Pretty In Pop
Songs from the films of John Hughes
Endearing
Folks, before John Hughes was responsible for Home Alone, even before he was responsible for the movies that defined a generation of teen films and teen film music in the Eighties, he co-wrote Animal House.
But that’s beside the point. What we focus on here is that middle part, movies like Pretty In Pink, The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, etc., and the bands that provided the characteristic soundtrack to his pictures, and in a way, middle American teendom, and in a larger way, the sound of “alternative music” that followed. Flesh for Lulu, Echo and the Bunnymen, the Psychedelic Furs, the Thompson Twins and Simple Minds are represented here, as interpreted by the Bonaduces, Ninety Nine, Speedbuggy, Ciao Bella and b’ehl, respectively. Each band brings a sense of millenium-closing pop sensibility to the affair, resulting in a record far dreamier and sparser than any Hughes soundtrack, which suits me fine. Ciao Bella’s slow-motion rendition of “If You Were Here” is especially interesting.
Overall, Pretty in Pop is a great (if short – five tracks) interpretation of a generally unspoken trend in music. This record will have sentimental value for a large group of people, which might be enough to sell the number of copies it truly deserves. Endearing Records, P.O. Box 69009, Winnipoed, Manitoba R3P 2G9, Canada; endear@mbet.mb.ca
