The Dirt Soundtrack Explained

The Dirt Soundtrack
Type:	soundtrack
Artist:	Mötley Crüe
Cover:	The Dirt Soundtrack.jpg
Border:	yes
Recorded:	1981–2019
Genre:	Heavy metal glam metal hard rock
Length:	70:32
Label:	Mötley Eleven Seven
Producer:	Dave Donnelly Bob Rock
Prev Title:	Greatest Hits
Prev Year:	2009

The Dirt Soundtrack is the soundtrack album to the 2019 biographical film of the same name by Mötley Crüe, inspired by the book The Dirt: Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band by the band and Neil Strauss. It was their tenth compilation album. The soundtrack was released by Mötley Records and Eleven Seven Records on March 22, 2019, on CD, LP, and digital formats. It is the band’s first release in over a decade since their 2009 Greatest Hits album.

Background

"There's no new music to be made for it," Nikki Sixx declared in 2016, when financing for the film had yet to be finalized. "No reason for it. And if it comes down to [adopts the voice of a record label person], 'Well, you have a new movie – you need to write new music for the movie,' I'm like, 'I'm sorry, but that's cheap.' We don't want to get back into the studio and go, 'We have to write a song, for marketing.' I want to write music because it's real."^[1]

On February 22, 2019, Mötley Crüe and Machine Gun Kelly (who plays Tommy Lee in the film) released the video for the song "The Dirt (Est. 1981)" on their YouTube channel. The band announced that the film's soundtrack would also feature three new recordings, all produced with longtime collaborator Bob Rock: "Ride with the Devil", "Crash and Burn", and a cover of Madonna's "Like a Virgin".^{[2] [3] [4] [5] [6]}

For the new songs, the band collaborated with Machine Gun Kelly, John 5 (who would eventually join the band full-time in 2023), and Sahaj. They composed nine songs, but narrowed them down to the three tracks featured in the soundtrack.^[6]

In 2019, "The Dirt (Est. 1981)" was featured on the soundtrack for the video game WWE 2K20.^[7]

Commercial performance

The soundtrack reached No. 10 on the Billboard 200, making it the band's first top-10 album since Saints of Los Angeles charted at No. 4 on July 4, 2008.^[8]

Track listing

Songs not included in the soundtrack, but featured in the film include the following:^[9]

• The Jaynetts – "Cry Behind the Daisies"
• T. Rex – "Solid Gold Easy Action"
• Death – "Keep on Knocking"
• Gary Charlson – "Close Enough"
• The Kind – "Total Insanity"
• Billy Squier – "My Kinda Lover"
• Kim Wilde – "Chequered Love"
• Jimmy Carter and the Dallas County Green – "A Night of Love"
• The Colors – "Go Go Getter"
• Heat Exchange – "Philosophy"
• Goliath – "Hot Rock and Thunder"
• Jonathan Elias and John Petersen – "Man on the Moon"
• Liquid Blue – "Big Money"
• Nu Shooz – "I Can't Wait"
• Meghan Kabir – "Live Wire"
• Johnny Thunders – "You Can't Put Your Arms Around a Memory"

Charts

Year-end charts

Chart (2019)	Position
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)^[11]	43
US Soundtrack Albums (Billboard)^[12]	17

The Dirt Single

Chart (2019)	Peak position
Billboard Rock Digital Songs^[13]	23
Billboard Hard Rock Digital Songs^[14]	14
Billboard Rock Alternative Airplay^[15]	20
Billboard Hot Rock Alternative^[16]	18

Notes and References

1. The Dirt is green-lit!. Classic Rock. June 2016. 37.
2. Motley Crue Drop 'The Dirt (Est. 1981)' Video, Detail Biopic's Soundtrack . Daniel . Kreps . . February 22, 2019 . February 23, 2019.
3. Web site: Mötley Crüe to release The Dirt soundtrack . . February 22, 2019 . February 23, 2019.
4. Web site: Mötley Crüe announce soundtrack for The Dirt movie with Four New Songs! . brownypaul . Wall of Sound . February 22, 2019 . March 29, 2019.
5. Web site: Motley Crue Reveal The Dirt SDTK . Elaine . Stenson . Nova.ie . March 27, 2019 . March 30, 2019.
6. Web site: Mötley Crüe Covers Madonna's "Like a Virgin" for The Dirt Soundtrack . . February 22, 2019 . April 8, 2019.
7. Web site: WWE 2K20 In-Game Soundtrack Announced . . May 28, 2020.
8. Web site: Mötley Crüe's 'The Dirt' Soundtrack Scores Band Their First Top 10 in a Decade . Philip . Trapp . . April 2, 2019 . April 4, 2019.
9. Web site: The Stories Behind the Non-Mötley Crüe Songs in The Dirt . Dave . Lifton . Matthew . Wilkening . . March 22, 2019 . April 8, 2019.
10. NAV Nets First No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart With 'Bad Habits'. Billboard. Caulfield. Keith. March 31, 2019. April 1, 2019.
11. Top Rock Albums – Year-End 2019. Billboard. December 21, 2020.
12. Soundtracks – Year-End 2019. Billboard. July 3, 2020.
13. Billboard Rock Digital Songs. . 2021-08-27.
14. Billboard Hard Rock Digital Songs. . 2021-08-27.
15. Billboard Rock Alternative Airplay. . 2021-08-27.
16. Billboard Hot Rock Alternative Songs. . 2021-08-27.