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Thursday, May 15th

Remember Judgment Night?

Sometime in the early spring of 1994 my older brother decided to take in some recently rented cinema. He took advantage of the fact that our parents were out of town, and subsequently had to take care of his still-single-digit sibling. So while he was simply doing what an average American guy would do without parents around (or at least some variation of that), I experienced early-90s thriller films first hand.

Fast forward a decade, and I am focused on a fifty-year-old gentleman who once tried turning MTV into the Cindy Crawford Channel. Though he’s now known more as a fire fighter on FX. This was a gathering of somewhat well-known people, turning his accomplishments into travesties. Among bleeps and gestures, someone utters the words Judgement Night in a humorous manner and it all comes flooding back to me.

All of a sudden I had to see this film again, and it just so happened that one of my old classmates had a copy in his box of old films he never watches. So, we plugged in his dual VHS/DVD VCR and allowed what was information that had recessed into my brain to resurface as a film featuring younger versions of random people I knew from many other places. Jeremy Piven, Emilio Estevez, Cuba Gooding Jr, Stephen Dorf. This was a super hero team of actors before they ever really got the attention they deserved (Emilio Estevez excluded).

But what really makes this film stand out more than the actual movie itself is the soundtrack. The Judgment Night Soundtrack was the first official soundtrack to specifically feature a different rock band and rap group collaborating on each track. Bands like Helmet, Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr., Faith No More, and Pearl Jam working with hip hop artists such as Run DMC, Cypress Hill, De La Soul, House Of Pain and Del Tha Funkee Homosapien. This soundtrack was given some very high regards from publications at the time, mostly praised for their “barrier-breaking” collaborations. Though now it really isn’t that crazy for rap and rock to be together (in fact it’s kind of obnoxious at this point), fifteen years ago it was a genre shattering statement to make with music, and in extension, the film will stand out for decades to come.

Written by Paul Harper
> Music, Remember | 5:00 pm |
More on: Cypress Hill, De La Soul, Dinosaur Jr., Faith No More, Helmet, House of Pain, Judgment Night, Pearl Jam, Run DMC, Sonic Youth

8 Responses to “Remember Judgment Night?”

On 05/15/08 6:19 PM, Matt said:

just another victim kid.
On 05/15/08 6:27 PM, cardenio said:

haha, how’d mudhoney end up on there. That’s like dan ackroyd being in “We Are The World…”
On 05/15/08 10:22 PM, Matt said:

I still dig this CD. Yes, it let to some of the worst bands ever (Limp Bizkit) but nonetheless it was amazing at the time. The Biohazard and Onyx song is great. One of the awesome songs on here that gets looked over is the Boo Ya Tribe/Faith No More track “Another Body Murdered” - fucking great shit!

I havent seen the movie in a while but I remember it making me think twice about driving through Camden - one wrong turn and its over.
On 05/16/08 12:01 AM, Seth Werkheiser said:

holy giver (?), I’m a survivor, feeling like dinero in taxi driver…
On 05/16/08 12:07 AM, chad said:

thats strange i was talking about this album the other day. its a classic. reminds me of high school. i wish more soundtracks would combine bands like these. good stuff!
On 05/16/08 10:16 AM, Dr. Jones said:

Dinosaur Jr + Del Tha Funkee Homosapien = win
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyfQLTf-B2I
On 05/16/08 2:06 PM, Brandon Jones said:

I remember having this album early on in High School. It was great. I also enjoyed the film back then.
On 05/18/08 7:53 PM, scooter said:

Freakin love this album still!

Thursday, May 15th

Remember Judgment Night?

8 Responses to “Remember Judgment Night?”

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