Soundtrack Your Life

Candice Lim, former host of Slate's ICYMI, former producer of NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour, and total pop colture savant, joins Nicole Barlow and Ryan Pak to talk about the soundtrack to the 2004 Adamson, Asbury, and Vernon directed film, Shrek 2. As with many blockbuster sequels, the Shrek 2 soundtrack is filled with expensive needle drops, covers of famous songs, and a new song that was nominated for the 2004 Best Original Song Oscar. That would be the Counting Crows' "Accidentally in Love", which would end up falling to Jorge Drexler's "Al Otro Lado del Rio" from The Motorcycle Diaries. For covers, you have Butterfly Boucher covering David Bowie's "Changes", Frou Frou covering Bonnie Tyler's "Holding Out for a Hero" and Pete Droge covering "Ever Fallen in Love" by the Buzzcocks. Tom Waits and Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds also appear in the soundtrack with previously released songs, as do The Eels, who are the connective thread between the various Shrek soundtracks. Candice attributes the Shrek 2 soundtrack to filling in pop culture blind spots of her youth and joins the hosts in making predictions about the upcoming Shrek 5 sequel. For More Information About Candice Lim Substack Instagram Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is part of the Pocasthon 2026! We're supporting the YWCA of Minneapolis. Please learn more about the YWCA of Minneapolis here Tom Schraeder is a songwriter and composer and he scored the 2025 Brian Bertino film, Vicious,. He talks to Nicole Barlow and Ryan Pak and scoring the film as well as his previous scores like The Dark and the Wicked, on this episode of Soundtrack Your Life. The Vicious Soundtrack Score is out now on Paramount Music. Tom also discusses his path to becoming a composer, collaborating with rock musicians such as Mars Williams (Psychadelic Furs), Nels Cline (Wilco). Clive Deamer (Portishead, Radiohead), and Stan Harrison (saxophonist for Bowie, Talking Heads, etc). He also talks about a musician that he may collaborate with in the future that Nicole and Ryan are very excited about. Nicole and Ryan also ask Tom about directors that he'd love to work with in the future, and they give flowers to the unsung heroes in soundtracks: sound editors and designers. For More Information About Tom Schraeder: Website Bandcamp Instagram For the month of March, Soundtrack Your Life is offering 10% off on merch with promo code: SYLMPLS. All proceeds from merch will be donated to the YWCA and other organizations to help Minneapolis. ⁠Merch Store⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We've launched a SYL Merch Store! 10% for the month of March by using promo code SYLMPLS. All profits will go to various organizations in Minnesota. Nicole Barlow and Ryan Pak break down the 2026 Oscars Best Original Song category. It looks like Huntrix's "Golden" from K-Pop Demon Hunters is the heavy favorite but Raphael Saadiq and Sinners is the most nominated film of the year. We break down the nominees, songs snubbed from the short list and give our thoughts on the Best Original Score category as well. Dianne Warren is hoping that her 17th nomination will finally get her The Oscar... for her song from a documentary about Dianne Warren. Head to SoulInsole.com and use code SNDCAST for 10% Off Your Order Take the 90 day Just Thrive Probiotic Challenge Today: (Save 20% on your 1st Order) ⁠https://justthrivehealth.com/CX Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pop Culture Writer, Tamar Herman, joins Nicole Barlow and Ryan Pak to discuss the blockbuster soundtrack to the Maggie Kang's 2025 film, K-Pop Demon Hunters (2025). As someone who has covered the K-Pop industry for years, Tamar is the perfect guest to talk about the impact that the soundtrack has had on pop culture and the K-Pop writers and producers who helped shape the songs that have completely captured the zeitgeist. We Discuss: - The