Ranking All The Songs from the American Psycho Soundtrack
The book has always been controversial and the film divided opinions, but regardless of your personal tolerance level for screen violence, the one thing everyone can agree on is that the soundtrack to American Psycho is good enough to stand alone. There can’t be many places you’ll find Chris de Burgh’s Lady in Red rubbing shoulders with the slick beats of Pump Up the Volume by M/A/R/R/S, but this is one. Here’s how we rank all the songs from the American Psycho soundtrack.
23. Greatest Love of All – Whitney Houston (Instrumental Version)
Just before filming on American Psycho started, Whitney Houston withdrew her permission for the use of Greatest Love of All, the epic soul centerpiece to her 1985 debut album. The easy listening instrumental version we get instead isn’t as good as hers, but it’s still pleasant listening.
22. Secreit Nicht – Mediæval Bæbes
The medieval sounds of the Mediæval Bæbes have accompanied dozens of films and TV shows over the years, with Secreit Nicht giving us another wonderful example of their unique style.
21. Red Lights – Curiosity Killed the Cat
This track from Curiosity Killed the Cat originally appeared on the band’s UK number one album, Keep Your Distance.
20. Trouble – Daniel Ash
Dark, twisted, hypnotizing, creepy… whatever adjectives apply to American Psycho, feel free to apply to Daniel Ash’s Trouble.
19. Who Feelin’ It (Philip’s Psycho Mix) – Tom Tom Club
You know those addictive songs you have to play over and over again until you finally get sick of them? This is one of them.
18. What’s on Your Mind (Pure Energy Mix) – Information Society
The 1980s might have given us some dubious fashion, but it also gave us some of the best dance music ever made. The proof? What’s on Your Mind by Information Society.
17. I Touch Roses – Book of Love
Synthpop group Book of Love might never have made it as big in the charts as some of their peers, but their sound and their lyrics were always way ahead of the curve, as evidenced by their second single, I Touch Roses.
16. Al Mirar Tu Cara – Santiago Jimenez Jr.
When it comes to Tejano music, three-time Grammy award-nominated Santiago Jimenez Jr. ranks among the best.
15. You Spin Me Round (Like a Record) – Dope (Dead or Alive cover)
Dead or Alive’s synthpop classic You Spin Me Round (Like a Record) gets a gothic makeover at the hands of nu-metal band Dope.
14. If You Don’t Know Me by Now – Simply Red
Simply Red earned a massive hit with their version of this classic from Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, reaching number one in the US and snagging the Grammy Award for the Best R&B Song of 1989.
13. In Too Deep – Genesis
Phil Collins originally wrote In Too Deep for the 1986 film Mona Lisa, after which it was voted “Most Performed Song from a Film” award at the BMI Film & TV Awards in 1988.
12. Sussudio – Phil Collins
Sure, it might sound a little too much like 1999 by Prince for comfort, but Phil Collins’ Sussudio is still too catchy to resist.
11. The Lady in Red – Chris de Burgh
Chris de Burgh wrote The Lady in Red for his wife, but what started as a deeply personal piece soon became everyone’s business when it turned into the biggest selling song of de Burgh’s career.
10. Hip to Be Square – Huey Lewis and the News
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly back in 2008, Huey Lewis explained that he wrote Hip to Be Square about the “phenomenon where people from the ’60s started to drop back in, cut their hair, work out, that kind of crap, but they kept their bohemian tastes. … bourgeois bohemians.” It features heavily in American Psycho – in the book, Patrick Bateman spends a long time discussing both it and the rest of Huey Lewis and the News’ career, while in the film, Christian Bale gives an edited version of the monologue just before laying into Jared Leto with an ax.
9. Simply Irresistible – Robert Palmer
Even if you have a hard time placing the song, there’s no forgetting the instantly memorable music video that accompanied Robert Palmer’s debut single.
8. Something in the Air (American Psycho Remix) – David Bowie
Quite possibly one of the greatest breakup songs ever written, and yet another reminder of why there’ll never be another David Bowie.
7. Paid in Full (Remix) – The Racket
Remixes of hip-hop classics can go one of two ways – fortunately, this remix of Paid in Full went the right one.
6. Walking on Sunshine– Katrina and the Waves
According to Wikipedia, Katrina and the Waves’ Walking on Sunshine is ranked among EMI’s highest earners from advertisements and is considered by insiders to be “the crown jewel in EMI’s catalog.” Considering it hasn’t lost an ounce of its infectious energy in 35 years, it’s understandable.
5. Enjoy the Silence – Depeche Mode
With its dark lyrics, lush synths, and haunting melodies, Enjoy the Silence easily ranks among Depeche Mode’s best-ever efforts.
4. Watching Me Fall (Underdog Remix) – The Cure
A sophisticated, seductive song about self-destruction? Must be The Cure.
3. Paid in Full (Coldcut Remix) – Eric B. & Rakim
By all accounts, it took Eric B. & Rakim a while to get on board with Coldcut’s remix, but like everyone else, they eventually came to recognize its genius.
2. Pump Up the Volume – M/A/R/R/S
Bringing electronic group Colourbox and alternative rock band A.R. Kane together was a fraught task and one that didn’t go entirely to plan, but it did at least give us the phenomenal Pump Up the Volume.
1. True Faith – New Order
Back in 1987, True Faith became the first New Order song to chart on the US Billboard 100; almost 40 years later, it’s still one of their most popular songs.
