greyduck.net

Just to really, really break the formula, I threw in one of those “soundtracks” which are really just an excuse to package a bunch of songs from various artists into one presumably-appealing market-friendly slice of the current state of the pop music industry. The movie could have been a blockbuster, but more likely it was utterly forgettable and the resulting music bundle is far more memorable than the film whose existence led to its assembly.

What is it?

Until the End of the World: Music from the Motion Picture Soundtrack is, as the title suggests, a collection of songs used in the 1991 movie. (This isn’t always the case with such projects; you get a lot of “inspired by” with this sort of thing usually.)

How does it sound?

It was a miracle I got the sampler mix out alive:

Why this pick?

I wanted to represent a type of album release which is present enough in my collection to warrant notice, the “music from or inspired by” cash grab movie-tie-in album. What’s funny about this one is that it’s one of the more genuine of its kind, as this music actually is all in the movie (however briefly, in some cases). And a lot of the music is really good!

I’m doing you a favor, basically. You should be grateful.

Which songs are the highlights?

There are two songs here titled something along the lines of “Until the End of the World,” one by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds and the other by U2. Both are good, albeit very different from one another.

Can’s “Last Night’s Sleep” is delightful. The Jane Siberry & k.d. lang duet, “Calling All Angels,” is fantastic. T-Bone Burnett’s “Humans From Earth” is a hoot. Talking Heads’ “Sax and Violins” is fun, too.

Which songs don’t work so well?

The thing about a “various artists” set is, how much you enjoy a given artist will probably determine how much you like a given song.

I don’t really like R.E.M. or Elvis Costello, so “Fretless” and “Days” (respectively) are a big NOPE.

Which album did you almost pick in favor of this one?

It was so tempting to pick the tie-in album for When The Wind Blows, you have no idea. Just… let me Google that for you. Maybe the one for the Spawn movie instead? Were it not for Until the End of the World I’d have a lot of bog-standard movie-adjacent records to choose from but nothing nearly as good or iconic.

Any final thoughts?

In case you’re thinking of watching the movie after listening to this quite-nice collection of songs… no, don’t, really. Trust me. It’s a long boring weird-assed slog of a film. Not even William Hurt and Sam Neill can save it. Not even this nice collection of songs can save it. Save yourself a couple of hours: Watch anything else, do anything else.

You’ll notice that the music here is more artsy and more relaxed than my usual fare. It’s true, in the early 1990s I was into artsy movies and artsy music, at least for a little while.

I got better. Or worse, depending on your point of view.

It’s not very often that you run into an album where the stuff they recorded but left off is both as plentiful and as high quality as what made it onto the released record.

What is it?

The Broadsword and the Beast is the 1982 record from Jethro Tull, a band named for a guy who (in the 1700s) wrote a book that helped kick off the Agricultural Revolution. Much like another band who quickly tired of the question, “which one’s Pink?”, I’m sure Ian Anderson quickly tired of being called Jethro…

How does it sound?

Bring me my sampler mix as a talisman:

Why this pick?

My relationship with this band’s music is a bit weird. This is one of the few bands my Mom and I agree on, though we like different parts of their library. (My Dad and I don’t agree on any bands.) What’s considered Tull’s best work either bounces off of me entirely or just doesn’t overwhelm me. Yes, the Aqualung album is quite good, but the entire mid-to-late-70s stretch is very hit-or-miss. As is the post-80s stretch, if I’m honest.

Basically I’m as atypical a Tull fan as I am an atypical Bowie fan. Go figure.

I came to the band in the mid-80s thanks to their “Heavy Metal Grammy” winning (sorry, Metallica!) album, Crest of a Knave. After that one scored big, someone decided that a retrospective boxed set was in order. Thus, 20 Years of Jethro Tull, which introduced me to… basically most of the notable B-side material from Broadsword, though I didn’t know it yet.

Then, as I worked my way through the back catalog the same way I did with the other prog-rock stalwarts I got into back then, I found that the A-side material on Broadsword is pretty darned good, too. So here we are: It’s my absolute favorite Tull record and arguably the best “first” record of theirs for a new listener. I mean, I’m arguing it right here and now. QED, etc.

Which songs are the highlights?

From the original album itself? “Beastie” and “Clasp” start things out strong. Next comes the hit single (such as it was) in the form of “Fallen On Hard Times.”

“Broadsword” is an epic piece, one of the strongest things the band has ever done. How it never got used in a Highlander-ish show or movie is beyond me.

“Watching Me Watching You” is an odd but compelling piece, the strongest track out of the last few in the album proper.

The parade of B-side material starts with the vaguely-Christmas-themed “Jack Frost and the Hooded Crow.” By the time you’ve gotten through “Mayhem Maybe” (one of my all-time favorite Tull songs), “Too Many Too,” “Overhang,” and “Down At The End Of Your Road” you wonder why any of those couldn’t have replaced one or another of the lesser tracks on the album they actually released.

Which songs don’t work so well?

Even a favorite Tull album isn’t a spotless album, I’m afraid. “Flying Colours” falls flat largely due to its very, very dated 80s-synth underpinnings, “Slow Marching Band” is merely dull, and “Seal Driver” just doesn’t work for me, though its instrumental bridge section could have been pulled out into its own thing and I’d have liked that a lot more.

Among the extra tracks, when you hear “Rhythm In Gold” you know why it didn’t make it onto the album proper.

Which album did you almost pick in favor of this one?

