10 Ways The Music Industry Owes John Hughes Big Time

3. Two Short-Lived Side-Projects Of Ex-Clash Mick Jones (B.A.D. And General Public) Appear On The Ferris Bueller Soundtrack

The 80s, like John Hughes films, are where punk and pop converged. And Hughes championed both accordingly, showcasing them hand-in-hand through his soundtracks. But no closer do the two worlds meet than on the Ferris Bueller soundtrack, on which two of Mick Jones' post-Clash musical projects show up to remind us that you are allowed to make an album like Sandinsta! if you want to. The song "Bad" from Big Audio Dynamite is a little closer to Jones' punk roots than anything, with the addition of some disjointed sampling and experimentation, whereas the fittingly-titled song "Taking the Day Off" by General Public is most definitely pop, even if it does come from a post-punk super-group consisting of the ex-Clash guitarist and members of the English Beat, Dexy's Midnight Runners, and the Specials. Hughes was very keen on the UK post-punk scene of the eighties, filling his movies with its best dissidents, including the original acts of the aforementioned super-group. For instance, hear both the Specials' "Little Bitch" and General Public's "Tenderness" in Sixteen Candles (along with Wham!, Kajagoogoo, David Bowie, and Billy Idol), and a remix of "Rotating Head" called "March of the Swivelheads" by the English Beat appears on the Ferris Bueller soundtrack. It was actually upon Hughes insistence that these types of bands define the Pretty in Pink soundtrack, as frequent Hughes director Howard Deutch was originally intending to drape theme music over the film. Thankfully that didn't happen, and the film is filled with music that much better supports the perspective of the film's teenage protagonists. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmoHQ2DC3zo