I can argue that my love of all this German began here, though it Madonna who really kick-started it all. In 1989, she used clips from one of Fritz Lang's 1926 silent films for a project. After rushing out to rent a copy of the film upon which her Express Yourself video was based, I fell in love. The version at my local video store was a strange restoration, though, from 1984, which used color tints over certain scenes and clunky, robotic sound effects. Also, Giorgio Moroder, the man behind the restoration, turned the movie into an 84-minute music video set to the music of Freddie Mercury, Bonnie Tyler, Adam Ant, and many other 1980s pioneers. My seven-year-old eyes were glued to our television as I rewound the tape over and over again. As much as I absolutely loved the film, I found myself rewinding to hear the songs.

A few ways later, at a mall thirty minutes from our house, I found a copy of the soundtrack, which, unlike countless soundtracks, includes each and every song played in the movie. Purchased for about 11 dollars, my parents had a very content son who would soon drive them up a wall with even more 1980s synth beats and new-wave grooves. And the best part about this entire soundtrack? That each and every song deserves a solid five stars.

METROPOLIS: EIN HINTERGRUND DES FILMES

In the Weimar Republic, just as the Nazis were starting to gain political persuasion, Thea von Harbou, a novelist, married filmmaker Fritz Lang. Shortly after this, they began producing some of the most famed films in Germany-- and in the world. During the cinematic race between Germany and Hollywood, Metropolis, 1927, was released to the German public. Originally based on v. Harbou's novel (of which I have a copy resting on my shelf), the film became an instant success, though it nearly bankrupted the Ufa Studios. Unfortunately, due to the tragic events of the Third Reich and the Nazi Empire, Germany would lose what made them special, forever to be replaced by the thought of senseless genocide.

Metropolis, which takes place in 2027, tells the story of Freder Frederson, a naive twenty-something who spends his time at elitest clubs (think of a futuristic country club) and teasing the girls. There, in the Club of the Sons, a mysterious woman surrounded by children stands just by the threshold, just before being expelled. Captivated by her beauty, Freder follows this woman down the hall, failing to catch up to her and losing her on the way. Instead, he ends up deep below the beloved Metropolis lead by his father Johann. There, underground, he sees thousands of people tirelessly working powerful machines; then, explosion. Thousands die. Thousands are replaced. All in a minute and a half during a horrific hallucination.

The plot thickens. Machine cogs turn. Robots are even involved! You have to see it for yourself.

METROPOLIS: DIE MUSIK, DER MIR GEFÄLLT

For every heart there burns a flame to light the soul and make you one again. In every heart there booms a voice...

So sang Billy Squier, most famous for his ridiculous masturbation anthem The Stroke, on a song that captivated my imagination for hours. On Your Own is reason enough to seek out this soundtrack. Whenever I hear this song, I'm taken back to when I was a child in my jammies, sitting in front of the TV, singing along to the songs, and continually, and poorly, drawing the main characters. I am not a Billy Squier fan, and this may well be his greatest song, but I can't imagine anybody else singing this song. His delivery is superb and his dramatic vocalization is awesome: "I've lived a lie! Bound from my birth..." It starts off with a simple drum machine sample, but then a heavy synth (bass-esque) line comes in, followed by a hard-hitting melody. On each track, there is a dramatic synth sample that evokes looking up as a 100-story building at night, all lit up. For a mellow-dramatic 80s song, it sure does a good song of being moving. The chorus is uplifting while the verses and bridge are sad and bitter. This juxtaposition is common with Gorgio Moroder's mid-80s disco production.

Long before I discovered Gorgio's involvement with Donna Summer and Blondie, I knew him best as the mastermind behind this soundtrack. His production is, by the way, 100% absolutely perfectly stellar. In fact, I have yet to hear an album as slickly packaged. His solo outputs here are the instrumental score tracks, the first being the slow Legend of Babel, which is played as our mysterious heroine, Maria, preaches to the opressed (literally hidden) workforce of Metropolis in the catacombs, lit only by torches and candles. The story of Babel is quite symbolic in this film, and the song truly evokes this. As the tower grows and grows, the music swells upwards and upwards. Then, the song begins throbbing and twinkling. The entire song, if memory serves correct, is not played in the film, rather only the first minute or so. The juxtaposition of safety and then demented torture shines though not only in this scene, but also on this song. The fading out of the heavy beat and back into the prospering, long synth cords pull you one direction while the middle of the track push you into another of paranoia. And all on a synthesizer.

