Angela Aug 31, 2008 (edited Nov 13, 2008)
Coming back from my second viewing of Tropic Thunder, I picked up both CD releases: the Original Motion Picture artist album and the soundtrack score. In terms of reenacting the movie's music experience, both supplements are a must.
Dig the 70s vibe of the artist album, with context-appropriate hits like Creedence Clearwater's "Run Through The Jungle" and Edwin Starr's "War" - as well as several offbeat inclusions such as MC Hammer's U Can't Touch, Dan Hill's Sometimes When We Touch, and Ja'net Dubois' Movin' On Up. It's just a shame they couldn't include The Stones' Sympathy For The Devil and Springfield's For What It's Worth; two sorely missed omissions, likely due to licensing issues. Still, any album that features "Frankenstein" is a winner in my book.
The soundtrack score is a short release, clocking in at just forty minutes, but it's a fun listen while it lasts. Theodore Shapiro's a name new to my ears, but I like what he's done here; one could instantly draw parallels to Ramin Djawadi's (arguably dreadful) Iron Man style of composition, with similar bombast synth, symphonic cues and frenetic rhythm, but I ended up liking Tropic Thunder a lot more. Shapiro infuses some thick heavy-metal rock hooks into the Eastern ethnic tribal sound, and I particularly like the blatantly epic "You're My Brother" main theme. (The finale variation of the theme, heard in the cheekily-titled "Cue Bill Conti", is my favorite.) Right now, this is my front-runner for junkfood score of the year.
My only other disappointment is that none of the CDs feature Ludacris' Get Back, which is played over the first half of the end credits where Cruise's Les Grossman character starts..... well, you just need to experience it for yourself. ;)