careers of EJAE, Audrey Nuna, and Rei Ami, pre-Demon Hunters - Teddy Park and the BLACK Label writers who helped create the music for Huntr/x - Generation 1 K-Pop homages - K-Pop Megastars Twice and Their Contributions to the Soundtrack - Ryan's Experience at the Twice show in LA For More Information About Tamar Herman: Website Notes on K-Pop Instagram Threads Take the 90 day Just Thrive Probiotic Challenge Today: (Save 20% on your 1st Order) ⁠⁠https://justthrivehealth.com/CX⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Scott Interrante of Big White Elephants and This is the Greatest Song I've Ever Heard in My Entire Life joins Nicole Barlow and Ryan Pak to discuss the soundtrack to the 2024 Luca Guadagnino film, Challengers. The film was scored by the team of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (Nine Inch Nails) who have worked with Guadagnino multiple times before (Queer, Bones and All, After the Hunt). The soundtrack was also accompanied by a remix album from Boys Noize. The score won the Golden Globe for Best Original Score but it was not even nominated for the Best Original Score Oscar. Hot takes, hot actors, and phallic food is all discussed on this Valentine's Day episode of Soundtrack Your Life. Scott's Socials: Big White Elephants Instagram This is the Greatest Song... Instagram Take the 90 day Just Thrive Probiotic Challenge Today: (Save 20% on your 1st Order) https://justthrivehealth.com/CX Thank you for listening! We would love it if you would join our Patreon membership, where you will get quarterly bonus episodes, access to our ad-free episode feed and more! Soundtrack Your Life Socials ⁠ Patreon membership⁠⁠ Bluesky⁠⁠ Instagram⁠⁠ Writing Site⁠⁠ YouTube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mometu President Bryan Louzil joins Nicole and Ryan Pak to discuss the soundtrack to Mike Judge's 1999 cult classic, Office Space. The soundtrack boasts needle drops from artists like Scarface, The Geto Boys, Slum Village, Canibus & Biz Markie, Ice Cube and Kool Keith. Obviously, we have to talk about "Still" by the Geto Boys which soundtracks the infamous "printer scene". The soundtrack supervisor for Office Space is Karyn Rachtman, whose illustrious career includes soundtracking Pulp Fiction, Clueless, Romeo and Juliet, Reality Bites, and Moulin Rouge - and those are just the movies that we've covered on our podcast. For More Information About Bryan Louzil: Mometu Mometu IG Mometu Podcast The Mometu College Film Festival Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Comedian and Filmmaker, Cameron Smith, joins Nicole Barlow and Ryan Pak to talk about the soundtrack to the 2007 Jake Kasdan film, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story. While the film flopped at the box office, it has become a cult classic and star, John C. Reilly is planning to take the Dewey Cox songs on tour in 2007 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the film. We Discuss: - How the Film Influenced Cameron In His Formative Years - The Great Songs and the Massively Talented Songwriters Behind Them - John C. Reilly's Love of Music - Our Favorite Scenes, Performances, and The Beatles For More Information About Cameron Smith: Website YouTube Instagram TikTok Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Musician Sean Griffin (The Ruffians) is our guest to ring in the holidays by talking about Henry Selick's The Nightmare Before Christmas on Soundtrack Your Life! Sean has just released the Christmas song, "I'm in Love for Christmas", so he's the perfect guest for our holiday episode! Obviously, if we're talking The Nightmare before Christmas, we're talking about Danny Elfman, who composed the score, wrote the songs, and is the singing voice of Jack Skellington. We also talk about Catherine O'Hara as Sally, and how she's an underrated singer (we covered her singing on our A Mighty Wind episode a couple of months ago). We also chat about Christmas traditions, and our favorite Christmas specials and songs. For More Information About Sean Griffin (and where you can find his music): Website Instagram We've launched a SYL merch store! Promo code: Newbie for 10% off at: https://soundtrackcast.creator-spring.