Posts tagged: Soundtracks

The full soundtrack for The Expendables 4 (officially titled Expend4bles) has been released – check it out below. The action-packed film, directed by Scott Waugh, is the fourth installment in the popular blockbuster series. Fans of the franchise will be pleased to know that veterans Jason Statham, Sylvester Stallone, Dolph Lundgren, and Randy Couture all reprise their roles.

However, what sets this new entry apart are the newcomers who join the star-studded cast. Curtis Jackson, better known as 50 Cent, Megan Fox, Tony Jaa, Iko Uwais, Jacob Scipio, Levy Tran, and Andy Garcia are some of the fresh faces added to the mix. With their unique talents and styles, they bring a whole new meaning to the term “new blood”.

The film’s synopsis gives us a glimpse of what we can expect: “Armed with every weapon they can get their hands on and the skills to use them, The Expendables are the world’s last line of defense and the team that gets called when all other options are off the table. But new team members with new styles and tactics are going to give ‘new blood’ a whole new meaning.”

Guillaume Roussel takes over as the composer for The Expendables 4, replacing Brian Tyler, who provided the soundtrack for the previous three films. Roussel is known for his work on various action-packed projects, including the 2014 thriller 3 Days To Kill, 2020’s Black Beauty, 2022 French film November, and the Syfy series Happy!

If you’re eager to get a taste of the film’s music, you can stream the full soundtrack below. It’s a perfect blend of adrenaline-pumping tracks and atmospheric melodies that capture the essence of the movie.

The film’s official trailer has already given us a taste of its music. It featured the tracks ‘Can’t Stop’ by Red Hot Chili Peppers and ‘Bad Behavior‘ by Klergy and Erin McCarley, setting the stage for the high-octane action we can expect from The Expendables 4.

Mark your calendars, as The Expendables 4 hits cinemas on September 22, 2023. Fans of the series and action enthusiasts alike can look forward to an epic film experience with a soundtrack to match.

ENND

It all began around a month ago, when Ronson—who has a long-standing relationship with Gucci that stretches back over a decade, having DJed a number of their events over the years—was connected with De Sarno to discuss his plans for the brand. “We had a little bit of a chat about his vision for the show, and this ‘ancora’ concept,” said Ronson, referring to the campaign that has seen the multi-layered Italian word for “again” or “still” emblazoned across buildings around the world in the lead-up to the show. “It was really about coming back to something, or falling in love again.” 

Naturally, one of the first songs that sprang to mind for De Sarno was Mina’s 1978 hit, which he then sent to Ronson—who quickly became obsessed. “It has tinges of things that I’ve done before, but it’s also a very epic, Italian sweeping ballad,” said Ronson. “So I preserved a lot of things that are really beautiful about the original, like the vocals and the strings, but then gave it a new beat and added my thing to it. Sabato was telling me about all this other amazing Italian pop music from the ’70s and ’80s that was important to him, so I went down the rabbit hole on that.”

Given the decade-hopping spirit of De Sarno’s collection, however, Ronson also wanted to sprinkle in a few more contemporary touches. After De Sarno told Ronson that his 2019 album of “sad bangers” Late Night Feelings was a particular favorite, the musician decided to incorporate a ghostly remix of the Lykke Li-featuring title track at the beginning, and when they were discussing contemporary artists whose sensibility might dovetail neatly with De Sarno’s vision, they quickly landed on Romy, a mutual friend of the pair who recently released her debut solo album Mid Air. (The soundtrack deftly moved between Li’s melody from “Late Night Feelings” and the soulful, yearning vocals of Romy’s “Loveher.”) 

For Ronson, the experience felt most akin to scoring a film—a realm he ventured into for the first time recently, with his chart-topping soundtrack for Greta Gerwig’s Barbie. “Us musicians or producers are used to serving one master, which is to get the best song possible,” he said. “But what I realized by doing this is that you can have a great piece of music that Sabato would be happy to play in his car on a Sunday night, but it doesn’t necessarily align with how he’s viewing his collection, or what he wants people to feel. Although at some point, if you’re lucky, you end up in the same fever dream, and then everything that you do instinctually seems to be what the other person needs.”

The soundtrack to the forthcoming game – formerly known as FIFA – also features Mandy, Indiana, Ashnikko, The Last Dinner Party and Central Cee.

The new title – which marks a new chapter for the FIFA franchise, following the conclusion of EA and FIFA’s long-running partnership last year – is slated for release on 29 September, with early access from tomorrow (22 September).

