Home Alone – soundtrack review
We all know the movie Home Alone. Whether it evokes feelings of nostalgia and love or pure dread at the thought of sitting through that bloody film for the hundredth time – we all know it. And by the way, I only have feelings of nostalgia and love and perhaps even borderline obsession.
But whilst we enjoy discussing the traps, the tarantula and Macaulay Culkin’s heroin addiction, hardly anyone ever mentions the soundtrack – which is actually really good.
Years ago, before I started a blog, I used to frequent the Yahoo Answers movie section. My username was ‘emjob’ if any of you used to be a reg too? Oh sorry, that means Regular Contributor – in geek speak. Anyway, someone asked one day what everyone’s favourite John Williams score was (excluding Jaws and Star Wars). Pretty much everyone said Schindler’s List (borrrring) and I know I was the only loser to pick Somewhere in My Memory from Home Alone. But check this out – I got Best Answer! Okay you probably had to be there, but it was a mild victory against the film snobs. And like most places on the internet, Y\A had a lot of film snobs.
The Home Alone soundtrack CD is a bit of a treat actually because it features the wonderful scores written by John Williams – but it also includes the pop songs as well.
Often soundtracks are one or the other but we’re quite spoilt in this instance by having both included. My favourite is White Christmas by The Drifters (aftershave scene) but Please Come Home for Christmas (selling her earrings for a plane ticket) is fun to sing along to in an exaggerated voice.
The only song not featured sadly, is Brenda Lee’s Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree (the puppet party). I guess it cost too much but three out of four isn’t bad – the other song included is Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. Of course!
The scores are all brilliant, some sweet and some dramatic. Some sad and some comical. It’s also easy picking out where in the film they play – this is the bit where he goes through Buzz’s stuff. This is the burglar music…. And this plays when he steals the toothbrush!
“Herb! I got a question here about a toothbrush”
And they have some great titles too – ‘Scammed By A Kindergartner’ and ‘Stop That Kid!’ being my personal favourites. But of course the best track is ‘Somewhere in My Memory’.
Now I’ve had this CD in the car a lot recently and the other night had the most amazing opportunity to play the ‘running through the airport’ music. My boyfriend and I had four minutes to get to the last shop in town that was still open for another four minutes.
And yes I know it was probably wasting time putting the CD in and finding the track (my boyfriend was furious HAHAHAHA) but boy was it worth it. The little things eh?
emmakwall (explains it all) 
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Great choice Ems! This is one of the few movie soundtracks I’m familiar with.🎅🏻🙋🏻😊 And now thanks to you and Tim I’m craving coffee. I think I’ll go get a nice pumpkin spice latte!
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MMMMM pumpkin spice latte sounds amazing!!!!!! Hello Kims!! ❤
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Yum! Hello Birthday Girl!
#kindredspirits
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Great choice, Emma! This is a great soundtrack. I’m gonna watch this movie with the kid this year. 🙂
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You have to, it’s the law 🙂
I’m STILL listening to this in my car as well….!
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One of John Williams’ best! And I love the story of playing the music in the car, sometimes you need to play that perfect track to epitomise your car journey!!
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I know! I’m so glad you get it Anna haha 🙂 how often does a chance like that genuinely come along?!! I took it!!!! 😀
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My favourite carol is carol of the bells and I LOVE how it’s used it this movie!
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It’s a brilliant soundtrack!!
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What?!? You can’t end a post like that. Did you make it there in the four minutes? Did you guys find what you were shopping for? Did the employees give you the stink-eye for showing up so close to closing? Details! 😀
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Haha!!! Yes we did make it but I refused to go in, I just drove into the car park like a nutter and made the boyfriend go in! He only wanted milk anyway, he’s a coffee addict but doesn’t like it black lol. I was worried about stink-eye from the employees too ha ha!
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I’m sympathetic to your boyfriend. I’ve said it before that doctors have found traces of blood in my coffee stream. 😀
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I remember reading that on your blog!! Did you say to that Kim? (yes I’m stalking you….)
And when I first read “I’m sympathetic to your boyfriend” I thought you rude bastard! Hahaha, only kidding, always 😀
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Well I didn’t mean sympathizing with your boyfriend regarding you, but the effort one must expend to get that elixir of coffee.
I gave up caffeine once – cold turkey. No exaggeration whatsoever when I say I had a two-week long migraine. The pain was dazzling.
It was really more like 12 days of excruciating pain and two days of regular pain, but still. I popped ibuprofen, aspirin, and acetaminophen like candy.
Could not have conceived of a withdrawal with such a duration but, now that I’ve felt her cruel hand, I’ve stayed faithful to my caffeinated-dominatrix ever since.
(K, just re-read that last sentence. I’m gonna stop now before it gets an creepier.)
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You always make me feel guilty for more or less ignoring the soundtrack. I have seen this film so many times, and couldn’t have recalled any of the music. Nice one, Em.
Best wishes, Pete. x
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I bet you’d still recognise every track though! How are you Pete? 🙂 x
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Ticking along, Em. Much the same as ever. x
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Mike has it nailed! Great post Emma as always.
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Thanks Alex!!! 🙂
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Love this soundtrack, Carol of the Bells is great.
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It’s a brilliant soundtrack!
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Williams is the man.
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John Williams did this too?
Is there anything he can’t do?
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I know! He’s soooo great!!! 🙂
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I did a radio show last week able Williams but this one didn’t even come up!
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Ah man, you missed a trick there!!
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I’ll remember it this week. I’m doing the show again tomorrow night. This time we’re playing a brand new John Williams soundtrack. Some new movie he just finished scoring. I think it’s called Star Wars.
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Pah, Star Wars! Just don’t forget Somewhere In My Memory!!!! 😉
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I’m gonna have to bring THAT one up as well! And last night we were watching TV and another John Williams soundtrack came on. Amazing.
He was my first rock star. I loved his stuff as a kid. I made tapes of me playing Wolfman Jack, complaining that John Williams’ music was more popular than rock and roll! LOL
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