ABSTRACT
During the 1980s, the number of films scored with pop-ular music soundtracks rose dramatically. Films from awide range of genres appeared with pop soundtracks of various kinds. The success of the soundtrack album of The Big Chill created a craze for compiled scores, that is, soundtracks that are a compilation of (usually rock and pop) songs, while growing numbers of MIDI-literate musicians offered the possibility of synthesized scores at very attractive prices. These trends provoke many different kinds of questions for both producers and scholars. What kinds of pop scores are most common? Which films (or groups or genres of films) tend to have popular music scores? What meanings do pop scores bring to films? What meanings might audiences make of them?
