Tuesday, September 9, 2014

"A childhood... listening to pop hits on FM radio wasn't all for waste,"

If I get Alzheimer's (godforbid),  just play me the soundtrack of this summer's Guardians of the Galaxy: its goofy hero (Chris Pratt) planet-hops accompanied by a mix tape of '70s songs his mother made him when he was little. 
Even as my brain deteriorates, I bet I'd hum along to all the songs, including "Come and Get Your Love" (Redbone), “O-O-H Child” (The Five Stairsteps), and "I'm Not in Love" (10cc), which I know from hearing them over and over on my transistor radio when they were new. 

The movie is adequate enough, but its soundtrack is a blast and a half and saves the movie from being just a cute shoot-em-up version of Indiana Jones as a Marvel superhero. Theaters could have sing-along showings of the film, like the Sound of Music sing-alongs.  

The soundtrack has become a hit.  [You can buy it on iTunes, or just listen to all the songs on youtube here].
"Maybe that childhood spent locked in my room listening to pop hits on FM radio wasn't all for waste," says James Gunn, the movie's director, in a Rolling Stone article about the soundtrack he compiled. 

The star, Chris Pratt, plays the endearingly bumbling and plump (no longer) Andy Dwyer in TV's Parks and Rec. It kills me to read that he tried out to play Capt. Kirk in the new Star Trek. He would have brought ham and humor to the role, like Shatner, the original Kirk (below left), something Chris Pine's new Kirk has none of. 
"If you like piña coladas..."

[Fun article in the NYT, Goofy Guy Takes a Galactic Leap, about Pratt, who says, “I definitely benefited from growing up in a household that lacked any critical thinking skills,” he said. “Really.”
Yes, I can imagine that.]

2 comments:

Zhoen said...

They really worked that soundtrack. Glad you found the movie adequate.

Oh, found this, http://cargocollective.com/nickacosta/Star-Trek-in-Cinerama

Fresca said...

ZHOEN: It really was a FUN movie, but when I thought about watching it again, I thought it was, for me, just a one-time pleasure.

Thanks for that cool Star Trek link!