The Soundtrack needs a reboot

[IbanezJFS]

Ok so I decided to buy the Soundtrack and I gotta say...It's a flop. I have been a musician and a music junkie for 15 years and to me Soundtracks to movies are suppose to be a collection of songs that not only inspire the movie but fit for the movie as well. With the acception of Breaking Point by Megadeth and Speed of Light by Joe Satriani none of these songs fit. Don't get me wrong Walk The Dinosaur is a GREAT song but my only problem is the version that was made for the music video is so much better than what's on the soundtrack (Although that keyboard and sax solo is pretty solid). As for Almost Unreal, Love Is The Drug, and I would stop the world I know those songs are featured in the movie. But this is an ACTION film, love plays a very small role in this movie so you need music that inspires action and frankly Rock/Metal is great for that. So this is my new selection of songs that should be on a rebooted version of the soundtrack and why. And please feel free to look these songs up.

1. Super Villain by Powerman 5000-This is the perfect theme song to any and all bad guys it inspires action as well as evil.
2. Enemy by Sevendust-This song inspires a good fight weather its hand to hand combat or humanoids vs dino-oids
3. Not for nothing by Stones Of Madness-To me this song demonstrates that both Mario and Luigi's efforts actually meant something more than just rescuing a someone.
4. The War Is Over by TRUSTcompany-This song sounds like it would fit well with the destruction of King Koopa.
5. What Happens Now by COLD-This song to me would feel like the citizens of Dino Hatten are waiting for a hero to save the day
6 Walking In Circles by Dead By Sunrise-This is song is already about people living with an opresive Government so it already fits.
7. Wait For Me by Flaw-I need to have at least 1 love song in there somewhere and to me this fits the feeling of Luigi leaving Daisy behind.
8. Fear is a place to live by KoRn-this is probably how the people of Dino-Hatten feel
9. Labyrinth by Oomph!-Thins song makes me think of Daisy lost in Koopa's tower as he's trying to get her.
10. Getting Away With Murder by Papa-roach-To me this is all about Koopa getting away with everything he has done to people.

So what do you all think?

[SethRex]

To me the only true soundtrack that needs to be released is the score. And sadly they did not do that.

[Serum]

No, just no. There's nothing wrong with the soundtrack. It reflects the era the movie was made and took place in and changing that to contemporary music would be an abomination of George Lucas standards.

[IbanezJFS]

Nothing about the soundtrack feels like Super Mario Bros. It may fit and feel right in certain scenes but Soundtracks are made to help promote a movie and the feeling you will get from seeing it. This film is suppose to be a live action thrill ride and I don't get that feeling from listening to these songs. It doesn't matter what era it's in, what matters is whats going on in the film plus the emotions you may feel and then translating that through songs.

[Serum]

Nothing about the soundtrack feels like Super Mario Bros. It may fit and feel right in certain scenes but Soundtracks are made to help promote a movie and the feeling you will get from seeing it. This film is suppose to be a live action thrill ride and I don't get that feeling from listening to these songs. It doesn't matter what era it's in, what matters is whats going on in the film plus the emotions you may feel and then translating that through songs.

I've never had a problem with the music used in the film. And yes, it does matter what era the movie is in, it's a reflection of the times and the culture of that era. When you say it "doesn't feel like Super Mario Bros.," do you mean the movie or the games? Because the games are virtually meaningless to both the movie and me-- the viewer, who is watching the movie as its own being, not something necessarily attached to a video-game.

Now, I respect your opinion as a musician, my brother is a musician, he probably shares a lot of the same opinions and ideas as you, I am not a musician, I haven't a musical bone in my body, but I'm a aficionado of the Super Mario Bros. movie and I can tell you that it is perfect in every way, right down to the music.

[Roareye]

Nothing about the soundtrack feels like Super Mario Bros. It may fit and feel right in certain scenes but Soundtracks are made to help promote a movie and the feeling you will get from seeing it. This film is suppose to be a live action thrill ride and I don't get that feeling from listening to these songs. It doesn't matter what era it's in, what matters is whats going on in the film plus the emotions you may feel and then translating that through songs.

A few things wrong with your statements, in my opinion at least.

Firstly, the core quality of a soundtrack is usually based upon the orchestral themes, in the case of SMB it would be the music by Alan Silvestri, which unfortunately has not been given a proper release. This is what needs to be seen more.

