In honor of the recent release of Godzilla Minus One (read our review here), we here at Couch Soup thought it would be good to look back at some of our favorite parts of the Godzilla mythos, past and present. Be a fan of the giant prehistoric lizard or not; Godzilla is just about as pop culture as you can get.  

When it comes to 1998’s Godzilla starring Matthew Broderick, we acknowledge it’s a middle-of-the-road movie, but it’s the soundtrack I have always been interested in. The question is then, is this soundtrack worth listening to? Absolutely! It’s a great mix of bands you have heard of and some you may not have heard before or after the soundtrack. 

The soundtrack boasts songs from renowned musicians and groups like Rage Against the Machine, Foo Fighters, Jamiroquai, Fuel, Ben Folds Five, Green Day, and Puff Daddy with Jimmy Page (or Puffy, Diddy, or P.Diddy, or whatever moniker he is choosing to use in his lawsuits these days). The soundtrack also includes music from lesser-known acts like Fuzzbubble, Joey Deluxe, and Michael Penn.

There is a Soundtrack Problem 

Sadly, the music on the soundtrack you bought was not in the movie, short of the song “Come With Me” by the aforementioned Puff Daddy and Jimmy Page at the end credits. These songs were not selected for their ability to influence the feeling or aesthetic on the screen, but rather, it was a marketing tool for the studio and record label. 

Aside from that, the album as a whole is very enjoyable, although it doesn’t help with callbacks to certain points of the movie or evoke emotions from scenes. If you just want to enjoy the music with no real connection to the movie, this is a great collection of songs. If nothing else, this collection is a great stroll down late 1990s memory lane with bands and artists who were popular around that time frame. 

5 Songs you should pay attention to 

I figured if we are going to talk about the soundtrack, we should share some links to the music so that you can enjoy it as well. I haven’t found the complete album on Apple Music, Spotify, or Amazon Music. Some songs have been removed for whatever reason, but the majority of songs are there. Instead, here are some YouTube links for a few of the best songs, whether they were big names or not.

1. No Shelter by Rage Against the Machine. No Shelter by Rage Against the Machine is, well, classic Rage Against the Machine. Powerful rap/rock combo with deeply powerful lyrics about the distractions of the mass media and government to avert our eyes from what’s really happening in the world. 

2. Deeper Underground by Jamiroquai. I am not a big Jamiroquai fan. Sure, they have some catchy music, but it never begged me to buy their albums or pay more than the usual attention to them. Most likely because I was too busy paying attention to Foo Fighters, Rage Against the Machine, and Green Day. Now with all that being said, don’t sleep on this song. Just remember what I said about catchy music. This is catchy music.  

3. Brain Stew (Godzilla Remix) by Green Day. Brain Stew was already a cool song and had mainstream success outside the soundtrack. But then they made this remix and added in the sounds of Godzilla. It took a cool song and, in my opinion, made it better. It reminded you that it was part of the movie, even if not played in the movie. 

4. Out There by Fuzzbubble. Fuzzbubble may be one of those bands that you hadn’t heard of when the soundtrack was released, but it’s one of the bands you should get to know. Their sound is picture-perfect for the late 1990s into the early 2000s and is a great fit for this soundtrack. 

5. A320 by Foo Fighters. This was a song released between The Colour and The Shape album and the There is Nothing Left to Lose album, but it has a sound that would fit seamlessly into There is Nothing Left to Lose. It’s a beautiful song that you most likely haven’t heard before but it needs to be added to your playlists, like all of them. 

You may have noticed that the Puffy Diddy Daddy lobotomization of a Led Zeppelin classic entitled “Come With Me” was not on that list. It should have never happened, and for as much as I revere Jimmy Page, I blame him for being a part of it.  

The Good, the bad, and the ugly 

Soundtracks have evolved over the years; that’s clear to see. We have gone from solely cinematic scores to collections of pop and rock songs that attract the attention of buyers and fans of the movies. Not all soundtracks are iconic, like Flash Gordon by Queen or Star Wars by John Williams. But they help us to remember the movies we love when we can’t watch them. 

The Godzilla soundtrack isn’t iconic, but it’s very good. Go buy it, or at least stream it on your favorite audio provider.