Which movie soundtracks did you own when you were younger? Do you still stream them or purchase them? I remember absolutely loving Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo and Juliet soundtrack (and movie, to be honest). I also had Titanic (I know I wasn’t alone) and I know there were others. I think they are still in this house somewhere too - on CD of course. My own mother was obsessed with The Bodyguard’s soundtrack (Whitney Houston!) which according to Wikipedia is the best-selling soundtrack of all time.
Do you remember when the movie soundtrack was everything? They were huge! Plus, we know that music plays such a vital role in movies. It helps set a scene, create tension or lightheartedness, and draws us in audibly.
Yes, recent movies have soundtracks. We have some on Vinyl (read this post where I talk about the return of physical media for our family and many others). And while movie songs are played on the radio and across playlists, owning the soundtrack as a whole, one that keeps pace through the entire movie, seems to be a lost art. Maybe?
I recently tried to explain to my kids how amazing soundtracks used to be. It was a thing. While they know songs from movies of recent years, and of course they are Disney movie kids and know those soundtracks well, I don’t think they grasped how much we would want, and buy, full soundtracks decades ago.
This all came to mind recently after I went to see the summer blockbuster Twisters. The movie’s soundtrack was amazing. I streamed it soon after but something felt off.
Maybe it’s because it was country music forward, which I haven’t listened to in some time. But I think what I really noticed was that during the movie, every song was so well-placed to the scene. When listening to the soundtrack as a whole, with just the music, favourite tunes stood out, but I found myself less enamoured. I wasn’t thinking about the movie as much.
Do we buy less media because we have access to streaming? Probably. But it also means we don’t have to listen to the okay songs to get to the jams we really love.
The next time you are watching a movie, pay extra attention to the soundtrack and chat with your kids about the effect of music on the media. Is it worthy of a purchase or stream? Are there some songs that just stand out more than others? Those are some fun conversations to have!
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