DC has announced a soundtrack compilation featuring music from movie and TV adaptations of their characters. The collection goes all the way back to the 1941 Superman cartoons by Max Fleischer Studios and runs up through Green Lantern: First Flight. A lot of it is previously unavailable material, like music from the 1967 Filmation cartoons, Super Friends and Justice League Unlimited, and the live-action Swamp Thing and Shazam! TV shows. There are also familiar tracks like John Williams’ Superman theme, Danny Elfman’s Batman, and the themes from the 1960s Batman and 1970s Wonder Woman TV series.

CBR has a detailed article, and The Source has the track list. Neither article has a release date more detailed than “later this year,” but Amazon lists September 28.

I was surprised not to see anything from the 1990 Flash TV series (though they do have the Flash intro from the Filmation cartoons), but they may have decided it didn’t represent the Flash appropriately. Danny Elfman’s theme for the show does sound a lot like his Batman theme.

If you do want to pick up music from the Flash TV series, you can still get La La Land Records’ limited edition 2-CD soundtrack, featuring Elfman’s theme and Shirley Walker’s score from eight episodes.

DC 75th Anniversary Soundtrack is a post from Speed Force.

Album info and order page.

(Thanks to Jeff Murphy for the link.)

Flash TV Show Soundtrack Discounted is a post from Speed Force.

What happened to Tarpit in Flash: Blackest Night? – Probably nothing, since (as Captain Boomerang Jr. pointed out) his physical body is actually somewhere else. On the other hand, Captain Cold did freeze Iron Heights.

When does the new Flash Forward come out? – New episodes start Thursday, March 18. ABC will also be running a recap of the first half of the season on Tuesday, March 16, after Lost.

What is the song when Flash goes speed force? – I’m not really sure what you mean by this (unless it’s “What music plays during the climax of the Justice League Unlimited episode, “Divided We Fall”), but allow me to recommend the Jim’s Big Ego song, “The Ballad of Barry Allen.” It’s certainly more appropriate than Queen’s Flash Gordon theme.

Is DC: The New Frontier a sequel to The Golden Age? – No, but it’s a similar concept — enough so that when James Robinson was asked whether he might do a sequel, he said that New Frontier basically covered it.

Which Flash controls the speed force? – Depends on what you mean by “control.” Barry Allen generates it by running, all Flashes use it as fuel, and Wally West is able to manipulate it to perform feats like lending or stealing speed.

How can you speed if you are following someone else? – If they’re driving faster than the speed limit, then it’s entirely possible for you to do the same thing.

Why don’t people like Barry Allen? – Because not everyone has the same tastes that you do. Just as some people prefer the serious tone of the 1990s Batman animated series, while others prefer the zany adventure of Batman: the Brave and the Bold, different people like different takes on the Flash.

What will happen to Wally West? – He’ll probably be a recurring guest star in The Flash, and will almost certainly show up in an issue or two of DC Universe: Legacies. DC has scaled back on the big plans they had for the Flash this year, dropping a set of backup stories that would have featured Wally in The Flash and a Kid Flash series that would have featured Bart. Other than that, we probably won’t see much of him until the next big Flash epic, unless James Robinson pulls a surprise and puts him back on Justice League. In which case we can probably expect to see Irey or Jai killed and Wally’s legs amputated. @#*&^! Cry for Justice.

Edit: One More! – Panels at WonderCon 2010 – They haven’t released a programming schedule yet, but last year it was posted about two weeks before the convention. So we should see something online by mid-March. Update: They’ll post the schedule one day at a time, starting on March 10.

Search-Term Q&A is a post from Speed Force.

Until now, the only music available from the show was the title theme composed by Danny Elfman, on Music for a Darkened Theatre, Vol. 2

The 2-disc set is a limited run of 3,000 and features music from the following episodes:

• Pilot
• Captain Cold
• The Trickster
• Watching the Detectives
• Ghost in the Machine
• Done with Mirrors
• Fast Forward
• Trial of the Trickster

You can read more, including a full track list, in this thread at Film Score Monthly.

Update: The album page is up with a full track list and free sample tracks (and the cover art, which I’ve copied here). Crimson Lightning talks about how the music enhanced the show.

(Thanks to Jeff Murphy for the info!)

Flash Soundtrack Available Today is a post from Speed Force.

My Name is Wally West (Music Video) is a post from Speed Force.

And yes, the song’s actually good!

It’s available as a digital download from on iTunes, on Amazon’s MP3 store, on Slabster and on CD. I originally bought it through iTunes, but it’s worth looking at Amazon or Slabster since the tracks are just plain MP3s. No DRM, no account activation, no need to authorize computers or stick with one company’s player—hardware or software.

There’s also a great fan music video, “Seems so slow,” that uses clips from the Justice League and Teen Titans cartoons:

See also: Flash Music.

The Ballad of Barry Allen is a post from Speed Force.

(Found via Once Upon a Geek.)

Flash! (Teen Titans Fan Video) is a post from Speed Force.

A bunch of other musicians in the filk community have put together a benefit album, “Mr. Smith Goes to the Hospital,” and are providing it as a download for people who donate to help him cover the bills.

What is filk music? There’s no solid consensus, but I think the simplest answer is: music about other media, by its fans. Songs about Star Wars, or Lord of the Rings, for instance. Arguably “The Ballad of Barry Allen” could be considered a filk. Sometimes with original music, often setting new lyrics to other people’s songs (“piggyback filk”). Most filkers just do it as a hobby (I’ve written a few filksongs myself, mostly back in high school and college), but some manage to eke out a living — or supplement one — by performing and selling recordings.

My wife and I have picked up a couple of his albums since we heard “Five Years” — a Babylon 5 filk to the tune of Barenaked Ladies’ “One Week” — at a Loscon a few years ago (back when we still went to Loscon).

(News found via Girl Genius. Cross-posted at K-Squared Ramblings.)

Benefit Album for Filker Tom Smith is a post from Speed Force.