Metal/Rock 'N Roll Songs In The 90s That Helped Push Horror & ScienceFiction Movies Of The Era To Their Limit

Escape From L.A. Is a great example of a movie whose soundtrack was so good that it made the movie even better! 

Each successive generation seems to have it's own type of music that teens just seem to absolutely love, and older people just seem to absolutely hate! Most of the time these types of music generally seem to gravitate toward some form of rock 'n roll music...

There was one form of rock music that seemed to heavily benefit for being apart of soundtracks in the 1990s, that being the, 'Metal' genre!

Now there are many great examples of this, but one of them that I thought that I would mention here is the soundtrack to, The Faculty (1998)!

The Faculty... One of the better teen horror/sci-fi movies of the 90s that was made even better due to the it's soundtrack!

There are some truly awesome metal heads/rockers that helped to form the awesomeness that is, 'The Faculty' soundtrack, including: "The Offspring', 'Creed', 'Soul Asylum' as well as, 'Class Of '99' and so many more! And out of them, there is some great music that came out of this soundtrack that for years after the movie still remained... And in some cases still does remain popular!

A couple of great examples of these are the two, 'Another Brick In The Wall' songs that were done by the one hit wonders, 'Class Of '99'! Another great example of this is the song, 'The Kids Aren't Alright', by: The Offspring!

And speaking of, 'The Kids Aren't Alright', this song, which came off of their album, 'Americana' is still to this day, one of the more popular songs that The Offspring has done from that era!

And another side of, 'The Offspring' that I thought that I would mention here, and which is the subject of the next movie that I thought that I would mention here, is the soundtrack to the movie, Idle Hands (1999).

A great soundtrack that made this movie even better then the awesomeness that it already has!

Now this movie had a lot of classic songs from a lot of amazing bands, but the one that I wanted to mention here, is Rob Zombie's 'Dragula'...

I know what you are thinking, why didn't I mention The Offspring's, 'I Wanna Be Sedated'... (And don't get me wrong, I do think this song has it's place as an influencer in this movie, just not the horror side...)

No, in this case, I thought that I would mention this song, because this song was a great song, and I feel like tonally, helped keep up the beat with the teen comedy side, as well as the horror side as well...

I will say that there are a lot more songs from that era that did their jobs admirably in how they influenced 90s horror, but these songs that I mentioned above, I do feel helped to push horror some of the best horror movies of the 90s to their limit!

Punk... A Genre That Made Popular Again In The 1990s Thanks To TheOffSpring

The OffSpring helped bring, 'Punk' in to the 1990s!

I would say that between the early to mid 1990s what was popular was, 'Grundge', and as the middle turned in the final years of the 1990s, as well the final days of the new millennium, that it finally turned over to Goth for some, and R&B for others...

But I would say (and this was true for a couple of different genre's that found this to be true... There is just one that I was thinking of that really was unfairly underrated that really did a nice job of keeping us kids entertained... That being Punk!

Punk... Now in the past Punk was a super star, in the 70s and 80s with bands like, 'Pink Floyd', you could say Punk really carved out a nice niche for it's.
Well by the 90s, they were still doing good, but not the same as it was when, 'Dead Kennedy's' were producing such amazing albums as, 'Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables' (1978)...

Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables was an amazing album that came out during the heyday of the Punk genre in the 70s! 

The fortunes of the world of punk in the 1990s began to change though with bands such as, 'The Offspring'... I mean these guys began producing some truly amazing music that would make it's way in to the hearts and minds of not just the music world, but also in the world of movies and TV...

A couple of classic examples of this of course being there appearance in 1997's classic Horror/Comedy, Idle Hands (1997), when in the dance scene, you can see The Offsrping clearly as the band that is playing at the concert hall... Also another great example of this is when they did a song for the classic 1998 soundtrack for the movie, 'The Faculty'!

There are a lot of great examples of punk out there, but to there credit, I do believe that The Offspring helped bring the world of Punk to the final years before the new millennium!

