New “Box of Moonlight” soundtrack CDs are very expensive at $60 USD. So, I thought I’d look on YouTube to see how many of the tracks I could find and capture them to MP3 using Audacity:
Starting with the CD track listing from Amazon, I searched for each one with these results:
- 01. Mexican Radio – Wall of Voodoo (video found)
- 02. Red Right Hand – Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds (video found)
- 03. Blues Before Sunrise – Elmore James (audio found)
- 04. Big Black Sky – Chaser (not found)
- 05. Too Much Tequila – The Champs (video found)
- 06. Carioca – The Fireballs (1962) (video found)
- 07. Wayward Nile – The Chantays (1963) (video found)
- 08. Lost Time Blues – The Chrome Cranks (video found)
- 09. Wheels over Me – Die Haut (not found)
- 10. Gun Control – Tom DiCillo (not found)
- 11. Opening Titles (not found)
- 12. Tomato Field Fight (not found)
- 13. End Titles (not found)
Audacity did a good job, but its extraction is essentially a “digital to analog to digital” process which introduces some signal degradation, although inaudible to my ears.
To do the extraction completely within the digital domain, an extraction utility or a Firefox plug-in could be used. Just be aware that some of them , specifically Free Youtube to MP3 Converter contain tracking software so that your habits can be tracked and they can do target marketing. As Heinlein said, “TANSTAAFL”.
Regarding “Box of Moonlight”, the Internet Movie Database, IMDB, lists a couple other tracks that don’t appear on the CD:
- Cuts you Up – Peter Murphy (video found)
- Cerveza – Tom DiCillo (not found)
As I played each one, I ran Audacity in a separate window to capture the audio. After tidying up the beginning and ending, each was exported to MP3 format.
Hearing all these Moonlight tunes did whet my appetite so I gave in and bought a used CD from an Amazon vendor. A new one is just too expensive at $60+ USD.
When the CD arrives, I’ll use Exact Audio Copy to make MP3s of the CD, add “Cuts You Up” as a supplemental track, and enjoy them via Media Center.
For those that aren’t familiar with “Box of Moonlight”, read the Reviews at IMDB, then check out the trailer.
‘Probably one my top 3 favorite movies of all time. Recommended!
