Of Soundtracks and Movies

There's something about the senses that affect our memories. There's the obvious, dominant ones such as sight and sound, but the more subtle ones, such as taste and smell, still have powerful effects. So it is with movies-- we tend to remember the dialogue, the characters, the scenery... scarcely noticing the background music. The first time I ever really took note of a movie's soundtrack was with "American Graffiti"-- partly because I had to do a paper on it for my cinema studies class, but also because I particularly enjoyed all of the classic 1950s oldies in that soundtrack. When viewing the movie with the mindframe of paying special attention to the music for the purposes of my cinema paper, I started to appreciate the nuances that music provides to a scene. It really adds to it in the most subtle of ways. The right music can really enhance the movie experience.

And I noticed that with some of my favorite movies, the main "theme" song constantly played in my mind, evoking memories of the movie itself. Some examples:

1. "You've Got Mail"-- this one has a host of favorites, most notably "Dreams" by The Cranberries, but my absolute favorite is "Butterflies in the Subway" by George Fenton:
[audio http://soundtracks.pl/klipy/8.mp3]
This song sets the tone for the movie, as it is both light-hearted and classic in tune-- very fitting for the classy romance story that evolves amongst the scenery of picturesque New York City throughout the varying seasons of the year. It's one of those rare tunes I can listen to over and over again without tiring of it. I enjoy this song so much, in fact, that it is my current ring tone on my cell phone :-)

2. "Toy Story" -- as with many Disney/Pixar movies, Randy Newman's songs feature prominently, and his "You've Got A Friend in Me" is no exception:
[audio http://www.fileden.com/files/2008/6/23/1972260/You27ve20Got20A20Friend20In20Me.mp3]
Again, this light-hearted and fun tune really encompasses the heart of the story-- that no matter what, we'll always be friends. It's catchy to sing and the rendition (as posted here) of both Randy Newman and Lyle Lovett in duet really brings out the soul in the song... and the movie!

3. "Wall-E"-- I'd have to call the theme song to this "Put On Your Sunday Clothes", originally from the "Hello Dolly!" musical:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xwFohvgSqw&NR=1]
What a terrific juxtaposition of both the classic and the futuristic! Not to mention that this song is played so many times throughout the movie-- in the opening scene, and then all throughout, you can hear Wall-E cheerfully humming it as he goes about his chores. And when he's sitting on top of his truck, a silent, closed and plant-holding Eve next to him under the sun, you can hear the tune play as he spins his wheels. After watching Wall-E, I found myself humming this tune everywhere I went-- clearly, I had Wall-E on the brain :-)

4. "Ratatouille" -- what better song to associate with this movie than a lovely French one about food? Namely: "Le Festin", sung by Camille:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzzF15Qgaa0]
This song perfectly captures the essence of Paris, and of the movie-- romance and good food. It evokes all the charm that surrounds the glittering view of Paris, and its food references evoke an appetite as much as the movie itself does! Singing it, as I was prone to often do after watching this, transported me to this world where romance and good food are intertwined... the two definitely go hand in hand! Yum!

5. Over the Hedge-- in a movie where the animal antics revolve around stealing food from the humans, Ben Folds' "Heist" is exceedingly appropriate:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMaGgNpz6mk]
This is one of those upbeat tunes that goes perfectly with a compilation of scene snippets designed to compactly showcase the animals' pilfering activities throughout the week. Its lyrics capture the essence of this heist in the middle of the story: descriptions of a magical world with resplendent and endless sources of food ("what you take magically regenerates"), and a selfish kind of teamwork ("you scratch my back, I'll scratch my back too"). Again, I found myself singing this frequently after watching the movie a few times, and envisioning all the woodland creatures scurrying about. I'll never look at a suburban raccoon or squirrel the same way again after this!

So there you have it-- some of my favorite movie songs. The ones that come to mind often and really fit the corresponding movie well.

How about you? What are some of your soundtrack favorites?