Soundtrack Your Life 🎬🎧

@soundtrackyourlife.net

1787 Followers 667 Following

A podcast where Nicole Barlow and Ryan Pak chat with guests about their favorite soundtracks. Episodes out 2nd and 4th Mondays of every month. Contributor to I Have That on Vinyl. Writing site: blog.soundtrackyourlife.net https://linktr.ee/soundtrackcast

EPISODE 148 Ben, Barry, and Jonathan of @lovejonesband join Nicole and Ryan to talk about their new album, The Greatest Show on Earth, as well as how the band ended up moving to LA where they would meet a young John Favreau and Vince Vaughn, who were about to make a movie called Swingers. Barry would also contribute to the film as a music consultant so the band has plenty of behind the scenes stories to tell. Available wherever you listen to podcasts.
EPISODE 145 Award winning music editor, Micha Liberman, joins Ryan to talk about his career in Hollywood as well as his Emmy nominated episode of Only Murders in the Building, "Sitzprobe", which deals with a fake musical within the TV show, and how that complicates things. The songs for the fake musical were written by the Oscar winning team of Pasek and Paul, and the episode features special guests, Meryl Streep and Paul Rudd. They also talk about some of Micha's other projects, past and present, such as Netflix's Avatar: The Last Airbender, I Still Know What You Did Last Summer, and Running Point.
EPISODE 144 Nicole Alyse Nelson, star of the Oscar nominated short film, Jane Austen's Period Drama, joins Nicole and Ryan to talk about the film, the music and behind the scenes stories from filming like learning how to handle a live chicken. Available on all podcast players!
Candice Lim (former co-host of Slate's ICYMI, former producer of NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour) joins Nicole and Ryan to talk about the soundtrack to the 2004 Adamson, Asbury, and Vernon directed film Shrek 2. Being a blockbuster sequel, this soundtrack brings together covers of famous songs, needle drops from big names and the Oscar nominated Counting Crows song, "Accidentally in Love". This episode is out now. Available wherever you listen to podcasts.
EPISODE 139 Pop culture writer, Tamar Herman, joins Nicole Barlow and Ryan Pak to discuss the soundtrack to the record breaking, award winning, 2025 Maggie Kang film, K-Pop Demon Hunters. We do a deep dive into the songs, the songwriters, the records broken and ask the question Should Huntrix be considered K-Pop?”
Scott Interrante of This is the Greatest Song I've Ever Heard in My Entire Life and the Big White Elephants Podcast returns to talk with Nicole Barlow and Ryan Pak about the soundtrack to Luca Gaudagnino's 2024 film, Challengers. From the Ross/Reznor score to phallic foods, we discuss it all on our V-Day Episode! Listen to it here: https://www.soundtrackyourlife.net/scott-interrante-on-how-the-reznorross-score-creates-dramatic-tennis-in-challengers-2024/
Bryan Louzil, president of the Mometu Streaming App, joins Nicole Barlow and Ryan Pak to discuss the soundtrack to Mike Judge's 1999 film, Office Space. We talk about how the music is used from the opening scene to the infamous printer scene and more! This Episode is Available Wherever You Listen to Podcasts
We kick of 2026 with by discussing Jake Kasdan's 2007 film, Walk Hard with filmmaker/comedian Cameron Smith, who has a great web series out called The Loneliest Boy on Earth. Walk Hard flopped at the box office but has gained a cult following. The songs have always slapped! We chat about the songwriters, John C. Reilly's amazing performances, the iconic Beatles scene, and more! This episode is available wherever you listen to podcasts.
Sean Griffin of The Ruffians has been dropping solo tracks this year, including the just released "I'm in Love for Christmas". He joins Ryan Pak on Soundtrack Your Life to talk about the soundtrack to the Henry Selick classic, The Nightmare Before Christmas, his holiday traditions & his favorite Christmas songs. Available wherever you listen to podcasts or at www.soundtrackyourlife.net
Author Eric Gee joins Nicole and Ryan to discuss the soundtrack to Doug Liman's 1999 film, Go! The soundtrack is probably best known for launching Len's "Steal My Sunshine" but also has a score from BT and songs from No Doubt, Air, and more! The movie takes place during Christmas so it's weirdly a Christmas movie. It's also about rave culture and the structure of the film elicits comparisons to Pulp Fiction. None of these things sound like they should fit together but they do. It's available wherever you listen to podcasts.
