10 Albums That Would Make Great Films

A while back, we looked at albums that’d make for great TV series, a topic that gave rise to much intra-office discussion and several as-yet-unfulfilled promises to actually sit down and write some serious pitches. Anyway, the release of David Lynch’s Crazy Clown Time has got us thinking about the logical follow-up to this idea — albums that’d make for great films! There are plenty of records that spring to mind, several of which could happily be shot by a certain Mr. Lynch himself. Here are the ten albums that we’d love to option the rights to — so if you’re a mega-rich producer, at least give us credit when you cash in on these, eh?

Blur — The Great Escape

For some reason, we’ve been listening to a lot of early/mid-period Blur of late, and particularly this album. Revisiting The Great Escape many years after the Great NME-Hyped Chart Battle of 1995, two things stand out about the album: a) how musically weird it is (especially Graeme Coxon’s guitar solos — see “Country House” and “Stereotypes” for examples) and b) how dark and misanthropic it is. Like all of Blur’s early work, the album’s populated by a rich cast of characters from a cross-section of English society, from the grotesque wife-swapping duo of “Stereotypes” and the charmless man of, um, “Charmless Man” to the forlorn taxi driver of “Best Days” and the star-crossed lovers of “Yuko and Hiro.” We’d love to see someone build a narrative around these characters and the theme of escape that dominates the album — we reckon the result’d be something like a modern take on The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin.

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Born to Run Bruce Springsteen What an epic story

"Seriously, how could an acid-soaked Afrofuturistic narrative about a god-like alien creature who descends from the heavens to bring the holy Funk to earth not be all kinds of awesome?!" They already made "Muppets From Space".

'funeral' and 'oracular spectacular' would be great movies. one very indie metaphysical drama and the other a wonderful, beautiful trip fest.

#10 could make a good movie, it would just have to be as over-the-top DEMENTED and clever as the album. Just imagining the possible cast and potential directors is... well, that's where it gets weird. Nobody seems crazy and daring enough (was going to add "anymore").

Tubeway Army's Replicas is probably too obvious a choice. But how about a movie version of the Soft Boys' Underwater Moonlight, in which two statues come to life one moonlit night and then take divergent paths, one becoming an old pervert who wants to destroy you, while the other becomes the celebrated Queen of Eyes, ruling over the Kingdom of Love?

@james jeez, if i were more of a jerk, I would so yank that idea away from you. what an idea! album adaptations. Inspiring Post! going back to work on my Now That's What I Call Music 24 Musical. or Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not would be oodles o'fun.

Nice list! When I'm bored at work I spend a lot of time writing/choreographing a Parklife (Blur) musical in my head. I can't believe someone hasn't done it already!

Queensryche - Operation: Mindcrime

Television Personalities-Closer To God