OST OCD - Cruising

A few months ago, when I posted about the Germs, I got a comment suggesting I check out the soundtrack for the 1980 Al Pacino movie, Cruising. The comment was spurred by one of the songs I posted, “Lion’s Share,” which was one of six Germs songs on the soundtrack.

I didn’t know it at the time, but the Cruising soundtrack has long been out-of-print. To the best of my knowledge, it was issued on vinyl and never reissued on CD. The Germs songs surfaced on the Germs (MIA) anthology; as far as the others, your guess is as good as mine.

The movie itself pretty much bombed when it was released. Gay rights groups, who opposed the way gays were depicted in the film, heavily protested it, which didn’t help ticket sales either. However, in the last decade or so, the film has become something of a cult classic. It’s even more accepted by some gays as “an entertaining and (for those born too late to enjoy the sexual excesses of pre-AIDS gay life) fascinating if ridiculous glimpse into gay life,” according to Raymond Murray, editor of Images in The Dark, an encyclopedia of gay and lesbian films.

Your basic plot summary, courtesy of Rotten Tomatoes:

A sadistic serial killer is targeting New York's gay community and, in response, the NYPD sends rookie cop Steve Burns undercover to find the killer. Burns, who is straight, poses as a homosexual and enters the world of gay S&M sex clubs, learning their rules and mores as he goes along. But as Burns arduously tracks down the murderer, he finds himself growing attracted to these clubs and the gay lifestyle, forcing him to question -- and possibly confront -- his own sexual identity.

These songs come from a vinyl rip. As I said, this isn’t available on CD. Since the album is out-of-print, I’ve been a little more generous than I usually am with commercial releases. Note that, except for the Germs track, all of the songs have little snippets of dialogue from the movie, not all of which is workplace appropriate, ifyaknowwhatimean.

Lump.mp3 ~ Mutiny
Loneliness.mp3 ~ The Cripples
Spy Boy.mp3 ~ John Hiatt
When I Close My Eyes I See Blood.mp3 ~ Madelynn Von Ritz
Shakedown.mp3 ~ Rough Trade
Pullin’ My String.mp3 ~ Willy DeVille
My Tunnel.mp3 ~ The Germs

Labels: "alternative", punk, soundtracks

posted by aikin @ 8:43 PM