There are many weeks when I sit at my computer and lament the fact that I have no fucking clue what I’m going to write about for this column. The list of movies and soundtracks I want to write about is a mile long, but finding complete soundtracks, whether they were once in print or never at all, is a daunting task sometimes.
The frustrating thing is that I have some soundtracks on vinyl that I’d love to share, but I haven’t been able to invest in a quality USB turntable that would allow me to rip them into MP3 format myself. Some are soundtracks to movies I’ve never seen that are out of print on DVD, VHS, or both, but the albums looked so great I had to buy them. This week’s movie was just such a case until a few days ago.
On one of my many visits to Chicago last year, my home away from home, I found a used copy of the double-LP soundtrack album for Times Square (1980) that was in really great condition. I’d never heard of the movie, but the record’s front cover immediately grabbed my attention, because listed among the names of the featured artists was the Ruts — and I love the Ruts. A lot.
I flipped the soundtrack over and read the entire track listing. Despite the fact that I already had many of the songs, I bought the album anyway, because I had a feeling it might be kind of rare (the $3.99 price tag didn’t hurt, either). It turns out I was right — it’s way out of print, and new or used, good- to mint-condition copies go anywhere from $15 to $100 on sites like eBay and Amazon Marketplace.
