This month, the Mental Jukebox revisits the movie soundtracks of the nineties. The music I’m highlighting are some of my personal favorites. In many cases, the movies themselves were huge for me as well. But the focus will still be on the music – as always. Let’s bring on the throwback classics, the grunge, the gangsta rap, and the indie gems. #31DaysOf90sMovieSongs
Movie: Until The End Of The World
This was the last Talking Heads song ever written. In the context of modern rock history, it had a lot riding on it. And the band truly delivered. When they were asked to contribute a song for the movie Until The End Of The World, they were advised to create something that sounded like the near-future. Something that could fly for the year 2000. This was actually an ask for all the soundtrack contributors. But Talking Heads managed to accomplish the task, while staying true to their sound and to who they are.
“Sax and Violins” has Talking Heads written all over it. It has plenty of worldbeat undertones, with its complex rhythms and nuanced instrumentation that evolves throughout the song. It’s also cheeky as hell. Even with the song title. It’s. a twist of the phrase “sex and violence”. Every time I hear the song, I feel this sense of urgency to the experience. I wait with bated breath – with an anticipation that I’ll discover something new from it. Something that Byrne, Weymouth, Harrison and Frantz perhaps wanted to pass along to their fans. The last time I heard it, my ears were more attuned to the samples that appear throughout the song. I can’t even make out what they are. Shrieks? Machinery? Feedback? Maybe all of the above.
“Love keeps us together. And love will drive us insane.”