[ aquarius records — Soundtracks ]

Showing results 151 through 200 of 729.

EMANUELLE PERCHE VIOLENZA ALLE DONNE AKA THE DEGRADATION OF EMANUELLE (NICO FIDENCO)OST(Death Waltz)lp$ 30.00

EMERALD WEBThe Stargate Tapes 1979-1982(B-Music / Finders Keepers)cd$ 13.98

We reviewed an amazing album on the Dead-Cert label (the boutique subsidiary label of Finders Keepers and Demdike Stare) a while back by musical couple Kat Epple and Bob Stohl called Sanctu Spiritus, a proto-new age document of early recordings utilizing synthesizers and flute with tape-loops to be used in planetariums and space documentaries. That release is now sadly out of print, but that was just the beginning. Between 1978 and 1982, the couple would later form the group Emerald Web, a mixture of space and fantasy music with proggy new age leanings and release 5 recordings (1 lp and 4 cassettes) on their own imprint label Stargate from which the tracks here are compiled by the fine freaks at Finders Keepers/B-Music. Hailing from Florida, the duo recorded their music at night utilizing the studio they used for their day jobs as synth-programmers, music consultants for computer technology labs and TV and film soundtrack work. Named after a laser show formation and combining elements of dungeons and dragons fantasy and cosmic ambience, the group released their vinyl debut, Dragon Wings And Wizard Tales in 1979, a heady post-prog synth epic of tripped out soundscapes and ethereal female vocals that was recently featured on the Record Store Day compilation Monster Skies. The subsequent tape releases were less proggy and more spacey, filled with field recordings, dueling flutes, and ambient electronics that have more of a minimal composition focus than your typical new age music does. The couple would go on to record music for Carl Sagan's Cosmos series and hopefully that will get released soon as well. So great! There is an import lp version of this, but it's been very hard for us to track down, so for now we only have the cd.

EMPIRE RECORDSOST(A&M)2lp$ 28.00

THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SORRY.

ENOCKSSON, ERIKFarval Falkenberg(Kning Disk)cd$ 15.98

Another disc we knew nothing about and just luckily stumbled across (with our interest whetted due to its label affiliation, Kning usually being quite interest-ing). We were initially struck by the gorgeous cover, an embroidered landscape, all oranges and blacks, the texture of the background fabric adding grit to the already dark and mysterious shapes and hues in the foreground. The words Farval Falkenberg printed in huge gold metallic letters, strangely poetic song titles. We later discovered that this is in fact the soundtrack to a Swedish film, a coming of age story, sad and bittersweet, and the music couldn't be more perfect. The opening track had us completely smitten within seconds. A gorgeously melancholy acoustic guitar, spinning a soft sad melody, mournful and moody, the main melody is whistled, giving the track a certain childlike vibe, a bit of a Morricone / Bjorn Olsson feel too, it seriously gives us shivers just writing about it. Then the 'chorus' kicks in, and adds soft focus piano plinking in the background, another guitar higher up in the mix, simple tambourine percussion. It's so evocative, you can't help but let your mind start making up different scenes from this movie you've never seen. Lonely walks, sitting by the window, rain pouring down, wandering along railroad tracks, laying in bed staring at the cracks in the ceiling. Wow. And the rest of the record is just as compelling. Every song a mini super emotional epic. Organs wheeze ominously, acoustic guitars flutter and flit, chimes drift and shimmer, the piano returns in dense swells, bits of static and glitchy hiss intrude like someone changing stations on the radio, there are creaks and groans, distant rumbles, bits of electronic skitter, subtle drones, chimes, bells, even the occasional vocals, but it's always about the guitar, it's delicate dreamlike melodies, and how it's so perfectly intertwined with the piano and the organ. So moving and intense. Think Rachel's, Dirty Three, Pinetop Seven, Japancakes, Godspeed, but somehow much less arty, and more genuine, subtly experimental, but practically perfect, dark, emotional, so incredibly moving. Makes us want to see the film so bad, but in the meantime, it's the ideal music for whatever film you have running through your head. And of course the absolutely perfect soundtrack for lonely walks, staring at the ceiling, staring out the windows in the rain, wandering along railroad tracks, etc...

ERASERHEADOST(Subversive Cinema / Absurda)cd$ 21.00

Here's the soundtrack to David Lynch's infamous, career defining early cult film Eraserhead. It's a work that lead actor Jack Nance was so dedicated to that he kept the same extreme cumulonimbus hairdo for the five year duration of its filming! It's a work so claustrophobic, nightmarish, perverse, anxiety ridden, bleak and black humor heavy that it continues to this day to be unsurpassed in many strange and wonderful ways. Many movie soundtrack cds these days are just glorified rock compilations. Not this one! It's a genuine soundtrack, and a strange and beautiful one at that. Filled with intrusive industrial scrapes and discomfiting silences, the soundtrack unquestionably plays an integral role in brewing up the unsettling atmospheres that Lynch navigates with an unchartered dream logic. Unfriendly cold sweat drones, prickly electrical charges, choked guttural gurgles, distant echoes of carnival organ melodies and dialogue snippits lurch in and out of focus, but out of all this grey dankness emerges the Lady in the radiator's "In Heaven (Everything Is Fine)". So good.

ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK (CARPENTER, JOHN)OST(Death Waltz)lp$ 29.00

THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SORRY. Very cool, fancy import vinyl reissue of this Carpenter classic (and onetime aQ Record Of The Week), from a mysterious UK label who have just started doing a whole series of uber desirable soundtrack reissues on lp. We're always going on about John Carpenter, citing his music as a big influence on a lot of underground bands today, and this is definitely a good example of what we love about his stuff. Here's what we said about this when we made the cd reish a ROTW back in '05: Why are we making a soundtrack for a movie from 1983 starring Kurt Russell (who hams it up in a piratical eye-patch) our Record Of The Week, this week? Well, we've got a few reasons... first off, the music is awesome and we love it (good reason right there). Secondly, this cd has been out of print and hard to find for several years now, going for silly sums on eBay, sought after by soundtrack collectors and electronic music fans. While director John Carpenter is known for making quite a few classic films in the B-grade horror and sci-fi thriller genres (Halloween, The Thing, Assault On Precinct 13, The Fog, They Live etc.), it's perhaps not as well known that he personally composed the soundtrack music to many of his movies, starting with his first flick Dark Star back in 1974. Working out of a home studio with what was technically advanced equipment at the time (machines which would now be considered awesomely vintage), he composed electronic music soundtracks that some might say are even better than the movies themselves. Certainly they're worthy to stand on their own, anyway (just like Goblin's soundtracks for Argento's films). Carpenter's compositions have influenced other musicians, and not just soundtrack writers. Anyone who loved the Zombi album we recommended last year needs to have some John Carpenter in their collection for sure! And we recommend Escape From New York as being one of his best. Somehow it combines a lot of stuff that we figure a lot of you like: suspenseful Goblinesque darkness, droning old school synths, kitchy Disco Not Disco style NYC '80s groove... Loaded with claustrophobic nervous tension, these tracks make use of taut, minimalistic, hypnotically repetitive rhythms that make us imagine an Electro version of AQ faves Circle. The atmosphere is further enhanced by the inclusion of sound FX from the film and snippets of dialogue - the tough guy banter of Kurt Russell's wiseass anti-hero "Snake" Plissken is priceless, especially due to Russell's constipated Clint Eastwood delivery. Set in a dystopian, wartorn then-future of 1997, Escape From New York sends "Snake" into the maximum security prison that the island of Manhattan has become to rescue (at pain of death) the President of the United States, who is being held captive there by the city's "inmates" after Air Force One made a particularly poor choice of a place to crash-land! The film also stars the likes of Lee Van Cleef, Ernest Borgnine, Harry Dean Stanton, Adrienne Barbeau, Donald Pleasence, and Isaac Hayes, all of 'em capable of chewing the scenery right along with Russell. You definitely don't need to have seen Escape From New York to get a kick out of this soundtrack, but the movie is an enjoyable '80s action thriller worthy of its cult status and listening to this will probably get you to go rent it. Carpenter composed and performed the score in association with sound designer Alan Howarth, whose home studio (stocked with an ARP Quadra, an ARP Avatar with 16 step sequencer, a Prophet 5 programmable analog synthesizer, and a Linn LM-1 drum machine) was used for the recording. Howarth was further responsible for remixing and remastering the album for the release of this "expanded edition" which first appeared in 2000. It includes several cues originally meant for scenes deleted from the theatrical release of the film, and runs to over 57 minutes in length. 'Bout time it was back in circulation! This vinyl version includes a poster of its exclusive over art, by Jay 'Iron Jaiden' Shaw, along with liner notes from both Howarth and Shaw.

EVIL DEAD (ROQUE BANOS)OST(La-La Land)cd$ 16.98

At first the super striking cover art had us thinking this was in fact the original Evil Dead soundtrack, just given a modern makeover and re-released on one of the many horror movie soundtrack vinyl labels that have been popping up (Death Waltz, Waxwork, etc.). A closer look though revealed that this was in fact, music from the 2013 REMAKE of Evil Dead, and while we're not big fans of the remake, especially when it's a movie as iconic as Evil Dead, we have to say, over the last few years, some horror movie remakes have actually been pretty great. The new My Bloody Valentine was legitimately great, as was the recent remake of the slasher/exploitation classic Maniac. We dug the Hills Have Eyes remake too. Hell even the first half of Rob Zombie's Halloween remake was pretty cool (focusing on the childhood of Michael Myers), but even with all that, we LOVE the original Evil Dead, and as open as we are to remakes, Evil Dead did seem sort of sacrosanct. The movie itself is a whole different beast, VERY modern, and seriously scary, and WAY violent, the vibe though is totally different, sure it's kids in a cabin, and there's a book, and people get possessed, but otherwise, it really could have been called anything, it's not like that cabin in the woods trope is super original at this point. But still, from a pure horror movie perspective, it was pretty good, and the soundtrack/score, was AMAZING. Some seriously harrowing sound design for sure, that at times reminded us of Ben Frost, or even Roly Porter. It had us imagining that this is what might have happened if those guys were given a HUGE budget, and a full orchestra, and a seriously gore soaked movie to score. The sound is modern for sure, but it's pretty epic, and really scary, some of the arrangements are super twisted, some are obvious cues, but others are just plain weird, there are operatic vocals, soaring female, and chanted male, symphonic blasts, lost of brooding hushed passages, plaintive piano, the tracks are super dynamic, lots of scary strings, tons of drones, and deep rumbling low end, lots of jump scare style symphonic stabs, pounding percussion, much of the soundtrack sounds like updated black ambient / industrial music, the bits with vocals sound like the scariest neo-folk you've never heard, much of this sounds like a totally terrifying opera, some bits are haunting and delicate, but much of this is just super intense and even removed from the visuals, induces a seriously intense sense of utter dread and desolation. And of course horror. The vinyl is super deluxe, and thus pretty pricey, an ultra striking full color heavy gatefold sleeve, obviously designed to sit next to your Death Waltz / Mondo / Waxwork releases (it's a co-release with Death Waltz in fact, for overseas), the cd though is in a regular jewel case.

EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY & DAVID WINGOPrince Avalanche OST(Temporary Residence, Ltd.)cd$ 14.98

It shouldn't come as a huge surprise to anyone to discover that Texas epic post rockers Explosions In The Sky have scored a film, after all, they're probably best know for providing the dramatic sonic accompaniment to the TV show Friday Night Lights, not to mention having various songs of theirs popping up all over the pop culture landscape. But hell, why not, their music is epic and moving, sprawling and explosive, understated and majestic,, who wouldn't look to EITS for a few seconds of epic instrumental swell, or brooding emo majesty, their music even sans imagery, evokes on its own the sort of heart wrenching emotion and fragility that indie film makers have been trafficking in for ever. The key being, that somehow these guys could make that music sound true and heartfelt, deep and original, in a field populated by hundreds of EITS wannabes, only Explosions themselves have truly nailed it, masters of gorgeous and emotional post rock soundscapery, which again, makes it not so surprising that some indie filmmaker would tap them for a score/soundtrack. What IS sort of surprising, is that Prince Avalanche is mostly acoustic, with songs that generally hover around the two minute mark, never going longer than five minutes, with the instrumentation mostly piano and acoustic guitar, with most of the tracks hushed and spare and delicate. We're not sure who David Wingo is, but we're guessing he's a piano player, considering that much of Prince Avalanche is driven by lovely lyrical piano lines. There is still definitely an Explosions feel to the compositions, but as short as they are, much of the brooding slowbuilds that defined their sound as been swapped out in favor of something more intimate, and immediately dramatic, haunting minor key guitars are strummed and gently fingerpicked, beneath dreamy washes of melancholic piano, there are strings here and there, woodwinds too, it does sound very 'indie film' which is not a bad thing, but at times, you can almost picture the trailer in your head. Elsewhere Explosions and Wingo make that sound their own, like on the very Explosions sounding "Join Me On My Avalanche", one of the only tracks with drums, and one of the few to extend beyond 2 minutes, but it's got a classic Explosions feel, a sprawling brooder, with driving drums, percolating synths, a sort of post rock / kosmische hybrid, underpinned by more minor key acoustic guitar strum and some Polyphonic Spree like vox, and yet even here, it's somehow still easy to imagine that part in the movie's trailer (which we haven't seen) when everything comes to a head, and gets really dramatic, the music here perfectly capturing that emotional tension and cathartic release. Gorgeous stuff for sure. Not as bombastic and epic as other Explosions records, but then these songs were meant for something else entirely. Lovely stuff. Includes a fold out insert and a sticker. And for local folks, while they last, we've got passes to the movie's SF screenings, free with purchase!

