Day 30 - 30 Day Movie Music Challenge

A song from an "in concert" film featuring your favourite band

No surprise here surely... except, I assume this is a DVD extra on the Time Machine 2011: Live In Cleveland DVD

I would pay good money for a CD of Rash polka style music.

And, because they are my favourite band, and it's the last day of the Challenge, here's some fan footage from the tour:

Excellent concert and one of my favourite Rush tracks. Although Geddy is clearly struggling to sing as high as he used to and drops down after the first few lines. :-) {Bonus 2112 included for free with this clip!}

And finally, just because I can - Neil Peart's drum solo from the Time Machine Tour.

Enjoy!

Day 29 - 30 Day Movie Music Challenge

Music not written for a film but that fits perfectly anyway

Shoot To Thrill by AC/DC fitted the Iron Man 2 film perfectly. This video isn't from the film, but it is so awesome, I couldn't resist showing it again:

(This video has featuired here before - see Rock and Roll!)

Day 28 - 30 Day Movie Music Challenge

Music from a biopic about a musician

Walk The Line - Folsom Prison Blues. It takes a while for him to warm up... but he does a pretty good Johnny Cash impersonation:

Day 27 - 30 Day Movie Music Challenge

Music from a film that's better than the film

Spoiled for choice here... Decided to stick with superheroes and go for this:

I'm still not sure why I was so disappointed with this film. Colin Farrell as Bullseye was OK and Michael Clarke Duncan was a good choice for Kingpin... and yet...  Perhaps part of the reason is that I'm annoyed that the film makers thought it was a good idea for one of the bad guys to discover Daredevil's secret identity. What part of "secret" don't they get?

Day 26 - 30 Day Movie Music Challenge

Music from an animated film

Because the album isn't psychedelic enough...

The foothills of the headlands. Far out man!

Day 25 -30 Day Movie Music Challenge

Music from a documentary film about music

It Might Get Loud is a film I've written about before (see It Might Get Loud). This is my favourite bit:

It's just like he is the wee schoolboy, listening to it for the first time. Brilliant!

Day 24 -30 Day Movie Music Challenge

Music from an operatic film (rock opera, operetta, whatever)

First heard this album that led to the film, on the Tommy Vance Friday Rock Show and I was completely gobsmacked! I used the same track in my response to day five of the 30 Day Song Challenge (see A song from your teens/childhood) and you can read my trip down memory lane there.

Here's a clip from the film this time:

The film isn't as good as the album... but it's still pretty stunning.

Free Download Friday #115 B: Oops! Within Temptation

Oops! My memory is clearly going. It seems I featured exactly the same Voodoo Six track for download in January 2010! (See Free Download Friday #41: Voodoo Six.)

So here's an emergency backup download from Within Temptation courtesy of Roadrunner Records: Faster.

A bit of acoustic rock to make up for yeterday's repeat.

Free Download Friday #115: Voodoo Six

I won tickets from Rock Radio Real Radio XS to see Voodoo Six in concert tonight. Unfortunately, the lead vocalist, Luke Purdie, has a a throat infection and the gig was cancelled. :-(

But every cloud has a sliver lining because it made me hunt down their website for more details... where I found they are offering a free download of Take The Blame from their latest album:

You know the drill. Give them an email address and they will give you a free download of a belter of a rock track.

Day 23 -30 Day Movie Music Challenge

Music from a film where one or more of the actors have also had musical success

I've changed this challenge from how it was originally to try and make it more open but for me, it was always going to be Spinal Tap day:


  Now, where did I leave my model of Stonehenge?

Oh, and here's the secret to Spinal Tap's success.

Day 21 - 30 Day Movie Music Challenge

Music from a film where a real band plays a fictional band. 

Easy choice today - Slade In Flame.

According to Mark Kermode this film is the "Citizen Kane of rock musicals" (see the Wikipedia entry).

Day 20 - 30 Day Movie Music Challenge

Music from a concert movie of an artist you've never seen live

Probably just a bit too young but would have loved to see Led Zeppelin in their heyday. As a teenager however, I did see The Song Remains The Same in the cinema and was just gobsmacked at how good they were. Here's the trailer for the film:

I remember being particularly impressed with the multi exposure sword bit and Jimmy Page playing the guitar with a violin bow. This clip is more for the hardcore fan. The sound is a bit quiet on this clip so turn up the volume. Lots of noise and psychedelic hippie nonsense:

Own up. How many of you watched the second clip to the end?

