10. Partytime (Zombie Version) – 45 Grave
If you grew up in the 80’s the odds are pretty good that you loves the punk zombie schlock of Return of the Living Dead. Since the world is brimming with zombie-philes, it is only fitting that this screamer starts off the list.
9. The Harder They Come – Jimmy Cliff
In The Harder The Come, Jimmy Cliff plays Ivanhoe Martin. In real life, he plays the song that make the whole world sing.
8. Wave of Mutilation (UK Surf) – The Pixies
Prior to its use in Fight Club, this redux appeared in the Christian Slater vehicle Pump Up The Volume. At the time, the film seemed like an aspiring punk-DJ’s dream – on the run from the FCC, telling it like it is, and taking over the airwaves. Now, we simply toss a couple tracks together, release a podcast, and hope for listeners. But, beyond it all, this melodic track stands against the tides like a Colossus of fuzz tone feedback.
7. She’s on it - The Beastie Boys
Back in 1985, The Beastie Boys weren’t quite the internationally renowned pioneers of funk and rap, but a bunch of punks from New York in tight jeans and leather jackets. This track originally appeared on the Krush Groove soundtrack and sorta fizzled until it was rereleased in 1987. I guess the world wasn’t ready for snotty nosed punks who hadn’t yet figured out to fight for their right to party.
6. The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly – The Pogues
From the Alex Cox film, Straight to Hell, with Joe Strummer, Elvis Costello, The Pogues, Zander Schloss, and numerous other talents of film and song (despite the inclusion a wretchedly caterwauling Courtney Love), this track is a literal remix of Ennio Morricone’s classic opening theme. It is a complete departure from standard Pogues Irish pub-fare and proof that they were a band to be reckoned with.
5. Golf Course – Michael Hutchence
Dogs is Space is one of my all-time favorite punk movies. It’s also one of the films I tend to avoid as it give me ‘all the feels’. Dogs in Space is a meandering walk through the final days of a bunch of Australian misfits as they drink, drug, and wait for Skylab to crash and wipe them all out. ‘Golf Course’ is a cover of the track from the real life band The Ears (who are fictionalized in the film) and always seemed like a companion song to Harry Chapin’s ‘Cats in the Cradle’. Do yourself a favor and check this film out, it’s melancholy window into the hedonistic restlessness of a bygone punk era.
Also of note is the killer track “shivers” from The Boys Next Door which has the amazing line, “I’ve been contemplating suicide / but it really doesn’t suit my style / so I think I’ll just act bored instead.” This song will rip your heart out and keep it alive in an ashtray of burned photographs.
4. When the Shit Hits the Fan – The Circle Jerks
Forget every other pretender to the cinematic throne, Repo Man is the unequivocal king of punk movies. It also has one brilliant soundtrack and The Circle Jerks’ trashy blues infused redux of their satirical anthem is my personal favorite.
3. Trash City – Joe Strummer and the Latino Rockabilly War
Permanent Record may be the Keanu Reeves film you never knew existed. It was an 80’s teen drama that dealt with kids coming to terms with their friend’s suicide in the face of a community that wishes to pretend it never occurred: Way heavier that Breakfast Club and slightly less intense than Reeves’ River’s Edge. This soundtrack featured several of Strummer’s first non-Clash tracks and was way more punk than anything the Clash did in their final years.
2. Pet Semetary – The Ramones
This is one of the best Ramones songs written. Lyrically it is significantly more complex than most anything they ever wrote and, following a film about a fresh from the dead 3 year old, it’s a welcome bit of B-movie silliness. In fact, they come dangerously close to writing a Cramps song here. The video is hilarious with its dramatic scene-grabs and Rocky Horror Picture Show cemetery party sequence.
1.Who Did That to You – John Legend
The fact that this song was eligible for a Grammy and overlooked is a sign of a very broken system. This song is everything that cinema soundtracks of the last hundred years should be; its bold, vengeful, rebellious, soulful, and unbelievable kick-ass.
Download 'Best Soundtrack Mixtape' (This is NOT this month's show...just a suppliment for the list. Enjoy!)
10 Best Movie Soundtrack Songs by Bibliodiscoteque on Mixcloud
"Eyes Without a Face"by The Flesheat... more