Alt Rock Rewind - Soundtrack Edition

Before Spotify playlists, movie soundtracks were the way a generation found their own music. Picking up the right movie soundtrack was a great way to get exposure to your next favorite band or in my case, my all time favorite band. The music videos that went along with these soundtracks cross pollinated the music with cameos from the Hollywood blockbusters, effectively advertising on MTV and VH1 all day long. 

Some of the top soundtracks of the era include:

• American Pie (1999) featuring: Third Eye Blind, Tonic, Blink 182, Sugar Ray, Dishwalla, and Goldfinger
• City of Angels (1998) featuring: U2, Alanis Morissette, and the Goo Goo Dolls
• Clueless (1995) featuring: Counting Crows, Luscious Jackson, Radiohead, Beastie Boys, and The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
• Cruel Intentions (1999) featuring: Blur, The Verve, Counting Crows, Placebo, Marcy Playground, and Fatboy Slim
• Godzilla The Album (1998) featuring: The Wallflowers, Green Day, Rage Against the Machine, Fuel, Foo Fighters, Days of the New, and Silverchair
• Digimon (2000) featuring: Fatboy Slim, Less Than Jake, Barenaked Ladies, the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, and Smash Mouth
• Empire Records (1995) featuring: Gin Blossoms, Better Than Ezra, The Cranberries, Toad the Wet Sprocket, and Dishwalla 
• The Faculty (1998) featuring: The Offspring, Creed, Garbage, Oasis and Stabbing Westward
• Scream 3 (2000) featuring: Creed, Finger Eleven, Godsmack, Sevendust, Incubus, Fuel, and Staind
• Titan AE (2000) featuring: Lit, Powerman 5000, Luscious Jackson, and Electrasy
• Transformers (2007) featuring: Linkin Park, Goo Goo Dolls, Smashing Pumpkins, The Used, and Armor for Sleep
• Varsity Blues (1999) featuring: Collective Soul, Foo Fighters, Third Eye Blind, Green Day, and The Offspring

And there were so many more.

Soundtracks were the underground radio stations, we needed to escape the continuous loop of recurring bands on radio and MTV so we could find new bands and deep cuts you didn't hear anywhere else. 

For me, Godzilla the Album was an important purchase; it set the foundation of the music I've been listening from high school to today. That soundtrack got me hooked on Green Day, Rage Against the Machine, the Foo Fighters, and most importantly Fuel. "Walk the Sky" got me started, and after hearing "Shimmer" on the radio and a quick trip to Sam Goody to pick up the Sunburn album - that was it, I was a Fuelie. 

The variety on Godzilla the Album is impressive. It included bands that were big on alternative radio already like Green Day and the Foo Fighters, and it had two songs that were getting heavy play on MTV with Puffy Daddy's "Come with Me" and The Wallflowers "Heroes". It also introduced listeners to bands like Fuel and Days of the New. Overall it's a good snapshot of music at the time.

And maybe that's why I enjoy the Transformers soundtrack from 2007 so much. The bands included established rock favorites like the Smashing Pumpkins, Goo Goo Dolls, and Linkin Park. At the same time, the album introduced listeners to The Used, HIM, and Armor for Sleep. Paired with a killer movie about giant robots, the CD captures the energy of the film and is fun to drive to. 

Most of the bands noted above have songs on the Alt Rock Rewind playlist, and while it's been a while since I last purchased a soundtrack, I hope they're still making them like they used to. Soundtracks were the mixtapes of our youth. If they’re not making them like they used to, maybe it’s time someone did. Alt rock deserves its next great cinematic revival.