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Author Eric Gee joins Nicole Barlow and Ryan Pak to discuss the soundtrack to Doug Liman's 1999 film, Go! From the B.T. score to the timeless earworm of Len's "Steal My Sunshine", to a new No Doubt song, Go! captures all the music that suburban kids were into in 1999. 00:00:00-00:09:30 Introducing Eric Gee & The Power of Personality 00:09:31-00:15:30 Why Did Eric Pick Go!? 00:15:31-00:23:00 The Soundtrack Supervisor and Capturing 1999 00:23:01-00:25:15 The Pulp Fiction Comparison 00:25:16-00:32:30 The "Steal My Sunshine" Needle Drop and Rave Culture 00:32:31-00:39:00 John August and Screenwriting 00:39:01-00:44:30 The Career of Electronic Music Pioneer, BT 00:44:31-00:50:30 Is Go! a Christmas Movie? and Breckin Meyer Defining 1999 00:50:31-00:56:00 Doug Liman's Post-Go! Career and The Simpsons' homage to Go! 00:56:01-00:59:30 Your Life in 3 Tracks 00:59:31-01:05:54 What's Ryan's Animal? / Thank Yous and Goodbyes Eric's book, The Power of Personality of out now! For More Information About Eric Gee: Website Instagram Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pop culture writer, and soon to be author, Rachel Brodsky (Time, LA Times, Stereogum, Rolling Stone, and more!) returns to Soundtrack Your Life to discuss the soundtrack to the 2009 Greg Mottolla film, Adventureland, with hosts Nicole Barlow and Ryan Pak. Outside of Falco's hit "Rock Me Amadeus", the soundtrack mines 80s college rock over pop hits for this 80s period piece. Needle drops from The Replacements, Crowded House, The Cure, Husker Du, Big Star, & Lou Reed pop up in the film alongside a beautiful score by Yo La Tengo. For More Information About Rachel Brodsky: Instagram Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Singer and Star of SIX on Broadway, Kelsie Watts, joins Nicole Barlow and Ryan Pak to discuss the soundtrack to the 2017 Michael Gracey film, The Greatest Showman. The soundtrack spent 28 weeks at #1 on the Billboard charts, and the song "This is Me" won the Best Original Song award at the Golden Globes and was nominated for Best Original Song at the Oscars. The songwriting team of Pasek/Paul (La La Land, Dear Evan Hansen) wrote all the songs for the film. 00:00:00 - 00:07:45 Introducing Kelsie Watts! 00:07:46 - 00:09:45 Why Did Kelsie Pick The Greatest Showman and Facts About the Soundtrack 00:09:46 - 00:12:30 The Song of Pasek/Paul/ Hugh Jackman's Reaction to Kelsie's Cover of "Never Enough" 00:12:31 - 00:19:00 Preparing for a Musical 00:19:01 - 00:20:10 The Versatile Hugh Jackman 00:20:11 - 00:25:15 What Does Kelsie Think of Everyone's Singing in the Film? 00:25:16 - 00:26:30 The Golden Globe Winning and Oscar Nominated "This is Me" 00:26:31 - 00:29:15 A Greatest Showman Musical? 00:29:16 - 00:33:29 Kelsie's Future Plans and Goodbyes Kelsie' single "Fit In" is available in it's original studio form, acoustic, or remixed by SMASHKASH X MIXMASTERDAVID. She's featured on the Manafest song "Take You Higher", and just released the song "Christmas in New York", just in time for the holidays. For more information about Kelsie Watts: Website TikTok Instagram Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

