Go vote, while listening to obscure electronic music.
The Andromeda Strain Original Electronic Soundtrack
The Andromeda Strain is one of my favorite science-fiction books of all time, and is without a doubt my favorite Michael Crichton book. I used to be a big fan of that guy, until he lost his fucking mind and decided that writing about fake science made him a real scientist (FACT: anyone involved with the production of Runaway should not be invited to speak in front of congress). Anyways, I’ve only seen the original Andromeda Strain movie once, but I recall liking it (and being confused that one of the characters switched genders from the book to the film).
Both the movie and the book are readily available, and I recommend them both. The soundtrack is a little harder to come by, however. Never released on CD, the original vinyl records were hexagon-shaped and came in an awesome foldout case. They only made 10,000 of them this way (because of the high cost in doing so), while later copies were made regularly. Both versions are insanely hard to find. I got a copy with a slightly torn cover for $20, but a near mint copy can easily go for $100-$200 online, so I got a deal. The music itself is great early electronic music, all synthesizer stuff. It was composed by Gil Melle, who may be known to genre film fans as the composer to such classic films as Blood Beach and The Sentinel (one of the most FUCKED UP movies you will ever see). He also did the scores for episodes of Night Gallery, Six Million Dollar Man and Columbo. Diverse dude.
Liquid Sky Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
This is a movie I have not seen. As far as I know this movie is out of print, despite it being listed on Amazon (that looks like a bootleg). From what I can gather the movie is about alien heroin addicts. Sounds like my kind of flick. The soundtrack is just as weird as the film. It was composed on a Fairlight CMI (the first digital synthesizer) and is very experimental, featuring an odd assortment of jarring tonal sounds, off-kilter melodies and freaky beats. I dig it. The director/writer/producer Slava Tsukerman is credited as a composer of the soundtrack, as is Brenda Hutchinson, who is a freaky experimental musician, and Clive Smith, who’s done a bunch of TV stuff over the years. Never released on CD and insanely hard to find, it’s a must listen for fans of weird shit.
Fervent thanks for the Liquid Sky soundtrack. What a great find!
The movie is worth watching if get the chance. I saw it as half of a double feature with Repo Man in the mid-80s, and remember it as being in a freaky class by itself (kind of the way Johnny Guitar is).
Hey you.
Crichton died after this post.
WTF.
Love the blog. I’ve never been a Crichton fan, although I am sorry to hear of his passing. Just wanted to note another seemingly random authority…Jeff “Skunk” Baxter..
“Liquid Sky” is fabulous! Especially if you take acid before watching… As for “Andromeda Strain”, the original film still scares the shit out me (the remake wasn’t as bad as most reviewed it, but not as terrifying IMO). Thankies for sharing the music from both!
Liquid Sky is definitely worth a watch if you can find it–but just for the record it’s about a Lesbian Heroin Addict. The aliens follow her around and suck out the brains of people having sex with her when they orgasm….
After I saw this movie I found a hubcab by the roadside and it looked just like one of the UFO’s so of course I had to take it home and hang on the wall!
liquid sky soundtrack?! “she kills with her c^nt!” the quote that haunted every bad relationship i’ve ever had…
yours is my new fav blog. digging tons of these tracks. thanks!