Say what you will about their cinematic quality, but teen movies have always had elite soundtracks. Let's recapture that nostalgia with some new music.
I’m GenX, and of course, the John Hughes films had good soundtracks, but I will throw no shade because the 90s teen movie soundtracks were so much better, and soundtracks in general were amped up and paid more attention to in the 90s than in the 80s. 95% of my favorite movie soundtracks are solidly in the 90s.
i appreciate that vote of confidence!! i think there was something special about the 90s soundtrack, although the early '90s non-teen movies geared towards gen x (reality bites and its ilk) were absolutely killing it with their soundtracks as well
Out of all those options I'd go with Ten Things I Hate About You. Only because I specifically remember "Sexy Boy" by Air being in one scene and it's a longtime favourite of mine from the late 90s.
This is so fun, and you nailed the new picks, as usual. Side note to your footnote: Tbh, my love for that “Dreams” scene in The Babysitters Club made its inclusion in any other soundtrack seem sacrilege. Until, of course, I watched Derry Girls and realized no, actually, *this* is what that song was made for. It should be retired from soundtracks henceforth.
As a Boomer on the cusp of Gen X (born in 1964), The Craft just blew me away. New girl in town with untapped magical power in a Catholic high school? Check.
Three "misfit" students who have formed a coven, led by a murder hornet, whose black lipstick and patent leather jacket are part of her shield, as a girl living in a trailer park, with a drunk mom and a lecherous stepfather? Check. The school's only African American student, tormented for her Blackness by a blonde girl who gets off on sabotaging her at the diving board? Check. The last "misfit," a girl covered in burn scars, who catches the new girl levitating a pencil? Check.
Honestly, every time I rewatch this movie, there's always something, a missing detail, that knocks me for a loop. It's as much about female friendships, and their fault lines, as it is about magick. Power moves, spells gone awry, slut-shaming, the pressure to fit in, knowing you never will, the way in which your best friends become your worst enemies, envy, revenge, and the realization that the only reason that Nancy, Bonnie, and Rochelle acquired powers had to do with tapping into Sarah's natural power, and her dedication to honing it. In the end, she's the only one whose powers remained, so much so that she could summon wind and lightning, lopping off a tree branch that (just) misses Bonnie and Rochelle.
As for Nancy's fate...the final scenes show her strapped to a hospital bed, alone, in a psychiatric hospital..
I will always have a soft spot for Heathers, but The Craft never fails to reel me back in. (Fun fact: Rachel True, who played Rochelle, was 30, though you'd never guess that to be the case.)
Often, I wonder, who am I really rooting for: Nancy or Sarah? Why does one seem to be the mirror image of the other? So many questions.
Now, if you'll excuse me, time to get off the soapbox. Thanks for your patience, and for coming this far.
This was such a great idea for a post. I worked in a record store when I was in high school in the 90s and I loved every new teen movie soundtrack because of all the new music I would discover. Even the ones where there was one good song and the rest was the film score.
I just went to an acoustic performance by a traveling musician on Sunday and he had an entire song about My-Called Life characters.......sweet bliss! I told him afterward he must record it for the next record. I found out new music from that show too like when Jordan Catalano covers The Ramones.
Like you mentioned, soundtracks helped me discover new music. Romeo and Juliet was played REPEATEDLY.
I like Concrete Blonde's take on Leonard Cohen's 'Everybody Knows' on the Pump Up The Volume soundtrack. That band always did great cover versions; many that surpassed the originals.
A lot of covers seemed to end up on movie soundtracks during this era. I guess that,in part, it was a result of bands who were already under pressure to come up with 4-6 b-sides per single, easing their work load. You have Hole doing Fleetwood Mac's 'Gold Dust Woman' on The Crow soundtrack and Love Spit Love going over 'How Soon Is Now?' on The Craft. Richard Butler is a very distinctive vocalist, but he was never going to match Morrissey.
Occasionally, something original turns up on a soundtrack that is unexpected and genuinely great - Chris Cornell's 'Seasons' on the Grungeploitation movie, Singles , for example.
One of the most interesting soundtracks of the nineties (1998) was for Mojo, which is a British gangster film set at the end of the 1950s; an adaptation of a stage play. The soundtrack consists of mainly British artists covering a song from the era and then writing an original that sounds like it might have been penned in the 1950s.
I had to go with 10 Things because Atomic Dog.
I’m GenX, and of course, the John Hughes films had good soundtracks, but I will throw no shade because the 90s teen movie soundtracks were so much better, and soundtracks in general were amped up and paid more attention to in the 90s than in the 80s. 95% of my favorite movie soundtracks are solidly in the 90s.
i appreciate that vote of confidence!! i think there was something special about the 90s soundtrack, although the early '90s non-teen movies geared towards gen x (reality bites and its ilk) were absolutely killing it with their soundtracks as well
Cruel Intentions and its soundtrack changed my brain chemistry, if I’m being real
I love this film! Great soundtrack, perfect casting.
Sort of straddling the poles of this post - a 2022 compilation of current bands covering 90s teen movie songs: https://dltsgdom.bandcamp.com/album/as-if-a-songs-from-teen-comedies-covers-comp
Oceanator! Bad Moves! And more!
wait this is awesome!