Day 19- 30 Day Movie Music Challenge

Music reworked for a film that you like better than the original 

In retrospect, this is a bit similar to Day 7 but I'm going with it anyway. What about Roxanne from Moulin Rouge?

From Blue-eyed Reggae to gravel voiced monster of a track. (Although, I could do without Ewan McGregor joining in!)

{Sorry, well behind in posting these - too much to do and too little organisation. Will try to catch up over the next few days.}

Day 18 - 30 Day Movie Music Challenge

Music by an artist that appears in a film as a character

I've featured this clip before (in Alex The Actor) but it seems appropriate for today's topic:

Apparetly, the film is called Suck and despite being a big Rush fan, I've never seen it... but from the look of the film's trailer, the above clip might be the best bit in it! So here's some of Alex doing what he does best:

Are rock stars universally duff actors? Can you come up with an example where musician does a good job of being someone other than himself or herself?

Day 17 - 30 Day Movie Music Challenge

Music by an artist that appears in a movie as themselves 

Does this challenge make sense? For example, I could have gone for Alice Cooper in Wayne's World, or Rush in I Love You Man - two films I have already featured here.

The one I've chosen for today is a slight cheat - Lemmy in the film Airheads. It is a slight cheat because he is credited in the titles as "Lemmy von Motörhead". However, it is close enough for this purpose and gives me the excuse to link to this track from the soundtrack:

The video quality is pretty poor but close your eyes and enjoy Lemmy doing what he does!

To be honest, I could do without the Ice-T bits... but you can't have everything.

Day 16 - 30 Day Movie Music Challenge

Favourite music from a superhero movie

I like Nickelback but I find individual tracks to be a bit hit or miss. Perhaps it's the addition of Josey Scott, but for me, this theme from Spiderman, is a hit:

Is today a bit too geeky, or does everyone have a favourite superhero movie? :-)

Day 15 - 30 Day Movie Music Challenge

Favourite Bond theme tune

I was tempted to go for a classic oldie - Thunderball by Tom Jones partly because I think this was the first Bond I saw in the cinema. I went as a young teenager with a couple of friends to see it in a double bill with Diamonds Are For Ever. I was stunned by the scope of the films. Vast armies, secret bases in volcanoes, villainous villains and literally going from the depths of the ocean to the vastness of space. These two films are to this day my favourite Bonds.


I decided thought, that this was a movie music challenge, so went with this as my favourite theme:

I really like Chris Cornell's voice and I think the slightly vulnerable tone to his voice you can hear works really well for this film.


So, what's your favourite Bond theme? Are you old Bond, new Bond... or a closet Sheena Easton fan?

Day 14 - 30 Day Movie Music Challenge

Music from a film you went to see because of the soundtrack

I saw the trailer for Birdy and recognised at least three Peter Gabriel tracks and decided I had to see the film:

I knew nothing about the movie but I went to see it because of the soundtrack. It has been a while but, as far as I remember, there are a couple of scenes where Gabriel's music fits perfectly. Essentially the soundtrack is instrumental re-workings of existing Gabriel tracks and yet, it was like they were written for the film.

Day 13 - 30 Day Movie Music Challenge

A song from a film that is a guilty pleasure

Another film from student days (a theme seems to be developing here). I was, of course, aware of Prince in the 80's but his stuff didn't seem to be my cup of tea. It was suggested though, that I should go and see Purple Rain and that I'd be impressed with his guitar skills. So I went... and I was. (Skip to about five minutes in if you just want the guitar solo.)

A guilty pleasure since I am not otherwise hugely interested in his music... or his image. 


For another example of his guitar playing prowess, try this clip of a performance of While My Guitar Gently Weeps.

Day 12 - 30 Day Movie Music Challenge

Music you like that is in a film that you have not seen

My favourite band is Rush (no surprise there) and I know there is a film where developing an appreciation of Rush is an important plot point. The film is I Love You Man and it is billed as a "bromance". It has to be said that the label "bromance" was enough to ensure that I would not see it!

 Rush tracks feature a few times in the soundtrack and the band itself actually appear in the film:

Rush playing live are, as always, excellent, but that clip hasn't made me any more keen to see the film. In fact, I'd go as far as saying, it has positively put me off!


