Every so often a nude scene gets paired with a song that, for better or worse, ends up making it that much more memorable, and while we started this edition out with a singular film focus, we can’t overlook the fact that the band behind the music seems to have a reputation for scoring nudity! So get ready to take in some skin while listening to the dulcet tones of American alternative rockers, Shudder To Think.
Formed in 1986, the Washington D.C.-based group released a few albums in the late 80s and early 90s but never really found much mainstream success despite being lauded by fellow artists like Incubus, Jeff Buckley, Pearl Jam, and James Iha of The Smashing Pumpkins.
Describing the band’s music usually entails a lot of different styles, “Post-hardcore punk” but with “pop influences”is a common theme, though some point out major notes of glam rock emulating the likes of David Bowie, Queen, and Roxy Music. It’s an interesting mix of genres that make sense when you look at the three films the band contributed music for, with each soundtrack containing such different sounds you might not realize it’s all the same band.
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In 1997, Shudder To Think recorded the music for the romantic drama First Love, Last Rites, a film where Giovanni Ribisi and Natasha Gregson Wagner are stuck in a New Orleans motel with not much else to do but bone each others brains out! With the help of other artists like Billy Corgan and Cheap Trick singer Robin Zander, the band recorded a number of grunge-esque bops and sexy slow tunes for Natasha to show here suck sacks to.
Natasha Gregson Wagner Nude in First Love, Last Rites
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The next year they provided the tunes for very diverse projects - the almost spooky sounds in the background of the lesbian love-triangle film High Art, and two of the songs released by the Bowie-based Brian Slade (Jonathan Rhys Davies) in Todd Haynes ode to glam, Velvet Goldmine.
Radha Mitchell Nude in High Art
Patricia Clarkson, Ally Sheedy Sexy Lesbian Scene in High Art
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As Ally Sheedy beds both Radha Mitchell and Patricia Clarkson, the music is simple but serious, and a far cry from the showy rock of one bulging and glittery Maxwell Demon. And these are all great examples of band’s versatility and overall talent. We shudder to think what the band could’ve done for film nudity if they had been more popular!
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