FARMThe Innermost Limits Of Pure Fun(EM Records)cd$ 22.00

Ah, yes it's summertime! Warm sunshine and trips to the beach! And what's more summery than surf music? Lo and behold, our favorite label for obscure and amazing reissues, Japan's EM Records, has a special new series of five, count 'em, five reissues devoted to lost "surf" music treasures. The first two, by Farm and Peter Martin & Finch, are out now, with the others to follow in short order. We're pretty sure all of 'em are awesome. And if you're familiar with the eccentricity of this label, you'll know that this "EM Under Water" series isn't going to be about, y'know, "regular" surf music of the Jan & Dean or Ventures variety, nope. These first two releases are both soundtracks to rad '70s surfing movies, and are fully psychedelic, with tripped out grooves, synth experiments, and heavy rock jamming all part of the mix. This one's really fantastic. The music for the legendary 1970 Australian surf documentary The Innermost Limits Of Pure Fun was done by a hippy band called Farm from Santa Barbara who themselves were part of the SoCal surf scene. Their lead guitarist, Denny Aaberg, even wrote a novel about his surfing days called Big Wednesday that was eventually made into movie starring Jan-Michael Vincent and Gary Busey! Other members later on played with such bands as the Surf Punks in the '80s and the Beach Boys in the '90s... and weirder still, The Captain from Captain and Tennille is on here somewhere too. But this is like none of that, needless to say. Farm's sound was more of a special surf/soundtrack/psych hybrid... There's plenty of glorious mellow jazzy groovers on here, with organ that reminds us a bit of Bo Hansson's stuff, as well tracks like the heavy electric blues of "Zan Ho Zay" and the gorgeous folky acoustic guitar intricacy of "Innerspace". Mostly instrumental, but for two charming vocal cuts, "Crumple Car" and "The Eater", this is surf-psych at its peak for sure. A lot of the record was constructed around live jams, including the soundtrack's finale, the 13 minute improv "Coming Of The Dawn", a track Farm recorded in real-time response to a projection of the film's most awe-inspiring "inside the pipe" sequence. The filmmaker had rigged up a waterproof camera contraption that he was able to strap to his back and use to shoot while riding his board, one of the innovative techniques that made it a groundbreaking surf movie. This soundtrack had to help too! This reish, done in the usual thorough EM style, is packaged in a nice gatefold sleeve with a thick, fully illustrated booklet in English and Japanese and other bits of ephemera tipped in, and includes a QuickTime video clip on the cd of an interview with the band. As well, both this and also the soundtrack to Drouyn include liner notes by Aussie surf music expert Stephen J. McPharland (author of Waltzing The Plank: The Illustrated Encyclopedia Of Australian Surf Music 1963-2003).

FASTWAYTrick Or Treat OST(Columbia)cd$ 5.00

**SALE **SALE* *SALE**

FENNESZ, CHRISTIANAun: The Beginning And The End Of All Things (Soundtrack)(Ash International)cd$ 15.98

While not a proper new Fennesz 'album' per se, Aun is in fact a soundtrack to a new film by Austrian director Edgar Honetschlager, incorporating a few collaborative pieces previously released on the album Cendre, which found Christian Fennesz teamed up with pianist Ryuchi Sakamoto. Surprisingly, those tracks, already pretty cinematic, fit perfectly amidst Fennesz' original music for Honetschlager's film. And while we've yet to see the film, the music on its own is lovely, and hauntingly contemplative, especially the tracks with Sakamoto, the pointillist piano lending the music a certain gravitas, moody and melancholy. While the rest of the tracks find Fennesz weaving lush tapestries of deep glowing drones and warm whirring ambience, opening track "Kae" is dense and thick, a lush gauzy melodic stasis rife with buried melodies, the sort of sound that evokes those time lapse nature films, plants breaking through the soil, blossoming, then withering and dying. Poignant and moving, quite a feat for a track that barely cracks two minutes. Later on the soundtrack, Fennesz returns to the guitar, letting gentle strums and delicately picked notes become gently obliterated by clouds of digital errata, transforming the sound into a glitchy dreamfolk drift, those bits of glitchguitar ambience surrounded by thick slabs of deep dense digital dronemusic, tracks like "Euclides" imbuing what would otherwise be an ethereal shimmer, with an almost black hole density, while other tracks display a knack for melding airy ambience with gristled laptop buzz, the results sometimes spare and ghostly, other times bleak and blackened, but always haunting and lovely. In some ways, the sounds are almost too perfect as a soundtrack, the sort of abstract minimal ambience that seems to underpin most movies these days, but close listening reveals that this is more than rote ambience, instead, each track here is a dense multilayered mini-symphony, that even sans visuals, offers much to discover on repeated listens, and seems to blossom before the listener's ears, the sound rich with the promise of endless sonic discovery.

FERRIO, GIANNIBig Guns(Easy Tempo)cd$ 16.98

THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SORRY. Soundtrack to the italian film directed by Tony Arzenta is super-spy-alious and breaks down to sexy-ville. For fans of other easy tempo releases and the Vampyros Lesbos.

FINAL SOLUTION, THEBrotherman (OST)(Numero Group)cd$ 15.98

Leave it to the Numero Group to dig up a soundtrack so lost that the film it accompanies was never even made. Cut back to 1975, when the blaxploitation film era was at its peak before its downhill slide from socially uplifting noirs to clowning ninja-pimp buffoonery, and you have the seeds of a film in the making. A former gangster turned preacher who robs the robbers and gives to the poor. Brotherman! But first, before casting, before even finishing the script, what's needed is a Grade A soundtrack. Cue guitarist, songwriter and arranger Carl Wolfolk and his fledgling Chicago-based vocal group, The Final Solution. Dipping into the SuperFly well, but with enough uniquely inventive guitar work that allows it to stand apart firmly on its own, Wolfolk created an amazing score of songs and instrumentals that still sounds remarkably fresh and non-cliched. Using flamenco style funk guitar flourishes that stab around the four part harmonies, Wolfolk interjected socially smart song-writing with sweet Northern soul nuances. Unfortunately, the plug was pulled on the film before even a still was shot, leaving Wolfolk to carry around his masterwork for more than 30 years, hoping someday the music would be released. Well, Brotherman, your time has come!

FIST OF FURY(OST)(Tam)lp$ 12.98

THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SORRY. Soundtrack to one of my favorite Bruce Lee movies reissued on vinyl! Starts off with moody strings and shuffling snares, that are soon joined by soaring baritone vocals, sounding a whole lot like an old Morricone western. The entire rest of the soundtrack is mostly dialogue and the sounds of fighting from the movie, with a tiny bit of incidental music. Almost as if they had just recorded the movie off the TV. DJs will go apeshit over this.

