Hi everyone, Bryan here…

I just love soundtracks to movies. I always have and I believe I always will. There is something about a score to a film that just perks me up in all the right ways and inspires my creative side, whether it be to write a screenplay or go back an watch that old film I love. Music is an integral part to films and is considered to be the mojo of every movie. I’m sure we’ve all seen that odd YouTube video of the final scene in Star Wars: A New Hope, where Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, and Chewbacca walk down a crowded arena to receive their medals to zero music. It’s super weird and awkward with no music, but just random sound effects of footsteps and a rare cough, laugh, and Chewie’s roar. John Williams did such a great job, as he always does with Star Wars music, but that final scene of music really puts your emotions on full blast. It’s all from the soundtrack too.

Or the bike chase scene in E.T. with John Williams‘ flute section and horns, sweeping you across the sky. I will even mention John Carpenter’s Halloween piano theme, which is still haunting to this day. I could go on for days, talking about which soundtracks enhanced movies, but that’s for another time. Since vinyl has made a big comeback over the past several years, more and more fans have come out of woodwork for more soundtracks, specifically on vinyl. A lot of your favorite films from the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s are either long gone, out of print, or so rare, you’ll have to sell your Lord of the Rings Arwen sword to purchase just one album. Luckily, we are getting some re-releases of some much sought after soundtracks as of recently. Still, there are a ton of movies that have NEVER been released on vinyl for various reasons. Either the rights are too expensive, there is no interest for it (I call bullshit), or nobody has simply made the query for one.

Here is a list of soundtracks that have NEVER been released on vinyl that we want to see on shelves very soon. We hope you agree.

Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988)

This is one of the most entertaining evil clown movies to ever grace the big screen. It still holds up today and has one hell of a whacky and haunting soundtrack by John Massari. It has never been release on vinyl before. Well at least the full soundtrack. Actually, in 1988, the punk rock band ‘The Dickies‘ released an EP called ‘Killer Klowns from Outer Space‘ with killer cover art that features the hit theme song ‘Killer Klowns from Outer Space‘. But that’s about it. There were no tracks that featured the awesome score from the film. This could be one of the best horror soundtracks that hasn’t been released yet, so please, someone get on top of it.

Goodfellas (1990)

One of the best gangster films to ever be released anywhere has still never had a vinyl release. Well, at least in the USA, which is strange because this is an American film. There is an unofficial picture vinyl disc that you might be able to find, but it only contains dialogue from the film, rather than any of the amazing music. That’s why I’m including this album on the list here. It has so many great songs and the fact that it has never had a proper release is astounding. If you remember the film ‘Goodfellas‘, you know how packed full of amazing old school songs are on this album. Everything from Tony Bennett’s ‘Rags to Riches’ to Derek and the Domino’s ‘Layla’. It’s all excellent and needs to have a release on vinyl.

The Lord of the Rings (2001-2003)

Now this one just pisses me off. Here you have a milestone in filmmaking on almost every level of entertainment. Not only that, this original score from Howard Shore is not only brilliant, but is one of the better scores to ever be part of a movie. Just listening to the music alone without the film evokes the same emotions as if I were watching the movie. And it’s deplorable that nobody has released this full soundtrack of all three films on vinyl. How many different versions and releases have we been told to purchase of the DVD or Blu-ray, or even CD. Countless, I know, because I bought each and every version. But no vinyl. This needs to change. We need these soundtracks on vinyl right fucking now.

Casino (1995)

One could say this is the perfect follow up and 2nd best gangster film to Martin Scorsese’s ‘Goodfellas‘. And you would more or less be correct. With an equally great film comes an equally awesome soundtrack, which has never been released on vinyl. There are 31 tracks on the CD version of this soundtrack, all of which are classic tunes ready to be on vinyl. Songs from Little Richard, Nilsson, Otis Redding, Muddy Waters, and even Devo are available. This would be the perfect companion piece to ‘Goodfellas‘ as it desperately needs a vinyl release.

Once More With Feeling from Buffy the Vampire Slayer (2002)

This has only been released on CD, probably because it came out in 2002, which was when vinyl was at an all-time low. In fact, if you purchased any new vinyl from 2002, they are probably worth a pretty penny these days. One of the best episodes of any show on television was Joss Whedon’s ‘Once More With Feeling’ from the iconic cult tv series ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer‘. In this episode, a demon comes to Sunnydale and hypnotizes everyone in town to break out into a song and dance that revealed their hidden dark secrets, which in time, causes everyone to literally explode. Each song deserves its own award, because each song is highly entertaining and excellent. Hell, this episode rose to the top of the Billboard charts and was nominated for an Emmy. Not only that, we get to see Buffy and Spike finally make out. But, someone needs to release this album on vinyl so that every Buffy fan can enjoy this music once again.

The Simpsons Series (1989-Present)

One of the best television series and might I add, the longest running tv show is an animated one. I’m of course talking about ‘The Simpsons‘. Not only have ‘The Simpsons‘ continued to push the bounds each season and deliver on laughs, drama, and scares, but there has been a sizable amount of excellent songs from the show. I’m thinking this release should be a box set, because there is just too much to encompass on 1 or two albums. First off, we have to get ‘The Simpsons Sing The Blues‘ album that has ‘Deep Deep Trouble’ and ‘Do The Bartman’ song on it. In fact, ‘Do The Bartman’ needs it’s own special 45 limited edition purple record. Then you have the album ‘Songs in the Key of Springfield‘, which features quite a bit of songs from the tv series including the Stonecutter’s song ‘We Do’ and the Bleeding Gums Murphy Medley, not to mention the theme songs of the show by Danny Elfman. There are so many other great songs from the show that need to be on vinyl such as Michael Jackson’s ‘Happy Birthday, Lisa’ or the Monorail song. I sure hope someday ‘The Simpsons’ will have a deluxe vinyl set released of anything and everything Simpsons related.

