REVIEW: Soundtrack, Hurricane Streets (Mammoth)
- Sean Eric McGill
We've heard the story before - a maverick young filmmaker goes out and makes a movie practically all by himself, with a virtually unknown cast and crew. Then, said movie gets some recognition at film festivals and picks up a distributor. And since the movie is about young people, there just has to be a soundtrack, filled with the kind of music the young people in the movie (and the ones watching) would listen to.
And when it comes to getting a lot of artists out in one package, soundtracks are the undisputed king. They give you the ability to not only package a lot of different artists together, but they occasionally give you the chance to showcase a lot of newer talent, and occasionally blend genres (as witnessed by the soundtracks to Judgment Night and Spawn ).
The soundtrack to Hurricane Streets is like that. Where else but on a soundtrack will you find established rap acts like De La Soul sharing space with current alternative flavor of the month Atari Teenage Riot? The movie itself is about young street kids, and the album does actually feel like a collection of music young street kids would listen to, which I suppose is the greatest compliment one could pay a soundtrack.
As for the songs, while they do span a variety of genres, only rarely do they step completely out of the ever-expanding realm of "alternative", and when they do, they're hitting in a genre which has become more and more accepted in alternative culture, rap.
The album opens with "Change" by Shadez of Brooklyn. With its melodic groove and catchy raps, "Change" is one of the best tracks on the album. And while I didn't quite get the buzz a few months ago when they first came to my attention, Atari Teenage Riot's self-titled song also counts among the best on the album.
But it is rare that you see a soundtrack without any truly established artists on it, and Hurricane Streets is no exception. And, as often is the case, the true genius on the album is in their contributions. Vic Chesnutt, perhaps the most talented songwriter in popular music, contributes the previously released "Gravity of the Situation", by far the best track on the album. And while the music of Peter Salett isn't familiar to me, his contribution, "Walking Dream" easily qualifies as second-best.
Other tracks, like "The Foundation" by Kzibit and a cover of "Stayin' Alive" by Supple are engaging at first listen, but quickly lose their appeal, particularly "Stayin' Alive". In the past year and a half, I have found two covers of "Stayin' Alive" on soundtrack albums; the other being Siobhan Lynch's version on the soundtrack to Supercop . Both times I was intrigued at first, but was able to quickly dismiss the song itself. Of course, part of the reason may be that I never really liked "Stayin Alive" to begin with.
But anyways, that's another story altogether. The bottom line is that the soundtrack to Hurricane Streets is, overall, a quality product. There's more new talent here than established acts, but it's the established acts that really carry the day. If the movie is as good as the soundtrack, then certainly the prospects are good. By the way, you might want to hang on to this review - the movie itself doesn't open until January 8, 1998. Don't you just love Hollywood?
