Saturday, March 19, 2011

Tunes For a Desert Island


Bad things happen when you're trapped on a desert island. You begin talking to a volleyball, get stuck with your sworn enemy with whom you share no common language, fall in love with Brooke Shields, run into polar bears, and of course the inevitable clash with Michael Emerson. However, all of that happens later. Right now you're still smoking from the explosion, you've got a limp, and are weighing your udder distaste for seafood against the possibility of this island lacking a Steak n' Snake or Pizza Hut. Tough times lay ahead. So what do you need? The right CD to carry you onward. Without it, all you'll find your stay quite an uncomfortable one. However by some incalculable odds of fate, the on CD that survives this whole ordeal happens to contain 12 tracks, all from movie soundtracks. It's almost like this scenario is entirely hypothetical. As if, happened to me just the other day. Thank god I was rescued by those... I think they called themselves 'Somali Pirates' or something like that. We're still working out some of the 'kinks' in the conversation but I think it's going rather well.

I'm rambling, aren't I? I suppose you're there just thinking 'shut up and tell me your 12 tracks.' Fine. Here they are.

1. Cast Away, End Credits by Alan Silvestri - Cast Away
- Because I'm a sucker for irony


2. Superfly by Curtis Mayfield - Superfly
- Because it's Curtis F*@(!#*@ Mayfield and Superfly!


3. Mrs. Robinson by Simon and Garfunkel - The Graduate
- Do you even know me? I would go crazy without a bit of Simon and Garfunkel!
LISTEN HERE

4. The Blue Danube Waltz by Johan Strauss - 2001: A Space Odyssey
- Oh Johan Strauss, you devil you. True pioneer of aviation.


5. Tiny Dancer by Elton John - Almost Famous
- Any chance I can call in a substitution on Brooke Shields for Kate Hudson?
LISTEN HERE!

6. I Believe by Stevie Wonder - High Fidelity
- Simply put, I love this song.
LISTEN HERE!

7. Eye of the Tiger by Survivor - Rocky III
- For those days when I feel like working out like a boss.
LISTEN HERE!

8. Ecstasy of Gold by Ennio Morricone - The Good, The Bad and the Ugly
- I would marry this entire soundtrack, let alone this tune!


9. The Untouchables Main Theme by Ennio Morricone - The Untouchables
- You always double down on Ennio Morricone - universal rule.


10. New Slang by The Shins - Garden State
- Wait, it is a requirement to have at least one song from Garden State, right?


11. Gondola No Uta by Takashi Shimura - Ikiru
- For those moments of great introspection and sadness. I'll accept this one might be a bit of a cheat since they never really did soundtracks, but I'm willing to stand by it.


12. Into the West by Annie Lennox - Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
- Perfect capping off for any journey, no matter what.


Thank you for going on this journey with me. Be sure you check out all the lists over at Anomalous Material!

14 better thoughts:

Jack L said...

Great choices Univarn
I actually included The Ecstasy of Gold in my list as well, such a fantastic piece.
I was considering The Untouchables score as well but ended up not including it.

I'm so glad you mentioned the Blue Danube, such a great piece of music put to incredible use by Kubrick.

Castor said...

Nice list Univarn :) Two superb tracks from Ennio Morricone will make any CD worth listening to. I actually considered the main score from The Good, The Bad, The Ugly. And you are right, I almost felt compelled to put in a track from the Garden State soundtrack as well as one from (500) Days of Summer.

Anonymous said...

Love the Simon and Garfunkel, also enjoy Castaway...I enjoy the instrumentals a lot! Nice and fun list!

Colleen said...

I almost put Mrs. Robinson. We would've had two matches. It actually came on the radio yesterday and I thought it was begging me "please include me!" Yes, Garden State is a requirement. Such Great Heights was a close runner-up too.

ruth said...

Ha..ha.. a track from Castaway is perfect, surely it'd inspire you to get into survival mode :)

I almost put 'Into the West' on my list but ended up going with 'May It Be.' Great soundtrack overall by Howard Shore.

Univarn said...

@JackL Ectasy of Gold is so beautiful. The entire GBU soundtrack is epic.

@Castor I thought about (500) Days of Summer, but I was seeking to cover as broad a spectrum as I could - minus Morricone, he's a bit of my kryptonite.

@scarlet Thanks, I love instrumental music, but I tried to keep the variety lively.

@Colleen Ah, you should have gone with it. I was torn on Mrs. Robinson or Sound of Silence (which has been in about a hundred movies) but I figured Robinson was the best long term choice.

@Ruth I just want to stand over a burning fire, Hanks style and brag about my awesome fire creation skills.

Ryan McNeil said...

I think we all selected a track from GARDEN STATE, though I somehow managed to avoid The Shins. Go figure. With Elton and Stevie back-to-back, I would gladly paddle over to your island anytime.

Simon said...

Why does everyone go crazy for the GS soundtrack?

On that note, Eltonyay.

Andy Buckle said...

Oh yeah! Superfly. Just about anything on that soundtrack would pass. "Pusherman" is my personal favorite. Also, New Slang would be on my list. Recently I have been addicted to Grieg's In the Hall of the Mountain King, and the Reznor/Ross mix of it in The Social Network.

Univarn said...

@Mad Good to know, always nice to have a friend on my deserted island.

@Simon Because it's got amazing songs on it?

@Andy Anything with Curtis Mayfield just about would make the list.

Simon said...

Um. Okay.

Chris said...

Glad to see the love for the Garden state soundtrack. I would put it on a list of soundtracks that top the actual movie.

I havn't listened much to Curtis Mayfield , maybe I will have to try his music now ( :

Aiden R. said...

LOVE "New Slang", came very close to putting it on my list. And that intro song to The Untouchables is SOOOOOOOOO badass. Well played, man.

Fletch said...

Look at the old soul over here, with nary a current pop artist save The Shins (sorry, not counting Annie Lennox).

I don't think I included a GS song, though I do love the soundtrack to death. That said, I'm glad the moratorium on hating it is over - or is it still cool to hate the movie while it's okay to dig the soundtrack? I'm so unhip, I've always liked both.

Survivor...lol.

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