FLAMING LIPSPeace Sword(Warner Bros.)cd$ 11.98

On this release for this year's Back To Black Friday Record Store Day (a sort of mini second part to April's big RSD extravaganza), the Flaming Lips offer up their song from the Ender's Game soundtrack, and it's classic Flaming Lips, at least the more modern iteration, bombastic, cotton candy megawatt orchestral psych pop, swirling FX, martial drumming, lots of shimmering synths, keening vocals, aching harmonies, lilting melodies, twisted sci-fi production, everything gauzy and reverby and prismatic. The rest of the tracks get a bit weirder, but unlike past B side excursions, they don't drift to far from the polished sympho-pop of the title track, there's the broody, pulsing sci-fi synthiness of "If They Move, Shoot 'Em", that eventually blossoms into some weird horn driven future pop bliss out, the aching heartfelt ballad that is "Is The Black At The End Good", that sounds like it could have been plucked right off their Yoshimi record, the minor key synth swirl cosmic ballad "Think Like A Machine, Not A Boy", and the loping, prog-pop of "Wolf Children, which is maybe the darkest and most dramatic of the bunch, until finally, the record winds down with the sprawling 10 minute closer, "Assassin Beetle - The Dream Is Ending", which starts off sounding like their recent full length the Terror, sort of krauty and spacey and creepy, before gradually morphing into a strange bit of orchestral exotica/cosmica, swirling faux strings, skittery, stuttery rhythms, robotic synth blurts, the vibe super cinematic and epic, building to a wild, noisy, grinding, distorted psychedelic coda, and more than the title track, sounding like music that could have accompanied one of the big battle scenes in the aforementioned big budget sci-fi blockbuster... Very few copies left, and it was meant to be a Black Friday / Record Store Day release, so when we run out, we may not be able to get more...

FLAMING LIPS, THEChristmas On Mars(Warner Bros.)cd+dvd$ 25.00

We had been holding off on reviewing this until someone here had actually watched the Flaming Lips movie, but it's been so busy around here we haven't had time. And since most Flaming Lips fans are gonna want this no matter what, and folks who have yet to discover the joys of the Lips, would most likely be better off starting a little further back in their catalog, we figured what the heck, let's review the record, the score to the movie, and give a brief synopsis of the movie, just so folks can actually buy it and check it out for themselves. So the record, is not a NEW Flaming Lips record, in fact it's not even a proper Flaming Lips record, as mentioned above it's the score to the film of the same name, the one the band has been working on for close to a decade. So there's no big drums, none of Wayne Coyne's wavery vocalizing, no lush popscapes or BIG hooks, but the thing is, with all of those critical Lips elements removed, the band manage to still make Christmas On Mars sound like a Flaming Lips record, albeit a stripped down sort of ambient one. But heck, remember Zaireeka? The 4 disc set that had the various tracks broken down and spread out over the various discs so to hear the complete songs you had to have 4 stereos and play them all simultaneously? Well, in some ways this almost sounds like ONE disc from Zaireeka, like the backgrounds for proper Lips pop songs. haunting disembodied voices, lush harps and zithers, faux strings, creepy orchestrations, strange sound effects, choirs, shimmering drones, but all shot through with a little bit of Christmas, be it a melody here, or an instrument there. Even removed from the visuals, this plays like some super avant, outsider Christmas record, which, it sort of is. So yeah, recommended for open minded fans of the band, and for folks into space-y (holiday) weirdness, or wonderfully creepy film scores like that Bernard Hermann Brave New World disc we listed awhile back. But that's not all. Both the cd and the lp version (which has a different name for some reason) contain a dvd containing the film Christmas On Mars, a sort of updated but still WAY low budget Plan 9 From Outerspace, starring the bands and lots of their friends. What little we've seen looks really fun, and pretty silly, and definitely demented, again, movie buffs might not love it (movie buffs into kitsch and so-bad-they're-good movies might though) but fans will go nuts for it. The trailer is amazing, super stylized and very very strange, definitely has us wanting to see it bad. One of these days. But for now, check it out. Lips fans, this is essential obviously, the rest of you, depends on how you feel about the band and their music, or how you feel about a green alien with antennae who saves Christmas. The lp, titled Once Beyond Hopelessness, not only contains the same music as the cd, and the movie on dvd, it also includes a BONUS 7" with exclusive music NOT on the cd!

FLAMING LIPS, THEOnce Beyond Hopelessness (Christmas On Mars OST)(Warner Brothers)lp + dvd + 7"$ 32.00

We had been holding off on reviewing this until someone here had actually watched the Flaming Lips movie, but it's been so busy around here we haven't had time. And since most Flaming Lips fans are gonna want this no matter what, and folks who have yet to discover the joys of the Lips, would most likely be better off starting a little further back in their catalog, we figured what the heck, let's review the record, the score to the movie, and give a brief synopsis of the movie, just so folks can actually buy it and check it out for themselves. So the record, is not a NEW Flaming Lips record, in fact it's not even a proper Flaming Lips record, as mentioned above it's the score to the film of the same name, the one the band has been working on for close to a decade. So there's no big drums, none of Wayne Coyne's wavery vocalizing, no lush popscapes or BIG hooks, but the thing is, with all of those critical Lips elements removed, the band manage to still make Christmas On Mars sound like a Flaming Lips record, albeit a stripped down sort of ambient one. But heck, remember Zaireeka? The 4 disc set that had the various tracks broken down and spread out over the various discs so to hear the complete songs you had to have 4 stereos and play them all simultaneously? Well, in some ways this almost sounds like ONE disc from Zaireeka, like the backgrounds for proper Lips pop songs. haunting disembodied voices, lush harps and zithers, faux strings, creepy orchestrations, strange sound effects, choirs, shimmering drones, but all shot through with a little bit of Christmas, be it a melody here, or an instrument there. Even removed from the visuals, this plays like some super avant, outsider Christmas record, which, it sort of is. So yeah, recommended for open minded fans of the band, and for folks into space-y (holiday) weirdness, or wonderfully creepy film scores like that Bernard Hermann Brave New World disc we listed awhile back. But that's not all. Both the cd and the lp version (which has a different name for some reason) contain a dvd containing the film Christmas On Mars, a sort of updated but still WAY low budget Plan 9 From Outerspace, starring the bands and lots of their friends. What little we've seen looks really fun, and pretty silly, and definitely demented, again, movie buffs might not love it (movie buffs into kitsch and so-bad-they're-good movies might though) but fans will go nuts for it. The trailer is amazing, super stylized and very very strange, definitely has us wanting to see it bad. One of these days. But for now, check it out. Lips fans, this is essential obviously, the rest of you, depends on how you feel about the band and their music, or how you feel about a green alien with antennae who saves Christmas. The lp, titled Once Beyond Hopelessness, not only contains the same music as the cd, and the movie on dvd, it also includes a BONUS 7" with exclusive music NOT on the cd!

FLOSSIE AND THE UNICORNSLMNOP(Skin Graft)cd$ 13.98

THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SORRY. "Free guitar lessons for animals! Free guitar lessons for animals! Hello, little tiger! Do you want to learn to play the guitar? Just scratch the strings. This is a chord. Now start a band!" If only it were that simple! Miss Pussycat (of Mr. Quintron fame) is renowned for her giddy puppetshows. This recording features of a number of the musicals she's written for her puppets. Imagine the Teletubbies on a lot more acid than they already are!

