What's that song again?

Hey guys,

I'm Mark Blitch and I consider myself a filmmaker (doesn't everybody?) and a movie geek. I always loved those great Top 10 lists that Empire does (the Greatest Ending Moves I thought was great). So i thought, hey, that should be fun (random parenthesis).

Thanks for reading my first blog. What I'll be doing here is doing some Top 10 Lists from Movies/TV/Music, much like the one I will be doing today.

If any of you reading this, feel free to suggest any further topics for further posts. Alright, let's start this bad boy up.

This top ten list is in tribute of the music from trailers that you immediately download or buy almost immediately after you watch the trailer.

And yes, they are a little more current, so if you have some great older ones, feel free to comment below. But be warned, if any of you suggest Drowning Pool's "Bodies" for Jason X, I will hunt you down, and I will kill you.




10) The Song - Apocalypse Please -Muse
The Trailer - Unleashed (2005)




A lot of people don't think that this is a good movie, but i thought it was a great, kinetic action film. This trailer had me searching for what seems like days trying to find out who did the song at the end of this trailer. That search led me to Muse.
I immediately bought their CD. Even though the trailer features just the instrumental version, the album version is just as powerful.



9) The Song - Sweet Child O' Mine - cover by Taken by Trees
The Trailer - Last House on the Left (2009)




I do not for any reason want to see this movie. I remember watching the original when I was in college, and I turned it off. So I wasn't excited for the new one at all. I still won't see it, but by the beard of Zeus, this is a stickin' great trailer. And to cap it off, it features a haunting cover of Guns N' Roses' "Sweet Child O' Mine" by Taken by Trees. Never heard of them before, but I think I might seek out some more material from them. I'm a big "slow-build" guy when it comes to music. So when the drums come in with the piano and the tempo rises, man, it almost makes me want to see the movie. Key word: Almost.



8) The Song - Just Like You've Imagined - Nine Inch Nails
The Trailer - 300




This was one of the best trailers of 2007. Actually, I'm not sure when this trailer came out, it might have been December of 2006. Not sure. This is one of those songs that you put in your car and just start acting like a badass. Everything you do is immediately badass. You turn on your turn signal - badass. You lock the doors - badass. When you get a flat tire, you badassly turn on the hazards and put on the spare, all while speed-ramping. I remember having this on my Painting Mix when I painted the inside of my house. Using Xerxes' army as the primer.



7) The Song - Let Go - Frau Frau
The Trailer - Garden State




I really loved this trailer. I was in college doing film stuff and I thought that it was the coolest trailer ever. Looking at it again, the trailer is kinda not so great. It's essentially a collection of cool indie shots set to Frau Frau's "Let Go." Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, it just doesn't tell me anything about the plot. No hook. But there is no doubt that this movie catapulted the already disbanded Frau Frau to new heights. Imogen Heap could probably owe her career to Zach's soundtrack, which actually won a Grammy. I hear she is fantastic live, and I also love her equally great "Hide and Seek," which was to be played at my funeral until the SNL "Dear Sister" sketch. Damn you Lonely Island.



6) The Song - Unrecorded - M83
The Trailer - Night Watch (Nochnoi dozor) (2004)




I was, again, in college when i saw this trailer. It was mindblowing. I was sure that this film would be studied in film school for years to come. It was impossible for this movie to be bad. And when Unrecorded came in at 1:30 in trailer, it immediately rose up to the top of my list of must-see movies. I saw it, with subtitles AND dubbed in English, and I still couldn't tell you what it was about. At all. Something about a vortex. But M83's Unrecorded is still one of those songs that when I hear it, it brings me back to that feeling of what-could-have-been. Still a darn fine trailer.



