26 Soundtracks: Dudes

            The soundtrack to Dudes, more than any other album (save one, and I am going to get to that one soon) has informed my musical taste. With it’s mix of Heavy Metal, Hard Rock, Punk, Alt Country, and Alternative music it not only fits the film, it’s like a sample of not only what Rock and mainstream music and underground music was going to become in the 1990s, it’s a snapshot of Rock N Roll in transition.

            Not only were the pieces of the decade to come in rock in motion and evolving when the film was made in 1987, but so were many of the bands. You have first and foremost Janes Addiction and Megadeth two band who would go to become major acts in the early 90s. Here Janes gives what I have always thought was their best song, the energetic and frenetic Mountain Song, and Megadeth provides a revved up cover of the classic These Boots are Made for Walking.

            The rest of the album runs the gambit of the genres that I have already listed. Looking back I can see that this album was in many ways a Rosetta stone for the soundtrack of my life. It lead me to the vast majority of what I listen to today. Megadeath and WASP lead me to metal and hard rock. The Vandals and the Little Kings to punk, and Legal Weapon to Alt Country. Now I know that there is more than a little nostalgia in my love of the soundtrack, but I think one of the reasons that I keep coming back to the film, the album and several of the songs is that I just hope people will discover them.