Even though I spent the whole of yesterday mere inches from my computer, and even though I compiled this list over a week ago, I did not manage, obviously, to get it all together and put the post up yesterday, on TUESDAY. I'm really quite atrocious at weekly blog themes, I know. I blame Little Dorrit, the fabulous Dickens novel that I'm reading for my summer class. I was very much behind on my weekly reading (surprised?) so I had no time to spend spiffing up my Top 5 list for the week, which I do love.
From a very young age, I've been deeply attached to movie soundtracks. I can remember the very first one that I owned, a beloved, played-to-the-death cassette of Girls Just Want to Have Fun: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. It still ranks quite high on the "best birthday gifts I've ever received" list. Over and over, I listed to such catchy tunes as "Dancing in Heaven" and "I Can Fly", of course reliving my favorite moments from the movie in my overly dramatic mind, thinking that Janey Glenn was the most beautiful girl in the world (yes, that would be the oft-criticized, occasionally viewed as "horse-faced" Sarah Jessica Parker) and that if I watched the movie enough times, I might be able to reenact the incredible dance routines, and maybe, if I searched hard enough, I would fine someone as manly and gorgeous as Jeff Malene. Oh, the dreams of an eleven-year old!
Other beloved soundtracks have graced my cassette and CD players, and I have continued to program my Ipod with my favorites. While there are many, many more than I'm listing here (particularly from television, which may warrant another list entirely!), I think this makes for a good starting list of what I consider to be the best, most well-selected and considered soundtracks for their accompanying films.
5. Pretty Woman. I'm not sure it's possible to count the number of times we rewound "It Must Have Been Love" while riding on the school bus to various junior high sports functions. It was our favorite, and it took me a few years before I realized what a great soundtrack this is, loaded with gems like "King of Wishful Thinking" and "Fallen." Definitely one of the soundtracks that I knew every lyric of long before I watched the movie.
Favorite Song: It Must Have Been Love, Roxette
4. The Big Chill. Even today, I can't confess to having actually watched this film. I'm told it's about a group of adult friends and their various relationship problems. However depressing their stories may be, the soundtrack is KILLER. All oldies, but definitely goodies.
Favorite Song: Tracks of My Tears, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles
3. Garden State. Zach Braff personally selected each song for the soundtrack of the charming indie film that he wrote and starred in, and while I've never been a big fan of Scrubs, I immediately developed an affinity for Braff himself, based on his fabulous ability to put together a solid list of tunes that suited the quirky characters and story perfectly.
Favorite Song: New Slang, The Shins
2. Twilight. Another example of a soundtrack that was very carefully hand-picked, I could not have been more pleased with how this one turned out. I didn't know a single one of the songs before I downloaded the CD from ITunes, but now both Paramore and Muse frequent my playlists. I've listened to the album so many times by now that it provides me with a familiar comfort. I won't lie-Rob Pattinson's voice doesn't hurt. At all.
Favorite Song: Flightless Bird, American Mouth, Iron and Wine
1. Dirty Dancing.
A true classic, a soundtrack to beat all soundtracks, an incomparable example of soundtrack perfection. My mom bought the cassette in 1986, when the movie came out, and it was only a matter of time before we (my siblings and I) knew every word of every song. My friends and I were completely enamored with Patrick Swayze when he sang "She's Like the Wind", and put "Hungry Eyes" on repeat. My sister and I mimed walking across a log to "Hey Baby", and when I got married, I was sure to add "Do You Love Me" to our DJ's playlist. I'll always, ALWAYS love this collection.
Favorite Song: Cry to Me, Solomon Burke (prominent in the movie, but only on the Ultimate Dirty Dancing edition of the soundtrack)
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