OK, we've come to Week 25, which is also our third thematic week, one which has been awaited by many of the participants in the discussion (meaning, clearly, that I'm not the only film whore in the group). Miranda and Nate clearly ran amuck, making my attempt to go rogue seem very timid indeed. Our theme this week is the best use of a song in a movie or TV series, and we have some fantastic choices.
There is no other narrative I can
provide.
God Bless America, from The Deer Hunter
The first time I saw The Deer Hunter back in the late 1970s I loved it, and become even more impressed with it every year. You would be hard pressed to convince me that there have been many better movies ever made in America, and harder pressed to convince me that there was ever been a better movie about America. One of my never to be completed writing projects is a book entitled The 1970s was a great decade (and yours wasn't). When I was reaching my formative years during that decade I just felt that it was a pretty stupid valid decade, and now it's just parodied as an entire decade defined by disco. However, as I get further away from that age, and we slide into greater and greater buffoonery, I've begun to realize that it was actually a pretty amazing age. It's difficult to remember a political age when even the Republican presidents were arguably at least somewhat liberal, and the country actually forced a president out of office for crimes. In some ways it was the high point of the auteur in American culture, which led to ridiculous excess but also to albums such as Marvin Gaye's What's Going On (which I always forget came out in 1970) and Tonight's the Night and Darkness on the Edge of Town and a wealth of amazing films (before Steven Spielberg and George Lucas made us stupid). Think how many complex, fascinating, dark films focused on morally ambivalent characters came out during that period: Godfather and Godfather II and Chinatown and Network and Manhattan and, what I would consider the best of the bunch, The Deer Hunter. The movie has been copied and parodied so much that it's easy to lose sight of how groundbreaking it was. Take the Russian roulette scene. I had a colleague one time dismiss it because there wasn't actually any evidence that the Vietnamese made American prisoners play Russian roulette, which led to me pointing, out, "it's a metaphor, dumbass, do you not understand the meaning of metaphor?" Yes, I'm that guy. Since it's been parodied by people from The Great White North and Archer it's easy to lose sight of what a raw and harrowing scene that is. With all this in mind I chose the final scene where they're meeting up after Nick's funeral in the local bar and they end up singing God Bless America, an ending that I remember people just being stunned by - and which they still argue about today - which was really the director's point. As a country we had a very conflicted view of the war and the country and our role as citizens and patriotism, and I can't imagine that you could have created a more powerful ending. In the midst of that you see Streep and DeNiro, at arguably the height of their acting prowess, struggling to reach out to each other, but they're such damaged souls it's painful to watch. The backstory is that Streep took the role mainly to spend as much time as possible with her boyfriend at the time, John Cazale, before he died of cancer. Apparently DeNiro paid for all of Cazale's medical bills, but still denies it today, which makes me admire him all the more.
Honorable Mention
Oddly, The Deer Hunter also contains another one of the other great uses of a song in a movie, the raucous cover of I Love You Baby during the pool game. Every one of the characters, and especially DeNiro, provides a brilliant little glimpse into their personality in their response to the song.
As Dave Kelley knows, I'm a huge fan of the Hal Hartley film Simple Men, which tells the story of two brothers travel into the wilds of Long Island to escape the law and also to find their father, the "revolutionary shortstop." I absolutely love this iconic dance number from the bar where they end up hiding out.
Seriously, much like Miranda and Nate, I could go on and on, but I need to get on to other things, so I'll add just one more. How about the scene in Casablanca where the Viktor Lazlo character leads the bar in singing La Marseilleaise and drowning out the Germans. I can't imagine what my response would have been if I saw that in the theater in 1942.
Jack Schultz
Vince Guaraldi, Lucy and Linus
After agonizing over
Vietnam movies, coming of age stories, and multiple crime dramas, it occurred
to me that I may have been over-complicating things a bit. Therefore, I am
going with a choice that represents simplicity of the highest order. The pairing of the Vince Guaraldi
Trio’s soundtrack backing A Charlie Brown Christmas works extremely well. I have selected the song Lucy and
Linus, which is less about Christmas but more about jazz. This is the song that plays when the
Charlie Brown characters dance with their noses in the air, as only they
did.
My
appreciation for this soundtrack continues to grow. It stays in my play rotation all year,
right next to Miles Davis, Dave Brubeck, and Clifford Brown. According to
my friend Bob Mollaun, Blue Oyster Cult did a stirring rendition of Lucy and
Linus on one of their early 1980s tours. Good friggin’ Grief!
