With the release of ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ in the Summer of 2014, it’s introduced to the general public a new breed of Super-hero and Science-Fiction entertainment, now allowing for even further possibilities in presenting more elaborate, unique and awesome films for the movie-going public.
With the sequel coming out next month, lots of fans, both of film and source material, have been debating what they could include in it; new characters, expansion of current ones, storylines, locations, integration of other Marvel films and their elements, other elements from the comic included, villain and if they will include more Troma cameos (seriously, am I the only person to notice Lloyd Kauffman in the jail scene?)
However, what may be the most debated subject is the new soundtrack, with the first movie’s so diverse and retro soundtrack, this opens the door to so many songs to potentially be in the next one (and subsequently onto viewers IPods). Taking into account the time scale for the songs to be from (1967-1980) lets have fun in fantasying and even potentially predicting the songs on ‘Awesome Mix Tape No.2’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Tdu4uKSZ3M
Roundabout by Yes.
Okay, this is a bit of a loose one as none of what this song is relates to any elements of the film, and the only reason I put it on here is because A. it’s a great song and B. it’s the closing theme to a great anime (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure). However despite that, I think this song could fare well in the movie, with it’s very intense, standoffish and has a somewhat mystical feel, it would fare well in a fight scene or even during a moment in where the characters are engaging in a mysterious and unknown moment or situation, plus it would be awesome to see Star Lord give Thanos a Sunset Yellow Overdrive punch to the face.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLWSQRNnGY8
Helter Skelter/ Rocky Raccoon by The Beatles
The Beatles defined rebellion during the mid 60’s along with the Who and later the Rolling Stones, and this song is one of their most heavy and manic, making it a perfect fit for this movie. What moment in the movie it could fit into I’m not sure, but, excluding the darker context this song is connected to, the tone and lyrics do give an apt description of Star Lord’s self believed ladykiller personality, so it would feed his ego perfectly, and once again, its speed and ferocity would fit a fighting scene well. The only other song I can think that the Beatles could give us is Rocky Raccoon, but that’s only because of the irony of due to it being the inspiration of Rocket’s name. Either way, if these songs do appear in a fight, let’s hope it won’t give the Guardians Blisters of their Fingers!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSWsLADAYSw
Planet Caravan by Black Sabbath
While the Beatles were the voice of a revolution in the 60’s, Black Sabbath were the more realistic and poetic voice of one in the 70’s, and the Awesome Mix in the first movie was sorely missing some Heavy Metal. Along with the name being perfect (and even slightly prophetic) the ‘stoner metal’ cords and tempo would do well for a more somber and quite scene (much like I'm Not in Love from the first movie) or used to comedic effect (like the Pinna Colada Song in the first movie), it could be a perfect song to be used near the last third in where the group would be going through tougher moments and they start to loose hope and really hammer in that emotion into the scene. Either way, this song would make a welcome edition to represent the more gothic elements of music crazes in the 1970’s. As for the Fast Rock craze…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHOrpFeXUao
Space Trukin’ by Deep Purple
Another song with a perfectly reflective title. Deep Purple one of the premier mainstream rock band of the 1970’s, with their mixture of more artistic songs and mainstream pleasing tunes, the band managed to please both sides of the music crowd with plenty of bass along with it. Space Truckin’ (along with the perfect name) has the perfect tune for the tone of movie, having familiar cues to ‘Come and Get Ya Love’ and even ‘Cherry Bomb’ the song would fit almost any scene it would go into, though I would primarily want to see it in a scene of a space-based dogfight or just The Guardians doing their thing through the cosmos.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ue0UpQBmA5s
Foxy Lady by Jimi Hendrix
Something for ladies in this slot. The first movie made faint allusions to Star Lord and Gamora having a romantic interest, and given that the movie would be anything but traditional in how they would handle it, seeing Star Lord acting like Garth from ‘Wayne’s World’ around Gamora is just a sight that needs to be seen. Conversely, the song could be used in a more ironic context by having it be in scene where Nebula returns to the fray, and yet it would still not make me think any differently about how bizarrely hot Karren Gillian looks in her make-up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcXEk4v8f6w
Love Song/Riff Raff by AC/DC
AC/DC had some of their best, and most obscure, hits during the time period of which the Awesome Mix No.2 could have drawn from, especially since ‘Iron Man 2’ sorely missed more AC/DC than needed (seriously? No ‘War Machine”?), and two of which from the late Bon Scott draws to mind. Firstly is the cult classic ‘Riff Raff’, another self-descriptive song about the Guardians themselves, plus the fast and manic cords would go perfectly during an action scene. The other is one of their earlier and more limited released songs; in fact, this song was not released on an official album in the UK and USA until 2009 (which would allow for easier rights ownership negotiations), however, in my opinion, this is one of their most overlooked songs, being more somber, emotional and poetic (that is, for AC/DC) than you would expect, it would match perfectly for a more dramatic scene for the potential Gamora and Star Lord relationship, or, since it is about abandonment, during a sensitive scene involving Star Lord confronting his past. Either way, both of these songs would set the Guardians on a Highway to Hell…but what is the only song to escape such a realm?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CbVV5q0sj0
