Welcome to Soundtrack Spotlight, a column where the best movie soundtracks are featured and brought to light. Movies have a wide range of song choices, each being unique and special to their own plots and stories. Here, different soundtracks from various movies across the decades are highlighted and recognized.
First up is the cult classic ‘90s teen comedy, “Empire Records,” where a group of record store employees go through a day full of bizarre events and storylines and end up having to save their store from being bought out. All throughout the craziness and drama of the movie, though, a stellar soundtrack plays that perfectly matches the ‘90s teen generation that it was made for. The film has its own soundtrack album, but outside of the album, the soundtrack also features many other hit songs from popular artists, including The Cranberries and Sponge.
During many scenes, music is constantly being played in the background, whether it’s music that the employees put on or music that was laid over in post-production. These songs include hits like “Video Killed the Radio Star” by The Buggles, “Romeo and Juliet” by Dire Straits, “Counting Blue Cars” by Dishwalla and “Seems” by Queen Sarah Saturday.
Great songs in the film are also attributed to certain scenes. When an employee named Lucas loses all the store’s money, the song “Money” by The Flying Lizards is dedicated to him. AC/DC’s “If You Want Blood” is another instance of this as it’s played when the manager lets out all his anger.
The movie also finishes off with a trio of amazing songs: “Sugarhigh” by Coyote Shivers, “Til I Hear it From You” by Gin Blossoms and “This is the Day” by The The. “Empire Records” perfectly encapsulates the ‘90s teen feeling and culture not only through its plot, but also through its star-studded soundtrack.