*Trigger Warning: This episode has references to self harm and sexual assault. Alan Katz, formerly a writer/showrunner for the TV show, Tales from the Crypt, joins Nicole Barlow and Ryan Pak to talk about his new career in podcasting. Alan owns Costard and Touchstone Productions, which is home to podcasts such as The How Not to Make a Movie Podcast, The Donor: A DNA Horror Story, The Hall Closet, John Kiriakou's Dead Drop: What Makes a Spy Tick, and more! Nicole and Ryan also talk to Alan about the amazing composers that worked on Tales from the Crypt. Legendary composers such as Michael Kaman, Alan Silvestri, Ry Cooder and more leant their talents to the hit horror franchise. Alan shares a great story about collaborating with Kaman. Nicole also asks about a fun needle drop in the film Bordello of Blood, and Alan explains why there will never be a Tales reboot. For more information about Alan Katz: Website Instagram Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Singer, performer, and creator of Kat Robichaud's Misfit Cabaret, Kat Robichaud joins Nicole Barlow and Ryan Pak to discuss the soundtrack to the 1974 Brian De Palma film, Phantom of the Paradise. Oscar winner, Paul Williams starred in the film, wrote original songs for it, and scored the film. He was nominated for Best Original Score at the Oscars even though the film did not do well at the box office. 00:00:00 - 00:06:30 Introducing Kat Robichaud and the Misfit Cabaret 00:06:31 - 00:10:00 Why Did Kat pick Phantom of the Paradise 00:10:01 - 00:16:15 Reasons Why Phantom Flopped Except in Winnipeg / Becoming a Cult Film 00:16:16 - 00:21:45 Kat's Initial Reaction to Seeing Phantom and Watching Cult Film as a Kid 00:21:46 - 00:24:30 Phantom's Influence on Directors 00:24:31 - 00:25:55 The Phantom/Paul Williams and Daft Punk Connection 00:25:56 - 00:28:30 Paul Williams' Music Career 00:28:31 - 00:34:30 Brian De Palma's Striking Visuals in Phantom 00:34:31 - 00:38:10 Beef and A Possible Phantom Musical? 00:38:11 - 00:44:30 Ryan Met The Other Director named Brian De Palma 00:44:31 - 00:46:59 De Palma's Signature Shots in the Film / Favorite song on the soundtrack 00:47:00 - 00:49:55 Life in 3 Tracks 00:49:56 - 00:51:30 The Lost Art of Discovering Films on Accident 00:51:31 - 00:55:00 Thank Yous and Goodbyes For More Information About Kat Robichaud: Website Instagram Patreon TikTok Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Musician Reeya Banerjee has just released her album, This Place. She joined Nicole Barlow and Ryan Pak on Soundtrack Your Life to discuss the new album as well as the soundtrack to Christopher Guest's 2003 film, A Mighty Wind. The soundtrack features the Oscar nominated song, "A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow" and the Grammy winning song "A Mighty Wind". 00:00:00 - 00:08:10 Introducing Reeya and A Mighty Wind 00:08:11 - 00:15:07 The Original Songs of A Mighty Wind 00:15:08 - 00:17:46 The Award Nominated/Winning Songs from the Film 00:17:47 - 00:20:27 Mitch and Mickey Are The Heart of the Film 00:20:28 - 00:24:31 The Comedic and Musical Talent of the Cast 00:24:32 - 00:29:31 Making Fake Folk and the Influences Behind It 00:29:32 - 00:36:15 The Bittersweet Fate of The Groups in A Mighty Wind 00:36:16 - 00:40:56 A Folksmen Biopic? / The Kiss at the end of the Movie 00:40:57 - 00:45:46 Eugene Levy / Catherine O'Hara over the Years 00:45:47 - 00:49:03 Life in 3 songs 00:49:04 - 00:52:15 Thank Yous and Goodbyes For More Information About Reeya Banerjee: Website Instagram YouTube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Nostalgia Pit's Colin Casserd joins Nicole and Ryan to discuss the soundtrack to the 1998 Roland Emmerich film, Godzilla. The soundtrack is aptly titled, Godzilla: The Album since barely any of the songs on the soundtrack actually appear in the film. For More Information About The Nostalgia Pit: Linktree Instagram Patreon Soundtrack Your Life SocialsBlueskyInstagramWriting SiteYouTubePatreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

