200 Cigarettes (CD - 1999)

200 Cigarettes bombed in theaters, but the soundtrack album, strong enough to stand on its own, deserves a better fate. It's chock-full of music that loosely ties in with the New Year's Eve 1979 party (duration: 200 cigarettes) that is the basis of the movie starring Courtney Love, Christina Ricci, Martha Plimpton, and more. The Blondie medley is the album's highlight. It opens with "Rapture," the band's groundbreaking pop/rap hit from 1981; the drum fill connecting "Rapture" with the next song, 1999's "Maria," which is at a very different tempo, is particularly effective. "Maria" has nice spunk but has a very repetitive hook that tends to burn out quickly. The medley wraps with "No Exit" featuring Coolio and the Loud All-Stars. The latter two tracks are also included on Blondie's 1999 comeback album, No Exit. Harvey Danger, known for their single "Flagpole Sitta," also recorded a new track titled "Save It for Later"; it's the album's most contemporary track and probably the best, though not just for that reason. The balance of Cigarettes features well-known hits, such as Elvis Costello & the Attractions' "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding," Blondie's "In the Flesh," Nick Lowe's "Cruel to Be Kind," the Cars' "Just What I Needed," the Ramones' "I Don't Care," Dire Straits' "Romeo & Juliet," Roxy Music's "More Than This," Joe Jackson's "It's Different for Girls," Girls Against Boys' cover version of Earth, Wind & Fire's "Boogie Wonderland," Bow Wow Wow's version of the Strangeloves' "I Want Candy," and Kool & the Gang's "Ladies' Night." ~ S. Peeples

It worked before (Wedding Singer, Romy & Michelle, Grosse Point Blank), so it's reasonable to think that setting another late '90s film in an '80s-oriented setting and giving it a soundtrack full of early-'80s "new wave" hits should prove profitable yet again. Whether you see or like 200 CIGARETTES is a moot point. The soundtrack is full of even more enticing '80s gems than the aforementioned similar efforts. That's mainly because 200 CIGARETTES digs a touch deeper for its material. Major acts like Blondie and the Ramones are represented not by plaid-out hits but by lesser-known material. Great, relatively obscure '80s acts like British synth-poppers B-Movie are also included, and the stylistic swath 200 CIGARETTES cuts is wide enough to include not just new wave, but also R&B from Kool & the Gang and mainstream rock from Dire Straits. minimize