SoundNexx

DEATH OF THE MOVIE SOUNDTRACK!
A couple of decades ago, the average movie soundtrack was nothing but a score of opera sounding theme music that most urban music fans could care less about! I mean there were some great movie theme exceptions like "Star Wars" and the original "Superman" that plenty of folks probably liked, but would you spend your money to purchase those soundtracks on CD? Hell naww!! In most cases the music that a moviegoer may have enjoyed hearing while watching a flick inside of a movie theatre doesn't have the same impact as listening to it in your car. I just can't invision somebody saying "Yo, turn up that Empire Strikes Back theme music louder playa! That joint is pretty HOT??" Back in the day movie soundtracks were basically just scores of musical sounds that was considered just another component of the overall movie making experience. Soundtracks of that nature were never intended to sell millions of records. That was until somebody got the bright idea to use the movie soundtrack as a promotional tool. The movie soundtrack game would be changed forever! Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the first label to use a movie soundtrack as a promotional tool was Suge Knight and The Death Row label when they released the "Above The Rim" soundtrack? This compilation was used as a movie soundtrack to promote the Death Row artists. I thought that was pretty clever myself. The majority of the soundtrack songs were not even heard in the movie itself. That didn't really matter because the soundtrack was classic material! That's back when the Westcoast was dominating the urban rap music scene, so the ATR compilation was a big hit! That soundtrack changed the movie soundtrack game forever. I realize that movies like Krush Groove, Juice and New Jack City had soundtracks that came out prior to Above The Rim, but they didn't have the same impact. Plus, most of the songs from those soundtracks were actually heard in the movies.

After that, just about every urban movie had a soundtrack filled with new singles and upcoming artists that some respecting label was trying to push. Some of the soundtracks were good, and some weren't. A few had a hot track here or there. I will admit that I have purchased plenty of movie soundtracks over the years, and in several cases I felt ripped off! It's kind of like tearing the package open on your last condom, and realizing that it has a hole in it! The reality is that mediocre songs are just that no matter if you package them as a soundtrack, compilation or an album. There were some cases where the movie soundtracks were actually better than the movie (Gridlock'd, High School High, Sunset Park). Then there were others where both the movie and the soundtrack both sucked (Sprung, Woo, I Got The Hook Up)!!

Now, it's 2007, and I can't remember the last movie soundtrack that actually made an impact musically over the last seven years? It seems like the artists promotion trend has finally faded away for good, or has it? Personally, I won't be buying a movie soundtrack anytime soon unless Prince, Dwele, Phonte and Joe Sample did a song together produced by Pete Rock, and it was only available on soundtrack, then I just might? An that's only if I couldn't find it on the internet first. Other than that happening...FORGET ABOUT IT!

Here are my two favorite tracks from the "Above The Rim" soundtrack:

Tupac - Pain

Sweet Sable - Old Times' Sake

Here's a list of my favorite movie soundtracks over the past few years:

Krush Groove
Juice
Sunset Park
New Jack City
Soul In the Hole
Boyz-N-The-Hood
Menace II Society
Jason's Lyric
Strictly Business
House Party (1,2 &3)
Higher Learning
High School High
Dangerous Minds
Dead Presidents
A Thin Line Between Love and Hate
Murder Was The Case
Friday
Poetic Justice
Player's Club
Belly
Boomerang
Waiting To Exhale
Set It Off
Don't Be A Menace...
A Low Down Dirty Shame
Tales From The Hood
Soul Food
Kill Bill Vol. 1
Black Mask
Gridlock'd
Do The Right Thing
New Jersey Drive Soundtrack (1 & 2)

Love Jones

The Show Soundtrack