Secondly, if you are looking at changing the pop tunes to something far more fitting for the movie, then rock/metal is NOT the way to go. Surely the better way to go would be tracks more inspired by the video game soundtrack? That way it would link in more with the game world is is partially attempting to emulate and I would much prefer that as I am a video gaming fan (As were many people who went to watch it). And if you were going to update songs (Because 8 bit music in movies wasn't popular back then) then you would most certainly utilise techno, not metal. Video game music is connected directly to techno based on the instruments used to make the original themes, and at the time music from the Commodore Amiga was so impressive that it would have blown the socks off of any rock soundtrack. 80s/90s rock worked for Bill and Ted, as it fit the theme, it wouldn't work for SMB. And even then, all of this is on the possibility of changing the soundtrack - that would change the tone of the movie. I'm all up for a re-edit, just as a curiosity piece, but metal? No thanks.

Thirdly, SMB with metal music appeals to you, only you and nobody else in the world bar your mass minority. I get it, when I was a teenager I was a grunger and listened to lots of metal and heavy rock - imported the stuff from over the world in fact. And at that time I believed all things were improved with an angry raging metal track - how could it sound BETTER? Unfortunately, as you get older, you realise how much of that aggression is just burning an overdose of hormones. Don't get me wrong, the really awesome metal tracks stick because they are truly excellent, but the majority of that stuff becomes very old hat fast.

What that means is that making a metal music version of SMB is appealing to a limited/negligible audience, won't be appreciated by many over 20 and doesn't connect to any new audiences. Replacing it with more techno/rock inspired versions of game tunes expands the audience more than metal because it opens it up to more of the game audience it was originally focusing on - giving more chances to reap in profit. This I would be more in favour for.

At the end of the day, however, if there was something that needed some changing I would be focusing on other things than the soundtrack. The entire movie is stuck in 1993, down to the effects, location, set design and film colouring. Replacing the soundtrack with one from the 2000s and in a different genre suddenly breaks the feeling of the period it was built in. Unlike Blade Runner, SMB isn't timeless - it IS 1993. Keep it in 1993, it just makes sense to do so. It'd be like editing Fresh Prince of Bel Air to have Gangsta Rap music in it - a complete abomination. The only soundtrack upgrade the film needs is a decent release of the film's orchestral score, a Blu-Ray release with a DTS-Master HD 5.1 lossless soundtrack and maybe some additional editing in of deleted scenes. Heavy metal music doesn't even reach the list.

[IbanezJFS]

@serum I am of course talking about the movie and not the game. This movie is an action/adventure film and a soundtrack should reflect that. Sure there is a little bit of love in this but it's not the mane focus of the movie. People go to comedies to see the laughter. People go to Romances to see the love. And people go to Action movies to see the adventure and the album hardly reflects that. It does not need 3 love songs. Just one or two will work and as I said before Walk The Dinosaur by George Clinton was a GREAT idea but the version we paid for is not as good as the music video. The arrangement for the video was so much better if we had that version along with the keyboard and sax solo from the album it would be perfect. As for the era, I it's still not that important because as I said before the soundtrack needs to reflect the movie and not the era. The film is what's important not the decade that it was filmed in

@Roareye first off It says on the front cover Original Motion Picture "Soundtrack" so that's what i'm gonna call it. Secondly, did you even listen to the songs I suggested? I specifically chose songs that WERE NOT screaming down a microphone metal/rock because the action in this movie is not that extreme. These songs I believe are the right setting for the actions in this film. The action scenes in Triple X were rather big and extreme so they had songs by Hatebreed, Drowning Pool, and Rammstein (As well as some rap songs which to me just does not feel right at it's core Rapper are just talking over a beat. Very little of them actually sing. So it feels like there's nothing there). And those songs fit the bill but pop songs for an action adventure film doesn't fit. It may work for certain scenes during the movie but as I said soundtracks are made to promote the film. Which means for people who have not yet scene it and listening to these songs does not give me the impression its going to be an Action thrill ride (Accept for Breaking point, speed of light, and maybe where are you going).

