Soundtracks ... they are probably one of the best kept secrets of movie magic. Even when they don't grab people's immediate attention they remain key to creating a specific atmosphere on film. For those of you who are still skeptical, just look for fake movie trailers on YouTube (fe the one with Titanic presented as a horror film) and you'll realize how much impact the choice of music can have on a film.

So am I going to do a ToM about soundtracks? Not really, that would've been a bit too easy. This week's Twitch-O-Meter is about electronic soundtracks, or, more specifically, the lack thereof. The thing which always surprised me is how few genuine electronic soundtracks are out there. It's a genre I grew up with, but even a good 15 years after it boomed and became more than "just" dancefloor thuds there's still very little that crossed over to the world of cinema.

And it's not like electronic music isn't suited for film, on the contrary I would say. It's naturally abstract and has a proven record of working incredibly well in combination with tight editing and strong visuals. And yet, whenever a film features a discotheque scene most directors prove themselves too much of a pussy to put in some actual dance music. Not even speaking about some solid glitchy, rattling and roaring electronic to explore new ways of capturing cinematic moments.

And so this Twitch-O-Meter is about films that dare to embrace the musical revolution of more than 15 years ago. What follows is my top 5 of films that boldly use electronic music and aren't afraid to make film into a real audiovisual spectacle.

5. --: Number 5's a blank, actually. My list is only 4 entries big, so I'm just going to mention a couple of films that didn't quite make it. Films like Irréversible, which do have a decent soundtrack but don't tie it closely enough to the visuals. Or films like Tekkon Kinkreet (featuring Plaid) which play it a little too safe. Qianxi Manbo has some really nice techno tracks, but just like Ya Lyublyu Tebya and The Great Ecstasy of Robert Carmichael it's mostly music people are listening to in the film universe. Rubber's Lover and Eri Eri Rema Sabakutani might have been good contenders, but still not really what I am aiming for. Late Bloomer? Getting awfully close, but still a little sloppy. So if you guys have any good suggestions, fire away in the comments section!

4. Umfeld: Yeah, there's that film again. While this is definitely the one with the best mix of sound and visuals, both areas continuously influencing each others, I put it in spot 4 because the abstract nature of the film is making it a lot easier to merge the two. Still, a very good example of how music and visuals can be tied together to create a very unique and uniform effect. Consider it the Gantz Graf (Autechre music vid) of film, and if you haven't seen it yet, do so quickly, otherwise I'll just have to keep pushing it until eternity.

3. Flex: Another film that many believe belongs exclusively in a museum (actually the only place to see it in full if I'm correct). It's a short film directed by Chris Cunningham, famed music video director and one of the best when it comes to combining visuals with sound. I could've picked Rubber Johnny, but I find that's still too much of a music video (though still genius) to earn its place here. Flex is not as abstract, though not really narratively driven either. It's basically a study of the humor body scored by Aphex Twin. Neat stuff, but immensely difficult to track down. The Chris Cunningham director's DVD has an excerpt, sadly not the whole short.

2. Zoetrope: Getting closer to what I'm aiming for. If Zoetrope would last 90 minutes it would've probably been my favorite film ever. As it is, it's "only" a 15 minute short, yet in that 15 minutes it displays a level of excellence rarely seen. Commissioned by a music label and scored by Lustmord (famous ambient act) it still finds its roots in the world of music rather than cinema, but it's a strong and meticulously constructed piece of film elevated well above the realm of music vids.

1. Pi: There's really only one film deserving the number 1 spot, and that's Aronofsky's first. With a soundtrack featuring the likes of Aphex Twin, Autechre, Orbital, Roni Size, Gus Gus and a couple more, it blends dialogues, soundtrack and visuals to one whole. Of course there is still plenty of room for improvement, but it's currently the only full-length feature I know of that has such a tight integration of visuals with an electronic soundtrack. You can image how much it pains me to see him make films like The Wrestler these days.

The conclusion is simple. Over the last 15 years an enormous pool of electronic music has formed, which holds an immeasurable amount of filmic potential untouched by directors out there. I don't know what it is that's holding them back. Maybe it has something to do with the appeal of film itself, as there's not too many film fans interested in electronic music either. Maybe it has to do with the age of most directors, or maybe it's because audiences still have trouble to see such a bold stylistic direction in narrative films. Whatever it is, I can only hope it changes quickly. As it stands, even the films above only touch the tip of the iceberg, with musical choices still very much in the "safe" territory.