EPISODE 133 Pop culture writer, Rachel Brodsky, returns to Soundtrack Your Life to chat about the 2009 Greg Mottola film, Adventureland. The film has a wonderful Yo La Tengo score and great 70s/80s needle drops from Lou Reed, The Replacements, Husker Du, Big Star, and more! Available wherever you listen to podcasts
Singer Kelsie Watts joins Nicole Barlow and Ryan Pak to discuss the soundtrack to the 2017 Michael Gracey film, The Greatest Showman, on Soundtrack Your Life. The songs were written by the team of Pasek and Paul and the soundtrack spend a total of 28 weeks at #1 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart. Keslie is currently starring in SIX on Broadway and she has just released a single, "Fit In", that is available wherever you stream music. She was also a contestant on the Voice in 2020. This episode is available wherever you find podcasts.
Tales From the Crypt showrunner and writer, Alan Katz joins Nicole Barlow and Ryan Pak to talk about the legendary composers that worked on Tales From the Crypt. (Michael Kaman, Alan Silvestri, Ry Cooder, etc.) They also talk about the cursed production of Bordello of Blood. Alan also podcasts now with his company Costard and Touchstone Productions. This episode is available wherever you get your podcasts.
Just in time for Halloween, Kat Robichaud of Kat Robichaud's Misfit Cabaret, joins Nicole and Ryan to talk about the 1974 Brian De Palma film, Phantom of the Paradise. Oscar winner Paul Williams is not only the star of the film, he wrote the songs and score for the film as well - earning an Oscar nomination for the score. Deals with the devil! Glam rockers named Beef! This movie has it all. If you've never heard of it, this cult film is probably beloved by your favorite movie director. Available wherever you listen to podcasts.
EPISODE 129 Singer/Songwriter Reeya Banerjee joins Nicole Barlow and Ryan Pak to discuss the soundtrack to Christopher Guest's 2003 film, A Mighty Wind on Soundtrack Your Life. The soundtrack boasts the Oscar nominated "Kiss at the End of the Rainbow" & the Grammy winning song "A Mighty Wind". All the original songs on the soundtrack were written by members of the cast. Reeya's album, This Place, & this episode are out now!
Colin Casserd of The Nostalgia Pit Podcast joins Nicole Barlow and Ryan Pak to talk about the soundtrack to the 1998 Roland Emmerich film, Godzilla. It has an impressive roster of bands: RATM, The Wallflowers, Foo Fighters, Ben Folds, Jamiroquai, and Jimmy Page doing the rap-rock thing with a problematic rapper. We chat about the soundtrack, the fact that Emmerich tried to get out of making the movie, and how the groundwork of the soundtrack was made a couple of years earlier with a certain rock remix of a hip hop song. Available wherever you listen to podcasts.
EPISODE 126 Crispian Mills of Kula Shaker joins Nicole Barlow and Ryan Pak on Soundtrack Your Life to discuss the soundtrack to the 1968 Joe Massot film, Wonderwall. The film was scored by George Harrison, and it marks the first solo project from a member of the Beatles released on Apple Records. Harrison worked with many great Indian musicians in recording the score as well as Eric Clapton. The score was very influential on Crispian and his bandmates in Kula Shaker. Also, if you're wondering, yes, this is where the Oasis song title came from even though the song sounds nothing like Harrison's music in the film. The popularity of Oasis' "Wonderwall" did spark interest in the movie, leading to it's remastering in 1997.
Monique from the ska band, Save Ferris, joins Nicole and Ryan to talk about Gil Junger's 1999 film, 10 Things I Hate About You. Not only is Save Ferris on the soundtrack but Save Ferris is in the movie! We talk about the soundtrack's legacy, being the prom band in the film, and about the new Save Ferris songs that were released in 2025 and how a new Save Ferris album is on the way. Available wherever you listen to podcasts! Link in bio.
We Are Scientists Guitarist/Singer, Keith Murray, joins Nicole Barlow and Ryan Pak to talk about the soundtrack to the 1987 Joel Schumacher film, The Lost Boys. INXS + Jimmy Barnes, Echo and the Bunnymen, Roger Daltrey, & oiled up saxophonist Tim Cappello, are just a few of the great acts on the soundtrack. Thomas Newman provided the score for the film. We talk about the fictional city of Santa Carla, Joel Schumacher's career, the direct to video sequels, and more! Link is bio or go to www.soundtrackyourlife.net to access the episode.
The Ritualists have a new album called Too Pure to Cure. It was released back in April and more information about the album and band can be found at www.theritualists.com
Christian Dryden, bassist and lead singer of the rock band, The Ritualists, joins Nicole Barlow and Ryan Pak on Soundtrack Your Life to discuss the soundtrack to the 1980 Mike Hodges film, Flash Gordon. Queen wrote original songs for the soundtrack and paired their music with a Howard Blake score. Songs such as "Flash's Theme" and "The Hero" were often played live by Queen at their concerts following the release of the soundtrack. The film also had a lot of behind the scenes drama with director, Mike Hodges and producer, Dino De Laurenitiis not agreeing on the tone of the film. We discuss all of this and more, wherever you listen to podcasts.
