If you were a kid in the '90s like me, chances are you had some Batman action figures, the collectible drinking glasses from McDonald's and maybe even the movie soundtracks on CD. If you're like me, these soundtracks introduced you to artists that you still listen to today. In my case, they even shaped my overall music taste at a young age.
At the midway point of the '90s, before the deeper catalog of antiheros started hitting the screen and well before Marvel's massive franchise success, Hollywood graced us with Batman Forever (1995), directed by Joel Schumacher. The film, which celebrated its 30th anniversary last month, is a unique offering in the Batman canon. Forever was a departure from Tim Burton’s 1989 and 1992 adaptations, and came fully loaded with corny quips, bat suit nipples and a neon-drenched Gotham City. The movie received mixed, though generally positive, reviews by audiences (critics not so much).
Nicely nestled in between the neon lay a musical Easter egg — an awesome alternative rock soundtrack. It both followed in and broadened the footsteps of Burton's Batman musical approach. Burton's '89 film was scored by his longtime collaborator Danny Elfman. Famously, a separate soundtrack was written and performed by Prince. Already a pop music idol, Warner Bros. capitalized on Prince's involvement to help boost interest in their risky comic book movie. Charmingly bizarre, it stands out in Prince's — or is it Gemini's? — catalog and soundtracks to future Batman films.
Forever took it a step further with its massive collaborative soundtrack, which included several serious heavy hitters. It also gave a platform to up-and-coming acts, including Sunny Day Real Estate and The Offspring. U2, which was already a superstar band, supplied one of the most interesting tracks on the album with “Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me.” The track earned the group one of their many career-spanning Grammy nominations and, simultaneously, a Golden Raspberry nomination.
The list of participating musicians doesn’t stop there though. Mazzy Star, Massive Attack, Brandy, The Flaming Lips, Nick Cave and PJ Harvey (!!) are all on the soundtrack too. The Flaming Lips' track “Bad Days” is used masterfully to complement Jim Carey's goofball approach to The Riddler, and is yet another standout on a fully loaded album.
But wait — there's (still) more! The crown jewel of the whole shebang is Seal's “Kiss From A Rose,” which is possibly one of the best pop songs ever written (yes, I’m taking it that far). How does this song work in the context of Batman fighting Two-Face and The Riddler? That’s a great question that needs no answer; the song works. Someone had the idea, got it greenlit, and the world is a better place because of it.
The music video, directed by Batman Forever’s Joel Schumacher, goes way over the top in the best way possible. Seal performs the track in front of the bat signal, with a nonsensical wind blowing at his open shirt, while Val Kilmer and Nicole Kidman make out and Jim Carey and Tommy Lee Jones get into typical villain hijinks. It’s a massive '90s nostalgia trip and is highly worth watching.
After the toy sales and Happy Meal success of Batman Forever the studio was hungry for more money, and set out to produce a follow up. Fast forward to 1997 (and against the backdrop of several antihero movies dropping), when Schumacher released his follow-up, which is one of the worst films of the superhero genre EVER: Batman and Robin. Gone was Kilmer, in was George Clooney. Gone were entertaining villains, in were awkward villains, who, along with the heroes, delivered line after line of terrible dialogue.
While Batman Forever wasn’t a great film, Batman and Robin goes completely off the rails and is at best a mega-cheese-y, stupid, irrelevant, Hollywood flop. I'll give it this though — it makes for good laughs with all of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Mr. Freeze ice puns.
And yet, despite the film being a mess, another worthy — although shakier — Batman/alt-rock musical team-up was born. You'll find on this album one of The Smashing Pumpkins last truly great rock songs: “The End Is The Beginning Is The End.”
R.E.M found their way onto the album as well with “Revolution,” which is a solid B-side from the band. Goo Goo Dolls supplied the track “Lazy Eye,” which was an earlier minor hit for the group before they exploded on the charts with the '90s classic “Iris.”
The most out of left field choice on the Batman and Robin soundtrack? Bone-Thugs-N-Harmony with “Look Into My Eyes.” Batman and hip-hop are not usually associated with one another — it's even more peculiar than Batman teaming up with Prince. Batman and Robin threw so many other conventions out the window that, as Michael Keaton's Bruce Wayne said, "You wanna get nuts? Lets get nuts!"
After the debacle of Batman and Robin, and in spite of the film's successful soundtrack and toy merchandising, the caped crusader went into cinematic hiding until 2005. When Christopher Nolan revied the character with Batman Begins he ditched the alt rock trappings in favor of a Hans Zimmer score. Highly effective? Maybe. Tragic for alt rock music discovery? Certainly — especially given that the Batman Forever soundtrack is lost to the streaming era (seriously — if you can find a digital version of it, let me know).
In the '90s there was more room for fun, mistakes and left field exploration in film. When viewed today, that exploration has made for some bizarre time capsules (and an awesome Seal music video) — time capsules that should be shared and celebrated for the music discovery they supported. Those mid-'90s albums are as colorful and memorable as the movies themselves, and represent a time when Batman played an integral part in new music discovery. It all goes to show — it doesn't matter where the music comes from, just that you found it.