FORBIDDEN PLANET(OST)(Small Planet / GNP Crescendo)cd$ 14.98

Released in 1956, Forbidden Planet was MGM's attempt to bring the science fiction genre into the main stream by pouring tons of cash into its production. Nominated for an academy award for special effects and featuring a robot cast member, Forbidden Planet was about as futuristic as one could get in the mid fifties. So it only followed that the score for such a lavish, futuristic science fiction film should be on par with Robby The Robot and the rest of the show. Louis and Bebe Barron were just a couple of upstarts in the burgeoning field of electronic music. As it happens, the score for Forbidden Planet is often touted as the very first to use no orchestral instruments. Indeed nothing but electronically synthesized sounds and tape manipulation are used, period. Knowing that the original working title for the film was actually "Fatal Planet" makes sense when one listens to the soundtrack sans film. The series of dark bellows, squeals, bleeps and farts that are the textural aural landscape of Forbidden Planet are as creepy at times as any horror film soundtrack or any release by Barron-contemporary Vladimir Ussachevsky. It was most certainly unlike anything any Hollywood film had ever used for a soundtrack and listening to it today, it remains a truly strange and wonderful anomaly in film music history. Highly recommended.

FORBIDDEN WORLD (SUSAN JUSTIN)OST(Death Waltz)lp$ 33.00

Another oddball obscurity from UK horror movie soundtrack vinyl reissue Death Waltz, this one the 1982 cult sci-fi / horror 'classic', Forbidden World, aka Mutant, which like many Roger Corman films, was a rip off of a more popular film, in this case, Alien, and like most Corman rip-offs, it was grittier, shittier, and featured a lot more nudity. In fact, our memory of this movie from our childhood, is that it was maybe best known for the infamous lesbian shower scene! Even so, it did when some awards, and did achieve a kind of cult status, in part for the score, which is pretty weird by most movie music standards, in that it was made by composer Susan Justin, who was the singer/keyboardist in an arty new wave band called Pink Plastic, and the soundtrack to Forbidden World is essentially weird sci-fi new wave, the sound vaguely John Carpenter-ish, but mostly piano and synths, over simple funky drumming, with echo heavy wordless female vocals, the sound at times spaced out and kosmische, at others, almost like futuristic porn music, and at others like super haunting, and almost a little Radiophonic Workshop sounding. The slower tracks, burble and percolate, the sounds softly swirling and ominous, haunting synthscapes peppered with strange sound effects, and slow shifting textures, while other track pulse ominously, and others explode into full on groovy psychedelic new wave. Oh and the plot? Well, some spacemen devise an experimental lifeform, meant to feed the whole galaxy, but something goes wrong, and that lifeform gestates and becomes something that is later discovered to be borne of human DNA, and said lifeform infuses its victims with some of that mutated DNA strain, which makes them melt and get all gloriously gooey and gory, and become the perfect food for the titular insectoid mutant. God bless Roger Corman! Like all the Death Waltz releases, the packaging is SUPER deluxe. The vinyl is pressed on heavy, milky clear vinyl, the sleeve is an oversized casebound tip-on sleeve, with super striking new artwork (shower scene!), that artwork also reproduced on an oversized full color poster, inside a booklet, with liner notes from the composer, the director, and the artist, as well as reproductions of the original movie posters, and rare photos of Susan Justin recording the score in the studio. And as usual, these are super limited, and thus will be gone sooner rather than later, so don't blow it, and nab one before they're gone!

FOUNTAIN, THE (CLINT MANSELL / MOGWAI / KRONOS QUARTET)OST(Nonesuch)cd$ 17.98

The latest Darren Aronofsky film The Fountain has been eagerly anticipated by many folks around here (we dug his previous works Pi and Requiem For A Dream). Haven't had a chance to go to the theater yet, but we have had a chance to hear the movie's soundtrack which sparkles with its own magical light. It is a particularly nice surprise because it features new recordings by Mogwai and Kronos Quartet. They're performing compositions penned by Clint Mansell. Now, they couldn't help but be anything but a perfect musical fit for Aronofsky's visual splendor, could they? That said, this album is somberly wonderful all on its own. Close your eyes and sink in. Sweepingly epic and intricate and absolutely moving. A must for fans of both groups.

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS(OST)(Universal)cd$ 15.98

Hey all you Explosions In The Sky fans!! Listing this 'cause it's in danger of being overlooked... Here's an album worthy of being simply an EITS release, not just a soundtrack for a movie (the packaging of which fails to offer them obvious credit even though it's their work). Just know that this is a little more filmic than their regular releases, and appropriately so. Very lovely indeed!

FRIDAY THE 13TH (HARRY MANFREDINI)OST(Waxwork)lp$ 33.00

Horror nerds have long (and frequently) argued about what is the best horror/slasher movie ever. Contenders for the title would have to include Halloween, Phantasm and of course Friday The 13th. More than any other horror movie, Friday The 13th essentially created the template for all horror movies that would follow in its wake, a bunch of kids, in the middle of nowhere, drinking and fucking, and being picked off one by one, by some maniac or monster. And while there have been plenty of great slasher flicks, Friday The 13th still reigns supreme as the first, and maybe the best. We had sort of forgotten what the score sounded like, but the minute this began to play, we were transported back to the first time we saw the movie, the score even now is terrifying, tense and dramatic, Manfredini's arrangements are very beholden to Bernard Hermann for sure, but they're so dense and dynamic, long stretches of droned out minimalism, wild tangles of excited strings and jarring symphonic stabs, the main title music alone is practically perfect, and then when you mix in that super distinctive "ch ch ch ch, hu hu hu hu" vocalization, a sound that's as recognizable to horror freaks as the theme from Halloween, and apparently, according to Harry Manfredini in the record's liner notes, that vocalization was inspired by Penderecki! Also according to the liner notes, Dolly Parton was another big inspiration! What? Apparently, the music playing in the diner, was inspired by a Dolly Parton Sound, and that music resurfaces later on (spolier alert) at the very end of the movie, when the heroine and sole survivor is floating alone on the lake, in a boat, when suddenly Jason explodes from the water and drags her under! The music following suit, going from lilting and melodic to wild and atonal and all 20th century. So cool! The whole soundtrack rules, sinister strings all over the place, the vibe seriously harrowing and horrifying, with brief moments of respite, and of course with weird little bits of ambient music, that make (a little) more sense in the actual movie, like the very surprising second track, "Banjo Travelin'". Listening to this again, and even as much as we LOVE LOVE LOVE the movie, we can objectively say, this is one of the best horror scores EVER. And even removed from the visuals, makes for an extremely compelling listen! Fantastic over the top packaging too as always from Waxwork. A heavy gatefold full color jacket with all new artwork (an eyeball image that harkens back to the new art for the recently reissued Halloween soundtrack too, coincidence?), new liner notes from Manfredini and director Sean Cunningham, as well as a cool creepy full color printed insert. And while it looks like black vinyl, hold it up to the light, and discover it's actually swirled black and green Crystal Lake colored vinyl!!