Bob Craigmile
Paul Weller
"I walk on gilded splinters"
The Wire - S4 finale.
What a powerful juxtaposition of a great song with a
montage that makes strong people weep. Spoiler alerts! If you are
planning on watching The Wire for the first time, well, you're in for a ride;
also, what took you so long?
We see teenage assassins ditching guns, kids in foster
care getting beat up, and then ends with a ray of hope; one child living with a
(former) "police". The camera then focuses on an intersection
in the neighborhood, where people walk down the street as if all of the horror
never happened. To quote Vonnegut, "hi ho". Life goes on
for some, for the others it's "all in the game", which game they
never signed up for.
This show's entire world is about what they, and we, are
born into and their innocence will not save them, nor will their guilt
necessarily be found out. Soldiers die and soldiers live. Like a game,
it's random. Like war unfair; collateral damage in a "dark corner of
the american experiment".
Mike Kelly
Sia, Breathe Me (Six Feet Under Finale)
If you watched the
show, you know this is the right answer:
If you didn't watch the show, you're
going to be meh.
Gary Beatrice
U2, All I Want Is You
U2 was less than a decade into their existence when they were arguably the best band in rock music. But I found it very distasteful that they decided to make that argument themselves. And that's what I took away from the Rattle and Hum movie, that U2 was important and Bono was incredibly important. All of the Bono-isms that cause some people to hate him (and some people, like me, to both hate him and love him) can be traced back to this movie and soundtrack. "Charles Manson stole this song from the Beatles now we're stealing it back." "Am I bugging you? I don't mean to be bugging you."
Even worse Rattle and Hum was one mess of a movie, with several live performances that just didn't work.
But much of the studio work on the Rattle and Hum soundtrack stands among their best music, which is saying something. In my opinion nothing shows U2 in all its glory than the simple love song that closes the soundtrack and plays over the movie credits "All I Want Is You". The song peaks beautifully around a spectacular performance by The Edge and one of my favorite string sections in rock music. They could have skipped the movie and most of the live music on the soundtrack, and let the rest of the world recognize them as the best band in rock of their era.
U2 was less than a decade into their existence when they were arguably the best band in rock music. But I found it very distasteful that they decided to make that argument themselves. And that's what I took away from the Rattle and Hum movie, that U2 was important and Bono was incredibly important. All of the Bono-isms that cause some people to hate him (and some people, like me, to both hate him and love him) can be traced back to this movie and soundtrack. "Charles Manson stole this song from the Beatles now we're stealing it back." "Am I bugging you? I don't mean to be bugging you."
Even worse Rattle and Hum was one mess of a movie, with several live performances that just didn't work.
But much of the studio work on the Rattle and Hum soundtrack stands among their best music, which is saying something. In my opinion nothing shows U2 in all its glory than the simple love song that closes the soundtrack and plays over the movie credits "All I Want Is You". The song peaks beautifully around a spectacular performance by The Edge and one of my favorite string sections in rock music. They could have skipped the movie and most of the live music on the soundtrack, and let the rest of the world recognize them as the best band in rock of their era.
Dave Wallace
Explosions in the Sky - 1st Breath After Coma
Our theme week is an opportunity for me to feature
Explosions in the Sky, who I've been thinking about choosing for a while.
A group from Texas, EITS plays dynamic, guitar-driven instrumentals. I
think they're amazing, and they've made several great albums. They also
did the soundtrack for the FridayNight Lights movie and contributed this
song to the FNL TV show. Their ability to evoke different moods is
astonishing, and FNL (movie and show) made exceptional use of their music to
explore and enhance different emotions. It's hard to imagine FNL without the
soundtrack of EITS.
And I can't let this opportunity pass without a plug for
FNL, the TV show, in case you haven't seen it. Mistakenly viewed as a
show about football, it really is about the passions, prejudices, trials, and
triumphs of the residents of a small Texas town. The first season is essentially
perfect, and the remaining seasons are also excellent. It was one of the
best shows of this Golden Age of TV, which is very high praise indeed. I
cannot recommend it strongly enough.