{Again, worried this might be too niche a category. Any one else able to identify films/music, or can anyone suggest how I could widen this category to make it more accessible?}

Day 11 - 30 Day Movie Music Challenge

Music that shares its name with a film title but does not appear in the film

This one is trickier than I originally thought. I was going to go for Iron Man by Black Sabbath because I was fairly sure it didn't feature in the 2008 Iron Man film... but according to that pesky Wikipedia, an instrumental section is used at the start of the end titles. Curses, back to the drawing board.


Second choice then is High Fidelity - the film and the Elvis Costello track:


So here's a trailer for the film (with Jack Black stealing the show):

And here's the track:

Phew! I think this may be a fairly limited set of films. Can any one find any others or am I going to have to widen this out a bit?


{Update: Just changed Day 11's of the 30 Day Movie Music Challenge to (hopefully) make it easier. It now simply reads, "Music that shares its name with a film title." }

Day 10 - 30 Day Movie Music Challenge

Theme music from your favourite film 

Favourite film is Star Wars and the theme music is awesome!

Only problem I have with the above clip is that it stops just before the ginormous spaceship comes rumbling over your head!

{I did start this very late last night... well, technically, early this morning, but better late than never?}

Day 09 - 30 Day Movie Music Challenge

Music from a film about music that isn't a musical 

Didn't take me long to decide it was going to be something from School Of Rock. The problem was what track to choose? Decided to choose one written for the movie that they use in the competition at the end:

Just excellent. Jack Black doing what he does best (i.e. not being Gulliver) and (I believe) the children in the movie were really playing the instruments. 


Other favourite sections from the movie include the children getting CDs to listen to for homework (the drummer, of course, gets Rush - 2112 to listen to) and the rock family tree on the blackboard with Jack's cool board pointer. I like the way there are various boxes with musical genres (Punk, Heavy Metal, etc.) on the board. Beside the boxes, bands' names are written. Down near the bottom, there's one branching out of Prog with a question mark in the box and beside it is written Zappa, Can and Captain Beefheart. :-)

Day 08 - 30 Day Movie Music Challenge

Music from a musical

Struggling with this one as musicals aren't really my thing. I was however in a production of Oliver when I was still at school, so decided to go for Fagin thinking it out again.

I suppose I could have gone for something from the Blues Brothers again but didn't want to use the same film twice. Are there any other Blues or Rock based musicals that should have come to mind?

Day 07 - 30 Day Movie Music Challenge

A cover version you heard from a film before you heard the original

 I'm almost ashamed to own up to this one... Elton John, in huge platform boots, singing pinball wizard. What's extra sad is that I didn't even know it was a cover.

And to redress the balance:

Is your choice as embarrassing?

Day 06 - 30 Day Movie Music Challenge

Music from an artist you like but that you didn't expect to hear in a film

Your watching a kids film, Small Soldiers in this case, and it suddenly gets a bit creepy with demented mutant Barbie dolls. Then, to my surprise, Led Zeppelin kicks in! 

Fast forward to 4:23 and enjoy.

Have you ever been surprised by a piece of music in a film? For example, I would have gone for The Boys Are Back In Town - a song about drunkenness, fighting and sexism - used for Toy Story, but I think it was only used in the trailer.

Day 05 - 30 Day Movie Music Challenge

Music from a film that introduced you to an artist

I suppose this could be an artist from a soundtrack or from a band that featured in a film. For me, it's from a film of a concert: Talking Heads - Stop Making Sense.

I can't remember if my friend had seen the band live, or if he'd just seen this film, but either way, he talked me into seeing the movie. I've a vague notion that it was a late night showing at the Grosvenor Cinema in Ashton Lane but I might be haivering. I loved the way that David Byrne started off on his own, in a more or less empty stage and then the rest of the band and the stage set built up around him. 

A great concert movie and a great introduction to a band. Who did the movies introduce to you?

Oh... and why a big suit?

Free Download Friday #114: Manic Street Preachers

I'm not sure what I make of the Manic Street Preachers. It seems that I like them in small doses, in that I quite enjoy individual tracks but find a whole album's worth a bit too much.

