From the first preview of Watchmen, I was dying to see it. Now I am dying to hear it. The soundtrack is damn good – and intriguing to say the least. From My Chemical Romance’s cover of Bob Dylan’s Desolation Row to Hendrix’s classic take on another Dylan tune All Along the Watchtower.
Perhaps in honor of the character Rorschach himself, it is a true test and testimony to the eclectic interpretation of a superhero, anti-hero critique that is Watchmen. I will go out on a limb and say it is the first movie ever to feature Janis Joplin and Tears for Fears, Billie Holiday and KC & The Sunshine Band; Leonard Cohen and Nena (of 99 Luftballons fame). Not to mention Waylon Jennings and the Theme from Outer Limits. This is a soundtrack that really will transport you to another world.
There are 24 songs in Watchmen. The soundtrack CD has half of the songs from the movie, plus an extra one – Pirate Jenny by Nina Simone, a reference to the pirate ship in the comic within the original story (neither the song nor the comic were in the movie).
Update: Here are all the songs from the movie, in the order they appeared and with info about the scenes they played in. The downloads for most of the songs (DRM-free MP3s from Amazon) are here too.
You can find the videos and downloads for all the songs at Reelsoundtrack.com.
- MTV Theme: Man On The Moon – Jonathan Elias and John Petersen
- On the TV and opening fight: Unforgettable – Nat King Cole
- Opening credits: The Times They Are a-Changin – Bob Dylan
- Dinner with Laurie and Dan: 99 Luftballons – Nena
- Funeral: The Sound Of Silence – Simon & Garfunkel
- Vietnam: Ride Of The Valkyries – Budapest Symphony Orchestra
- Bar in Vietnam: Me And Bobby McGee – Janis Joplin
- Street protest: I’m Your Boogie Man – KC & The Sunshine Band
- Laurie comes to Dan’s house: Unforgettable – Nat King Cole
- You’re My Thrill – Billie Holiday
- Protest (from the opera Satyagraha) – Philip Glass
- Something She Has To Do – Philip Glass
- Mars: Prophecies (from Koyaanisqatsi) – The Philip Glass Ensemble
- Mars: Pruit Igoe (from Koyaanisqatsi) – The Philip Glass Ensemble
- Captains of industry / assassination attempt: Everybody Wants To Rule The World – Studio Group (originally performed by Tears for Fears)
- Love scene: Hallelujah – Leonard Cohen
- Bar scene asking about Pyramid: Clyde – Waylon Jennings
- Flying to Antarctica: All Along The Watchtower – Jimi Hendrix
- Leaving Antarctica: Requiem (Excerpted from Mozart’s Requiem) – Tyler Bates [Updated from original post]
- On the TV: Control Voice (from Outer Limits) – Vic Perrin
- On the TV: The Outer Limits Theme – Dominic Frontiere
- On the TV: Panic – Dominic Frontiere
- End credits: Desolation Row – My Chemical Romance
- Second end credits song: First We Take Manhattan – Leonard Cohen
Additional music:
- Original music for Watchmen: Tyler Bates
- Extra song not in the movie but on the album: Pirate Jenny – Nina Simone
- Song from the commercial for the movie: The End Is The Beginning Is The End by Smashing Pumpkins.
- Song from the preview (thrown through the window): Take a Bow – Muse.
Here are a few of the videos from the Watchmen soundtrack songs:
99 Luftballons by Nena:
Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen:
The Sound of Silence by Simon & Garfunkel