Miranda Tavares
Dirty Dancing, Cry to Me
I was embarrassingly young when this movie was released,
but not too young to appreciate the wonder that was a shirtless Patrick
Swayze. I now find the movie trite and outdated, but at the time the soundtrack
influenced me tremendously. I credit my love of oldies to this movie.
Compared to nowadays, when you can see all kinds of stuff
on prime time, and cable leaves little to the imagination, the scenes in Dirty
Dancing are not so much "dirty" and more "vaguely in need of
a wipe-down". But as a pre-teen, the sex scenes in the movie were
powerfully erotic. To this day, nothing gets my motor running like a shapely
pair of arms and shoulders, and I am certain this scene is the cause of it. Cry
to Me is the perfect accompaniment. The song is not at all dirty (but oh that
beat, that is a little dirty, it just hits you in all the right places), but it
is emotional, and longing, and intense, and when combined with a vulnerable,
naive girl and a boy from the wrong side of the tracks and some nice skin
on both sides, it creates a raw, sensual, impassioned moment that anyone can
identify with. Well, I would hope, for your sake. If not, you just keep
watching on repeat while I go take a cold shower.
Nate Bell
Well
Gary, you set us an insurmountable task. With my love of (bad) movies and
Miranda's passion for music you awakened the Demon.
I
hope you can forgive us.
So
here is my more moderated single post for music/movie
The
Crow: The Cure: Burn
For
children in the 90s, the Crow was an enormously influential movie, for many the
first of those movies where a person would attend to hear the soundtrack as
much as watch the movie. It inspired a spate of 90s "soundtrack
movies" where the studio would try to get major bands to all contribute to
the album in efforts to sell an often otherwise mediocre movie.
However,
in my mind and many others' The Crow was the first. It featured a HUGE
number of grunge-era and pseudo metal bands for the soundtrack, and quite a few
of the songs were worked into the movie in a moderately decent way.
Stone
Temple Pilots's "Interstate Love Song" was incorporated quite well as
Brandon Lee executes the lead criminal by sending him off in his own cherished
pride and joy muscle car (a 70's era T-bird? really? )
Nonetheless,
the best used song for the movie is The Cure's Burn. In a movie that is
about the angst of a character who has lost his life and love, and is in
emotional torture, there can be few who can match the depression and internal
pain of the Cure. (maybe Depeche Mode, but few others in the early
90s). However, the Cure is more about emotional pain and really doesn't
convey the accompanying anger well. For the Crow, Robert & co
actually kicked it up a few notches. In "Burn", the Cure adds a
pounding, tribal drumline, a screeching background synth, and harsher
vocalization than is their wont. The song plays as the Crow character
discovers his own nature and vividly relives his pain, and you can watch the transformation
on screen as he begins to feel his "burn" for vengeance through his
inner torture. The end of the song leaves the listener with an edgy
tension, hinting at the eruption of emotion/anger to follow. By the time
the song fades, he is transformed into the Crow with makeup and all, geared and
garbed to begin his killing spree. The scene and song are inseparable,
just perfectly done, and it all works fluidly to transition to the next scene
where true ultra-violence ensues.
Miranda and Nate Running Amuck
Songs from movies that we couldn’t bear not to talk about (these are
ranked in no particular order, and certainly this is not an exhaustive list,
I.e., yes, we had more)
After the Sunset, “Pineapple Wine” - yeah, this has been done before, but it’s still worth another mention. It’s the equivalent of Salma Hayek in a gold bikini
EuroTrip, “Scottie Doesn’t Know” - Matt Damon does a fantastic cameo in a fun but mediocre movie with an embarrassingly catchy song
Airheads, “Born to Raise Hell” - an homage to all the mindless hair metal songs in a movie about mindless hair metal musicians. And it’s Lemmy, for God’s sake. Let him put some boogie in your ear.
American Psycho, “Hip to be Square” - The main character’s rant is genius, and the use of this song about conforming to societal norms while being an actual axe murderer is a disgusting yet delicious use of irony.
American Werewolf in London - The whole goddamn soundtrack (no youtube link available due to content). All the songs were cleverly worked, and have a wolf or moon theme. Moondance was especially well-played for the sex scene. The whole soundtrack gave the movie a lighter, jaunty, comedic feel.