Wow! Very cool!
With those twelve films, you could easily make an astrology chart.
I’m a Clueless Sun, 10 Things Rising, and a Never Been Kissed Moon, btw.
i need an astrology girly to do this for me
Out of all those options I'd go with Ten Things I Hate About You. Only because I specifically remember "Sexy Boy" by Air being in one scene and it's a longtime favourite of mine from the late 90s.
god that's such a good song
I just flashed back to the Can’t Hardly Wait soundtrack a couple days ago, perfect timing thanks for posting!
This is so fun, and you nailed the new picks, as usual. Side note to your footnote: Tbh, my love for that “Dreams” scene in The Babysitters Club made its inclusion in any other soundtrack seem sacrilege. Until, of course, I watched Derry Girls and realized no, actually, *this* is what that song was made for. It should be retired from soundtracks henceforth.
you know I honestly remember it being in way more trailers and soundtracks than I think it actually featured in
SASAMI's "Just Be Friends" would be outrageously perfect (too perfect?) for the mid-movie heartbreak/miscommunication breakdown!
I'm so angry at myself for missing this
As a Boomer on the cusp of Gen X (born in 1964), The Craft just blew me away. New girl in town with untapped magical power in a Catholic high school? Check.
Three "misfit" students who have formed a coven, led by a murder hornet, whose black lipstick and patent leather jacket are part of her shield, as a girl living in a trailer park, with a drunk mom and a lecherous stepfather? Check. The school's only African American student, tormented for her Blackness by a blonde girl who gets off on sabotaging her at the diving board? Check. The last "misfit," a girl covered in burn scars, who catches the new girl levitating a pencil? Check.
Honestly, every time I rewatch this movie, there's always something, a missing detail, that knocks me for a loop. It's as much about female friendships, and their fault lines, as it is about magick. Power moves, spells gone awry, slut-shaming, the pressure to fit in, knowing you never will, the way in which your best friends become your worst enemies, envy, revenge, and the realization that the only reason that Nancy, Bonnie, and Rochelle acquired powers had to do with tapping into Sarah's natural power, and her dedication to honing it. In the end, she's the only one whose powers remained, so much so that she could summon wind and lightning, lopping off a tree branch that (just) misses Bonnie and Rochelle.
As for Nancy's fate...the final scenes show her strapped to a hospital bed, alone, in a psychiatric hospital..
I will always have a soft spot for Heathers, but The Craft never fails to reel me back in. (Fun fact: Rachel True, who played Rochelle, was 30, though you'd never guess that to be the case.)
Often, I wonder, who am I really rooting for: Nancy or Sarah? Why does one seem to be the mirror image of the other? So many questions.
Now, if you'll excuse me, time to get off the soapbox. Thanks for your patience, and for coming this far.
this makes my want to watch it again. tis the season!!
This was such a great idea for a post. I worked in a record store when I was in high school in the 90s and I loved every new teen movie soundtrack because of all the new music I would discover. Even the ones where there was one good song and the rest was the film score.
i want to meet somebody who was responsible for putting those soundtracks together
!! Used to tell everyone at time (teen in the 90s) that my dream job was “soundtracking movies”… sadly never much more than talk about it 😂
I just went to an acoustic performance by a traveling musician on Sunday and he had an entire song about My-Called Life characters.......sweet bliss! I told him afterward he must record it for the next record. I found out new music from that show too like when Jordan Catalano covers The Ramones.
Like you mentioned, soundtracks helped me discover new music. Romeo and Juliet was played REPEATEDLY.
Now and Then is also a good "teen" soundtrack.
my so called life was next level truly
OMG I cannot wait for this playlist! Brava!
it's out! what do you think??
Ohhh I'm behind on my stacks. Will save now!
I like Concrete Blonde's take on Leonard Cohen's 'Everybody Knows' on the Pump Up The Volume soundtrack. That band always did great cover versions; many that surpassed the originals.
A lot of covers seemed to end up on movie soundtracks during this era. I guess that,in part, it was a result of bands who were already under pressure to come up with 4-6 b-sides per single, easing their work load. You have Hole doing Fleetwood Mac's 'Gold Dust Woman' on The Crow soundtrack and Love Spit Love going over 'How Soon Is Now?' on The Craft. Richard Butler is a very distinctive vocalist, but he was never going to match Morrissey.
Occasionally, something original turns up on a soundtrack that is unexpected and genuinely great - Chris Cornell's 'Seasons' on the Grungeploitation movie, Singles , for example.
One of the most interesting soundtracks of the nineties (1998) was for Mojo, which is a British gangster film set at the end of the 1950s; an adaptation of a stage play. The soundtrack consists of mainly British artists covering a song from the era and then writing an original that sounds like it might have been penned in the 1950s.
Stealing Beauty for the win. Reservoir Dogs and Reality Bites of same era if not “teen movies”. And have to give John Hughes soundtrack shoutout.
That Snail mail record rips! Valentine's a great pick. "Forever (Sailing)" is also a fave.
(Insert "GenX sass" here.)
that scene from She's All That has lived in my head rent-free for a long, long time
it's so funny