Jim of the Film Rage Podcast joins Nicole Barlow and Ryan Pak on Soundtrack Your Life to talk about the soundtrack to the 2025 Isaiah Saxon film, The Legend of Ochi. Dave Longstreth of The Dirty Projectors wrote the beautiful score for the film & also wrote an original song for it. This is Longstreth's first foray into film scoring, but he has experience writing string arrangements and composing for an orchestra, releasing Song of the Earth, earlier this year.
EPISODE 121 Nicole and Ryan discuss the soundtrack to the Alex Ross Perry film, Pavements! It's a documentary, a musical, and a biopic but also none of these things. The soundtrack is a mix of all these things plus a "new" song (a cover) from rehearsal sessions. #soundtrackyourlife #musicpodcast #filmpodcast #moviepodcast #pavements #pavement #alexrossperry #harnessyourhopes Nicole and Ryan try to explain this experimental approach to celebrating the band, their favorite needle drops that aren't covered in the film, and the Harness Your Hopes glitch that has made this b-side their most popular song by far (via streaming numbers). Available Where You Listen to Podcasts (Link in bio)
Pop culture writer, Russ Burlingame, joins hosts Nicole Barlow and Ryan Pak, to discuss the soundtrack to James Gunn's 2014 film, Guardians of the Galaxy, Volume 1. The soundtrack sold over 3 million copies and was the 1st soundtrack to hit #1 on the Billboard Top 200 using only previously released music. It was the 2nd best selling soundtrack of 2014, behind only the soundtrack to Disney's Frozen. The Guardians of the Galaxy franchises is known for its great needle drops but also for how the needle drops are used. They're steeped in the characters so they don't feel like a stunt. This episode is available wherever you listen to podcasts.
EPISODE 119 James Deon Williams joins Ryan Pak to talk about the soundtrack to the 1992 Reginald Hudlin film, Boomerang. Toni Braxton, Boyz II Men, A Tribe Called Quest, PM Dawn, & Grace Jones are just a handful of the artists from this this 3x Platinum soundtrack. The Boyz II Men song, "End of the Road" would top the Billboard singles chart for 13 weeks! The cast of this Eddie Murphy film is just as stacked, with Martin Lawrence, Hallie Berry, David Allen Grier, Chris Rock, Tisha Campbell and Robin Givens all appearing in the film. This episode is out now and available on all podcast platforms!
EPISODE 118 Limahl, singer of “The NeverEnding Story” speaks with Ryan about his global soundtrack hit and working with the legendary Giorgio Moroder. They also discuss the Kajagoogoo hit “Too Shy” and how the 2 songs have been big needle drops recently in shows like Stranger Things, American Horror Story, and Black Mirror. Limahl has a new single out! It’s a cover of America’s “A Horse with No Name” and it’s available on all digital streaming services.
Erin, host of @itsafandomthingpod.bsky.social, joins Nicole and Ryan to talk about Oliver Stone's 1994 film, Natural Born Killers and the Trent Reznor curated soundtrack. The soundtrack featured NIN, L7, The Cowboy Junkies, Jane's Addiction and more! Among items discussed: -Quentin Tarantino's reaction to the film which was based off a screenplay that he wrote and sold. -Trent Reznor's obsession with a particular serial killer -The directorial choices of Oliver Stone that prevented Nicole from finishing the film -How The Cowboy Junkie's cover of The Velvet Underground's "Sweet Jane" became almost more popular than the original Available wherever you listen to podcasts
Frank Meyer (Streetwalkin' Cheetahs, Trading, Aces, FEAR) has a new album out on 3/25 and he talked to Nicole and Ryan about the 1984 Alex Cox film, Repo Man. The soundtrack is full of legends like Black Flag, The Plugz, Iggy Pop and of course, FEAR! Frank talks about his new album, how the the Repo Man soundtrack influenced his life, and jamming with his brother, actor, Breckin Meyer.
Brad from Pop Culture Yearbook returns to talk with Nicole and Ryan about the 2016 Lonely Island film, Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping. It's a film full of great songs, hilarious cameos, and quotable jokes. While it didn't do well at the box office, it has become a cult classic. It still holds up today and actually was ahead of its time! It's available wherever you listen to podcasts
Nicole Barlow and Ryan Pak discuss the 2025 Oscars Best Original Song category on this episode of Soundtrack Your Life. They discuss the nominees, songs that were snubbed from the shortlist, and how this year compares to years past. They discuss the controversy that no songs will be performed at this year's ceremony and predict whether this will finally be the year that 16 time nominee, Diane Warren, finally gets her flowers.