If you like them better than I do, or if you too like them in small doses, I can highly recommend a track currently available for free download from 7 Digital. The tune on offer is an acoustic track called This Is The Day - a cover of a song from The The.

Guitar, harmonica and vocals. Sparse and stark - it seems to suit the lyrics perfectly, but perhaps that's because I'm old and cynical and don't believe it when they sing, "This is the day your life will surely change. This is the day when things fall into place."

If you want to hear the plugged in version, check out the official video:

So what do you think? I think I prefer the unplugged version.

Day 04 - 30 Day Movie Music Challenge

 Music from a film that was used to promote an artist (could be film about an artist or just a soundtrack tie in)

I suspect, as with so many things, Elvis was the first to do this, so I could have gone for any of his films... or indeed Britain's answer to Elivis - Cliff. (Honest, I did consider Summer Holiday.)

In the end though, I went for The Beatles and Help!

Loved this film the first time I saw it and, although the style has dated somewhat, the music is as strong as ever. And how can anyone criticise Ringo after seeing his performance in this clip?

So what will you go for? I dare someone to choose Head from The Monkees!

Day 03 - 30 Day Movie Music Challenge

Music from a documentary/mockumentary.

A band I love? Has to be Rush. A documentary? Has to be Beyond the Lighted Stage :-)

I blogged about this documentary in June last year and one of the things I really liked about it was seeing the old footage of the band in their very early days. In particular, there were some snipits from a concert they played in a school hall, just after the release of their first album, while John Rutsey was still the drummer. Someone has posted a whole song's worth of this concert from the DVD extras disk, so here is more than eight minutes worth of Working Man:

Two comments. One: interesting to see that John Rutsey introduced the song. Two: what were they wearing? I mean, what is that thing Alex has round is neck? And the glittery t-shrt was surely ill advised. (Although, I must own up to wearing a glittery Blue Oyster Cult t-shirt in the late seventies!) Geddy appears to be wearing a blouse that's knotted under his moobs and those sleeves that surely contravene umpteen health and safety regulations.

Hopefully some of you at least will have a favourite bit from a music documentary.

{Update: I've altered this challenge from how it was originally posted. Hopefully, it broadens things out and will make it easier for people to join in.}

Day 2 - 30 Day Movie Music Challenge

Day 02 - Music from a film scene that makes you happy.

Saw this movie on TV recently, so this scene came to mind immediately:

The Blues Brothers - a bit sweary and even blasphemous in places - but so many great musical moments. For example, just before this scene, the Blues Brothers are walking towards Aretha's cafe and pass John Lee Hooker, sitting in the street, playing and singing - it's almost thrown away but it's pure genius.

I love John Lee Hooker but the Think! sequence, more than any other musical number in the film, makes me happy. Aretha Franklin giving it laldy in her baffies. Outstanding!

{The audio is a bit out of sync with the video in the clip above... which is a shame. The only other clip I can find is this one, which seems to have been made by pointing a camera at the screen while watching the film on the telly. Odd, but it might actually be better quality than the one I've embedded above - and it includes the set up to the musical number too. What do you think? Which one should be embedded?}

Over to you then. Pick a scene with music that makes you happy.

Thirty Day Movie Music Challenge - Day 1

Back in April (grief, I didn't think it was that long ago) I had a go at a 30 Day Music Challenge from a facebook page. Since then, I've been inundated with requests to do something like it again. (Well, OK... two people asked me if I was going to do it again!) I didn't want to do a repeat, so I had a look to see what else was out there.

There are other music challenges but I thought there'd be too much overlap. There are film challenges which I thought would be interesting but this is a music blog.

Since I couldn't find an existing list I wanted to try, I thought I'd invent my own. So here is the first ever posting in the Thirty Day Movie Music Challenge. So without further ado, I give you:

Thirty Day Movie Music Challenge

Day 01 - Music that is integral to an iconic movie scene. 

 There were a number of possibilities I considered here. But in the end, there could be only one:

Wayne's World - Bohemian Rhapsody. Simply awesome. Is it possible to reach "that point" in Bohemian Rhapsody without headbanging? Not just an iconic moment, but one of the great opening title sequences.

I acknowledge that my thirty days might be a bit more idiosyncratic than other thirty day challenges and perhaps even a bit too tied to my own interests but I hope the categories are general enough that others feel able to join in.

What do you think? What iconic scene would you choose?