Vote or Die

Wow, only 3 votes, however did Obama get elected?  I guess our generation is filled with apathy.  Well I guess Meth and Mary hold on to the title with an overwhelming 66.7% of the votes (2 votes...one was mine).  Don't think you guys are off the hook, I'm posting another poll about another musical subject.

This time I'm going to talk about the lost medium of the motion picture soundtrack.  Man, I used to anticipate the release of soundtracks.  Some where the only shining part of a shitty movie (High School High, Sunset Park, Who's The Man?...I don't care what anybody says, those movies sucked).  Artists created original music exclusively for movies, and most of the time that soundtrack was the only outlet that featured that song.  The song and movie would be forever intertwined.  You here 2 Live Crew's "Hoochie Mama," the first thing that pops in your head is Friday...Eric B & Rakim's "Know the Ledge," Juice, and so on.

Nowadays, with the Internet and the evolution of the importance of the single over that album, people hear the song and don't associate it with an actual movie.  Artists release the songs on their albums, mixtapes, and other compilations.  Flo-Rida's smash hit "Low" (just puked a little bit in my mouth), was released on the Step Up 2: The Streets Soundtrack (ugh...it's starting to leak out my mouth now).  Nobody would know that, because how many movies, TV shows, commercial, bar mitzvahs was it featured in afterwards?  Millions...I even think there's a Kidz Bop version. 

Now I'm about to take you on trip back to a time when soundtracks ruled the world and give you my list of the best motion picture soundtracks that were released in my lifetime (let's face it, nobody has rocked out to the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack in decades).  I'm going to give you my top 10 and list another poll and you ungrateful summabishes better vote...because if you don't, that means the terrorists have won. 

10.) Love & Basketball (2000) - This was a real laid back soundtrack.  It featured some classic cuts from the 80s and 90s (Zapp, Guy, MC Lyte, etc...), mixed in with some of the smoothest artists of the time.  It had the Black Eyed Peas when they still cared about the music they created, introduced me to Bilal, featured the debut track from the Tony, Toni, Tone/En Vogue/A Tribe Called Quest hybrid group Lucy Pearl, "Dance Tonight."  Definitely a straight-through listen.

9.)  New Jersey Drive (1995) - This soundtrack was so major, it was a double album.  Nobody remembers the movie, but hip-hop fans can't forget the soundtrack.  This was released at the height of the East Coast/West Coast drama, but it featured artists from the east, west, and from down south.  Redman, Queen Latifah, Mac Mall, Coolio, Mad Lion, MC Eiht, and a young, fledgling Outkast.  My favorite cut from this album was "Can't You See" sung by Total featuring "the black Frank White" himself, The Notorious B.I.G.

8.)  Juice (1991) - You know a film featuring a young, up and coming Tupac Shakur playing a role that is still celebrated today, has to have a soundtrack that comes hard.  Juice didn't disappoint.  Pac did not have a song on the soundtrack, but other top notch talent carried the weight.  Hip-hop hall of famers Eric B & Rakim, Cypress Hill, Salt 'n' Pepa, Big Daddy Kane, EPMD, and Too $hort.  The track that set the mood for the album was Naughty By Nature's "Uptown Anthem."

7.)  Menace II Society (1993) - This film is probably second to only Boyz N Tha Hood in the now deserted "hood" film genre of the early 90s. The soundtrack matched the film's intensity.  Majority of the tracks were from west coast artists like Too $hort, Spice 1, DJ Quik, and Ant Banks.  The prolific story telling of MC Eiht on "Streiht Up Menace" was the pinnacle song of this album.

6.)  New Jack City (1990) - If there were a Mount Rushmore for "hood" movies, New Jack City would be one of the four representatives.  "Sit yo' five dolla ass down before I make change!!!"...ah, such a classic line, back to the soundtrack.  Besides featuring Ice-T and 2 Live Crew, this was predominantly a R&B album.  You had Guy, LeVert, Troop, Johnny Gill, Christopher Williams, and Keith Sweat.  The song that holds the hearts of many in this collection is Color Me Badd's classic song about freakin', "I Wanna Sex U Up."

5.)  The Show (1995) - 1995 shows up again, it's not called "the golden age of hip-hop" for nothing.  The Show was a half-assed documentary about hip-hop, but the soundtrack did not half-step at all.  Many classic moments on this collection of songs.  Biggie performing "Me & My Bitch" live in Philadelphia, Redman dropping one of the illest verses of all-time on "How High," and 2Pac standing out on the introspective "My Block."

4.)  Judgement Night (1993) - Once again, the movie...ehhh, the soundtrack...wow!  Way before Limp Bizkit, Everlast, and the Jay-Z/Linkin Park thing, there was this soundtrack.  It was a beautiful mash-up of rock and rap.  Songs featured Onyx and Biohazard together, Cypress Hill with Pearl Jam, and Slayer connecting with Ice-T.  My hands down favorite song on this soundtrack (and one of my favorite songs of all time) was "Fallin'" by De La Soul and Teenage Fanclub.

3.)  Above The Rim (1994) - Another movie featuring Tupac Shakur, another great soundtrack.  This was strictly west coast, and it solidified the foundation of Suge Knight's Death Row Records.  Tha Dogg Pound, Snoop Dogg, and H-Town all provided heat for this collection.  My favorite song wasn't even featured on the CD version, only on the cassette tape version (which pissed me off because I had to buy both, I didn't have loot like that at 14, shit I don't have loot like that now).  It was 2Pac's "Pain."  The overwhelming people's choice as the best song on the soundtrack was Warren G & Nate Dogg's "Regulate."

2.)  Boomerang (1993) - What didn't this soundtrack have?  Complete.  Not much hip-hop on this one (only A Tribe Called Quest's "Hot Sex").  This album set the R&B standard for the time.  TLC, Johnny Gill, and Babyface.  It introduced us to Toni Braxton and all of her fineness.  It gave us one of the greatest love songs of all-time with Boyz II Men's "End of the Road" (they took Elvis' chart topping record).  That wasn't even my favorite song on the soundtrack, I loved, I mean love, PM Dawn's "I'd Die Without You."

1.)  Purple Rain (1984) - Fuck soundtracks, this might be one of the greatest albums of all-time by one of the greatest musicians of all-time.  I was about to turn 5 when this album dropped, and I still haven't heard much that was as innovative as this.  Nine songs, two #1 hits, four top 10 hits, and five top 25 hits. The Purple One did his thing with this one.  Opening up the album with the high energy "Let's Go Crazy" was genius.  His screaming ultimatum on "The Beautiful Ones" was breathtaking.  I have decided not to let my daughter hear "Darling Nikki" till she's 25, its audio porn.  The game changing no baseline of "When Doves Cry."  The title track, "Purple Rain"...'nuff said.  I can't pick a favorite, I think I might listen to it right now.

There's my list, you know the deal...vote, leave a comment, tell me your favorite soundtracks, or do absolutely nothing like you did last time.  I'll be waiting.