During a recent dinner party at my house someone asked about the record playing on the faux-vintage turntable in the corner.

I smiled… as the stacks of records and easy to use player is intended to stimulate conversation about music. Often times after dinner, someone starts flipping through the albums, telling stories and triggering a connective music ramble that gains steam like a tornado as multiple people chime in.

On this particular night, the record playing was “The Big Chill” movie soundtrack filled with classic Sixties tracks by Motown greats, such as Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson and Aretha Franklin, and pop rock trailblazers like The Rascals, Three Dog Night and Procol Harum.

The movie and soundtrack (released in 1983) rekindled America’s love with the Sixities sound and introduced the Motown sound to a new generation of music fans.

Other movies like “Platoon” (1986) and “Forest Gump” (1994), followed suit with killer soundtracks that sold record breaking numbers of CDs, cassettes and albums. The “Animal House” soundtrack released in 1978, initially brought Sixties hits “Shout” and “Louie Louie” back to the charts a few years earlier.

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The best music rambles lead to music discovery and activity. The “Big Chill” conversation sparked two other wonderfully enjoyable music-related events.

NUMBER 1:

Watched “The Big Chill” movie with my gal (who had never seen it). $3.99 on Amazon Prime.

I wasn’t sure that the movie would hold up since it was made 35 years ago, but it kinda did… At the end of the day it’s a story about the bond between friends that grew up together, and what happens to them when they mature and face life’s realities.

The characters and storylines attached to each are fantastic, but I’m here to talk about the music!

The opening scene where the friend’s gather for Alex’s funeral (played by Kevin Costner, who was cut out of the final production so you never see him) comes to life when The Rolling Stones “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” becomes the center of the scene. This set the tone for the movie and provides a familiar vehicle to the audience to connect emotionally to the characters. Call me sick or disturbed (it would no be the first or last time), but I certainly have thought on more than a few occasions about what song I would like to have played at my funeral.

Brilliant, indeed.

In case you were wondering… Rick Danko‘s “Twilight” is the song I would have played at my funeral.

Here are a few different takes of the tune… two by Danko… one with The Band in 1976, the second solo… and mine (played for a friend, who like Alex in “The Big Chill” died too young).

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At one point watching the movie I let my girlfriend know that I’m thinking of writing a story on the movie, when she nonchalantly lays down a killer observation… the movie’s music is truly a “central character” in the film in a way that I have never seen.

In addition to the funeral scene, a number of other iconic scenes where music adds a three dimensional element to enhance the emotional connection with the viewer. “The Kitchen Dance” scene with The Temptations “Ain’t To Proud To Beg” and (of course the) “Sex Night” scene where Tom Berenger humps JoBeth Williams in the woods are other great examples.

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I can go on and on naming other movies in which music is creatively used to connect with the audience…. the air raid scene in “Apocalypse Now” and that first intro to Buffalo Bill in “Silence of the Lambs” come immediately to mind.

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NUMBER 2:

The second event triggered from the “The Big Chill” soundtrack discussion was the re-discovery of a favorite movie soundtrack — “The Firm” (1993). Based in Memphis, Tennessee, the music that surrounds the story of Mitch McDeere and the Gene Hackman-lead team of scumbag lawyers is fantastic. Music from Lyle Lovett, Jimmy Buffet and the wonderfully talented pianist Dave Grusin provide a thick backdrop that reeks of Memphis – Tennessee.

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I will save the record-fueled discussion from the previous dinner party about Blondie and the Talking Heads. There is only so much one person can absorb.

What movies do you associate with great music watch the movie? Can I suggest you listen to the soundtrack and create your own music ramble moment.

Quoting the late, great John Prine…

“It’s better than sitting like a bump on a log.