the original soundtrack to...

I doubled up on a few scenes to fill up both cd's... this is a lotta music.

1. Opening Credits: "I'll Fly Away" - Kanye West: This has a gospel feel to it. "when I die, Hallelujah by and by..." I think this was the first song that stuck with me when I listened to Kanye's album. Makes you want to sing along with it.

2. Waking-Up Scene: "Wake Up" - Rage Against the Machine: When this song hits at the end of The Matrix, it hits. I was thinking of using "Simon Says" - Pharoahe Monch because that's what my old roommate would play in the morning so I'd wake up, but a song more incoherent would have been more appropriate, at least for my college years. The tone of the song fits though--determined and edgy--just right for when you finally stop hitting the snooze button.

3. Spring Scene: "Victory is Won" - Santana: I first heard this when my brother was playing it. No words, but man, the organ, guitar, and the drums make such a good sound together, especially at the climax, it's like there are fireworks going off (as Mel says). Sounds triumphant, like the ice finally melted away.

4. Average-Day Scene: "If I May" - Blackalicious: "Here we go again..." I haven't memorized this song or anything, but it's a chill cut, any the lyrics are the truf. "When God is present in your life than you can come reap on, And ain't a storm that you can't weather, You got a purpose you was born to create, Destiny is waitin' for you"

5. Best-Friend Scene: "So Many Things" - City High : It's more on the sad side, but the chorus is soooo good. I wouldn't expect anything less from that kid from Sister Act 2. Really soulful.

6. First-Date Scene: "Q, Mike, Slim, Daron" - 112: Strange title, but one of my favorite interludes from any album. I wonder how many people knew this track before Modern used it a few years ago. Nothing over the top, it's more on the low key tip.

7. Falling-In-Love Scene: "Feelin Me, Feelin You" - Alicia Keys: Another interlude. The guitar up high with the keyboard down low... Alicia's voice comes in and just lingers in the air for a moment. "Two hour long conversations on the phone, can't get you out of my mind"

8. Love Scene: "Love Ballad" - L.T.D. : One of the first songs I heard listening to internet radio back in Chino this summer. Absolutely classic. It's got violins. Yaz (jazz) guitar. Game over. "What we had is much more than they could see"

9. High Scene: "Vibrate" - Andre 3000: Listen to this one in the dark... or driving alone... I played it on the way to a PUSO retreat and Mark E. and Mel Aguas told me this would be a song to listen to if I were high. That stopwatch sound in the background keeps it moving.

10. Hook up Scene: "Bump N Grind" - R Kelly: Now I think of that scene from "Without a Paddle" when I hear this, but it also reminds me of the whole freaky R&B era. Man, those early 90s. "Hook up" had a different meaning at the time of this song though.

11. Sex Scene (2 songs): "What Dreams Are Made Of" - (Paolo and Isabella) & "Moments in Love" - Art of Noise: I'm dead serious. Ok, just kidding. But not really. This is what dreams are made of. Hey, I got it from someone else's comp. But "Moments in Love" is fitting without feeling overtly raunchy or anything. This song spawned some weird remixes though.

12. Summer Scene (2 songs): "I'll Be Ready" - Baywatch Theme & "Amber" - 311: The first song speaks for itself. "I'll be raaarrree!!!!!" "Amber" reminds me of the beach. Oh, the beach. The snare sounds so good.

13. Fight-With-Friend Scene : "Unforgiven" - Metallica: I already burned my first CD with "Unforgiven", but went through my collection again and really wanted to replace it with "Shape of My Heart" - Sting. If you watched the end scene of "The Professional" (aka "Leon"), then you'd see. One of my all time favorites. "That's not the shape of my heart..." Too late to go back though.

14. Break Up Scene: "WTH>You" - Linkin Park: A lot of "purists" knock Linkin Park, but this track is awesome. Chester's vocals are still very melodic even when he's screaming. It's nice and angry and they don't even have to curse. "No, I’m not upset, No, I’m not angry, I know love is love, Love and sometimes it pains me"

15. Get-Back-Together Scene: "On Your Side" - Pete Yorn: Another track I got into after my brother played it. I played it a lot June of last year. The lyrics are somewhat contradictory, but such is the nature of getting back together. "And I listen, Yeah I listen, Can you listen?, Now I’m listening". The snare pulls it all together for me.

16. 'Life's Okay' Scene: "Make You Feel That Way" - Blackalicious: When I play this in the car it mellows me out (not the negative connotation, the positive one). "just chillin... it's love... it's love". Puts me in a good mood.

