Mind on music

Let's play a game. I'm going to name a movie and you have to hum the theme song to it. Ready? OK: Indiana Jones. Got that? OK, now: Star Wars. Next? Back to the Future. Now try: Jurassic Park. Still want another? E.T. And lastly: Harry Potter.

Man, I love that game. John Williams is a genius - those triumphant themes (all so similar yet gloriously distinct) are just golden, raising the hearts and adrenaline of the young and old alike.

Not just main theme songs, but entire movie soundtracks and musical scores can play a key role in any movie. (Just copy and paste here an Oscar night blurb preceding the presentation of Best Original Score spoken by some bright-eyed starlet.)

Going along with all of this, last week I picked up a recent copy of Rolling Stone for my flight home to California. Checking out the "Charts" on the back page, I was surprised to see that in the No. 5 and 6 spots of "Top 40 Albums" were the movie soundtracks to Step Up 2 the Streets and Juno, respectively. Situated in the mid-teen spots were Miley Cyrus's tunes from Hannah Montana 2 (I still don't get who she is), along with the soundtracks to Alvin and the Chipmunks and Across the Universe: Deluxe Edition. At No. 31 was Once, which includes the heartbreaking duet "Falling Slowly," this year's Oscar winner for Best Song.

Though it seems mainstream audiences have strayed away from valuing albums in their entirety (why spend $9.99 on iTunes for it all when you're only going to listen to the two hit singles on it anyway?), maybe there is still hope for the appreciation of compiling a solid movie soundtrack.

Let's compare Step Up 2 and Juno. You probably couldn't get two movies that are more dissimilar, yet music plays essential roles in both. In one, the body-pumping beats a la "Low" (aka the Apple Bottom Jeans song, which is also the No. 1 "Billboard Hot Hit Single") are necessary for the motley crew of incredible dancers (which in my book excuses the below-average acting) to overcome adversity and great odds. And Juno just wouldn't be the same without the quirky lyrics and folksy strumming of Kimya Dawson, which provide the appropriate atmosphere for mailboxes overflowing with tic-tacs and the lines of look-at-me-being-witty dialogue.

Movie soundtracks should not be underestimated just because they are "supplements" to movies. Here are a few personal favorites of mine: The Graduate, Grindhouse, The Life Aquatic, About a Boy, Almost Famous, Forrest Gump, I Am Sam, and High Fidelity (Disney and John Williams not included).