At the end of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Kraglin gave Peter Quill a Zune to replace his destroyed Walkman, claiming “it’s what everybody’s listening to on Earth nowadays.” And while this probably won’t result in the comeback story that Microsoft may have been hoping for, it will definitely expand Peter Quill’s musical tastes when Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 opens next month. But luckily, no one has to wait for the film to hit theaters to see what Star-Lord currently has on shuffle. James Gunn has shared the full playlist for Awesome Mix Vol. 3, which finally brings the team’s fearless leader into the 21st century.
The new collection of songs wasn’t assembled by Quill’s late mother like either of its two predecessors. Regardless, it still has plenty of songs from before the Ravagers abducted him from Earth in 1988. Among the highlights are rock ballads like Heart’s “Crazy on You” and Alice Cooper’s “Always Chasing Rainbows,” with Earth, Wind & Fire’s “Reasons” adding some much-needed soul to the proceedings. Gunn also showed some love to the ‘80s by adding contributions from artists ranging from Faith No More (“We Care a Lot”) to The Replacements (“I Will Dare”).
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However, giving Peter his own MP3 player finally allowed Gunn to indulge his more modern musical tastes as well. The latest Awesome Mix notably features some major staples of ‘90s alternative rock like Radiohead’s “Creep” — an acoustic version of which is the song that opens the film — and the Beastie Boys’ “No Sleep Till Brooklyn.” Of course, Spacehog’s “In the Meantime” is on there after being used in Vol. 3’s teaser trailer last fall.
But the fun doesn’t end there. The playlist also boasts a few offerings from the early 2000s, including The Flaming Lips’ “Do You Realize??” and Florence + the Machine’s “Dog Days Are Over.” The most recent song on the mixtape is The Mowgli’s “San Francisco” from 2012, which also happens to be the same year that Microsoft discontinued the Zune.
‘It was very, very difficult,” said Gunn in a new interview with Rolling Stone. “I felt very uncomfortable picking out songs and making sure that this was the right soundtrack. Do I move on to just all Eighties songs? Do I use all Nineties songs? Or do I do what a Zune would actually have — songs from different eras, which is what I ended up doing.”
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 arrives on May 5. You can view the full Awesome Mix Vol. 3 tracklist here.
Which of these songs are you most excited to hear in the film? Let us know in the comment section below!
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