Watchmen soundtrack
March 5th, 2009 at 9.33pm (Misc)
I’m leaving for the midnight premiere of Watchmen in half an hour. I am pretty excited.
According to Amazon.com, the soundtrack for the film is pretty crazy — I’ve never seen one that combines Philip Glass and MCR, and I’m not sure that I want to. Here’s the full tracklisting:
- My Chemical Romance, “Desolation Row”
- Nat King Cole, “Unforgettable”
- Bob Dylan, “The Times They Are A-Changin’”
- Simon & Garfunkel, “The Sound of Silence”
- Janis Joplin, “Me and Bobby McGee”
- KC and the Sunshine Band, “I’m Your Boogie Man”
- Billie Holiday, “You’re My Thrill”
- Philip Glass, “Pruit Igoe & Prophecies”
- Leonard Cohen, “Hallelujah”
- Jimi Hendrix, “All Along the Watchtower”
- Richard Wagner, “Ride of the Valkyries” (Budapest Symphony Orchestra)
- Nina Simone, “Pirate Jenny”
Wow — what a playlist! I’ll be sure to let you know how that works out. If I can stay awake, that is … I think I’ve suddenly become ninety years old. Yikes. More to follow!
Tags: don't judge a book by its movie, movies, watchmen
nat. said,
March 6, 2009 at 1.30am
The guy who sits next to me at the office has a copy of that on his desk. I was like “shit, I have heard a lot of Bob Dylan covers in my lifetime, and I’m not sure a My Chemical Romance one was ever on my wish list”. Yeesh.
suckingalemon said,
March 6, 2009 at 2.56pm
when we got home bowie was on the radio and i was thinking how some of his stuff would have fit in.
barbara said,
March 7, 2009 at 11.44am
Midnight premieres are just so the youngsters and the night owls can thumb their noses at those of us who pass out on the chesterfield at 9.
Ross said,
March 7, 2009 at 4.52pm
I must say, out of many, many things about that movie that were badass, the music was especially so. I will say I’d have rather had “Desolation Row” scoring the amazing opening montage rather than “Times”, and let MCR adjust their hatchet-job accordingly. But dude is a filmmaker and I’m not, so ne’ermind…
Ruhee said,
March 7, 2009 at 10.08pm
Nat: Seriously, I’d be totally fine with it if they just gave up.
Aviva: Maybe it would’ve been less awkward in places, haha. The soundtrack was kinda crazy! I guess I can deal with everything but “Hallelujah”, in terms of where they used it.
Barbara: I guess so, although I was sleepy before we even left … maybe that means I’m really a grandma at heart (or in brain). Didn’t get much sleep before school either, seeing as we got home at 4:00 in the morning. Oh well. Two months until we do this again for Wolverine.
Ross: “Times” was also there to underscore the whole historical (or alternate-historical) background and premise of the film, too — “Desolation” might have worked, but I feel like lyrically it’s more suited to what would be Rorschach’s telling of the tale than to an omnicient one, ie. this movie. Dig? I don’t think I make any sense.
Ross said,
March 9, 2009 at 5.18pm
I suppose “Times” felt VERY literal, maybe overly so. Like playing U2’s “Pride” at the hotel where MLK was shot, as Cameron Crowe did in “Elizabethtown”. Hammer-to-the-skull obvious. “Desolation Row” wouldn’t have been as on-the-nose, but it’s a clear match for ‘Watchmen”: a sort of fever-dream meditation on social decay. Still, those credits are a major hook for audiences, and I somehow think they’d be quite the same without the more recognizable Dylan song in place. Maybe I just want to save my fave Dylan song from the MCR treatment (and I even LIKE that band, so that’s saying something about how painful that cover is)…
Ruhee said,
March 9, 2009 at 5.44pm
All I read was “I like MCR”. My brain’s currently trying to process that. (hahaha)
Nah, I hear you, but I still think “Times” works well in the credits. I like “Desolation Row” a lot, but as far as the sequence goes I think the music was well chosen.