17. Fall Scene: "U Got Me" - The Roots, Erykah Badu: When I first heard this, I loved it, but for some reason I stopped liking it. That is, until this year. Hard to explain, but the sound and Badu's voice on the chorus fit the dynamic of fall. Think falling leaves and chill breezes. Things are changing all around, but "baby, don't worry, you know that you got me". Bass. Drums. Hot (in a autumn sort of way).

18. Heartbreak Scene: "Lately" - Jodeci (MTV unplugged version): Used to be my all time favorite, but still in my top 3. K-Ci and JoJo at their best, their take on a Stevie Wonder classic (he's a musical genius). I could listen to it every day and not get tired of it. I think I did that actually, back in junior high. Reminds me of my first break up--no negative associations though.

19. Mental-Breakdown Scene: "Breaking the Habit" - Linkin Park: Hard driving beat and guitar. The video for this song adds to the song also. A definite sense of urgency. "I hurt much more, than any time before... I have no options left again". "Welcolme to the Jungle" - Guns N Roses comes in at a close second. If you remember the commercials for Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, you'd see why.

20. Driving Scene (2 songs): "Everlong" - Foo Fighters & "My Favorite Game" - Cardigans: Of all the songs I've ever played in the car, I don't think I've ever driven as hard and focused as I have with "Everlong" playing. Incredible driving beat. "My Favorite Game" is a close second. Watch the intro movie for Gran Turismo 2 and it fits uncannily well. Definitely a song to race to.

21. Winter Scene: "Clubbed to Death" - Rob D.: The violins in the beginning and the piano at the end make "Clubbed to Death" seem apropriate for winter. I can imagine myself walking through a blizzard or something. As if it snows here in the winter. The bass near the end is a nice touch... sounds like a slow heartbeat.

22. Lesson-Learning Scene: "Liberation" - Outkast, Erykah Badu, Cee-Lo, Big Rube: One of my current top 3 songs. The instrumentation on this one is incredible. It took me a while to really get into this one, but once I turned it up and listened to the 5 or 6 verses, the spoken word part, and then the long instrumental climax straight through, oh man, I couldn't stop playing it. The truth is to freedom as lesson learning is to liberation. Some of the spoken word lyrics: "you can't imagine it... unless you lookin at the canvas of life... and not through the peephole of mortality... Single minded mentality"

23. Falling Asleep Scene: "Watermark" - Enya: My old roommate would play Enya every night when he went to sleep freshman and sophomore year. Usually it would be the "sail Away" track, which I didn't really care for, but occasionally he'd play the rest of the album. This one wasn't cheesy or anything. It's so light and relaxing it could knock you out cold.

24. Deep-Thought Scene: "Air" - Bach: One of my favorite soundtrack songs. One of my favorite classical songs too. This was used in "Se7en" when Morgan Freeman's character was doing some research at the public library and the security guards played this loud on his boombox. It makes me feel smarter.

25. Flashback Scene: "Tomorrow (Sadio)" - Salif Keita: Another soundtrack pull, this one is from "Ali", when Ali runs through the crowd back in the motherland. Very surreal, and the fact that it's mostly in a foreign language makes it a little more dream-like. Forget that he's saying "tomorrow"

26. Party Scene (2 songs): "After Party" - Koffee Brown & "Party Ain't a Party" - Queen Pen, Lost Boyz: Chill party song. Not loud or over the top. Something to groove to. "Party Ain't a Party" has more energy. The horns!

27. Regret Scene: "Bother" - Stone Sour: Thought of this song pretty quickly. Really somber. "I wish I had a reason, my flaws are open season, for this, I gave up trying, One good turn deserves my dying". Soo sad.

28. Happy-Dance Scene: "September" - Earth, Wind and Fire: This reminds me of when I did senior suite for the '03 PCN. Man, best senior suite ever. Good times.

29. Long-Night-Alone Scene: "Creep" - Radiohead: Haha, I sang this one time on Magic Mic and got 100. One Hundred! I put it in for a little comic relief. Dark comedy. Good song though. Emo? Whatever. "What the hell am I doing here? I don't belong here"

30. Spiritual Scene: "You May Die (Intro)" - Outkast & "Blessed" - Rachel Lampa: Another interlude, this seems to show the human side of spirtuality. Makes me think of things floating and clouds and whatnot. I've been playing "Blessed" a lot lately. I love the gospel feel. When the choir comes in, with the organ and everything, it takes me back to gospel choir class. "All along the road less traveled, I have crawled and I have run, I have wandered through the wind and rain until I found the sun".

31. Closing Credits: "You'll Find a Way" - Dead Prez: Piano, horn, drum, and bass. The horn is crazy on this one. I play this all the time, especially as an "exit song," something I play as I leave the apartment. Somewhat reminiscent of "Taps", it gives a good sense of closure.