Five Best Soundtracks
Album Picks & Words by Tamara Fuentes
Many people forget that music is also used in film, theatre, and television to help set the mood for a scene or tell a story that a character is trying to tell. With more and more soundtracks getting popular thanks to hit movies like Pitch Perfect and Les Miserables, more and more new artists are being discovered and re-discovered. Even already well-known artists like Daft Punk and Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails have been creating soundtracks for many films and shows. Thanks to these new collaborations, we have a whole new music to discover. While you might not think of yourself of a “soundtrack person”, you may be surprised what you could find if you look deep enough.
Once by Original Broadway Cast of Once
If you thought Broadway musicals were all about singing and dancing, think again. This musical takes Broadway to the next level by having their actors become quadruple threats, with them singing, dancing, acting, and playing their own instruments all at the same time. While the musical is an adaptation of the film, its’ amazing soundtrack takes us on a journey of one musician giving up his dream and then changing his mind when he falls in love with a girl in a Dublin pub. While the plot might seem like any normal Broadway musical story, the songs take it to a new level and make you fall in love with these unknown musicians that you would want to know by the end of the album.
Tron: Legacy (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) by Daft Punk
Talk to any Tron fan and they will tell you the same thing: the sequel isn’t as great as the first. However, every Tron fan would tell you something else: the music for the second film is absolutely amazing. Daft Punk takes their own style, adds an orchestra, and creates one of the most powerful soundtracks that shows us that the music can definitely make or break a movie. If you fall in love with this one, check out the remix album which takes each track to a different direction but somehow makes it work in an amazing way.
Girls: Volume 1 (Music from the HBO Original Series) by Various Artists
One thing that people seem to forget is that television is one of the biggest users of music today. In almost every episode you hear a different sound, band, song, and album. It all depends on what’s going on and who the characters are. But, very rarely, do we ever get an album taken out with that music. Luckily, HBO isn’t like everybody else and gave us one of the most amazing soundtracks ever. With tracks from fun., Grouplove, and Tegan and Sara, it is one of the must have albums from this year.
Spring Awakening by Original Broadway Cast of Spring Awakening
When people think Broadway, they just think show tunes and green witches from Oz. Then when you ask them about rock musicals they always think about Rent, Next to Normal, Tommy, or Rock of Ages. But, there’s always another musical that people also mention and this is it. If you take Germany in the 1800s, rebelling teenagers, and one of the most controversial books ever written, and put it all into music, you have Spring Awakening. One of the most powerful musicals ever written, the album alone will make you laugh, cry, and press the play button again after the first listen so you can experience it all over again.
Razia’s Shadow: A Musical by Forgive Durden
It can be argued that this is not a soundtrack but the last album created by Forgive Durden, but with the new stage production of it performed not too long ago, it can be said that this is sort of a soundtrack. After being the sole member left, Thomas Dutton enlisted the help of his brother Paul and the two collaborated on this amazing album. With other characters being played by artists like Brendon Urie, Aaron Weiss, and Dan Young, this album will keep you listening right from the first track. With new tracks written for the stage production, we could only hope that they get the chance to record them and rerelease the album so we could fall in love with it all over again.
