7 songs that were much better than the films they were promoting

A great soundtrack accompanying a great film is a uniquely satisfying experience. This can be anything from As Time Goes By in Casablanca to Don’t You Forget About Me in The Breakfast Club. It could be the Mortal Kombat soundtrack (I won’t have a word said against those films!), or it could be Michael Giacchino’s superlative score to Up.

Sometimes, however, there’s a mismatch between the quality of the music and the quality of the film. The promotional single – usually released in advance – might have you all fired up, only to face disappointment when you watch the movie. So here’s a shout-out to some memorable music that accompanied some pretty forgettable films.

Is it OK to think Skrillex is OK?

I’m hearing a lot about Skrillex lately, and he seems like a pretty divisive fellow. Love him or hate him: pick one. I’ll admit being late to class on this one – I haven’t heard either of his albums. So, without the benefit of prejudice, will I join Team Love or Team Hate on Skrillex?

Songs for Halloween: The Nightmare Before Christmas (covers)

Brian Hugh Warner has made an awfully big career for someone with slightly less talent than Madonna. Still, he does at least have a distinctive voice, which is generally put to best use as a kind of reverse Rockabye Baby – making pleasingly unpleasant versions of popular tunes. Marilyn Manson’s version of Gary Numan’s Down In The Park was fun, and his I Put A Spell On You worked in the context of a David Lynch soundtrack. So surely a Danny Elfman cover should be a no-brainer, right?

30 day song challenge: day 14 – a song that no one would expect you to love

This is tricky. Anyone following this blog is likely to suppose – correctly – that I like all kinds of music, and just because I like one song doesn’t mean I’d like another, even on the same album. You’d have to know me pretty well to predict my tastes, so I’m not sure what no-one would expect me to love.

If I chose Eartha Kitt’s I Want To Be Evil, in a sense that would be downright predictable. Yes, it doesn’t slide into the alt-rock spectrum of most of my posts, but it is the sort of music that people who love music generally like – playful, classic, and uncontroversially brilliant. I’d be more surprised if anyone I knew hated it.