Welcome back to Disney Stuff.
Now that Labor Day has come and gone, the summer season has officially come to an end. While millions of kids across the nation are frowning back in school, the folks at Disney and Marvel should have a big smile on their faces. I say that because the big winner at the much coveted summer box office was none other than Guardians of the Galaxy. It won the domestic take for Labor Day Weekend, coming in at number one for the third weekend since its release on August 1st. Not only did it win the summer race, but as of right now it has taken the lead as the top grossing domestic film of the year. Not too bad for this obscure bunch of superheroes.
I was completely taken aback by Guardians of the Galaxy, having never heard of them until it was announced that this film was being made. I went into this film on opening weekend with zero expectations and had more fun at the movies then I can remember in a long, long time. I absolutely loved it! The characters, the humor, the action, the irreverence, and the music all came together in an expertly produced package. And that last aspect—the music—is what I wanted to discuss today.
When I first started seeing the promos for Guardians, something that immediately jumped out at me was one of the accompanying songs, the ’70s nugget “Hooked on a Feeling” by one-hit-wonder Blue Swede. I wondered how exactly this classic tune was going to fit into what seemed like an obviously futuristic outer space adventure. Was it just going to be a throwaway song in the credits, which is such a prevalent practice nowadays? Take a beloved song that everyone knows, throw it on your soundtrack to get everyone’s attention in the trailer, and then bury it at the end of the film over the credits. That happens all too frequently. However, my musical attention was piqued and I went to see the film still wondering how this song and others appearing in the trailers like the Norman Greenbaum classic “Spirit in the Sky” were going to be utilized.
Much to my surprise, the songs themselves were a key part of the film. In actuality, this music and the mix tape that they come from are really at the spiritual center of lead character Peter Quill, AKA Star-Lord’s, journey. If you haven’t seen the film…and goodness gracious if that be so, run, don’t walk, to the nearest multiplex and catch it before it’s gone…then let this be a SPOILER ALERT for you. Turns out that Peter’s dying mother makes an awesome mix tape for him of her favorite songs. Young Peter is obviously struggling with his mom’s dire situation and he finds escape in the Walkman and the tape of songs his mom has chosen for him. When he is kidnapped and brought into space, the one thing he clings to is this Walkman, a set of headphones and the memory of his beloved mother who lives on through this music. That’s pretty deep for a summer superhero movie, don’t you think?
Anyway, the movie blew me away and the songs were such an integral part of this fantastic cinematic experience. After the film let out, I was singing them in my head for a few days. My 21st Century daughter, who loved the film as much as I did, simply went home and found the soundtrack online and listened on her laptop and iPhone. Me? I’m still more of an old school kind of guy. I long for the days of making mix tapes, sitting in my room with a stack of LPs and my headphones on, choosing just the right order and sequence of tunes to keep me happy when I was either in the car or walking around with my awesome Sony Walkman!
How thrilled was I to see that Peter’s mom’s awesome mix tape was being officially released as a CD? As soon as I saw it at my local FYE, I snapped it up. No movie title on the cover, just a vintage looking tape deck and a classic looking old cassette tape in a wooden cabinet declaring the obvious – Awesome Mix Vol. 1.
The awesome cover of Awesome Mix Vol. 1. © Hollywood Records 2014.
One of the great things about Awesome Mix # 1 is that these are all essentially one-hit wonders. I have to be honest; I don’t have a Blue Swede album in my collection. The same can be said for Rupert Holmes, Elvin Bishop and The Five Stairsteps. More than likely, I’m not alone out there in that respect. But everyone probably knows their hits: “Hooked on a Feeling,” “Escape (The Pina Colada Song),” “Fooled Around and Fell in Love,” and “O-o-h Child,” respectively. If you grew up in the ’70s, as I did, you could just imagine hearing these greats from the back seat of your parents’ car, more than likely being played on AM radio. If you didn’t grow up then, it doesn’t really matter. These songs are timeless. The true testament to this is the carload of my daughter’s friends, all 15-year-olds that I drove to the local waterpark last week. Take a guess, which CD playlist was blaring, from the van’s speakers back and forth on our little road trip?
The track listing and back cover of my daughter's new favorite CD. © Hollywood Records 2014.
We’re not alone obviously. Along with Guardians’ stellar rise at the box office, was this CD’s rise up the Billboard charts straight to number one. It’s the first time that a so-called compilation soundtrack, one with no new songs, has taken the coveted number one slot.
The inner artwork included in Awesome Mix Vol. 1. © Disney Enterprises.
Can you get all of these songs in cyberspace? I’m quite sure you can. You can piece together your own playlist electronically. But do the right thing. Go to a record store, if you can find one of course. And not Walmart or Target. Sure I went to a chain store, FYE, but I wasn’t looking for this. I wandered in at the mall, like I usually do and stumbled across this. Get yourself to a local shop. Flip through the racks. Hold this cool looking CD in your hands and proudly walk up to the register and buy it the old-fashioned way.
Tell them Star-Lord’s mother sent you.
Am I the only one so enamored with this soundtrack? Be sure to click on the link below and let me hear your thoughts and I’ll see you next time with more of that great Disney Stuff.
