An estimated 92% of us experience earworms. Despite the annoying times we can’t get a chorus or a hook of an overplayed pop song out of our heads, getting a really good earworm stuck can be one of the best things, ever. We here at Nerdist are dead set on bringing you those types of songs—even if only for the weekend. So shove this into your grey matter!
Happy Comic Con to one and all! I’m writing this on the Tuesday before but I imagine that, by now, anyone who was at SDCC is feeling a fair mixture of delight, accomplishment, and exhaustion having made it through the week. Considering when this column usually publishes on the site, I’d wager I’m airborne right about now and taking a much needed nap in the sky on my way back to Chicago. I’m likely sunburned too despite this warning I’m giving myself right now. Blake. Wear sunscreen you dolt!
Anyways, I figured this week it’d be silly not to share something SDCC-related in some way so I’ve settled upon notable music within the more recent Marvel movies. I suppose this would be a “Music of MCU Phase 3” column but there are a few movies that, for the purposes of this column, just don’t cut the mustard. The movies I left out were Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World and Avengers: Age of Ultron because all three are a bit more score-oriented when it comes to musical selections. Try as I might, there’s rarely good earwormy songs on composition heavy soundtracks.
Now it is true that Iron Man 3 had some earworms but I’d prefer not to subject readers to the likes of “Blue (Da Ba Dee)” or “Mambo No. 5”. Also, I had hoped for a good “No Strings On Me” remix but just doesn’t seem to be any. However, I have to give it up to the Age of Ultron folks for their play on words in their score with “Seoul Searching.” So with three pictures out of the running, that leaves us with…
Marvin Gaye – “Trouble Man”
Some may remember the mention of this song/album from Captain America: The Winter Soldier when Sam “Falcon” Wilson recommends it to Steve Rogers for his “to-do” list.  I love it when films do things like this and mention something in the real-world. You get a sense of the character Sam can interact with things outside of the film. Anyone who has since sought out the album will tell you that it’s probably the best recommendation Cap had on his list. And that’s including Thai food! The Trouble Man soundtrack is perfect for any fan of Marvin Gaye (which should be everyone on the planet) and it’s somewhat fitting that Sam would recommend an album from a film where the protagonist is caught up in events where he doesn’t know who to trust on either side.
Elvin Bishop – “Fooled Around and Fell in Love”
Why didn’t I post Redbone’s “Come and Get Your Love”? Well, a few reasons. Redbone is such an obvious choice that it’s something I’ve actually done before, the Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack is far too full of amazing music to continue to pick that one, and Elvin Bishop’s “Fooled Around and Fell in Love” just seemed to fit in better with the previous tune. There’s no question that Awesome Mix Vol. 1 will go down as one of the best soundtracks in film history not only for content, but for how well it was worked into the film itself.
Camilo Azuquita – Borombon
Other than Guardians, there may not be a better comic book movie soundtrack in recent years than the one for Ant-Man. Introducing Rudd’s Scott Lang and Michael Peña’s Luis moments after playing “Borombon” on the opening Marvel logo tells us this is an entirely different film than others in the MCU. The entire soundtrack is peppered with tracks that express the diversity in the cast and the characters. If you strip away the supernatural/powered elements of the movie, it’s still an smart and action packed heist film that is only heightened by the musical choices. It speaks volumes to the minds behind a soundtrack when you use songs like “Borombon” to intro the main characters and The Commodores’ “I’m Ready” in a montage instead of a predictable epic sounding superhero film score. The entire feel of this movie (much like our experience with Starlord in Guardians) had an “every-man” aspect to it that was punctuated beautifully by its soundtrack.
Have high hopes for the music of Guardians 2? Did I miss anything from Thor: The Dark World? I’m sure I must have. Let’s discuss in the comments below!
Image: Marvel/Disney
Blake Rodgers writes for Nerdist from Chicago, IL where he lives happily with his Guinness World Record for High Fives. You can be his pal by following him on Twitter (@TheBlakeRodgers)
