the buzz log

"Singin' in the Rain." "Saturday Night Live." "Star Wars." "Purple Rain." "Dirty Dancing."

If you are of a certain vintage, you know these titles aren't just generational films. The soundtracks provide the musical backdrop of their era. For this week's movie releases, the songs for "Bandslam" and "The Time Traveler's Wife" debuted in stores and online Tuesday. "District 9"—the most-searched movie of the week and the touted "stealth" summer hit—features some unusual music and an African-influenced score from Clinton Short. He's been called " composer to watch, but the deal for releasing his soundtrack didn't close until days before the premiere.

That might be a coincidence, but even in the digital download era, soundtracks just aren't the money-makers they used to be. Industry execs told The Wrap that studios think this hallowed tradition is "a waste of time." Universal Pictures hasn't bothered with a musical "Bruno" release. Likewise with Sony's stalker thriller "Obsessed," even with Beyonce as its star.

Plus, now that consumers are used to picking out a tune at a time, compilations from a film experience aren't doing that well, even when iTunes requires that folks buy the whole album. The Wrap gives examples of weak sales compared to past hits, such as "Transformers 2" versus the first, or "500 Days of Summer" vs. "Garden State." (Notable latter-day exceptions: Hannah Montana and, of course, "Twilight.")

One columnist from "The Wrap" spreads the blame around, and believes the soundtrack's downfall started in the 90s, when studios opted for cheap tunes rather than original music. Record companies also may have charged too much (and ended up selling the same song over and over).

But some people do. Weak sales or not, below's a Yahoo! Search playlist of popular movie soundtracks from the past 30 days. Incidentally, in the past 7 days, soundtrack demands have been high for films from the late John Hughes, who really knew the score for a generation. Could any of these below define the current one? 

Filed under: Movies, Music, Soundtracks

Jay-Z's been counted out a few times, particularly after his disappointing return from retirement. Regardless, the King of New York is once again sitting pretty thanks to his upcoming album “inspired by” the movie “American Gangster.”

As the story goes, the iconic rapper was so moved by a September screening of the Denzel Washington movie, he set out to put his feelings to music. Jay-Z's aural interpretation of the Frank Lucas story (Hollywood-style) may be the most important rap concept album of the year—or the only rap concept album of the year. Regardless of its place in the canon, advance reviews of Jay-Z’s quick-turnaround project are hailing it as a return to his original sound.

New Yorker critic David Denby may lament the deification of a gangster in the Ridley Scott-directed film, yet we think both Jay-Z and Frank Lucas are street antiheros that even the New Yorker can’t depose. Searches for “jay z american gangster album” surged 177% over the past week, a sign the King may soon be back on his throne.

Filed under: Rap Music, Soundtracks