Say Anything, “In Your Eyes” - This song needs no discussion (but I‘ll do it anyway). It is the epitome of romance in the ‘80’s, Lloyd Dobler in the rain holding a boom box. Dedication, devotion, turning all the night time into the day. Oh wait, that’s Dire Straits lyrics. Still, they apply. I will wait, I will wait for you. Oh, that’s Mumford and Sons. See, it’s timeless! A man waiting on a woman, or, to be more current, a lover waiting on a lover, never gets old. Please play this scene for your grandkids (the link is a montage, so for your grandkids' sake you can skip to the 2:30 minute mark).
Thomas Crown Affair, “Sinner man” - So, there is a chance this song might have been written for the scene. It certainly sounds like it. And we didn’t research it. So if it was, throw it right out. But if not, holy f*@k, what an amazing fit. Cued perfectly for the main heist scene, it captures the frantic confusion of the scene on screen in a way that draws you in and makes you a player.
Color of Money, “It’s in the Way that You Use It” - This is another song that needs little commentary. The big guy (Clapton/Newman) schooling the little guy on how it’s done. I (and this is Miranda speaking here) was young but I thought it was abundantly clear that the old guy was the one to fawn over. To this day I still can’t run a table without this song playing. (I can’t run a table with this song playing, either, but I enjoy the brief delusion it provides)
Cradle to the Grave , DMX - Not a great movie, not great acting, but X Go’n Give it to Ya expertly captures the violence and the fighting scenes (So much that Deadpool stole it for parody effect)
Idle wild - With “PJ and Rooster”, Outkast flawlessly reinvents a Prohibition era juke-joint sound with a hip hop edge. Just excellent.
Justified - Nothing captures the grit, dirt and twang of the series like Ganstagrass’ “Long Hard Time to Come”--it effortlessly conveys the mix of rural crime mixed with the grime of urban streets. I have written about the commonality between the rural country poor and the ‘hood poor before, but both the show and this theme song blend them seamlessly.
Last of the Mohicans, “The Gael” - The final fight scene in Last of the Mohicans is set to this traditional instrumental. It evokes the desperation of the chase as well as the raw dance-like beauty of the final, skillful, deadly confrontations
Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels - This entire movie and soundtrack was expertly composed. Each song is clearly hand-picked to provide character depth, narration, and/or function as a tonal overview or segue/scene change. Just truly well done.
Lost Boys - For children of the late 80’s “I Still Believe and “Cry Little Sister” appeal to the growing trend at that time of a pseudo-goth, semi-emo, self-involved emotionality that thrums in these 2 tunes. Young pre-teens belted their hearts out singing to these tunes while imagining themselves to be as cool as Jason Patrick, young Keifer Sutherland, or Jami Gertz
Reservoir Dogs, “Stuck in the Middle with You” - The ear-cutting scene would not be the same without the artful, playful, sociopathy set to this song. We cannot hear the song without cringing to the thought of Michael Madsen carving up a doomed bound cop.
Mr. and Mrs. Smith, “Mondo Bongo” - If you follow the tabloids, this movie, and this scene in particular, is when these two actors fell in love. Current news notwithstanding, this is still an incredibly erotic song in a movie about two spouses literally fighting each other the whole way out. Play this in your head on those special nights.
Office Space, “Damn it Feels Good to be a Gangsta” - Shows the fantasy and reality of every short-sleeved , buttoned-down office worker. Because Goddamn it feels good to be an gangsta. And fuck that printer.
Reality Bites , “All I Want is You” - Miranda here, and this one’s all mine. Almost wrote my post on this one. Have you seen this movie?! It’s only ok, in the long run, but there are some amazing parts. Most awesome of which is when The Girl realizes she is in love with The Guy and chases after him, only to find he only left her because his father was dying (seriously, it’s at least ok, not too predictable or trite despite the above summation) and they reunite, after mutual hardships, over this song. If my husband had proposed to me (and he didn’t, because we are tragically practical) this is what would have been playing in the background. (And yes, in the linked clip, that is Eddie Vedder in the band in the bar scene).
O Brother Where Art Thou, “Man of Constant Sorrow“- The entire journey of the movie is encompassed by the tribulations of the man of constant sorrow--never mind that most of the sorrow is self-inflicted. The song was custom designed to capture the morose feel of the ne’er do well hero.
The Punisher, “In Time”--This selection was written to be the theme song---however, it both adds and transcends the comic book subject material. It brings home the idea that Frank Castle has truly “come back from the dead” to pursue his nihilistic vendetta no matter the cost to his body, or to his moral center. The song is great in its own right, BTW, give it a listen.
