Summer movies of 1998: Powered by incredible soundtracks


A great soundtrack can take a movie to new heights or standalone as something better than the film itself. The summer of 1998 had both.

Believe it or not, it took Aerosmith 25 years to land their first (and only) number-one hit. "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" -- buoyed by its association with the summer movie Armageddon -- dominated the airwaves (radio and MTV's) from July on, even receiving an Oscar nod for best original song.

And it wasn't even written by anyone in the band. (Nod to Diane Warren, writer of some of the greatest pop songs of all time.)

Movie soundtracks, once upon a time, used to go hand-in-hand with the film release itself. Kenny Loggins owned the 1980's because of this very reason. Films -- outside the given norm of musicals -- were often tied with a song (or songs) that made it worth remembering.

The same can be said for Armageddon, Aerosmith, and the summer of 1998.

Along with a new version "Leaving on a Jet Plane" sung by Chantal Kreviazuk, a little Bob Seger, some Patty Smyth, and two other Aerosmith songs, fans were treated to this scene (underscored by "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing").


1998 am I right?

Godzilla was a summer film that also delivered on its soundtrack. Already discussed was the infamous P. Diddy/Jimmy Page collaboration. This song, however, barely scratches the surface of artists who contributed to this album. Names like Rage Against the Machine, The Wallflowers, Green Day, Ben Folds Five, and the Foo Fighters were laced throughout the liner notes.

And every single song included Godzilla's roar in the background.

It wouldn't be far-fetched to believe that, and Green Day did indeed add this very effect to its song "Brain Stew".

Another soundtrack that brought the firepower was from the film Can't Hardly Wait. Artists like Blink 182, Run DMC, Missy Elliott, Busta Rhymes, and Third Eye Blind were names highlighting this soundtrack.

And unlike Godzilla, the Can't Hardly Wait soundtrack delivered.

Plus, the film was blessed with the presence of a Guns N' Roses song:


The real hits from summer '98, though, belonged to Public Enemy and Pras (featuring Mya and ODB).

Public Enemy sprung to life with the song "He Got Game" from the movie of the same name. And Pras gave us "Ghetto Superstar" from Bulworth. Both songs were some of the best hip-hop to come out that year and were part of excellent movies.

Other notable soundtracks from the summer of '98: Mulan gave us "True to Your Heart (Mulan)", a collaboration between Stevie Wonder and -- yep, you guessed it -- 98 Degrees. And The Last Days of Disco took us back the sounds of the 1970's.

Tournament down to 16 films

The votes are in for the round of 32. Only two number-one seeds remain (Deep Impact, Saving Private Ryan) while your votes have sent a double-digit seed in each region through to the round of 16.

Voting continues on Twitter through the weekend so go vote to ensure your favorite film from the summer of 1998 advances.

May region:
  • 1) Deep Impact
  • 5) Bulworth
  • 11) Almost Heroes
  • 7) He Got Game
June region:
  • 8) Can't Hardly Wait
  • 4) X-Files
  • 14) Buffalo '66
  • 2) The Truman Show
July region:
  • 1) Saving Private Ryan
  • 13) BASEketball
  • 6) There's Something About Mary
  • 2) Armageddon
August region:
  • 9) Dead Man on Campus
  • 5) How Stella Got Her Groove Back
  • 14) Slums of Beverly Hills
  • 7) 54
Will some of the above-mentioned soundtracks help buoy their films forward? Or will double-digit seeds continue to prevail? Stay tuned.

A few of my favorite soundtracks: The Graduate, Harold and Maude, Boogie Nights, Good Will Hunting, and The Social Network. (These are but a handful. I'd wager 20% of my music collection consists of movie soundtracks.)

Be sure to follow Jason on Twitter to stay up-to-date for the latest on this tournament, plus thoughts on sports, pop culture and more: @jasonrh_78

photo credit: publicdomainpictures.net

Comments

Donald Fruz said…
I really enjoyed your blog post about the summer movies of 1998 and the incredible soundtracks that were attached to these movies. It was about these soundtracks that I realized that a soundtrack can transform a movie into something better than the film. It was also a great article to share with others because the reader can see how a soundtrack can take a film to new heights. 0gomovies