Alas, this song is not included in the soundtrack, although the soundtrack is quite an excellent collection of works that fits wonderfully with the film.


Basquiat Opening Title Song: Fairy Tale of New York   October 28, 2001
6 out of 7 found this review helpful

This is a great soundtrack! Fans of the movie should be aware, however, that the most requested song from the film, the title track "Fairy Tale of New York" by the Pogues is not included in this CD.

(To provide some recollection, this is the quiet melody played during the emotional title sequence in which young Basquiat accompanies his mother at the museum. The actual song is actually quite fractured, with the soft "drunk-tank" description at the beginning and a celebratory, quick paced Irish-style anthem in the second part.)


Stand out soundtrack. Stellar.   October 5, 2007
Aco
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

This is one of the most significant soundtracks of my life, and along with the soundtrack from Dead Man Walking introduced me to many artists that I have come to admire and follow.
There are many highlights here, particularly Van Morrison and John Cale's covers of (Leonard Cohen's) Hallelujah and (Bob Dylan's) It's All Over Now, Baby Blue, respectively. The hip-hop classic White Lines, evoking the burgeoning medium and the cocaine high 80's in which Basquiat takes place, PJ Harvey's somber Is That All There Is? and the great Tom Waits' Tom Traubert's Blues (Four Sheets To The Wind In Copenhagen) retain their music powers whether scored under the film or alone, no matter the repetition.
If you are unfamiliar with the musicians mentioned or featured here, this soundtrack is a MUST, successfully presenting the early 80's era, the New Wave, post punk, post funk New York City/America of Ronald Reagan/Keith Haring/The Last Days of Warhol.
Poetic and potent.