5) The Song - The Day the Whole World Went Away - Nine Inch Nails
The Trailer - Terminator Salvation (2009)




My 2nd NIN song. I was already psyched about a new Terminator movie. Even with McG at the helm. He can't mess it up. It's too good of a story, and with the greatest actor of our generation, Christian Bale, along with the polishings of one Jonathan Nolan, it will be great. I don't care what you guys have to say about it, it will be awesome. I was in love with the first teaser, the first trailer, and then this one came along and blew the socks off that one. I'll admit, I was turned off by the song first (Really? No Immediate Music? A Nine Inch Nails song?). But as soon as Marcus looked down at himself and let out that anguishing, "Nooooo!" and then the drums hit and I was sold. I bought the song and was severely disappointed because all the parts that I loved in the trailer were all static-y. I tried to find the exact version, and I hear the Green Mix is the closest, but I will not rest until I get that trailer remix, which I hear was done by Clint Mansell or Danny Elfman. It is my Moby Dick.



4) The Song - Paper Planes - MIA
The Trailer - Pineapple Express (2008)




I pretty much immediately loved this song. I bought pretty instantaneously, maybe before I finished the trailer. Sadly, I'm in the minority that didn't like Pineapple Express, but it doesn't mean that I cannot rock out to Paper Planes driving in my Mazda Protege. You know that a song is great when you start hearing it everywhere. It was huge in clubs, and was nominated for several Grammys (unfortunately, I think the only real memorable part of MIA during the Grammys was that her water practically broke on stage. Seriously, it was like watching a little kid poking at a maxed out water balloon; the thing's gonna pop eventually). But Hollywood took a cue from the PE trailer and stuck it in Slumdog Millionaire, which of course, won Best Picture this year.



3) The Song- Wake Up - Arcade Fire
The Trailer- Where the Wild Things Are (2009)




I know that I've read Where the Wild Things Are. I'm positive. I just can't remember a lick about it. I remember the cover of the book better than anything else. With that said, this trailer floored me. And, much like Garden State (but in a much more effective way), it is a montage of clips set to Arcade Fire's "Wake Up." The images correspond beautifully with the song. This is one of those trailers I get chills in. I didn't think twice about downloading it immediately after watching it, not realizing that one of my co-workers could have just copied it over from his computer. Ah, I don't care, it's worth the .99 cents.



2) The Song - Hoppipolla - Sigur Ros
The Trailer - Children of Men (2006)




I'm probably gonna get a lot of flack for this. But I did not like Children of Men. I thought that it was a visual masterpiece and that the 2 long takes should be in every film class to look at in awe. But for some reason, I just didn't care. I feel heartless. I had this movie on a RIDICULOUSLY HIGH pedestal and it just didn't live up to it. I thought the ending was a copout. I really want to see this again, so that I might be redeemed with a second viewing.

But I digress. My hope for this movie started when I saw this unforgettable trailer. And much like Night Watch, when Hoppipolla came in towards the end, it lifted me to the rafters. This song is so beautiful. I wanted to learn how to play piano solely for the reason that I wanted to play this song.



1) The Song - Journey to the Line - Hans Zimmer
The Trailer - Pearl Harbor (2001)




Simply put, the greatest trailer of all time. I said it. Read it again. It still says it. Yes, I know that "Journey to the Line" is from "The Thin Red Line." I do not care. This song is one of the most emotionally riveting songs ever composed (as if I have enough credibility to convince you). Whether its for this trailer, or for the Carnivale season 1 finale, it has brought me to tears many a time. I've sadly never seen Pearl Harbor. Not because I'm lazy. But because I've heard the movie does not compare the the perfection of this teaser trailer. But I really want to see it now, just again watching the trailer. I originally had this as number 2 on my list to Children of Men and Hoppipolla, but after watching it to embed, I changed my mind.




Honorable Mention (in no particular order):
Beowulf - In a Heartbeat - John Murphy (originally from 28 Days Later)
Jarhead - Jesus Walks - Kanye West
Sin City - Cells - The Servant (I prefer the instrumental to the real song)
Watchmen - Take a Bow - Muse AND Pruit Igoe & Prophecies - Philip Glass
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers - Summer Overture - Clint Mansell (I believe that this is the first use of the huge orchestral version)


Thanks for reading my first post. I'll try and do a Top Ten twice a week, so suggest what list should be next, I have a few I'm already thinking of. I also might post a review or two as well. Subscribe to my blog if you'd like.

Next blog: Top Ten Movie/TV Most Annoying Characters... who you ended up liking.


- SOFAB