The Offspring: Cool To Hate (1997) - Song Review

[caption id="attachment_330" align="alignright" width="220"] Official Score = 2 1/2 Devils[/caption]

Believe it or not fright fans, but when I was in School my musical tastes tended to lend itself to the, 'bizarre'... And I don't mean that I listened to something that was dangerously over the top... No what I mean by this is that I used to listen to music that some would say is a little bit to old for me at that age... (I used to listen mostly to, 'Jazz', 'Sting' and the like... Music that didn't  befit a person of my age back in the mid 90s...)

Well the truth is, is that I still listen to that music frequently, but in the mid 90s I got introduced to the darker world of music (Heavy Metal, Rock & Punk, etc...) And you know what? I have never regretted it! But it wasn't until the last 90s when I would first be introduced to the world of, 'Punk' through the kick ass group, 'The Offspring' and their album, 'Ixnay On The Hombre'!

The reason that I mention this is that I am proud to be able to review the first punk song that I had ever heard, and that song of course being, 'Cool To Hate'!

The truth is, is this song is not the greatest song in the world, but when I first heard this song in the work room one summer when I had a part time summer job and the truth is, is I was and still am hooked!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="480"] A scene from the music video...[/caption]

Why is, 'punk' such an awesome genre? well simply put it has the same hardcore capacity as heavy metal but with a speed that makes the song more entertaining! And that goes along with this song as well!

I  hate to say this, but this song is not exactly one of the happiest songs in the world. but it has an awesome beat that works well for the most part,.. And despite the negative nature of this song, the lyrics are fun to work to! Although I will be honest, for me, being a fan of most forms of music, their are songs that are good for many reasons, but the truth is, is if a song can't be listened to for the sake of listening to it, then in all honesty, that song is probably not one of the greatest songs to be listening to... And the truth is, is that I did end up liking this song, but for the background music only...

In the end, this song opened up a whole new world of music for me, and the truth is that this song may not be the best in the world, but if you have a chance and are looking for some new music to check out, then check this out, I think you may like it!

http://youtu.be/sWQtcewDejQ

The Offspring: Americana (1997) - Song Review

[caption id="attachment_322" align="alignright" width="258"] Official Score = 1 1/2 Devils[/caption]

The Offspring... Now this is a band that has managed to kick some major ass over the past few decades... (pretty much since they were known as Manic Subsidal in the early 80s) and continues to kick ass even to this point!

And as a matter of fact, they still kick some major ass! But for me their 2 most memorable albums would have to be, Ixnay On The Hombre (The first album that I ever owned of theirs) and Americana, (The first album I ever bought just after it was released!)

Now the reason that these guys continue to consistently kick ass is that consistently, no matter what song they are singing, or the content of the music they are singing, they're energy, and the lively way they sing their music just has always kept me extremely interested in just about every song that I have ever heard from them!

You may be wondering why I am mentioning all of this... Well I hate to say it, but I am for the most part trying soften the blow to the fans out there... But like all good bands, there is always a song or 2 from time to time that even the most die hard fan is not going to like... And for me, that song I hate to say it is the song, 'Americana'...

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="684"] The masters of, 'The Offspring' who made this song happen: Dexter Holland, Noodles, Greg K. & Ron Welty![/caption]

Now before you fans out there become all shocked and appalled, I am going to say this, it is not a bad song per-say it does have a lot of elements of what makes, 'The Offspring' so awesome and has continued to keep them (in my opinion) at the top of their game... But the problem is that this song felt forced!

What I mean by that is that some songs (just like other forms of art from time to time), are some times forced... who knows why that is, but to me this song seemed pretty unoriginal, and sort of a, 'method' song... (What I mean by, 'method' song is that it seemed like it was sung based on a set routine and was never really deviated from... And thus was good, but never really innately a particularly unique song... (which is something that I do like in the Art that I enjoy.))
In the end despite this song, the band is a great band, and definitely worth checking out!

http://youtu.be/BZmVE6NaWVo