Third of all, I am 27 years old. I have no teen angst anymore you would be very surprised just how many old people still love heavy metal even today's stuff. As I said I chose songs that I believe a general audience would be ok with. A band like Cannibal Corpse would scare the mainstream audience away but these songs are much more pleasant to the ear for that crowd. Plus since we are trying to to get the film re-released on Blue ray and there is currently an official online comic book series in the works of what would have been the sequel and trying to recruit people to join us then it sounds like we are trying to reach out to a new generation people who aren't familiar with movie and trying to change the older generations minds. To me this collection of songs or these kind of songs would fit better to reflect the movie as a whole.

[Serum]

They made the movie, they used the music they used-- you can't change it, nor should you.

Because when you change a movie that was made years before, you end up with this...

[ultimateemail5000]

There i absolutely no reason to change the music in this film. It is fine the way it is, the music fits the way it is. It does not need to be George Lucafied. If anything it needs is deleted scenes intact for an extended cut.

[Serum]

There i absolutely no reason to change the music in this film. It is fine the way it is, the music fits the way it is. It does not need to be George Lucafied. If anything it needs is deleted scenes intact for an extended cut.

Yes, and using only music they intended to use in those scenes at the time, from that time, if any at all besides the score.

[IbanezJFS]

There i absolutely no reason to change the music in this film. It is fine the way it is, the music fits the way it is. It does not need to be George Lucafied. If anything it needs is deleted scenes intact for an extended cut.

I'm not talking about the music in the film. I am talking about the music on the CD that was used to promote it.

[Serum]

Nothing needs to be changed-- the CD that was used to promote it came out twenty years ago, making a new one would not only be pointless, but a waste of money.

[IbanezJFS]

Im not saying we invest money into it. I'm just saying the songs that were chosen to appear on the CD even for that time don't reflect the movie that well. So if I could give it a reboot this is what I would choose.

[WildWinger88]

The soundtrack is fine the way it is in my opinion. It fits the movie and that's what matters.

[IbanezJFS]

The soundtrack is fine the way it is in my opinion. It fits the movie and that's what matters.

If your talking the score then yes but the whats on the CD...Nope, it hardly reflects the emotions and experience. Sure some songs are played in certain scenes but their not the main focus of the film. This is an action film and these songs hardly reflect that.

[Roareye]

I think that, personally, the idea of replacing the themes with metal/rock songs in itself would stop me being interested. As it has nothing to do with the original movie, nor anything to do with the games it would not fit in well.

I'm also not too keen on films that only have heavy soundtracks, as orchestral music fits the tone better. I understand you're not talking about replacing the orchestral tracks here, but then how will the original orchestral score match in with this new rock music? I don't think it would gel together too well - even just to satisfy having a 'better' soundtrack CD.
I would actually state that it would sell more by replacing those songs with video game songs, remade using modern equipment - even rock equipment. Something comical in the guise of System Of A Down's "Legend of Zelda";
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r16jHtdCuGc

That way the themes of the Mario games would be added in, opening the movie up to more of it's original intended audience base, and the rock genre would fit in better with the orchestral themes and feel of the movie. Super Mario Bros just isn't a movie that will work on "serious" music, as it's a silly film at it's best (That's not me berating it, I love the silliness of it).

Again, this all comes down to whether or not it's worth changing up the music at all, as the film is so late 80s/early 90s it's untrue. The acting, the themes, the music, the score, the script, the dystopia - they don't fit a modern movie.
And trust me, I saw Nosferatu on DVD and it was fantastic (It was the first vampire movie made in the 1920s), however the second disc had the same movie with "modern" music. Watching a 1920s silent movie with heavy metal music blaring out was jarring and made that version of the film entirely unwatchable. I know you didn't choose the heaviest tracks but if you MUST replace the music, the only viable replacements are remakes of the original game tracks as they are the only tracks that fit in with the universe of the movie.

[Phlibbit]

I saw Nosferatu on DVD and it was fantastic (It was the first vampire movie made in the 1920s), however the second disc had the same movie with "modern" music. Watching a 1920s silent movie with heavy metal music blaring out was jarring and made that version of the film entirely unwatchable. I know you didn't choose the heaviest tracks but if you MUST replace the music, the only viable replacements are remakes of the original game tracks as they are the only tracks that fit in with the universe of the movie.

Nice comparison! I didn't know that there was a version of Nosferatu that attempted to add a "modern" score. That just sounds like a bad idea. I can't imagine that worked too well.