Its accompanying soundtrack features over 100 artists from the worlds of rap, pop, electronic, indie and more, with Yaeji, King Krule, Central Cee, Ashnikko, Overmono, Snakehips with Tkay Maidza, Kendrick Lamar and Baby Keem, Mandy, Indiana, Bianca Oblivion, Jeshi, Obongjayar and more selected. Tweeting about their inclusion, Mandy, Indiana said: “ICYMI we have a song in the new FIFA soundtrack and I don’t know about you but I think that’s fucking hilarious”. The Last Dinner Party also reacted – see both tweets below.

ICYMI we have a song in the new FIFA soundtrack and I don’t know about you but I think that’s fucking hilarious pic.twitter.com/ix4N3iIsN6

— Mandy, Indiana (@MandyIndiana) September 20, 2023

can’t believe Nothing Matters is going to be a FIFA soundtrack song. that’s a whole generation of teenagers who will hear it and go ‘that’s a FIFA song’ for the rest of their lives

— The Last Dinner Party (@lastdinnerparty) September 20, 2023

Speaking on the soundtrack in a statement, Steve Schnur, Worldwide Executive and President of Music for Electronic Arts, said: “The premiere of EA SPORTS FC 24 delivers a definitive global soundtrack that builds on innovation and authenticity like never before. We’ve curated a player experience that celebrates diversity and discovery via new music and artists that defies genres, erases borders, creates football culture, and powers football life.”

The full game soundtrack is available to stream online now, check it out now. You can also listen to Mandy, Indiana’s recent Sunday Mix below.

Mattel Creations has an entire line of collectibles from “Barbie The Movie” this Holiday.

September 21, 2023 by Alex Yarde Leave a Comment

Mattel Creations has an entire line of collectibles from “Barbie The Movie” this Holiday. This is a banger! Barbie The Album is on everyone’s collectables list!

I’ll be covering Mattel at this years Toy Fair and had to let Barbie fans know about this pre-order while you can secure a copy!

SKU#: HYG44

This Mattel Creations Exclusive retails for $ 50.00. Ships on or before November 30, 2023 plenty of time for the Holidays!

You can pre-order your copy here. 

AS SEEN IN THE MOVIE

Remember the blowout party with all the Barbies? Mattel based it’s exclusive edition on the record being spun by the DJ in that awesome scene from the film.

All Artwork -©2023 Mattel. ©2023 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All rights reserved. (s23)

The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) has revealed the nominees for the inaugural ‘Best Use of an Australian Recording in an Advertisement’ awards.

The two new awards spawned from the ‘Our Soundtrack Our Stories’ initiative from ARIA, which calls for the local creative and advertising industry to “pledge their support of homegrown music by elevating its work with local voices, sounds and stories; encouraging creatives to invest music budgets into homegrown artists. ”

In other words – put Aussie artists in your ads!

As the list of nominees highlights, the message is spreading, and there are a lot of fantastic local campaigns using homegrown artists.

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With the current Spotify streaming rate sitting between $0.003 to $0.005 per stream, advertising is also a vital income source for Australian musicians.

The nominees were determined by a seven-judge panel: Beth Appleton, CEO at Jaxsta Music; Eric J Dubowsky, ARIA and Grammy-winning producer; Holly Rankin (aka Jack River); Justin Graham, Group CEO at M&C Saatchi AUNZ; Libby Minogue, CMO at Virgin Australia; Madeleine Stockwell, Marketing Manager at Smirnoff; and Mohamed Komba, senior director of local A&R at Warner Music.

Drumroll, please.

Nominees for Best Use of an Australian Recording in an Advertisement (under two minutes)

72andSunny / Google
Baker Boy – Helping You Help Others

M&C Saatchi Sydney / Tourism Australia
King Stingray – Come and Say G’day

The Brand Agency / Tourism WA
Empire Of The Sun – Walking On A Dream

BRING Agency / Wild Turkey
Matt Corby – Music 101: Trust Your Spirit

Nominees for Best Use of an Australian Recording in an Advertisement (over two minutes)

INNOCEAN Australia Pty Ltd / Australian Marine Conservation Society
John Williamson – Voice of the Sea

Bolster Group / Sims Sessions
Becca Hatch – Blessed

M&C Saatchi Sydney / Tourism Australia
King Stingray – Come and Say G’day short film

BRING Agency / Vodka Cruiser
The Veronicas – The Solo Project

ARIA CEO, Annabelle Herd, said: “We’re thrilled to see such a wide range of agencies and heavy hitting clients participate in the ARIA Awards’ first acknowledgment of the important role advertising can play in the careers of Australian artists, and the creative talent and clients who facilitate those opportunities deserve recognition on Australian music’s biggest stage.

