The music that makes a movie

Ah, the movie soundtrack; such a staple of American pop culture. Nowadays the soundtrack of a film is just as important as the film itself. A lot of thinking goes into which tracks are to be included and which artists are going to contribute.

There are basically two types of movie soundtracks; the score (which is just composed music like the “Star Wars” theme) and compilations (many different songs thrown together).

While I adore certain movie scores (is there anything better than John William’s theme for “Superman”?), my favorite movie soundtrack is a compilation. The movie is Tom Hanks’ creation “That thing you do!”

Yeah, I am not joking.

The thing that makes this soundtrack interesting is that all of the songs on the soundtrack are from fictional bands and artists that appeared in the movie, led of course by (the fake band from the film) the Wonders’ hit song “That thing you do!”



The Wonders also “contribute” four other songs on the soundtrack including my favorite “All my only dreams.” But there is also a good amount of different 60s music thrown in as well including surf music (Cap'n Geech And The Shrimp Shack Shooters), jazz (Del Paxton) and female trio (The Chantrellines).

OK, I know the idea of oldies music turns some people off, but the music is good. And if you are one of those people who love oldies, then you will love this soundtrack. I remember buying a copy for my father when it came out and I double-checked and it is still in his car’s stereo. Hanks not only directed the film and put together the soundtrack, but he also co-wrote four of the songs on the soundtrack. The main person behind the music was Fountains of Wayne's Adam Schlesinger, who also got nominated for an Academy Award for “Best Original Song” in 1996 for the track “That thing you do!” but lost to Andrew Lloyd Webber for the film “Evita.” I guess if you are going to lose, it’s great to lose to someone like Webber.

You can listen to samples of each song on the soundtrack here:

http://www.amazon.com/That-Thing-You-Do-Soundtrack/dp/B000002BQD/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-0139782-9743102?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1185752820&sr=1-1