DT from the Space Castle YouTube Channel is BACK and he talks to Nicole and Ryan about Marc Webb's 2009 film, 500 Days of Summer for our Valentine's Day episode! From stories heartbreak and humiliation to our favorite needle drops, we take a trip back to a time of skinny ties and argyle sweaters. The soundtrack had a hit with The Temper Trap's "Sweet Disposition" and the movie famously name drops The Smiths and The Pixies. It also unofficially kicked off Zooey Deschanel's music career and catapulting her to star in her own sitcom, among other things. Available wherever you get your podcasts. Link in bio.
Jen and Sarah of the Movies & Us Podcast join Nicole Barlow and Ryan Pak to talk about the 2017 Kogonada film, Columbus. The film was scored by Nashville band, Hammock, and their beautiful ambient score works perfectly with the beautiful lush images of Kogonada's feature film debut. Also discussed is the fine acting from stars, John Cho, Haley Lu Richardson, and Parker Posey, as well as the movie's focus on architecture. Kogonada would follow up Columbus with 2021's After Yang and he has also directed episodes of Star Wars: Acolyte. Links to follow Movies & Us are included in the show notes as well as a link to join the Soundtrack Your Life Patreon where you can listen to exclusive episodes and receive monthly written pieces from Nicole and Ryan.
We kick off 2025 with the multi-talented Keanan Duffty of Slinky Vagabond. We discuss the 1986 Jim Henson film, Labyrinth, which stars David Bowie as Jareth, The Goblin King. From Bowie's songs for the soundtrack to casting choices never made, we discuss this cult dark fantasy film. Available wherever you listen to your podcasts. Link also in bio. Slinky Vagabond's new album, The Eternal Return will be released tomorrow, January 14th. It can be pre-ordered at www.slinkyvagabond.net.
Scott Interrante of This is the Greatest Song I've Ever Heard in My Entire Life and Tara Giancaspro of the XOXO Gossip Giancaspro substack join Nicole Barlow and Ryan Pak to discuss Brian Henson's 1992 film, The Muppet Christmas Carol. From the opening tracking shot to songs that were axed from the film and everything in between, they discuss this surprisingly faithful adaptation of the Charles Dickens classic. They discuss songwriter Paul Williams, composer Miles Goodman, and a meddling Jeffrey Katzenberg. They also discuss their Muppet Big 3, a concept that Tara came up with that has taken on a life of its own. Available wherever you listen to podcasts!
Scott Interrante of This is the Greatest Song I've Ever Heard in My Entire Life and Tara Giancaspro of the XOXO Gossip Giancaspro substack join Nicole Barlow and Ryan Pak to discuss Brian Henson's 1992 film, The Muppet Christmas Carol. From the opening tracking shot to songs that were axed from the film and everything in between, they discuss this surprisingly faithful adaptation of the Charles Dickens classic. They discuss songwriter Paul Williams, composer Miles Goodman, and a meddling Jeffrey Katzenberg. They also discuss their Muppet Big 3, a concept that Tara came up with that has taken on a life of its own. Available wherever you listen to podcasts!
Jim, host of the Film Rage podcast, joins Nicole Barlow and Ryan Pak to talk about the soundtrack to the 2024 John Crowley film, We Live in Time. Bryce Dessner (The National, Big Red Machine) composed the score for the film and the score makes up the entirety of the soundtrack. Jim, Nicole and Ryan talk about how the score works within the film and as a piece of music outside of the film. We also share our thoughts on the film, Jim's original review of the film from Film Rage and more!
Hanging out with the family at Disney CA adventure. Waiting for the Spiderman show
EPISODE 108 Stephen Epley of Music Rewind joins Nicole and Ryan to talk about Alan Parker's 1991 film The Commitments, which had a hit soundtrack that went platinum in 5 different countries including the US. The songs are all covers of soul classics and features a young Glen Hansard! Link in bio!
The Moana 2 soundtrack on Apple Music is extremely lazy: “Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear assume songwriting duties in the sequel”
TongYeong, South Korea at sunrise
Pop culture writer and musician, Tara Giancaspro @sweatylamarr, returns to Soundtrack Your Life to talk about the music from the Josh Schwartz TV series, The OC (2003-2007) with Nicole Barlow and Ryan Pak.
Brian Colburn of the My Weekly Mixtape Podcast joins Ryan Pak to talk about the soundtrack to the 1993 film, Judgement Night on the 83rd episode of Soundtrack Your Life.
Courtney E Smith, co-host of Songs My Ex Ruined, and writer for Eater Dallas joins Nicole Barlow and Ryan Pak to discuss the soundtrack to the 1994 Ben Stiller film, Reality Bites on Soundtrack Your Life