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989)

I love bringing in the holidays with some good holiday music. There are already some decent Christmas movie soundtracks out there like Scrooged, but one of the best and most iconic Christmas movies is not even on vinyl and is super rare even on CD. That is of course, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. You have that amazing Christmas song by Mavis Staples, Mele Kalikimaka by Bing Crosby, Hey  Santa Claus by the Moonglows, and much more. According to the rare CD, a ton of clips of dialogue from the film are included, such as “Shitter’s full”. Quentin Tarantino adds dialogue from his films in all of his soundtrack, so let’s hope this vinyl release comes soon with all songs and clips from the film. It would be a holiday miracle.

Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)

It’s beyond me how this escaped the virtues of vinyl. Austin Powers was the icon of the 90s. Everyone imitated him, dressed like him, and quoted his dialogue in everyday life. These movies were so funny and so well done that it spawned two more films and ton of merchandise. Equally as good was the soundtrack to the films, particularly the first film. Hell, Austin Powers even looks at the camera during the film and announces the different great musicians and music playing. Ming Tea’s BBC or Strawberry Alarm Clock’s Incense and Peppermints are fantastic. And of course the Divinyls’ I Touch Myself to the Fembots and even Quincy Jones’ Soul Bossa Nova is killer. This needed to be on vinyl years ago. Please release this. We sorely need to relive this soundtrack in every fashion possible.

Captain EO (1986)

Back in the early 1980s, when Michael Jackson, George Lucas, Francis Ford Coppola, and Angelika Houston were all in their prime and on top of the world, the planets aligned and we got a fantastic short film called Captain EO, which was shown at Disney World in 3D for a number of years. This was one of my first big experiences in 3D and had some killer songs in the film too. Technically, there are only two songs, which would make this NEVER BEFORE RELEASED soundtrack an awesome 12 inch single with a B-Side. Another Part of Me was featured on the BAD album, but the other amazing song ‘We are Here to Change the World’ was never released, until 2004 as part of a collection on CD only. Still, this soundtrack has never been released and would be so much fun to have on vinyl finally. I would even pay top dollar for Michael’s rainbow T-Shirt in the film.

The Rules of Attraction (2002)

It’s strange that this film has never seen its soundtrack on vinyl. I get that it came out in 2002, which is when vinyl was not really being produced, but with the impressive track list, you’d think this would have been out already. The Rules of Attraction takes place during the 1980s at a liberal arts college. The book was written by Brett Easton Ellis and the film was made by Quentin Tarantino collaborator Roger Avary. It’s a hell of soundtrack that includes, Yaz, The Cure, Donovan, The Rapture, Blondie, Harry Nilsson, George Michael, and more. This is a fucked up college movie that will linger on the tongue long after you view it, but so will the amazing soundtrack and score by Tomandandy.

American Psycho (2000)

This is the 2nd Brett Easton Ellis book that was adapted into a feature film that has a killer soundtrack (pun intended) that is on this list. Again, we are set in the 1980’s following a CEO who moonlights as a vicious and sadistic serial killer. The soundtrack is amazing and quite funny, as the protagonist/antagonist in the film actually discusses the soundtrack that is featured. This includes Huey Lewis and the News, David Bowie, New Order, The Cure, and M/A/R/R/S. There could even be Patrick Bateman’s monologues included on this vinyl set too, which desperately needs to be on vinyl.

Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993)

I said, HEY. HEY. We already have quite a few of Mel Brooks’ films on vinyl, ranging from Blazing Saddles, Spaceballs, and Young Frankenstein. However, we have never received the Robin Hood: Men in Tights soundtrack on vinyl, which is just a travesty. Not only could you have some funny clips of dialogue throughout here and the amazingly fun score, but you would have the Sherwood Forest raps and the Maid Marian song too. Also, we would get that famous Men in Tights music number too, which we are all dying to hear again. Let’s just make it official and finally release this on vinyl please.

The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)

We all love Wes Anderson movies. His soundtracks are on par with Tarantino soundtracks too. There are a few that have been released on vinyl already, but perhaps one of the best ones has never been released on vinyl yet and that needs to change NOW. First off, you have Mark Mothersbaugh doing the entire score to the film, which is just fantastic on every level with tons of Wes Anderson-y moments. On top of that, we have The Ramones, Bob Dylan, Nico, The Velvet Underground, Nick Drake, and that Hey Jude cover by the Mutato Muzika Orchestra. This would be an amazing album on vinyl, particularly for a RSD release. Let’s do this.

Boardwalk Empire (2010-2014)

One of the greatest shows on HBO gave us a Scorsese-ian look at the gangsters during the prohibition era with iconic characters and great storylines. In addition to the piles of violence and laughter throughout that series, the soundtrack was simply outstanding with a ton of jazz, blues, country, and folk music from the era. Now, HBO has been releasing their series’ soundtracks on vinyl for a while now, including Game of Thrones, True Blood, and Girls. The actual series that should be released on vinyl – Boardwalk Empire has NEVER been released on vinyl before, although there are a few volumes on CD. There is a promo on vinyl of Boardwalk Empire inspired songs by artists today, but they aren’t from the show itself, therefore doesn’t count. All of those amazing jazz songs would be amazing to have in a collection, because a lot of those songs are rare and usually on 78s, rather than the standard 33s or 45s nowadays. Come on HBO. Do what’s right and releases a Boardwalk Empire collection on vinyl. It’s what Chalky would have wanted.

-Bryan Kluger