Firefly, “You can’t take the sky from me” - Again, a theme song, but it still makes the list. Joss Whedon Himself wrote this for Firefly. “Take my love, take my land, take me where I cannot stand, I don’t care, I’m still free--you can’t take the sky from me”. Impeccable C/W influenced styling for the story of a man who has lost everything, and takes refuge, literally, by taking to the sky (to be a space pirate). Great song for a great show. BEST EVER
Stranger Than Fiction, “Whole Wide World“ --One of the best example’s of character development. Ferrell’s character is boring and predictable, following rules for rule’s sake, but as his life edges closer to possible end he loosens up in an amazing but still believable way. This song, this scene, symbolizes the whole movie. I would have never guessed that, if you have to learn to play a single song on the guitar, this is the one to pick, but it’s obviously true.
Cold Mountain--Jack White interprets folks songs correct for the time period with passion and grace. “Wayfaring Stranger” and “Sittin’ on Top of the World” are especially well done. Jack plays in the movie himself as a character and pulls off the music and the role with aplomb
Labyrinth, “Dance Magic, Dance“ - Here we see David Bowie as never before, fully engaged yet playful, endearing and lightearted--with muppets and an honest-to-god baby. It is fun, light, and rife with caprice. Despite the Wardrobe department’s unfortunate choice in Mr. Bowie’s trousers, it makes him accessible, cuddly and a good fit in a children’s movie.
Donnie Darko, “Mad World“ - the sorrowful, plaintive tune captures the essence of the theme effortlessly. A young man who does not understand much happening in the world around him, only that it demands that he depart from it, for the sake of others, sad, profound and depressing. Excellent fit.
Light of Day, “Light of Day” - Not sure I’m qualified to comment too much on this. It has been years since I have seen the movie, and any memories I might have had have been overwritten by The Boss lighting up the crowd and everyone belting this out together. But I remember liking the movie, and liking the song because of the movie.
Eyes Wide Shut, “Baby Did a Bad, Bad Thing” - Creepy, painful, disturbing. Chris Isaac plays the song that underpins the central idea of the movie, a bad act that fragments and rots a relationship. Paranoia, obsession over misdeeds unseen, and the longing over a relationship lost beyond repair. This uncomfortable squirm of a movie would not be the same without this song.
Hamlet 2, “Rock Me Sexy Jesus” and “Someone Saved My Life Tonight” - “Rock Me Sexy Jesus” was written for the movie, of course, but it’s pretty amazing. And the choir’s affirming version of “Someone Saved My Life Tonight” gives me chills, despite the satire and surrealness of the whole movie.
Forrest Gump, “Fortunate Son” - yeah, a song about Vietnam used in a scene about Vietnam, doesn‘t exactly require a high IQ to figure out that‘s a good fit. But it’s part of the reason the movie won a billion awards. The timing in the movie is just perfect, the strong guitar with the strong scene change. I knew and loved the song before the movie, but now, 20 years later, I can’t hear the opening chords without seeing the Vietnam countryscape from a helicopter. They just go together like peas and carrots.
The Full Monty, “You Can Leave Your Hat On” - I like the Hot Chocolate song they used in the movie better, but I will give credit where credit is due. This one is a better fit. And I love a good horn, with or without a hat.
Top Gun, “Danger zone “ - like it or not, this song is iconic. Raringly ‘80’s, you can feel your testosterone levels rise and your hands search around for a pair of aviator sunglasses. Despite its recent recurrence in Archer, it will always first conjure up images of Goose and Maverick kicking ass while inverted.
Wayne’s World, “Bohemian Rhapsody” - there is a reason it is totally culturally acceptable to sing the…bridge? What is the musical name for this part of the song? in public. And why, if you do, you will not be surprised when others join in. And why you knew exactly what part I was referring to even if bridge is the wrong term. We’re not worthy, but this scene is.
Young Einstein , “Rock ‘n’ Roll Music” - Einstein invents rock n roll and then uses it to save the world. Cheesy and cheap, but it resonates. Frank Turner says it best - “who’d’ve thought, after all, something as simple as rock and roll would save us all” - but Young Einstein, through the father of rock and roll himself, said it first. Never has a near-miss nuclear blast sounded so good.
Closer, “The Blower’s Daughter” - Heard throughout the movie, specific lines picked depending on the scene, slowed down or sped up to indicate agonizing loss or mere resignation, the movie would have been totally different without this song. And I would have never listened twice to this song without the movie. Heaven, of a certain variety.
Scrooged, “Put a Little Love in Your Heart” - the end scene, after his heart has grown three sizes and the USPS has proved there is a Santa Claus and Clark figures out how electricity works. I’m mixing up my classics, but this scene moves me more than all of those put together. Been watching it every year since it came out and I still get teary eyed. God bless us, everyone.
An Officer and a Gentleman, “Up Where We Belong” - not a fan of the song or the movie, but even we recognize its significance.
Rocky, “Eye of the Tiger” - Do we really need to say anything here? Pretty sure Rocky runs the steps in time to this song. Yes it was written for the movie, but not as a score or for a particular scene, just in the same way the theme songs for the Bond movies are written. Except way, way better.
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, “Oh Yeah” - So culturally significant that one of our favorite beers is named Chickow, after the only other vocals in this song. Brilliantly used slow motion as Ferris runs through the yards mirrors the song’s relaxed yet dramatic tone.
Beverly Hills Cop, “Axel F” - this may be the original ear worm. The instrumental musical was the overlay for the gritty urban detective’s moves--cagey, hip (For the time period) and street-wise. I’ll bet you can hear it now and see Eddie Murphy back when he could pull off being a badass
7, “Heart’s Filthy Lesson“ - the discordant, jarring tones of this theme mirror the twisted mindscape of the 7 deadly sins killer. Give it a listen and you can almost feel yourself spiraling into insanity yourself.
Almost Famous, “Tiny Dancer” - that scene on the bus, where they’re all mad at each other but can’t help singing along and then everything’s ok. Music heals, people. Music heals people.
Silence of the Lambs, “Goodbye Horses” - you can’t have one without the other, and some lotion. (This was the only clip we could get without signing in to prove our age, so you are all spared the image of Buffalo Bill tucking it back. You're welcome)
After the Sunset, “Pineapple Wine” - yeah, this has been done before, but it’s still worth another mention. It’s the equivalent of Salma Hayek in a gold bikini
EuroTrip, “Scottie Doesn’t Know” - Matt Damon does a fantastic cameo in a fun but mediocre movie with an embarrassingly catchy song
Airheads, “Born to Raise Hell” - an homage to all the mindless hair metal songs in a movie about mindless hair metal musicians. And it’s Lemmy, for God’s sake. Let him put some boogie in your ear.
American Psycho, “Hip to be Square” - The main character’s rant is genius, and the use of this song about conforming to societal norms while being an actual axe murderer is a disgusting yet delicious use of irony.
American Werewolf in London - The whole goddamn soundtrack (no youtube link available due to content). All the songs were cleverly worked, and have a wolf or moon theme. Moondance was especially well-played for the sex scene. The whole soundtrack gave the movie a lighter, jaunty, comedic feel.
Say Anything, “In Your Eyes” - This song needs no discussion (but I‘ll do it anyway). It is the epitome of romance in the ‘80’s, Lloyd Dobler in the rain holding a boom box. Dedication, devotion, turning all the night time into the day. Oh wait, that’s Dire Straits lyrics. Still, they apply. I will wait, I will wait for you. Oh, that’s Mumford and Sons. See, it’s timeless! A man waiting on a woman, or, to be more current, a lover waiting on a lover, never gets old. Please play this scene for your grandkids (the link is a montage, so for your grandkids' sake you can skip to the 2:30 minute mark).
Thomas Crown Affair, “Sinner man” - So, there is a chance this song might have been written for the scene. It certainly sounds like it. And we didn’t research it. So if it was, throw it right out. But if not, holy f*@k, what an amazing fit. Cued perfectly for the main heist scene, it captures the frantic confusion of the scene on screen in a way that draws you in and makes you a player.
Color of Money, “It’s in the Way that You Use It” - This is another song that needs little commentary. The big guy (Clapton/Newman) schooling the little guy on how it’s done. I (and this is Miranda speaking here) was young but I thought it was abundantly clear that the old guy was the one to fawn over. To this day I still can’t run a table without this song playing. (I can’t run a table with this song playing, either, but I enjoy the brief delusion it provides)
Cradle to the Grave , DMX - Not a great movie, not great acting, but X Go’n Give it to Ya expertly captures the violence and the fighting scenes (So much that Deadpool stole it for parody effect)
Idle wild - With “PJ and Rooster”, Outkast flawlessly reinvents a Prohibition era juke-joint sound with a hip hop edge. Just excellent.
Justified - Nothing captures the grit, dirt and twang of the series like Ganstagrass’ “Long Hard Time to Come”--it effortlessly conveys the mix of rural crime mixed with the grime of urban streets. I have written about the commonality between the rural country poor and the ‘hood poor before, but both the show and this theme song blend them seamlessly.
Last of the Mohicans, “The Gael” - The final fight scene in Last of the Mohicans is set to this traditional instrumental. It evokes the desperation of the chase as well as the raw dance-like beauty of the final, skillful, deadly confrontations
Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels - This entire movie and soundtrack was expertly composed. Each song is clearly hand-picked to provide character depth, narration, and/or function as a tonal overview or segue/scene change. Just truly well done.
Lost Boys - For children of the late 80’s “I Still Believe and “Cry Little Sister” appeal to the growing trend at that time of a pseudo-goth, semi-emo, self-involved emotionality that thrums in these 2 tunes. Young pre-teens belted their hearts out singing to these tunes while imagining themselves to be as cool as Jason Patrick, young Keifer Sutherland, or Jami Gertz
Reservoir Dogs, “Stuck in the Middle with You” - The ear-cutting scene would not be the same without the artful, playful, sociopathy set to this song. We cannot hear the song without cringing to the thought of Michael Madsen carving up a doomed bound cop.
Mr. and Mrs. Smith, “Mondo Bongo” - If you follow the tabloids, this movie, and this scene in particular, is when these two actors fell in love. Current news notwithstanding, this is still an incredibly erotic song in a movie about two spouses literally fighting each other the whole way out. Play this in your head on those special nights.
Office Space, “Damn it Feels Good to be a Gangsta” - Shows the fantasy and reality of every short-sleeved , buttoned-down office worker. Because Goddamn it feels good to be an gangsta. And fuck that printer.
Reality Bites , “All I Want is You” - Miranda here, and this one’s all mine. Almost wrote my post on this one. Have you seen this movie?! It’s only ok, in the long run, but there are some amazing parts. Most awesome of which is when The Girl realizes she is in love with The Guy and chases after him, only to find he only left her because his father was dying (seriously, it’s at least ok, not too predictable or trite despite the above summation) and they reunite, after mutual hardships, over this song. If my husband had proposed to me (and he didn’t, because we are tragically practical) this is what would have been playing in the background. (And yes, in the linked clip, that is Eddie Vedder in the band in the bar scene).
O Brother Where Art Thou, “Man of Constant Sorrow“- The entire journey of the movie is encompassed by the tribulations of the man of constant sorrow--never mind that most of the sorrow is self-inflicted. The song was custom designed to capture the morose feel of the ne’er do well hero.
The Punisher, “In Time”--This selection was written to be the theme song---however, it both adds and transcends the comic book subject material. It brings home the idea that Frank Castle has truly “come back from the dead” to pursue his nihilistic vendetta no matter the cost to his body, or to his moral center. The song is great in its own right, BTW, give it a listen.
Firefly, “You can’t take the sky from me” - Again, a theme song, but it still makes the list. Joss Whedon Himself wrote this for Firefly. “Take my love, take my land, take me where I cannot stand, I don’t care, I’m still free--you can’t take the sky from me”. Impeccable C/W influenced styling for the story of a man who has lost everything, and takes refuge, literally, by taking to the sky (to be a space pirate). Great song for a great show. BEST EVER
Stranger Than Fiction, “Whole Wide World“ --One of the best example’s of character development. Ferrell’s character is boring and predictable, following rules for rule’s sake, but as his life edges closer to possible end he loosens up in an amazing but still believable way. This song, this scene, symbolizes the whole movie. I would have never guessed that, if you have to learn to play a single song on the guitar, this is the one to pick, but it’s obviously true.
Cold Mountain--Jack White interprets folks songs correct for the time period with passion and grace. “Wayfaring Stranger” and “Sittin’ on Top of the World” are especially well done. Jack plays in the movie himself as a character and pulls off the music and the role with aplomb
Labyrinth, “Dance Magic, Dance“ - Here we see David Bowie as never before, fully engaged yet playful, endearing and lightearted--with muppets and an honest-to-god baby. It is fun, light, and rife with caprice. Despite the Wardrobe department’s unfortunate choice in Mr. Bowie’s trousers, it makes him accessible, cuddly and a good fit in a children’s movie.
