This month, the Mental Jukebox revisits the movie soundtracks of the nineties. The music I’m highlighting are some of my personal favorites. In many cases, the movies themselves were huge for me as well. But the focus will still be on the music – as always. Let’s bring on the throwback classics, the grunge, the gangsta rap, and the indie gems. #31DaysOf90sMovieSongs
Movie: Natural Born Killers
Cowboy Junkies and The Velvet Underground could not be more different from each other. Margo Timmins’ voice is highly melodic and delicate, while Lou Reed’s is much more rock & roll, brash and often more speaking than actual singing. The early Cowboy Junkies work was a place you could turn to for solace., while the VU canon is characterized by rants and occasional moments of cacophony. The differences between the original “Sweet Jane” and the Cowboy Junkies cover reflect these divergent musical approaches to a T.
VU famously opens the song with a shimmery cacophony. It jolts you. But Cowboy Junkies omit the opening and lull us into a placid space by jumping straight into the main chord progressions. VU made the song sound like the start of a party, while Cowboy Junkies made it feel like the end of the night. They definitely played it their way with no intention to sound like VU. This is probably the cover version’s best trait. It’s almost a completely different song that we’re hearing. Aside from the chords, everything else is different: the pacing, the vocals, the instrumentation and the aura.
“But anyone who ever had a heart, they wouldn't turn around and break it. And anyone who ever played a part, they wouldn't turn around and hate it.”