(00:00:00) Introducing Michele Catalano and Why Did She Pick Spawn? (00:07:33) Thoughts on Spawn the film (00:17:36) Soundtrack Composer Graham Revell and ILM Worked on this Movie? (00:19:03) Breaking Down the Best Songs of the Spawn Soundtrack (00:31:51) Todd Macfarlane Post-Spawn (00:33:46) Thoughts on the Spawn Cast (00:37:59) The Blade 2 Soundtrack as The Follow up to the Spawn Soundtrack / Happy Walters' Legacy (00:44:39) What Groups Would You Force to Collab for a Soundtrack? (00:48:11) Your Life's Soundtrack in 3 Songs (00:50:18) Thank Yous and Goodbyes Michele Catalano, creator of I Have That on Vinyl joins Nicole Barlow and Ryan Pak to talk about the soundtrack to the 1997 Mark A.Z. Dippe film, Spawn. The film flopped at the box office but the soundtrack debuted at #7 on the Billboard 200 charts and ended up going Gold.Ryan has written a piece for I Have That on Vinyl:https://ihavethatonvinyl.com/essays/sebadoh-and-my-first-vinyl-purchase/For More Information on Michele CatalanoWebsite: https://ihavethatonvinyl.com/Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/ihavethatonvinyl.comPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/IHaveThatonVinyl/homeSoundtrack Your Life SocialsBlueskyInstagramWriting SiteYouTubePatreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

(00:00:00) What's New with Kula Shaker and Why Did Crispian Select Wonderwall? (00:10:29) Wonderwall's Influence on Kula Shaker (00:13:47) Kula Shaker Sampling "Skiing" for Gokula (00:17:09) Wondewall as a Gateway into Indian Musicians (00:19:53) George Harrison's Love of Creating Music for Wonderwall (00:23:01) Wonderwall (the Oasis song) Renewing Interest in Wonderwall (the Massot Movie) (00:28:37) The Complexity of the Music (00:31:27) George Harrison Helping the Remo Four (00:34:22) The British / Indian Relationship (00:36:30) Knowing the Birkin Family (00:40:00) The 60s/90s Connection (00:43:08) Kula Shaker's Cover of Deep Purple's "Hush" in I Know What You Did Last Summer (00:47:06) Thank Yous and Goodbyes Kula Shaker's Crispian Mills joins Nicole Barlow and Ryan Pak to discuss the George Harrison soundtrack score for Joe Massot's 1968 film, Wonderwall. The score was the 1st project of any of the Beatles after their breakup, and it was Harrison's 1st time as a soundtrack composer. The soundtrack features many Indian musicians like Aashish Khan, Shivkumar Sharma, Shankar Ghosh, and Mahapurush Misra, It also features The Remo Four, Eric Clapton, and Ringo Starr.Ironically, the Oasis song that shares the same name helped renew interest in the film even though the song "Wonderwall" does not sound anything like the music that Harrison created for Wonderwall.For more information on Kula Shaker:LinkTreeInstagramCharge of the Light Brigade (video)Broke as Folk (video)Soundtrack Your Life SocialsBlueskyInstagramWriting SiteYouTubePatreonSoundtrack Your Life SocialsBlueskyInstagramWriting SiteYouTubePatreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

(00:00:00) Introducing Monique Powell from Save Ferris (00:12:21) How Save Ferris Ended up in 10 Things I Hate About You (00:18:32) Filming with Letters to Cleo (00:22:49) Soundtrack Composer Richard Gibbs and the Soundtrack Supervisor (00:25:00) Finding Music in Your Teens (00:30:07) Save Ferris Appearing on Roswell and Finding Music via TV Shows (00:36:18) The Ska Lifestyle (00:38:16) 90s Friends and Fake Rivalries (00:43:59) Why People Connect with Ska (00:50:44) Thank Yous and Goodbyes Monique Powell, lead singer of the Ska band, Save Ferris, joins Nicole Barlow and Ryan Pak to talk about the soundtrack to the 1999 Gil Junger film, 10 Things I Hate About You. Not only does Save Ferris have a song on the soundtrack ("I Know"), but Save Ferris is the band that plays at the prom in the the film. They perform their song, "I Know", and they back up Letters to Cleo's Kay Hanley as well for the Letters to Cleo cover of Nick Lowe's "Cruel to be Kind" which is also on the soundtrack. From stories to being on the 10 Things I Hate About You set, memories of being on the TV show, Roswell, to news about a new Save Ferris album, a lot of ground is covered on this episode of Soundtrack Your Life.For More Information about Save Ferris:WebsiteInstagramTwitterYouTubeSoundtrack Your Life SocialsBlueskyInstagramWriting SiteYouTubePatreonSoundtrack Your Life SocialsBlueskyInstagramWriting SiteYouTubePatreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices