome Mix is a mixtape created by Peter Quill's mother and given to him shortly before her death in the beginning of the movie. It is a collection of her favorite songs, which come from that decade. "Escape" plays in the film when Quill is recovering his cassette player from the guard who confiscated it when he and the other guardians were taken into prison. Director James Gunn gave Composer Tyler Bates a mission to have most of the score already in place before filming so as "to use them for emotional scenes and big action scenes." He also stated that he wanted to play the songs on set so that the actors could get a feel for why the particular song fit into the scene they were filming and understand it. The song itself, isolated from the soundtrack, is really basic in that it is a man wishing to escape his current relationship. This is Rupert Holmes' claim to fame, even though he did a lot of other things musically besides just this song. And, according to Genius, he doesn't even like Piña Coladas! 

As you can tell, the month of April will be all about songs off of movie soundtracks. It's a cool semi-crossover of pop culture, which allows a spotlight on both the song and the movie. I hope you'll enjoy following along this month's journey!

If you want more information about how the soundtrack for Guardians of the Galaxy came together, as well as the full track list, you can find it here

Lyrics to "Escape (The Piña Colada Song)