Listen with me if you want to live
July 10, 2020 8:25 PM   Subscribe

Really, it all depends on how you like your soundtrack album for 1984's The Terminator. The original (rather limited run) release was 35 minutes long (YouTube album link, not a playlist) and was half score and half weak 80s pop. The 1994 "Definitive Edition" (Definite Edition?) (YT album link) was entirely the score, and runs about 72 minutes.
posted by hippybear (8 comments total) 10 users marked this as a favorite
 
While it's nice that "Escape from the Police Station" is the original version before James Cameron told Brad Fiedel to remove the melody, I wish the soundtrack also included the version that's actually in the film.
posted by Strutter Cane - United Planets Stilt Patrol at 9:18 PM on July 10, 2020


Weak 80s pop or not, I liked some of the non-score songs. The moment that the movie really clicked for me was during the scene in Tech Noir, when everything switches to slow motion... except for "Burnin' in the Third Degree", which is playing at regular speed, but turns all echoey. It adds to the dreamlike aura of the scene, with Sarah unable to move or act while the laser dot moves up her face...
posted by Halloween Jack at 9:35 PM on July 10, 2020 [5 favorites]


I had this on cassette as a kid and listened to it so many times.

Bookmarked. Thanks for the post!
posted by scaryblackdeath at 10:40 PM on July 10, 2020


Ok but
posted by snuffleupagus at 11:06 PM on July 10, 2020


DAH-doonk, dah-doonk, dah-doonk, gonk gonk.

Here is the simplest way to satisfy yourself that this is 13/16. Tap it out with a fourth dah-doonk before the gonk gonk. Now it is plain old 4/4. A dah-doonk is three 16ths, so the original is 13/16.
posted by thelonius at 1:21 AM on July 11, 2020


dah-doonk gonk gonk arguments, previously.
posted by zamboni at 4:49 AM on July 11, 2020 [1 favorite]


A bit of a derail but does the soundtrack include audio cues from the movie? I used to love soundtrack albums that included these kind of flourishes. But I would also record entire movies I liked from VHS on to audio cassettes and just listen to them.
posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 7:29 PM on July 11, 2020


Neither the soundtrack nor this score include audio cues (at least the versions I have listened to).

I love hearing the full length score. Like many, I can quickly place myself in the movie.

The best thing about having the OST in your playlist (random always - ride or die), is that when a song from it starts playing (and you are in public - pre-COVID), it was fun for me to look around to try to identify who could be the Terminator in our midst.
(spoiler alert: it was almost always me... leather jacket in summer + shades...)

And hearing any of the songs start, I always close my eyes and sigh or gasp with the leitmotif. Terminator was a very key memory/emotional touchstone for me. All the love to Brad Fiedel for that hook (intentional or not).
posted by mephisjo at 9:34 PM on July 14, 2020


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