Pump Up the Volume

Perhaps it’s no surprise that a film about a pirate radio DJ would boast a stellar soundtrack. Christian Slater’s character defined himself in large part by his musical taste, which he then played for his audience, including Soundgarden, Sonic Youth, underrated N.W.A associates Above the Law and the brilliant “UK Surf” mix of the Pixies’ “Wave of Mutilation.” It also features a number of cool covers, including Bad Brains and Henry Rollins doing MC5’s “Kick Out the Jams” and Cowboy Junkies tackling Robert Johnson’s “Me and the Devil Blues.” Alas, Concrete Blonde’s theme-song cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Everybody Knows” pales next to the original, which is the version that actually airs in the film. Several other great songs didn’t make the cut, either, so as a kid, I audiotaped the whole movie and cut together my own private soundtrack.