FRITH, FREDEye To Ear(Tzadik)cd$ 15.98

"Famous as an improviser and a rock guitarist (Henry Cow, Art Bears, Residents, Massacre, Skeleton Crew), Fred Frith is still highly under-rated as a composer. Since relocating to Germany in the early 90s, Frith has composed soundtracks for a number of films and has chosen his finest for his first Tzadik release.

FRITH, FREDRivers And Tides - Working With Time(Winter & Winter)cd$ 16.98

You probably know artist Andy Goldsworthy -- the British 'sculptor' (I guess you'd call him a sculptor?) who works with materials found in the natural environment, creating amazing pieces constructed from leaves or sticks or rocks or ice, on site? If not, check out his books -- for his works often exist only long enough to be photographed -- they're certainly some of the best, widely available volumes to hit the coffee tables of the world in recent years. Last year, a beautiful, beautiful documentary film called Rivers And Tides took viewers into Goldsworthy's world. Hopefully you saw it. When that film was basically taking over San Francisco (it was at the Roxie for a loooong time), we got many requests for the soundtrack, which didn't yet exist. We knew though that if it ever did come out, we'd sell a ton. Composed by the amazing Mr. Fred Frith, it was a big part of the film's appeal, no mean feat considering that the visuals were so great already. And now at last, we're happy to announce, here it is, the highly anticipated soundtrack to Rivers And Tides. And yes, it is as good as you remember it -- not some uninspired background music this! The album draws you in immediately, the main melodic theme slipping out effortlessly within the first 30 seconds of the album and repeated throughout. Running water gives way to highpitched soprano sax only to be subsumed under the surface of Frith's calm, stilling guitar, plucked Brazilian berimbao, and other, droning ethnic instrumentation. Tension and calm ebb and flow like, er, the tide. The reed instruments interweave, sprightly and evocative. Even if you haven't seen the film, this soundtrack rates as major highlight of one of our favorite experimental composer's ouevre. Highly, highly recommended! The packaging is also gorgeous as per Winter & Winter's norm, with heavy duty digipak, letterpressed cover, and full color multipanelled foldouts of Goldworthy's works.

FRIZZI, FABIOCity Of The Living Dead OST(Death Waltz)lp$ 33.00

UK horror movie vinyl reissue label Death Waltz once again dips their toes into the bloody body of work belonging to one Mr. Fabio Frizzi. They've also reissued his soundtrack to Zombi 2, and will soon tackle his classic score to the equally classic The Beyond, but hell, as long as we're talking classics, there's this, Lucio Fulci's iconic City Of The Living Dead, aka Paura Nella Citta Dei Morti Viventi, originally released in 1980, it's the first part in Fulci's Gates Of Hell trilogy (which also includes The Beyond and The House By The Cemetery), and it's a doozy. There's suicidal priest, super strong zombies who can teleport and levitate, victims buried alive, portals to hell, total Fulci madness/genius, and Frizzi's score is equally mad/genius, even removed from the visuals, it's a dizzying psychedelic ride, there are the usual elements, sinister strings, eerie synths, even some funkiness (it was 1980 after all), but there are also wild freaked out blasts of noisiness that sound like they could be some super limited floor core cd-r, there are tons of weird voices, loads of FX, guitars, proggy flute flutter, pounding piano, crazed percussion, lots of textures and drones, spaces and silence, notes and chords ring out ominously, horns moan malevolently, some super memorable melodies surface throughout, that rival the iconic themes from other movies (like Halloween), really other than that one funk jam, the whole score is maddening and maniacal, twisted and seriously psychedelic. As always, Death Waltz has gone all out, the record is pressed on 180 gram clear red vinyl, featuring 17 remastered tracks, as well as several unreleased cues, and a 10 minute live suite recorded in 2013, all housed in a heavy full color sleeve. No insert this time, instead the liner notes are on the jacket itself, including new notes from the man himself, Frizzi, discussing the score and working with Fulci, there's also a Japanese style obi, with more notes, as well as some teasers for upcoming DW releases, and there's a huge poster of the new cover art by Graham Humphreys, as well.

FRIZZI, FABIOThe Beyond (OST)(Dagored)cd$ 14.98

THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SORRY. The soundtrack to one of my favorite movies of all time, Fulci's gross out masterpiece 'The Beyond'. And Frizzi's score is up to the mighty task of musically keeping up. Dark and a bit Goblin-esque and truly creepy. And surprisingly, it never stumbles into cheesy jazz-fusion territory (ala the occasional Goblin soundtrack). Essential, but not nearly as essential as running out and seeing it (again)!

FRIZZI, FABIOThe Beyond OST(Dagored)cd$ 14.98

The soundtrack to one of my favorite movies of all time, Fulci's gross out masterpiece 'The Beyond'. And Frizzi's score is up to the mighty task of musically keeping up. Dark and a bit Goblin-esque and truly creepy. And surprisingly, it never stumbles into

FUGAZIInstrument Soundtrack(Dischord)cd$ 10.98

The soundtrack to the 10 years in the making Fugazi documentary! Demos, etc.

FUSCO, GIOVANNIMusic For Michelangelo Antonioni(Water)cd$ 16.98

THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SORRY.

GAME OF DEATH (JOHN BARRY)OST(Dagored)lp$ 15.98

Now reissued on vinyl, John "James Bond" Barry's score to this ill-fated Bruce Lee Kung Fu flick. You know, the one were he takes on Chuck Norris. Probably best known as the movie that was shelved when Bruce Lee died. Finally released in 1978 with someone else filling in for Lee, they kept a handful of the original scenes with Lee as a selling point for what would otherwise have been a commercially unsucessful movie. And the soundtrack also helps! The music is classic Barry, alternately soaring and triumphant, tense and suspenseful. Also features an awesome six minute track called "Stick Fight" which is just that, six minutes of fight sounds complete with Lee's legendary vocalisations! Good stuff, up there with Lalo Schifrin's soundtrack to Enter The Dragon.

GAME OF DEATH / NIGHT GAMES(OST)(Silva)cd$ 16.98

This is a collection of two of John Barry's most unlikely scores. The first is for Bruce Lee's Game of Death. You know, the one were he takes on Chuck Norris. Probably best known as the movie that was shelved when Bruce Lee died. Finally released with a new star, they kept a handful of the original scenes with Lee as a selling point for a then otherwise unsellable movie. The music is classic Barry, alternately soaring and triumphant, tense and suspenseful. Also features an awesome 6 minute track called 'Stick Fight' which is just that, 6 minutes of fight sounds complete with Lee's legendary vocalisations! Good stuff. The second film, Night Games is even stranger. A "sex fantasy" that was apparently a massive flop. Barry's tracks are treacly and bittersweet, with occasional jaunty strings and choral passages. Nice stuff as well. Definitely makes me want to see Game Of Death again, but also I'm now dying to see Night Games!

