Remember the media mess that was the Kanye West-Kim Kardashian wedding? It's tough to blame the couple because there's nothing that brings the paparazzi to fever pitch like a good celebrity wedding. So Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie deserve special kudos for keeping their weekend nuptials in France a secret. You can't help but think that this was the couple's plan all along, considering that we haven't seen a pair more tabloided than them, at least during this millennium (yeah, that's including Jay Z and Beyoncé, plus the West/Kardashian pairing).
To celebrate, we've prepared a his and hers playlist, containing only original songs featured in films starring Mr. Pitt and Ms. Jolie.
Let's start with Pitt:
"Mama's Boy" by Nick Cave from Johnny Suede (1991)
Nick Cave came into Johnny Suede with the intent of making a better version of the lyrics prepared for him by director Tom DiCillo. He was playing Freak Storm, a rock 'n' roller even more over the top in terms of pomp and pompadour than protagonist Johnny Suede (Pitt). Cave thought DiCillo's lyrics for "Mama's Boy" were "sh---y" but ended up singing them anyhow as he couldn't come up with anything better at the time. He points out the crappy quality of the lyrics in his performance before he delivers the Murder Ballads-worthy tune.
Fight Club Score Original Motion Picture Soundtrack from Fight Club by The Dust Brothers (1996)
Despite what some writers—including Music Times staffer Joe DeGroot—would have you believe, the best musical moment is absolutely not when the unnamed protagonist watches the town explode to the tune of The Pixies' "Where Is My Mind." No, the entire score is superb and deserves to get mentioned in line with any mainstream music thanks to the big beat-breakbeat hybrid work of the Dust Brothers, making scenes such as "Fight At Bar" both dangerous and alluring, like the film's subject matter.
"Requiem For A Dead" by Andy Garcia from Oceans 12 (2004)
This original is almost as stealthy as the protagonists carrying out the multimillion dollar thefts within the film. Villain/victim Terry Benedict (Garcia) has tracked down all of the Ocean crew from the previous film and are demanding that they pay pack his dues...or else. When he connects with Basher (Don Cheadle), he plays a short tune on the latter's piano, a tune that the actor actually wrote.
"The Ballad of Jesse James" by Nick Cave from The Assassination of Jesse James by The Coward Robert Ford (2007)
Cave must have enjoyed working with Pitt on Johnny Suede so he came back for a bit role in the more acclaimed Assassination of Jesse James. He plays a busker at a bar where Robert Ford happens to be having a drink, and humiliates the latter by playing the now standardized tune "The Ballad of Jesse James," which casts the thief as a Robin Hood-type figure and Ford as the coward who murdered him from behind (a debatably true story).
"Under Pressure/Rhythm Nation" by Pink from Happy Feet Two (2011)
Pitt has lent his voice to several animated projects, none bigger in scope than Happy Feet Two. One of the other big names to join the cast was pop star Pink, who replaced the deceased Brittany Murphy. Pink was the obvious choice to lead the original turns from the soundtrack, or at least the pseudo-original ones, including a medley of Queen/David Bowie's "Under Pressure" and Janet Jackson's "Rhythm Nation."
"Roll, Jordan, Roll" by John Legend from 12 Years A Slave (2013)
Like many of the tracks you'll see here (and on Jolie's list), this is another cover of an American standard. This spiritual was written by Methodist clergyman Charles Wesley during the 1700's but it caught on more prominently with the slave population of the United States. The ever-soulful John Legend took a stab at the gospel standard for the soundtrack of 12 Years A Slave and delivered. Laura Mvula had a solid track of her own on the compilation.
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