Giorgio's other solo contribution to his soundtrack is the theme of Metropolis, a dramatic all-snyth collection of disco beats and twinkling flourishes known as Machines. The opening break consists of only two keys, but the way he drags the out and repeats them begin to get under your skin. The track is dripped in 80s, but then again, this movie really lends itself to that kind of thing. The synthesizer was a very cold machine, especially back in 1984, giving artists like The Cars and Gary Numan. Using an all-synth melody is the perfect way to describe machines that, day in and day out, killing thousands and thousands of people.

What impresses me now, rather than when I was child, is the delivery that the artists bring to these songs, especially since they were tracks representing another person's vision. Bonnie Tyler, for one, screams and screeches with passion that could set the disc on fire. Her track, Here She Comes, is a blatant reference to a robotic transformation and cloning that takes place in the film: "If she's the same, how come she's different now?" In typical Bonnie fashion, her vocal ability and range is insane, as her raspy voice belts out the anthem-esque chorus. The song would go on to become a stable for her and become a minor hit. And, if we are going to discuss delivery, what better example is the song Mr. Freddie Mercury uses to open this classic record. Love Kills is, by far, one of the greatest songs on the disc and the best solo-track he's ever released. Giorgio's production uses a pulsating beat that rapidly massages your ears with shiny (and nearly glittery) melodies and samples. Little electronic blips and beeps follow the track that plays underneath Freddie's incredible performance. Freddie, however, should song absolutely stellar for a couple of reasons. Number one, he's Freddie god-damn Mercury. Number two, he'd been associated with the Metropolis project and would use clips from the film for Queen's Radio GaGa video. By the way, any Queen fan who was disappointed with the band's The Works LP, then you've got to hear this song.

The strangest track on this album, to some, maybe the contribution from Jon Anderson of Yes fame. Now, I'm a huge Yes-fan, but at the time when I first heard this song, I only knew him as the guy who sang on the 90125 album and jammed out to Owner of a Lonely Heart. On Cage of Freedom, however, Jon takes himself a whole new level. Though I slag him off for being smug and pretentious, I can't deny that I love the guy's almost robotic voice and weird delivery. I know that most love his progressive rock stuff, but I think he's more suited to 80s synth disco-- I mean, he sings like a computer would anyway, so why not? The lyrics from this track still haunt me, though it's been over a decade since I first heard them:

"Big brother is there a bigger one watching you? Or is there one smaller who I should be watching, too? Infinite circle of snakes eating their own tails. For every one chasing, another is on the trail."

Then the song fades out. I always wondered what the next lines would be, but it sadly ending, just adding to the sense of confusion this song leaves you with. As everything in the city of Metropolis is horribly corrupt, this song deals with the sense of paranoia that you develop when you think you have a utopia. This song is just a nagging conscience that proves that perfect worlds only lead to dystopic lives. I may be demented, crazy, insane, and need tons of psychotropic drugs, but I declare that this the greatest song this man has ever recorded. Suck on that, Yes fanatics!

One of the most forgotten tracks on this soundtrack comes in the form of a short, anti-climactic song that plays as the workers trudge single file through the gates of hell. Blood From a Stone, sung by failed b80s by-product Cycle V, is sung as a chant with layering vocals, giving it a very creepy overtone. It reminds me a little bit of a showtune, and it's the only time I remember that I am really listening to a soundtrack, but it's still 100% amazing. The lyrics are crazy good with symbolic imagery that comes directly from the film: "Cold machines that never stop, even if a man should drop. Mercy never lets her face be shone. They draw blood from a stone." The vocals are tired and cold. Hopeless to the point of heartbreaking.

"Every hour like the last. Tomorrow like the day just past. Bearing down upon the flesh and bone to draw blood from a stone."

As the ten tracks on this album play out, it's like reliving my childhood over and over and over again, entering a world of insane skyscrapers and inventive robotics. Destruction, flooding, cascading towers of man-eating machines. A little boy's wet dream. And then you add 80s disco into the mix? A little gay boy's wet dream.

TRACK LIST & SCORING:
Love Kills (Freddie Mercury)
Here's My Heart (Pat Benatar)
Cage of Freedom (Jon Anderson)
Blood From a Stone (Cycle V)
The Legend of Babel (Giorgio Moroder)
Here She Comes (Bonnie Tyler)
Destruction (Loverboy)
On Your Own (Billy Squier)
What's Going On? (Adam Ant)
Machines (Giorgio Moroder)

OVERALL SCORE: 5 STARS


Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: Listening