GARDEN STATE(OST)(Sony)cd$ 13.98

While none of us here at AQ have seen the movie thus far, we sure do like a bunch of the artists who grace this soundtrack -- The Shins ("New Slang" and "Caring Is Creepy" - one song from each of their two albums), Nick Drake ("One Of These Things First" originally from his album Bryter Layter), Iron & Wine (their excellent cover version of SubPop labelmates Postal Service's song "Such Great Heights" which also appeared on the PS's ep of the same name)! That's the up-side of this compilation. The down-side is that, as you can see, they're all previously released songs. Dagnabbit! In case you didn't already guess, many of the songs are of that teen-movie-perfect mopey sensitive boy variety. Also included are Coldplay, Zero7, Thievery Corporation, Colin Hay (psst... in case you didn't know, he's the ex-lead singer for Men At Work), Cary Brothers, Remy Zero, Frou Frou, the very Jewel-sounding Bonnie Somerville and some duo called Simon & Garfunkel.

GARDINER, BORISEvery Nigger Is A Star(Jazzman)cd$ 17.98

GAYE, MARVINTrouble Man OST(Motown)cd$ 5.98

This is not only one of our favorite blaxploitation soundtracks, it may also be one our favorite Marvin Gaye Record too (though I Want You may be a close second). While the movie itself might be rather unremarkable, the soundtrack stands apart from its more well known contemporaries, like SuperFly and Shaft by focusing less on a hard hitting urban funk grit and more on a cool detached noir vibe that somehow feels more menacing. Mostly everything is performed and arranged by Gaye, with Moog synths, piano and saxophone being the main instruments. There is of course some wah wah-ed guitar in the theme, but its low-key laid back swing seems to illustrate a more plausible reality for the title character, one of reserved violence as opposed to say, Isaac Hayes' uptempo go-get-'em macho swagger for Shaft. Still, there is plenty of urban grit. The tense set-ups of "'T' Stands for Trouble" and "The Break In", the pensive ambiance of "Deep-In-It", the love themes tinged with sadness, and the troubled vocal harmonies of "Cleo's Apartment" and "Life Is A Gamble". But the topper of them all is "'T' Plays It Cool", a stone cold groove that is deadly as it is funky. All killer, No filler! So happy it's now been reissued on vinyl - and we got the bargain-priced cd version in stock as well.

GENGHIS BLUES(OST)(Six Degrees)cd$ 16.98

We had this before and sold many, but it was always difficult to re-stock 'cause it was being sold by the Tuva Foundation themselves, not a record label. But sad we are no more, because it's just been re-issued on San Francisco-based "world music" label Six Degrees (home of DJ Cheb I Sabbah and Bebel Gilberto!). For those of you new to this, Genghis Blues is the soundtrack to the fabulous documentary movie (of the same name). Blind San Francisco blues musician Paul Pena travels to Tuva (Central Asia) to compete in their national throat-singing competition, a skill in which he is entirely self-taught! A funny, touching movie, and of course blessed with some great music. Lots of blues, lots of throat singing and even throat singing blues, plus some Cuban son-esque tracks.

GERE, DONWerewolves On Wheels (OST)(B-Music / Finders Keepers)cd$ 16.98

It'd normally be enough that Finders Keepers / B-Music decided to reissue a soundtrack, we'd assume it was awesome just 'cause they gave it their stamp of approval. That's true. But this one, though, well how could it NOT be good, with that title/concept?? Awesome music aside, heck we wanna see the movie. Werewolves On Wheels, for reals? As one of the radio adverts included here as a bonus track puts it: "Here comes the most eerie, the most chilling, the most terrifying motorcycle horror film ever made... Werewolves On Wheels - in color - is the most unusual bizarre film yet... Werewolves On Wheels is the ghoulish story of a wild motorcycle gang lost in the desert, mocking the supernatural... one by one they die... unnatural unbelievable deaths... they are afraid of nothing but they cannot fight what they cannot see and do not understand!" Sounds good, doesn't it? As lovers of another Satanic psychedelic '70s motorcycle horror film, Psychomania, we're sold. And like Psychomania, this has a way cool soundtrack. Which can also be filed alongside another biker B-Music release, Billy Green's Stone OST. This 1971 low budget chiller thriller's "Main Theme" is 5+ minutes of percussive rhythms adorned with flashes of fuzz guitar, simple and effective, as hypnotic as it is haunting. Groovy! That's followed by the hippie country rock of "Mount Shasta Home", and there's another cool slice of country tonk later on with "One Foot In Heaven", but the majority of the soundtrack is devoted to more abstract, weirdly stumbling, atmospheric stuff, perhaps trying to evoke a tripped out Native American desert vibe, with ringing and rattling and what sounds like wrasslin'... there's sudden stabs of synth and the occasional line of campy movie dialog. Several of the tracks (the three spooky "Ritual" ones in particular) could be sinister krautrock jams, full of thumping hand drums, crackling fire, and synthesizer sounds. Other tracks are more groovadelic, yet creepy too, with propulsive rhythms, acid guitar licks, droning FX, and of course revving motorcycle engines and screams of terror. For all we know, the movie, the directorial debut of Roger Corman/Russ Meyer associate Michel Levesque, isn't even so bad it's good. But the soundtrack, it's for sure fantastic! If The Byrds had teamed up with Goblin to do a soundtrack, maybe this is what the results would have sounded like!?! We're also reminded of Ry Cooder's Cyleib People - if they jammed with Sylvester Anfang, perhaps. The label suggests a Sandy Bull/Amon Duul team up, and we won't argue with that comparison either. Another winner - of course - from the Finders Keepers folks!!

GERRARD, LISAThe Whale Rider (OST)(4AD)cd$ 14.98

Lisa Gerrard's soundtrack to the movie The Whale Rider glides and cascades gorgeously. So wonderfully moving regardless of whether or not you've seen the film. It's a finely composed, predominantly instrumental album but one that's laced quite effectively with her ethereal voice. With it's lustrous harp sounds and delicate piano melodies, it very easily could be found filed in the New Age section of some record stores simply towering over the rest of the flock. A soothing delight for any Dead Can Dance fan.

GERRARD, LISA & JEFF RONAA Thousand Roads (OST)(Wide Blue Sky)cd$ 15.98

More gorgeous worldly film score work from Dead Can Dance's Lisa Gerrard! Following up her fine compositions for Whale Rider, Ms Gerrard joins Jeff Rona in scoring the soundtrack for A Thousand Roads. Needless to say, she's definitely found her (second?) calling. On its own without the film's visual accompaniment, the soundtrack's numerous diverse voices, woodwind and string arrangements and haunting drones make for a deeply moving 'of the earth' listening experience. Sure to please fans of her solo work as well as those of Dead Can Dance. Guests include John Trudell, R. Carlos Nakai, Ulali, Douglas Spotted Eagle, Primeaux & Mike.

