Anyone noticed movie sountracks are always 10 years late?

[Mutate]

In the 90s (when grunge and nu metal were big) all the action movies had hair metal sountracks, and now emo is big they all have nu metal on them. I saw Transformers and it had smashing pumkings on the credits, i felt like i was watching batman and robin again!

[Shellhead]

P.J. O'Rourke had some excellent advice about music for a party. Figure out the average age of your guests, and play music that was popular when they were about 16 years old.

So movie soundtracks sounding 10 years too late is probably intentional. They are aiming for the middle of a roughly 20-year age range that watches the most movies. Maybe age 15 to age 35.

[Filthy Mutie]

To be fair, at the time, that Smashing Pumpkins song was new.

And, as much as I loathe emo and numetal, it still makes a killing. The Transformers soundtrack sold a buttload.

[Slackjaws_ate_my_brain]

Mutate, were you alive in the 90's? Seriously, soundtracks like "Singles", "Clerks", "Hackers", "Swingers", "Trainspotting", "Empire Records", "Clueless", "Reality Bites", "The Crow", "Can't Hardly Wait", "Romeo and Juliet", and so many others were COMPLETELY "of the period". Beyond that, there was the big resurgence in the love of 70's culture, and soundtracks like "Dazed and Confused" completely nailed that one.

Maybe by the later 90's, soundtracks had lost touch, but, for more than the first half, however, a lot of them were milestones of the period.

[bert]

Mutate, were you alive in the 90's? Seriously, soundtracks like "Singles", "Clerks", "Hackers", "Swingers", "Trainspotting", "Empire Records", "Clueless", "Reality Bites", "The Crow", "Can't Hardly Wait", "Romeo and Juliet", and so many others were COMPLETELY "of the period". Beyond that, there was the big resurgence in the love of 70's culture, and soundtracks like "Dazed and Confused" completely nailed that one.

Maybe by the later 90's, soundtracks had lost touch, but, for more than the first half, however, a lot of them were milestones of the period.

don't forget the 80's films that had killer "of the moment" soundtracks:

"the Breakfast Club", "Pretty in Pink", "the Hunger" (had Bahaus performing in the film for goodness sakes).

[Slackjaws_ate_my_brain]

Vry True, I was using 90's examples only because that's the time period that the OP initially referenced

[Mutate]

oh dear, i forgot about cool films (tower records etc), i was just thinking of action/blockbusters

[greensheen22]

P.J. O'Rourke had some excellent advice about music for a party. Figure out the average age of your guests, and play music that was popular when they were about 16 years old.

So movie soundtracks sounding 10 years too late is probably intentional. They are aiming for the middle of a roughly 20-year age range that watches the most movies. Maybe age 15 to age 35.

Wow, if I ever become the Great Gatsby, this is what I will do. :D

[John Asperger]

In the 90s (when grunge and nu metal were big) all the action movies had hair metal sountracks, and now emo is big they all have nu metal on them. I saw Transformers and it had smashing pumkings on the credits, i felt like i was watching batman and robin again!

...Well , yeah and no , too , I remember a lot of 80s movies having a kind of Kim Carnes/Whitesnake " power ballad/dance " 80s pop/rock , not quite " hair meatl " , though overlapping with it a little...
I remember noting that the , um , second , Thomas Jane , Punisher film had a soundtrack in a kind of grunge/90s metal vein , is that what you meam ? I've wanted to get that flick's soundtrack...

[howyadoin]

oh dear, i forgot about cool films (tower records etc), i was just thinking of action/blockbustersHow 'bout Judgement Night?

1) “Just Another Victim” (Helmet & House of Pain)
2) “Fallin’” (Teenage Fanclub & De La Soul)
3) “Me, Myself & My Microphone” (Living Colour & Run-D.M.C.)
4) “Judgment Night” (Biohazard & Onyx)
5) “Disorder” (Slayer & Ice-T)
6) “Another Body Murdered” (Faith No More & Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E.)
7) “I Love You Mary Jane” (Sonic Youth & Cypress Hill)
8) “Freak Momma” (Mudhoney & Sir Mix-A-Lot)
9) “Missing Link” (Dinosaur Jr & Del the Funky Homosapien)
10) “Come and Die” (Therapy? & Fatal)
11) “Real Thing” (Pearl Jam & Cypress Hill)

[M. Bushbug]

How 'bout Judgement Night?

1) “Just Another Victim” (Helmet & House of Pain)
2) “Fallin’” (Teenage Fanclub & De La Soul)
3) “Me, Myself & My Microphone” (Living Colour & Run-D.M.C.)
4) “Judgment Night” (Biohazard & Onyx)
5) “Disorder” (Slayer & Ice-T)
6) “Another Body Murdered” (Faith No More & Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E.)
7) “I Love You Mary Jane” (Sonic Youth & Cypress Hill)
8) “Freak Momma” (Mudhoney & Sir Mix-A-Lot)
9) “Missing Link” (Dinosaur Jr & Del the Funky Homosapien)
10) “Come and Die” (Therapy? & Fatal)
11) “Real Thing” (Pearl Jam & Cypress Hill)

I love that soundtrack. I had albums by every band except Pearl Jam when it came out.

[DeadXMan]

In the 90s (when grunge and nu metal were big) all the action movies had hair metal sountracks, and now emo is big they all have nu metal on them. I saw Transformers and it had smashing pumkings on the credits, i felt like i was watching batman and robin again!

ummm I'm fairly sure it was Likin Park on the end credits

[pariah-1972]

Probably has a lot to do with whomever the musical director/soundtrack supervisor is and who they can get .

It's always funny to see some middle aged person in the music industry who has no clue about what's current or hip.

I always thought the Spider-man soundtracks were painfully dated with the first one featuring mostly b-list grunge rock stars while i always felt the movie itself always catered to the emo crowd ironically(especially the last one of course was really obvious about it).

I can't even recall the last soundtrack i bought and i miss when soundtracks use to have a great selection of bands and songs (Singles being one of the best)
I always liked it when soundtracks had a bunch of electronica bands too.