“Congratulations to all the nominees and thank you for your support of our outstanding homegrown talent.”

The winners will be announced on November 15.

In the wake of a last-ditch September heatwave, another summer is slipping through our fingers. The weather is shifting from sun to showers, and the trees are assuming a warmer hue – autumn is just visible over the horizon. The season’s colder days and darker nights can often bring with them an unavoidable melancholy, but it also provides the optimal environment for fuzzy listening thanks to shoegaze. 

Autumn truly is shoegaze season. Blurry and distorted guitar-driven soundscapes provide the perfect accompaniment for months characterised by crunchy leaves and a desire to hibernate. There’s perhaps no other comfort as soothing or as seasonal as losing yourself in Kevin Shields’ warped tones or Rachel Goswell’s soft vocals.

Edwards, who ended up using the real, flesh-and-blood human Hans Zimmer for the soundtrack of his movie, said he played the AI-generated track back to the composer. Zimmer, he said, found it amusing. Zimmer wasn’t reachable for comment. 

Edwards’s experiment speaks to an issue at the heart of one of the biggest fights facing Hollywood today. Artists and creatives are up in arms over generative AI. Hollywood is currently at a standstill as actors and writers are striking over fairer labor conditions and the use of generative AI in the film industry. There is also fierce pushback from authors and artists who argue that tech companies steal their intellectual property by indiscriminately scraping the web for images and text. Prominent artists such as comedian and author Sarah Silverman have sued AI companies for copyright infringement. 

It’s still early days for music-generating AI, which might explain why Edwards got the results he did, says Henry Ajder, an expert in generative AI. 

“From my experience, some quite simple AI music is pretty convincing. It’s difficult to tell the difference between an AI-generated composition and a human performed composition,” he says.  

The Brill Building is where Bob Feldman and his songwriting brethren practiced their trade. Photo by Getty Images

By Dan Epstein
September 19, 2023

When songwriter and record producer Bob Feldman passed away Aug. 23 at the age of 83, we lost another giant of 1960s Brill Building pop.

Born in Brooklyn to Orthodox Jewish parents, Feldman initially considered becoming a cantor before he channeled his vocal talents into singing doo-wop on the street corners of Brighton Beach. He began writing songs of his own with the help of neighborhood pal Jerry Goldstein, and the pair’s early efforts were promising enough to attract the attention of Jack Lewis, an A&R man at United Artists Records. With Lewis as his mentor, Feldman quickly learned the ropes of the music industry, including how to hustle songs to the wide array of music publishers who populated midtown Manhattan.

Like many burgeoning songwriters of the time, Feldman and Goldstein got their foot in the door by writing novelty songs and “answer” records whose lyrics referenced another artist or hit. With Lewis, they penned The Kittens’ “A Letter to Donna,” a 1959 tribute to the recently deceased Ritchie Valens; in 1961, as Bob and Jerry, they wrote and recorded “We’re the Guys (Who Drive Your Baby Wild),” a reply to Barry Mann’s “Who Put the Bomp (In the Bomp, Bomp, Bomp).” The songs weren’t anybody’s idea of art, but it didn’t matter — Feldman and Goldstein were making connections and getting their names on the labels of actual releases.

But their partnership with Richard Gottehrer, a fellow songwriter they’d met while hanging around the waiting room at a publisher’s office, was what finally put Feldman and Goldstein in the charts.

“I was the dreamer, Jerry was the schemer, and Richie was the voice of reason,” was how Feldman once described their dynamic; whatever their secret, the trio managed to write and produce well over a hundred songs together between 1962 and 1966, many of which are now rightly considered classics of the era.

After the three men amicably went their separate ways in the late 1960s, Feldman stayed in the business primarily as a producer, with credits including such now-legendary records as Link Wray’s self-titled 1971 LP and The Belmonts’ Cigars, Acappella, Candy in 1972. To honor his passing, here are  10 great songs co-written by Feldman that not only showcase the range of his Goldstein and Gottehrer’s writing, but also demonstrate the broadness of their appeal among artists and fans.

The Jive Five — What Time Is It?

A moody vocal group ballad with clever “clockwork” flourishes, “What Time Is It?” proved that Feldman had learned his doo-wop lessons well. This gorgeous 1962 single only made it to #67 on the Billboard Hot 100, but is now widely hailed as a prime example of the form.

