Recently I obtained a couple of really great compilation CDs called John William's Greatest Hits 1969-1999 and Hollywood Hits: 70 Years of Memorable Movie Music. Both are composed of two discs that are loaded with the full orchestral versions of various well-known movie songs--everything from the themes from Dr. No to Midnight Cowboy to M*A*S*H*! It reminds me of this great CD my brother had when we were growing up of golden and silver age TV theme songs (Scooby-Doo, I Love Lucy, Laverne and Shirley, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, etc), so of course it has inspired a new thematic playlist over here at MM.
I've needed an ever-increasing supply of new playlists for my newest endeavor: distance running! I've already registered and plunked down my 50 bucks to run in this year's Kentucky Derby Mini-Marathon, which means I've got roughly 20 weeks to get in shape to run 13.1 miles--readers, there's no way I can do that unless I've got some inspirational melodies to power me through. And I tell you what: John Williams, the United Artists Orchestra, The Universal Orchestra, et al are supplying quite the mother load. I've mixed in a few of my own things from years past to round out a pretty great working list, which I'll post below for your consideration:
- The Trio (from The Good, The Bad & The Ugly) : Ennio Morricone
- Dr. No : Monty Norman
- Am I Sexy : Lords of Acid
- Bachelor Pad : Fantastic Plastic Machine
- Star Wars (Main Title) : John Williams
- Olympic Fanfare and Theme : John Williams
- The Imperial March (Darth Vader's Theme!) : John Williams
- Indiana Jones & the Temple of Doom : John Williams
- Jaws : The Universal Orchestra
- Carmina Burana : Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
- The Ecstasy of Gold : Ennio Morricone
- Rocky : United Artists Orchestra
- Superman (Main Title Theme) : John Williams
- Raiders of the Lost Ark (Main Title Theme) :John Williams
- Olympic Centennial : John Williams
Wow, readers--that's over an hour of quality, inspirational, LOUD, scary, orchestral cacophony pumping directly into my brain! Will it keep my feet moving? Maybe. Will it get me in shape? It couldn't hurt... Will it transfer a sense of foreshadow-y triumphant doom to my otherwise mundane runs? I should say so! How shockingly terrifying will it be to huff along in my superhero running tights and miscellaneous polyester athletic foofaraw to the machinations of The Imperial March, the Dante-invoking Carmina Burana and the f-ing theme song to Jaws?? Oh boy!
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Here's some further suggestions:
ReplyDelete1. Theme song from the movie "The Natural" (ah, if this doesn't motivate you to run it will at least take you back to the glorious days of Riverfront and that semi-cheesy pre-game film...).
2. Aaron Copland: "The Rodeo Suite: Buckaroo Holiday & Hoedown" (this will be familiar to you from the "Beef, it's What's for Dinner" commercial campaign...)