I had some options here: The Grammy winner, Crest of a Knave, is a solid record worth talking about. I like a lot of the follow-up, Rock Island, as well. But I’d probably have gone with Under Wraps, the album after Broadsword where Ian Anderson and crew went absolutely bonkers for synthesizers. To be clear, there’d been a progression (if you can call it that) toward synths over the previous few albums. With Under Wraps, though, you get the full “welcome to the 1980s” experience. It’s the 80s-est of the Tull records by a country mile. I won’t say it’s a great album but it’s certainly interesting and there’s a handful of standout tracks found in it.

I wouldn’t have done Aqualung, though. It’s a classic, and I’m not averse to those (I picked Selling England By The Pound for my Genesis selection, after all) but I don’t think I could bring anything interesting to the topic. Hey, if you haven’t been burned out on “Aqualung” and “Locomotive Breath” yet, by all means pick up a copy! I consider it the album after which Ian Anderson kind of really got full of himself, which is why I can’t get into the next few albums (particularly the “no discrete songs to be found” concept albums, Thick as a Brick and A Passion Play).

Any final thoughts?

In case I’ve been too subtle on this point so far (which seems unlikely): Find a version of The Broadsword and the Beast with the full 18-track line-up. It’s absolutely worth it.

I wonder what, in the coming post-CD age, will replace the gimmick of the “hidden track” at the end of the disc, found after waiting through several minutes of silence.

What is it?

Title of Record is the 1999 sophomore album release by Filter, the band mostly and forever known for that “Hey Man Nice Shot” song, though they’re also somewhat known for a song from this album as well.

How does it sound?

You know a sampler mix goes a long way:

Why this pick?

This is simply the Filter record I like best. I liked it when a coworker first loaned it to me back in my radio days, I like it now. Compare to, say, The Amalgamut where I like three songs and can’t stand most of the rest, or The Sun Comes Out Tonight which has a few strong bits and a lot of… not as strong bits.

There’s a lot of “nope” in Filter’s song catalog, basically. Too angry, too dark, what-have-you. And it’s all on a bunch of other records that aren’t Title of Record, thank goodness. Which isn’t to say ToR doesn’t have a lot of anger, oh heavens no. You don’t spin up a Filter record because you’re in the mood for sweetness and light and cute puppies. I’m just saying there’s a threshold between “angry enough to encourage catharsis” and “whoah dude dial it back a bit,” and at no point does this particular album cross that line for me.

There are very few albums which aren’t from one of my Big Three (Genesis, Pet Shop Boys, Midnight Oil) that I will listen through all the way without skipping a song. Title of Record is one such.

Or, to reword and sum up: I don’t care much about this band but I completely dig this album.

Which songs are the highlights?

Once you get past the less-than-a-minute-long intro track, everything here is good for me. Really, I’m not kidding. But if I had to point to a couple of specific tracks I’d go with “It’s Gonna Kill Me” and “The Best Things.”

And maybe “I Will Lead You.” Possibly also “Cancer.” Let’s not forget “Miss Blue.” And… well, you get the idea.

Which songs don’t work so well?

I still think “Take a Picture” is a good song, even if it’s a bit overplayed.

So it still works well. I just don’t listen to it as often, that’s all. And I had to put something in this section, didn’t I?

Which album did you almost pick in favor of this one?

I nearly took a full swing at The Sun Comes Out Tonight, as it’s the newest in my library. (Yes, I know another album follows that one. What I’ve heard of it so far doesn’t interest me much.) I gave a capsule review a few years ago, and I’m going to be repeating efforts often enough this year as it is, so it’s probably for the best that I leave it be. So here we are.

Any final thoughts?

Much like with Apoptygma Berserk, Filter’s a band where there’s one album pitched right into my strike zone and a bunch of others that aren’t even close. And of course the album I like best marks me out as a statistical outlier to the band’s staunchest supporters. Go figure!

And one of these days I’m going to edit down a version of the “Miss Blue” track without the 14 minutes or so of silence-then-random-screaming after the song itself ends. Hidden “bonus” tracks, y’all! The best way to ruin a perfectly good random playlist! Sigh.

The nice thing about having soundtracks in the year’s project roster is it gives me a chance to take a bit of a break. Think of them as sort of like a “bottle episode” of a TV show.

What is it?

It’s the soundtrack to Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, released in 1984.

How does it sound?

Like music used to soothe gigantic bugs.

Why this pick?

Part of the successful immersion into the weird post-apocalyptic future of this particular Miyazaki film is the compelling, slightly off-kilter score. Listening to one or another of the pieces on this soundtrack album is enough to put me in that world, if only for a few minutes. And so, I’m sharing that opportunity with you, here.

Which songs are the highlights?

This soundtrack album does something a bit odd: Most tracks are made up of two or three bits of the soundtrack score proper, so while half of one track might be something you find relaxing or whatever, the other half might be from a fight sequence. The lead track contains the opening theme, sure, but it’s bookended by two unrelated bits of background music.

This being the case, it’s hard to point to a specific track and say, “This, this one stands out.”

Other than “Nausicaä Requiem,” that is.

Which songs don’t work so well?

See above…

I guess if this soundtrack has a weakness, it’s that the occasional 80s-style synths leave it feeling rather dated in places.

Which album did you almost pick in favor of this one?

I almost went with the soundtrack to Iria: Zeiram the Animation. They’re of a similar vintage and there are some bits on that album that I really love.

Any final thoughts?

I’d prefer them to have made more individual tracks to separate out the themes instead of sticking two or three per track, but that’s the way the Giant God-Warrior crumbles, I suppose. (Does the Giant God-Warrior count as a giant robot for “giant robot warning” purposes? Nah, let’s say it doesn’t. Ha.)