The Angels — My Boyfriend’s Back

Feldman, Goldstein and Gottehrer had a knack for grabbing ideas out of the air and turning them into songs. While visiting his local candy store in Brighton Beach, Feldman overheard a girl crossly informing some guy, “My boyfriend’s back and you’re gonna get it!”— and before the week was out, FGG had not only written “My Boyfriend’s Back,” but also produced a recording of it with New Jersey girl group The Angels. The sassy song shot to #1 in the summer of 1963, establishing FGG as a hit-making force; the immortal line “If I were you, I’d take a permanent vacation” later inspired the title of a 1987 Aerosmith album.

Ronnie Dio and The Prophets — Gonna Make It Alone

Originally intended as his first U.S. single for Columbia after the singer left Laurie Records, Dion’s version of the FGG-penned “Gonna Make It Alone” was ditched by the label at the last minute in favor of “Ruby Baby,” though it would still be released as a single in the Netherlands. Future metal god Ronnie Dio — then a 20-something rocker working the bars of upstate New York — took an impressive crack at the song in 1963, though he’d have to wait another decade or so before finally reaching the charts as the frontman of Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow.

The Strangeloves — Night Time

When the British Invasion hit the U.S. shores in 1964, Feldman, Goldstein and Gottehrer tried to go it one better by launching a one-band “Australian Invasion.” Figuring that most Americans had no idea what Australians looked or sounded like, they pretended to be a band of zebra-vested brothers from “down under” who had escaped their parents’ sheep farm to play rock and roll. Though it’s unclear how many people actually bought the ruse, quite a few of them did purchase Strangeloves singles — including this pounding 1965 ode to nocturnal recreation, which made it to #30 on the Hot 100. Anthologized by Lenny Kaye on 1972’s massively influential Nuggets compilation, “Night Time” has also been covered by Dr. Feelgood, the J. Geils Band, George Thorogood, and (believe it or not) British goths Bauhaus.

The Beach-Nuts — Out In The Sun (Hey-O)

A deeply underrated summer pop gem, 1965’s “Out in the Sun (Hey-O)” took the island vibe of Harry Belafonte’s “Banana Boat Song” and dropped it firmly into the Coney Island sand. Essentially a one-off collaboration between the Angels and the Strangeloves, the song was also one of the first pop-rock tracks to feature backing from a steel band, and definitely deserved better than its lowly “bubbling under” placement on the Billboard charts.

The Sorrows — Cara-Lin

The Strangeloves’ simple, heavily rhythmic songs are almost proto-punk in their emphasis on energy and attitude over complex chord changes — and “Cara-Lin” has unsurprisingly been revived numerous times over the years by such aficionados of the down n’ dirty as The Fleshtones, The Headcoatees and Roy Loney. But for my money, the best cover of the song is this 1965 version by British mods The Sorrows, whose tough sound and intense delivery really takes “Cara-Lin” to the next level.

The Birds — Say Those Magic Words

Feldman, Goldstein and Gottehrer struck gold again in 1965 when they produced a cover of Wes Farrell and Bert Berns’ “Hang On Sloopy” for Ohio youngsters The McCoys, who featured a 16 year-old Rick Derringer on lead guitar. Following that record’s massive success, they went on to produce three albums and eight more singles for the band, including the FGG co-penned (with Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman) 1966 raver “Say Those Magic Words.” The McCoys’ version was good, but this one by British mods The Birds — featuring a young Ron Wood on guitar — is absolutely sizzling.

David Bowie — Sorrow

Another FGG song originally cut by The McCoys, “Sorrow” wound up becoming a massive UK hit in 1966 for British band The Merseys, and was even briefly quoted by George Harrison at the end of The Beatles’ “It’s All Too Much.” These days, however, this tuneful lament is probably best remembered for David Bowie’s sax-and-strings-stoked version, which was included on his 1973 covers album Pin-Ups.

Bow Wow Wow — I Want Candy

The Strangeloves took their original version of “I Want Candy” all the way to #11 in 1965, and the song has been covered numerous times since then, with versions by everyone from British beat rockers Brian Poole and The Tremoloes to NYC no wavers 8 Eyed Spy to teen pop singer Aaron Carter. But the definitive version is arguably the stomping 1982 cover by British new wave combo Bow Wow Wow, which introduced countless MTV viewers to the Bo Diddley beat.

The Pooh Sticks — The Rhythm of Love 

Covered in 1966 by The Merseys, the flipside of The Strangeloves’ “Night Time” received a radical reworking 25 years later by Welsh indie-pop deviants The Pooh Sticks, complete with a guitar break that, for whatever reason, quotes Neil Young’s “Powderfinger.” It’s a weird and wonderful version, completely on its own trip yet very much in in tune with Feldman, Goldstein and Gottehrer’s playful approach.