The Mission (Ennio Morricone)

Ennio Morricone
Nothing says a Sunday night like some good Ennio Morricone: An Italian composer who has scored over 400 films including The Mission, Mission To Mars, and worked exclusively with Quentin Tarantino for Kill Bill, Death Proof, and Inglorious Bastards. Basically, he is who I want to be. The Mission soundtrack is my favorite scored film of all time. The soundtrack combines liturgical chorales, native drumming, and Spanish-influenced guitars. The main theme, "Falls", remains one of Morricone's most memorable pieces, and has been used in numerous commercials since its original release. The soundtrack was nominated for an Academy Award in 1986 and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score. It was selected as the 23rd best film score in American Cinema according to AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores. The music was also used during the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah.


I feel like Jack Black says it best (The Holiday):
Miles: "Oh my God. Okay, this one? You have to check this out some time. The Mission. The score is genius. It just comes from a totally different place. It's like... I can't even... Just promise me you'll rent it and listen to it.
Iris: Renting.
Miles: Thank you. It changed my world.




The Mission
(Italics are my favorite)
1. On Earth As It Is In Heaven
2. Falls
3. Gabriel's Oboe
4. Ave Maria Guarani
5. Brothers
6. Carlotta
7. Vita Nostra
8. Climb
9. Remorse
10. Penance
11. The Mission *
12. The River
13. Gabriel's Oboe
14. Te Deum Guarani
15. Refusal
16. Asunsion
17. Alone
18. Guarani
19. The Sword
20. Miserere

*Favorite
Review of this soundtrack in "Movie Soundtracks Galore" page on right

Cherry Bomb (The Runaways)

Every morning I wake up, I have weird music cravings. This morning, it's The Runaways. It's probably due to my desire to see the new movie "The Runaways" starring Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning, and my love for the show Freaks and Geeks which has "Bad Reputation" by Joan Jett as the theme song. The Runaways’ story is a fascinating look at a band that came up at the time punk rock was being born in the U.S. Because of their youth, their legitimacy is often overlooked, but the fact is they toured with the Ramones and Blondie, and ultimately were to become as much associated as the New York punks as they were with the California scene. The Runaways, Heart, Patti Smith, Pat Benatar, Joni Mitchell, Janis Joplin, Annie Lennox, Stevie Nicks, etc are all some of the greatest female rock bands, singers, guitarists in history. Sometimes when I'm feeling kind of low, I watch 1970's female rock band videos to see if they empower me, and they typically do. So here's just some of the things I've been enjoying this post-birthday morning.
The Runaways The Runaways features Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning respectively as Joan Jett and Cherie Currie from the infamous female rock band, The Runaways. I am not a Kristen Stewart fan, but I am dying to see this movie. Plus, the story of The Runaways combines the best formula for any film: sex(lesbian), drugs and rock 'n roll. If I were to actually be a rock star, hands down I would be mix between Joan Jett and Nancy Wilson (I will discuss my love for Heart in a short moment). (Courtesy of theplaylist.blogspot.com)
Promotional images, include an updated version of a 1976 magazine cover the band did for Crawdaddy magazine, a rock n' roll criticism magazine formed in '60s. Here's a side-by-side comparison of the re-do with the original cover and although the position of band members is slightly altered, the cover retains all the same headlines and Currie in the center. Co-starring in the film are the likes of Scout Taylor-Compton as Lita Ford, Stella Maeve as Sandy West, Alia Shawkat as a fictionalized composite of the band's many bass players named Robin and Michael Shannon in a potentially scene-stealing role as the band's exploitative manager, Kim Fowley. "The Runaways" hits theaters March 19th A movie review would not be complete without a peak at the soundtrack so take a look: "The Runaways" Soundtrack Tracklisting 1. “Roxy Roller” by Nick Gilder 2. “The Wild One” by Suzi Quatro 3. “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World” by MC5 4. “Rebel Rebel” by David Bowie 5. “Cherry Bomb” by Dakota Fanning 6. “Hollywood” by The Runaways 7. “California Paradise” by Dakota Fanning 8. “You Drive Me Wild” by The Runaways 9. “Queens of Noise” by Dakota Fanning and Kristen Stewart 10. “Dead End Justice” by Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning 11. “I Wanna Be Your Dog” by The Stooges 12. “I Wanna Be Where the Boys Are (Live)” by The Runaways 13. “Pretty Vacant” by Sex Pistols 14. “Don’t Abuse Me” by Joan Jett Here are my other favorite female musicians 1. Heart Sisters Ann Wilson, the wide-ranged lead singer and Nancy Wilson, my second favorite guitar player in the world, formed the 1970's rock group from Seattle known as Heart. "Barracuda", "Crazy On You" and "Magic Man" are just some of their top hits. Ann Wilson has some of the best chops I've ever heard come out of a rock singer and Nancy Wilson is my idol. She has been recorded to saying that the combination of acoustic and electric guitar in "Crazy On You" is heavily influenced by "Over the Hills And Far Away" by Led Zeppelin. Her and Ann did a cover of "Battle of Evermore" by Led Zeppelin that is amazing, & Nancy did the score for my favorite movie Almost Famous. 2. Patti Smith An American singer-songwriter, poet and visual artist, who became a highly influential component of the New York City punk rock movement. She is strange, experimental, and fucked up and I love her. I had heard of her but it wasn't until I saw her get inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007 that I really paid attention. The song below "Horses" is really disturbing but mesmerizing at the same time. It just puts me in a sort of hypnosis that I can't explain...hopefully you can: