X-Files Soundtrack The Ones that Got Away

Allstarmag (1998-06-28)

With The X-Files film going to the top of the box office, as expected, the
soundtrack can expect a boost as well. After talking with the CD’s co-
executive producer, David Was (who shared those duties with series creator
Chris Carter), it’s hard not to think of the soundtrack that could’ve been,
even for him. While he is very happy with the outcome, he admits, “The ones
that got away are the ones that figure most prominently in my vision of the
record.”

Among the acts who “got away” are U2 and No Doubt — both of whom had lunch
with Was and Carter — and Trent Reznor, who gave Was and Carter a seven-
and- a- half- minute version of Gary Numan’s “Metal,” then took it back
after deciding it wasn’t representative of what he was doing at the time.

As for U2, Was says, “I was inches away from closing a deal on a track with
U2.” According to Was, the band’s management said, “They love
the show and they’d love to do something, but in the wake of having done
this tour and album, they’ll only give you a song if they think it’s a No.
1 smash worldwide.” After Was decided that U2 having a No. 1 hit was a
realistic demand, he says, “Then began this Mt. Everest climb with frost-
bitten toes and everything, trying to get this deal done.” Among the
obstacles the led to the demise of the deal were the financial demands,
and, according to Was, the fact that “they’re asking you to do it on faith.”

He recounts: “I said at one point, as a friend to their manager, ‘Can I
hear something?’ And he laughed at me. He said, ‘We don’t
audition.’” Was concludes the story by saying, “Eventually we walked away
from the table on a song like that.”…

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