The Bat, the Cat, the Banshee

I could go on for hours talking about Batman Returns. Hell, typing it all would take me days. The projects history, I have spent over ten years researching it.

One of my hobbies and would-be profession is being a film historian. I started back in high school, talking to my friends about the pictures. They would say something, and then, just being an asshole, I’d correct them (to this day I still do it). Impressive, to say the least. Not only to my friends, but also to myself. I had realized by the age of 17 I have seen over one thousand films. That’s incredible, considering much of my childhood was taken up by watching TV, playing with my Batman/JLA action figures, collecting/reading comics, and playing video games. Come to think of it, with the exception of the games, I still do all of that. I am almost 20, y’know…

Enough with the personal guff. Now on with the post. 1992’s Batman Returns (*** out of *****) is a very memorable film (I'll give ya that one, Burton), with some very memorable music. 1992 a lot was going on. Bush was going bananas, Tiny Toons and X-Men were the shit, and Bats made a comeback to TV, as well. Plus in the music world, you had Eric Clapton go Unplugged, Morrissey channeling T. Rex and mimicking David Bowie with Your Arsenal, R.E.M. had us going Automatic for the People, Sonic Youth was Dirty, Pavement went Slanted & Enchanted, Nine Inch Nails was Broken, and like every year, more shity soundtracks for films good and bad. One exception was the Wayne’s World ST, which I would pop in my older brother’s stereo system and play for hours. Queen were gods to me (I wasn’t an atheist back then). But fudge that, we’re talkin’ about Batman here. Danny Elfman’s Batman Returns Soundtrack was as moody, dark, as one would could only expect from the ex-Oingo Boingo frontman. He only improved with this one, reworking his original score form the 1989 Batman, adding some touches of Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure, Edward Scissorhands, and even his yet-to-be recorded Nightmare Before Christmas soundtrack and the very underrated Boingo. And yet, the real gem in this CD isn’t from Elfman, but of another “gothic legend.” Face To Face was co-written by Elfman, and co-written and performed by Siouxsie & her Banshees. With eerie arrangements conducted by Elfman and his orchestra, along with Siouxsie Sioux’s ghastly vox, and silent growling two minutes in the song, makes this track very interesting and quite unique (and yes, if you bother to stick around for the movie's closing credits, the song is the last one played at the end of the film).

Buy the Batman Returns Soundtrack:

Next Post: The music of Batman Forever. Natch.