What are some hep tunes for the CIA agent and wife to listen to during cocktail hour? July 11, 2008 3:57 PM Subscribe
If a guy thrills to the "Ed Wood" soundtrack, music from the old "Batman" (Adam West) series, the soundtracks to "The Incredibles" and "The Pink Panther," what else would he like? posted by grumblebee to media & arts (21 comments total)
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The more dramatic, the better! posted by grumblebee at 3:59 PM on July 11
J.G. Thirlwell (a/k/a Foetus). He scored The Venture Bros, among many other things. (A nice YT excerpt from an upcoming documentary about his project Steroid Maximus.) posted by mykescipark at 4:08 PM on July 11
Sergeant sandwich beat me to it! Secret Agent is one of the best radio stations that I've ever listened to, even without really having a passion for upbeat spy-kinda music. If you find a few new tracks that you like over there, try creating new stations based on them over at Pandora and see what else it suggests you might like. posted by sabira at 4:29 PM on July 11
I asked a similar question many moons ago and got many excellent answers. Two of the best are here already (namely Esquivel and somaFM's Secret Agent) but there's other stuff in the thread worth exploring. posted by mostlymartha at 5:06 PM on July 11
Also, somaFM's Illinois Steet Lounge is also worth giving a listen, particularly if Esquivel gets you. posted by mostlymartha at 5:09 PM on July 11
Might want to try the soundtrack to "Fifth Element". posted by trinity8-director at 5:20 PM on July 11
Be careful with the Thirlwell, it may not be the bachelor pad you are looking for. Try the newest Steroid Maximus, Ectopia.
Bob Thompson
Enoch Light.
The Oh La La French Retro podcast may tickle your fancy http://www.oh-la-la.nl/
Tipsy and Quiet Village both play in this arena too.
There is an out of print Atom Heart CD called Light Music and credited to Eric Satin that is sort of an electro deconstruction of Lounge. It is on Soulseek and the like and I love it.
Stereolab's Dots and Loops (among others) will probably work for you too. posted by spartacusroosevelt at 6:19 PM on July 11
If you like the music for The Incredibles, then the closest you're going to get to that is film scores by John Barry. (IIRC Barry was originally asked to score The Incredibles, but refused to work on an animated film--Michael Giacchino does a nearly dead-on John Barry impression, though.)
I especially like Barry's scores for On His Majesty's Secret Service, The Living Daylights, Out of Africa, and Enigma. posted by Prospero at 6:28 PM on July 11
The Squirrel Nut Zippers.
The Herbaliser's Session One album (it's all instrumental; their other stuff is hip-hop with a lot of Spy Jazz elements, but definitely hip-hop)
Possibly Senor Coconut. posted by Shepherd at 7:10 PM on July 11
KPM records. They did a series of reocrds for use in TV production that is *exactly* what you want. posted by Ponderance at 8:23 PM on July 11
The next obvious steps from the same era, assuming you've already tapped out Henry Mancini's other work (Lujon!) are Lalo Schifrin (of Mission Impossible fame) and Michel Legrand. Still, they might not have quite the same amount of "zing" that you're looking for.
The Sound Gallery compilations, volumes 1 and 2, are truly superb on the incidental, orchestral drama front.
The original soundtrack to Lupin III is the Japanese take on the genre.
And, of course, as everyone and their mother recommended, SomaFM's Secret Agent radio. posted by eschatfische at 9:38 PM on July 11
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posted by grumblebee at 3:59 PM on July 11