#1 – Purple Rain (1984): This was the first movie I ever watched completely on my own. Sure, there were plenty of nights where my mom fell asleep on the couch while we watched something together, or in the movie theater, but this time was different. She actually bought me a ticket, then went to see something else, while 10-year-old me sat alone in the theater and took in Purple Rain.
And wow—what an introduction to Prince. The movie was unlike anything I’d seen before: part drama, part concert, part something I didn’t even have the words for yet. But the music? That hit instantly. When Doves Cry, Let’s Go Crazy, and of course the title track—they were bigger than the movie itself. I didn’t just leave the theater with a new favorite artist, I left with a whole new idea of what music and film could be when they collided.
Purple Rain wasn’t just a movie I watched. It was an experience that stuck, and the soundtrack is still untouchable—an album that defines not only the film but an entire era.
I’ll be linking to each soundtrack’s Wikipedia page if you want to dig deeper, rediscover the track listings, or argue with your own memory of what played during that prom scene.
And don’t worry — this won’t be the last time we visit movie soundtracks. 🎶
1. Purple Rain (1984):
The Trailer:
My Soundtrack Picks:
The Beautiful Ones (2015 Paisley Park Remaster):
I Would Die 4 U (2015 Paisley Park Remaster):
Prince and the Revolution – Let’s Go Crazy (Official Music Video):
Prince and the Revolution – When Doves Cry (Official Music Video):
Purple Rain (2015 Paisley Park Remaster):
This is an open thread
PS.
We will journey again through the movie soundtracks that shaped music, movies, and our memories. The journey might look different than this journey, but a journey it will be.
