Even better for most of us was when we got the opportunity to see a film that combined one of those two genres with music, especially heavy music. And over the years leading up to 1994 we had seen a good selection of them. “This is Spinal Tap” was one of the first of course, but then we had films such as “Trick or Treat”, “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure” and then “Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey”, and of course “Wayne’s World”. Some were better than others, and some have definitely not aged well over the years, but at the time they were fun.
In 1994 came the film “Airheads”, starring Brendan Fraser, Steve Buscemi and Adam Sandler, along with other terrific actors and some musical cameos as well. It tells the tale of a band who are trying to get signed for a record contract but can’t seem to crack the system, and so in trying to get their latest single some airplay they accidently find they have taken over the radio station hostage, and as they say in the classics, ‘hilarity ensues’. I still love the film, I still laugh in all the right places, and the fact that the lead actor is now an Academy Award winner is even more fitting.
With movies like this, the soundtrack is important in setting the scene and the mood throughout, and having watched the film and enjoyed the music, I decided to go out and buy the soundtrack to the album, based mainly on the song that plays over the opening titles, and the song that acts as the single that the band in question are trying to get airplay for in the movie. And as with all soundtracks to movies like this, you should expect to get some cream and some crud.
As with most soundtrack albums, what you get here on the “Airheads” soundtrack is a mix of bands that almost everyone will know, along with a side order of bands you have never heard of, or are likely to hear of again. And often that doesn’t matter of course, as long as you enjoy the song they do.
Also according to most soundtracks, all of the songs you hear snatches of in the movie won’t necessarily appear on the soundtrack, due to artist or record company contractual obligations. So buying a soundtrack can sometimes be a tricky thing. Mostly, in my own experience, buying a soundtrack comes down to it having songs that appear nowhere else, not on an artist's own album or as a single. At least, back in the days prior to streaming and downloading.
White Zombie’s song here, for instance, was written for the movie. “Feed the Gods” is played in the movie in the bar scene where Chris Farley’s character is trying to track down the girlfriend of Brendan Fraser’s character. Indeed, the band in the bar playing the song IS White Zombie, and it sounds great in the movie. Also written for this album was “Bastardizing Jellikit” by Primus, so already you are in front if you buy the album. Then you have songs by two veterans of their craft, “Inheritance” by Prong which is very enjoyable, and “We Want the Airwaves” by Ramones, which is still a great song as well.
Other artists, mostly not well known, have tracks on this album, such as “No Way Out” by DGeneration, “Can’t Give In” by Candlebox, “Curious George Blues” by Dig, “I’ll Talk My Way Out of It” by Stuttering John, and “Fuel” by Stick.
There are two cover songs also on this album, and one that is a sort-of cover song. 4 Non-Blondes do a cracking cover of the Van Halen song “I’m the One” which plays during one of the important scenes in the movie. One can only assume that Van Halen weren’t going to allow their actual version to be used, which seems a shame. On top of this, Anthrax do a crushing cover of The Smiths song “London” which does defeat the original easily. And finally we have the opening track to the album, and the film as it turns out, the Motorhead track “Born to Raise Hell”, here re-recorded and including both Ice-T and Whitfield Crane from Ugly Kid Joe as guest vocalists. Is it something that they needed to have? A re-recorded version that would earn more money with these two artists attached? I don’t know, and while I enjoy this version, the original Motorhead version is still by far the better one.
I saw this movie in Sydney with my wife and her brother, as we were living there at the time, in mid-1994. I thought it was great, and laughed all the way through it, as did Peter. Helen... weeeelll she was a little less enthused about it all. Sometimes there is no accounting for taste. One of my man memories of watching the movie that first time was when the brothers took Chazz back to their flat, and the walls being adorned by posters of lots of bands that I knew and liked listening to – and there was one of a band I didn’t know, a band called Therapy? For their first album “Nurse” And at the time I thought ‘wow, Therapy?, I should probably check them out!’ And that set me down the road to seeing them live about nine months later, and buying their album “Troublegum”, and an obsession was born.
While watching the movie for the first time, there were a few songs through the movie that attracted me. The song over the opening titles that was obviously Motorhead. The song the band was playing in the bar. The song that I guessed from the closing titles was by Anthrax (not that I was aware that it was a cover song at the time), and the song that acted as The Lone Rangers (yes that was the name of the band in the movie) single release. And so I thought I should go out and get this soundtrack, and see if these songs are on it, and hopefully the rest of the album will be just as good! And so I did, heading down to the Virgin Megastore in Pitt Street and buying the soundtrack. And guess what?! These were the best four songs on the album! AND!!!... the rest was pretty average. Well, I tell a lie I guess. The Prong and Primus songs are good, as well as the Ramones song, and the cover of the Van Halen song is adequate if not as good as the original. So that covers about two-thirds of the album.
I have rarely pulled this album out since those days, generally only if I have watched the movie again, or want to hear The Lone Rangers playing “Degenerated” once again. And I have had it out again this week, and found that after one listen I didn’t really need to hear anymore. But that’s not how I operate, and after another five listens I decided I had enough to compose this review. And that is this – you don’t really need this, you don’t really need to buy it. The movie on the other hand, I still think is a classic, one I can rewatch any time. That would be a much better way to spend 90 minutes than listening to this soundtrack album again.
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