"Cadillac Records" and the best indie movie soundtracks.
"Cadillac Records" opens tonight and as stoked as we are to see Beyoncé portray the great Etta James, we're just as stoked to hear the bound-to-be awesome soundtrack. The movie is about old-school indie label, Chess records, which obviously launched the careers of the likes of Etta James. In honor of this rockin' movie, we're paying homage to our five favorite soundtracks with a twist -- they're so filled with indie music, they became almost more popular than the films they were based on!
"Clueless" (1995)
For those of you who don't know, ska is basically punk rock with a horn section -- and it saw a surge of popularity in the mid-nineties thanks in large part to ska band The Mighty, Mighty Bosstones being featured in this movie. The soundtrack is littered with poppy rock and everyone has been singing, "I'm gonna be a supermodel..." at some point.
"Do the Right Thing" (1989)
The first time the world saw Rosie Perez in a film, she was busting a move BIG TIME to Public Enemy's "Fight the Power." The song travels throughout the course of this fave Spike Lee joint and the soundtrack is packed with the rap that made the '80s what they were -- amazing.
"Once" (2006)
The film is about indie artists finding each other, falling in love -- all while all the while singing their way through it. Swoon. So you can bet the soundtrack of this modern-day musical is indie rock-alicious. One of the songs even won as Oscar for Best Original Song.
"Juno" (2007)
Featuring the music of quirky singer Kimya Dawson, this soundtrack also is home to indie heavy hitters Belle & Sebastian and the Velvet Underground. (It also includes a Cat Power cover of "Sea of Love" that is so tear-jerking, it just might be someone's wedding song.) Just like the surprisingly adorable film it was based on, the "Juno" soundtrack became rabidly popular. So popular, in fact, it spurned a second, B-side soundtrack.
"High Fidelity" (2000)
What would a "top 5" list be without this John Cusack fave? With all its delicately selected rock tunes, it is as if the soundtrack was handpicked by the meticulous characters from the movie themselves. "High Fidelity" was so popular for its music that it became a Broadway play -- that's got to mean something, right?!