Bat out of Hell by Meatloaf
Bad transition aside, this may be one of the odder choices for the soundtrack, but, I feel it would fit perfectly during the climax moment of the movie, the song’s structure alone is very reflective of an action movie story structure: it starts of fast and intense, then quiets down and establishes the major elements (in the song’s case, the singer) then goes into the chorus which brings it back the action-packed moment, then returns to a more calmer verse, then the chorus again, then after that there’s a beat of just no music at all, breaking the established format and second guessing the listener, which then transitions into a insane power chord after which the rest of the band joins in and just cuts loose for the rest of the song. This structure, while still having some elements of a typical verse-chorus-verse structure, plays around with it a bit and takes it own spin on it, much like the Guardian of Galaxy with action and superhero movies. For these reasons I feel that the song needs to be in the next movie.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbQgaHZOFZ0
Footloose/ I’m Alright by Kenny Loggins
I get the feeling a lot of people saw this one coming. After Star Lord’s mention of it in the first movie, everyone wanted to hear the Footloose theme in the first movie, but it never happened. As much as the song (and the movie) are awesome, and it would be cute to hear it in the second film, especially if another dance off takes place, I feel putting it in would be a bit of a stretch, remember, none of the songs from Awesome Mix Vol. 1 and the two we hear from Vol. 2 were from after 1980, and while Vol.2 could have some later songs in it, remember, Quill said that his mother made the set lists from songs she grew up with, so anything after 1980 would be pushing it. As such, I feel that one of Loggins’ earlier (and in my opinion even better songs) ‘I’m Alright’, aka the theme from the 1980 comedy classic ‘Caddyshack’ (which also has parallels with GOG as it also features a rodent that involves itself with high explosives). The song itself has a perfect fit with the movie, as it’s all about doing what you want regardless of what other people think and say about you, and no matter what others want you to do, what you want to do (whether good or bad) is best, as such, this fits the Guardians perfectly as a theme, even if the tune itself is a bit more easy listening than rock oriented. Either way, both of these songs would be a welcome tune to the next movie, perfect for taking the Guardians into the danger zone.
Life on Mars/ Jean Genie/ Ashes to Ashes by David Bowie
Even though Bowie did have a song in the last movie that worked well, I feel that some of his others would work effectively in the next film. Firstly is the song that makes the most sense from a title standpoint is ‘Life on Mars’ as it would sound perfect in the same way ‘Moonage Daydream’ was in the first movie, particularly since the lyrics of ‘Life on Mars’ are so bizarre (“Rule Britannia is out of bounds// To my mother, my dog and clowns”) that it would defiantly fit on some of the planets such as the Shiar home planet or Rocket’s place of origin. The next is ‘Ashes to Ashes’, one thing I feel might be in the next movie would be a euphoric moment, where some of the Guardians would become high or hypnotized and start hallucinating, and with the bar-like areas and seedy locations that the Guardians associate themselves with, it’s not out of the question to say that that would happen, as such, Bowie’s matching euphoric song ‘Ashes to Ashes’ would be the perfect choice for such a scene, or just to see star lord dance to the wired synth cords. Lastly, the song that I want to hear the most in the next film, ‘Jean Genie’, and why you ask, well, for those who have heard the song would know that it has a very rhythmic and almost marching-like beat constantly, and would be perfect for the re-introduction of the Guardians if they were to walk in via a line walk, and use that moment in a converse to that last line walk in the first movie with ‘Cherry Bomb’, and with the song about a lazy, selfish and perverted old man, the context would fit the film perfectly. Either way, any of these songs would make the next movie a true space oddity.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q88wKrzj3QM
Star Wars Cantina Theme by John Williams
Some may have seen this coming, some may be surprised, but either way, I feel that this is the most needed song in the next movie, think about it, the movie is about a group of misfits who come together through a common, simple goal, and find out that there is an even bigger dilemma in the center of their destination and have to unite and go beyond their abilities and morals to defeat a great evil. Now was I explaining Guardians of the Galaxy, or Star Wars? But beyond the seeming plot similarities, the tone and elements of the movie call to mind the Cantina scene in the first movie, lack of regulation and any law or authority, alcohol and illegal substances around every corner, hostile environment and people who would kill if you even looked at them the wrong way. Along with those reasons (and the fact that it’s a really catchy tune), now that Marvel and LucasArts are owned by the same company, negotiations on having the song in the movie would be a lot easier than they used to be, so it’s as much of a possibility as the other songs.
Hopefully some of these songs will make it into the next Guardians movie, and Awesome Mix No.2 will be as popular and No.1 was, and if not, then it will still be fun for me to hear.