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If you've never heard of Watchmen, this is the last second of your life to wallow in ignorance. For 25 years, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' genre-shattering graphic novel has been a cherished cult, but now it's about to go stratospheric with the release of Zack Synder's lavish Hollywood movie adaptation.

More than most superhero flicks, this one's being sold with a carefully cherry-picked soundtrack album. My Chemical Romance frontman (and published comic book author) Gerard Way - who claims "Watchmen changed my life" - gives the soundtrack a spunky relevance to today, and there's an admirably eclectic mix of music. Check this as a soundtrack line-up…

1. Desolation Row - My Chemical Romance
2. Unforgettable - Nat King Cole
3. The Times They Are A-Changin' - Bob Dylan
4. The Sound Of Silence - Simon & Garfunkel
5. Me & Bobby McGee - Janis Joplin
6. I'm Your Boogie Man - KC & The Sunshine Band
7. You're My Thrill - Billie Holiday
8. Pruit Igoe & Prophecies - Philip Glass
9. Hallelujah - Leonard Cohen
10. All Along The Watchtower - Jimi Hendrix
11. Ride of the Valkyries - Budapest Symphony Orchestra
12. Pirate Jenny - Nina Simone

Each song has been sensitively chosen for it's ability to soundtrack a specific event in a film that shows superheroes through the ages, from the innocent '40s right through to the dark '80s. Film sites and comic blogs alike have been unanimous in their praise of the soundtrack's quality… but we here at MusicRadar feel they could have done even better.

So settle down, cue up your graphic novel and get your iTunes ready as MusicRadar gets in touch with its inner nerd and presents an alternate soundtrack to Watchmen. Careful, there be spoilers and great music ahead…

1. The Murder Mystery - The Velvet Underground

The movie opens with the death of Edward Blake, aka The Comedian, the kind of gruff, psychotic superhero that would make even Vinnie Jones' wanger schrivel in fear. The Velvets' psychotically bizarre closer to their third album, with its schitzo voices and ominous organ matches Watchmen's off-kilter noirisms and even 40 years on is still scarier than any slash-and-run pic.

2. Funeral Party - The Cure

When The Comedian is buried the Watchmen meet up together for the first time in years. The Cure's Funeral Party, from their 1981 album Faith, has the right cinematic sweep. "You performed your story noiselessly across the floor," Robert Smith, still thin and erring on the right side of of ridiculous, sings, "dancing at the funeral party."

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