GET CARTER(OST)(Castle)cd$ 24.00

An absolutely amazing movie and a really cool, albeit peculiar soundtrack, GET CARTER has been a holy grail of sorts, kind of like the Wicker Man. British dance artists (Stereolab among others) have been borrowing heavily from and flat out covering the theme from Get Carter for the last couple years, and the original has finally been reissued (but as an import only, unfortunately). It's a nice package with tons of liner notes and lots of photos from the film. The cd has way more stuff than we remember being in the movie, as well as lots of dialogue. It's an import, hence the steep price. The sound? Some cool sixties spy jazz, some loungey Bond-ish exotica, some hippyish folk rock. Plus, it comes with a poster!

GET CARTEROST(Silva Screen)cd$ 13.98

Finally one of our favorite soundtracks, from one of our favorite movies, available again, this time without the crazy steep import price. For those in the know, Roy Budd's soundtrack to Get Carter has always been a sonic holy grail of sorts, kind of like the Wicker Man. British dance artists (Stereolab among others) have been borrowing heavily from and flat out covering the theme from Get Carter for years, and the original has always been tough to track down or crazy expensive, or both, until now. Just like the import, this version is pretty sweet too, with loads of photos, tons of liner notes, interviews, ruminations on the music, the composer, the director, as well as notes on the making of the film. But it's the music that counts, and the music is incredible, from sixties spy jazz to loungey Bond-ish exotica to hippyish folk rock to groovy seventies funk, the main Get Carter theme is immediately recognizable, that repeating motif, haunting and sexy and mysterious. The rest of the record manages to be super catchy, yet weirdly confounding, super eclectic and peculiar, flitting from jangly pop song to soundtracky string laden shimmer to woozy druggy groove to over the top showtune style croon to crunchy almost hard rock to classical piano to gorgeous cinematic ambience. If that wasn't enough, all the tracks are separated by short snippets of dialogue, super intense, Michael Caine is a monster, if you've seen the move you know, he's so intense, freaking out, violent and scary, brooding and BAD ASS. Needless to say, SO recommended. By the soundtrack, and if you haven't already, see the movie!

GHOST WORLD(OST)(Shanachie)cd$ 16.98

If you've seen the movie, this soundtrack will provide you with an accurate musical instant replay. Almost like a scene by scene summary even. If you haven't, well then, it's a great eccentric and eclectic mishmash of tunes. Sort of running like a mixtape you'd make for a dear friend. Many songs ring with a fond familiarity -- notably the first track by Mohammed Rafi as it was included on the "Doob Doob A Rama: Filmsongs From Bollywood" compilation that's been a fave here at AQ. Other ol' tyme stuff includes Lionel Belasco, Vince Giordano And The Nighthawks, and Skip James.

GIANT CLAWMusic For Film(Constellation Tatsu)cassette$ 5.98

GIRL IN THE BIKINI, THEOST(El Records)cd$ 16.98

GIRL ON A MOTORCYCLE (LES REED)OST(RPM)cd$ 16.98

Hot stuff! The liner notes for this soundtrack suggest that the movie, which paired the ultra sexy Marianne Faithfull with the equally irresistible Alain Delon, fell "somewhere between fetish and fantasy" and we'd venture to say that this soundtrack does too. Sooo perfectly '60s - bringing together the grand orchestra and the rock band! There's the expressive horns that frolic, chuckle, taunt and weep... the glorious strings and woodwinds that sweep you around a dancefloor or along an open road... oh and let's not forget the funky noodly electric guitars and keyboards. Now, punctuated the proceedings with some thunderous timpani drums, some enchanting Cleo Laine and Mireille Mathieu vocals and yes, some ambient sounds from the film itself like the roar of a motorcycle! Super sexy and stylin'. If you dig hip '60s flicks, this soundtrack and the movie is totally for you. To boot, the insert is a cool six-panel foldout of the movie's original poster!

GLASS, PHILIPKoyaanisqatsi (OST)(Orange Mountain Music)cd$ 21.00

Philip Glass's first commercial success and enduring classic soundtrack is available once again and in its original completed form (76 minutes) for the first time on cd. Glass's score to Godfrey Reggio's sublime 1983 film, Koyaanisqatsi (the Hopi Indian word meaning "life out of balance") is a perfect marriage to the film's altered time sequences of fast-moving clouds and sped-up machine-like urban scenes of traffic and city-life. The repetitive arpeggios and slowly undulating shifts of patterned movements give off the sensation of static motion enhancing the film's captivating majestic qualities. But even without the visuals, the score by itself stands the test of time, and its longer unabbreviated format renews the film's pointed silent protest against the out-of-control pace and shortened attention spans of our so-called civilization. Recommended!

GOBLINAmo Non Amo(Cinevox)cd$ 16.98

Released in the USA as "Together" and in Italy as "Amo Non Amo", this soundtrack to the film starring Terence Stamp and Jacqueline Bisset was originally scored by Burt Bacharach (now that I'd like to hear!) For the Italian version Goblin, masters of horror film soundtracks, were commissioned. Yikes. Goblin doing a romantic comedy score in 1979 is not my favorite Goblin style by a long shot. A lot of Guitar ballads and soft numbers, very anonymous and bland. I just love when Goblin is scary and thrilling and this has none of that. Not recommended unless you're a Goblin completist.

GOBLINBuio Omega (OST)(Cinevox)cd$ 16.98

GOBLINContamination (OST)(Cinevox)cd$ 17.98

This is the soundtrack for 1980 Italian movie Contamination directed by Luigi Cozzi. To heighten the tension in the gory scenes and to capture the mood of pure panic towards the end, the director called on the Italian prog mayhem masters, Goblin. You can tell this soundtrack was written in the '80s. There are some out and out Miami Vice / Hill Street Blues sounding riffs. Embarrassing most of the time but a horror soundtrack nonetheless. Jim's friend said it sounded like music that would be playing at a hardware trade show.

GOBLINIl Fantastico Viaggio Del Bagarozzo Mark(Cinevox)cd$ 16.98

I am so so so in love with this record! (I'm Windy.) If you don't have any Goblin records then you want to forgo this temporarily (it's just not typical of their material) and get Suspiria first. But if you already have at least one Goblin album, then get this one now. Of course, at first you had to be a little trepidacious about Il Fantastico Viaggio Del Bagarozzo Mark, released in 1978, for the following reasons: [1] it's one of only two Goblin albums that weren't commissioned as soundtracks (the other being Roller), and [2] it's also supposedly their only album with *vocals*. Coulda crashed and burned if you ask me, but it turns out this album is awesome and the vocals just send it over the top! Massimo Morante's voice is dramatic and urgent yet at the very same time super melodic. And it sort of makes sense that without filmic visuals to provide visible stimulation, the vocals provide just the right amount of narrative "human" element. The songs here are so melodic and hook-filled, with tremendously beautiful minor-key climaxes that really satisfy. So great! Comes with mpeg footage of the band (in 2001) playing music in the same Cinevox studio where they'd always recorded, and also there's a rare interview where they reveal that much of Il Fantastico Viaggio Del Bagarozzo Mark is about saying no to drugs.