Donnie Darko, “Mad World“ - the sorrowful, plaintive tune captures the essence of the theme effortlessly. A young man who does not understand much happening in the world around him, only that it demands that he depart from it, for the sake of others, sad, profound and depressing. Excellent fit.
Light of Day, “Light of Day” - Not sure I’m qualified to comment too much on this. It has been years since I have seen the movie, and any memories I might have had have been overwritten by The Boss lighting up the crowd and everyone belting this out together. But I remember liking the movie, and liking the song because of the movie.
Eyes Wide Shut, “Baby Did a Bad, Bad Thing” - Creepy, painful, disturbing. Chris Isaac plays the song that underpins the central idea of the movie, a bad act that fragments and rots a relationship. Paranoia, obsession over misdeeds unseen, and the longing over a relationship lost beyond repair. This uncomfortable squirm of a movie would not be the same without this song.
Hamlet 2, “Rock Me Sexy Jesus” and “Someone Saved My Life Tonight” - “Rock Me Sexy Jesus” was written for the movie, of course, but it’s pretty amazing. And the choir’s affirming version of “Someone Saved My Life Tonight” gives me chills, despite the satire and surrealness of the whole movie.
Forrest Gump, “Fortunate Son” - yeah, a song about Vietnam used in a scene about Vietnam, doesn‘t exactly require a high IQ to figure out that‘s a good fit. But it’s part of the reason the movie won a billion awards. The timing in the movie is just perfect, the strong guitar with the strong scene change. I knew and loved the song before the movie, but now, 20 years later, I can’t hear the opening chords without seeing the Vietnam countryscape from a helicopter. They just go together like peas and carrots.
The Full Monty, “You Can Leave Your Hat On” - I like the Hot Chocolate song they used in the movie better, but I will give credit where credit is due. This one is a better fit. And I love a good horn, with or without a hat.
Top Gun, “Danger zone “ - like it or not, this song is iconic. Raringly ‘80’s, you can feel your testosterone levels rise and your hands search around for a pair of aviator sunglasses. Despite its recent recurrence in Archer, it will always first conjure up images of Goose and Maverick kicking ass while inverted.
Wayne’s World, “Bohemian Rhapsody” - there is a reason it is totally culturally acceptable to sing the…bridge? What is the musical name for this part of the song? in public. And why, if you do, you will not be surprised when others join in. And why you knew exactly what part I was referring to even if bridge is the wrong term. We’re not worthy, but this scene is.
Young Einstein , “Rock ‘n’ Roll Music” - Einstein invents rock n roll and then uses it to save the world. Cheesy and cheap, but it resonates. Frank Turner says it best - “who’d’ve thought, after all, something as simple as rock and roll would save us all” - but Young Einstein, through the father of rock and roll himself, said it first. Never has a near-miss nuclear blast sounded so good.
Closer, “The Blower’s Daughter” - Heard throughout the movie, specific lines picked depending on the scene, slowed down or sped up to indicate agonizing loss or mere resignation, the movie would have been totally different without this song. And I would have never listened twice to this song without the movie. Heaven, of a certain variety.
Scrooged, “Put a Little Love in Your Heart” - the end scene, after his heart has grown three sizes and the USPS has proved there is a Santa Claus and Clark figures out how electricity works. I’m mixing up my classics, but this scene moves me more than all of those put together. Been watching it every year since it came out and I still get teary eyed. God bless us, everyone.
An Officer and a Gentleman, “Up Where We Belong” - not a fan of the song or the movie, but even we recognize its significance.
Rocky, “Eye of the Tiger” - Do we really need to say anything here? Pretty sure Rocky runs the steps in time to this song. Yes it was written for the movie, but not as a score or for a particular scene, just in the same way the theme songs for the Bond movies are written. Except way, way better.
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, “Oh Yeah” - So culturally significant that one of our favorite beers is named Chickow, after the only other vocals in this song. Brilliantly used slow motion as Ferris runs through the yards mirrors the song’s relaxed yet dramatic tone.
Beverly Hills Cop, “Axel F” - this may be the original ear worm. The instrumental musical was the overlay for the gritty urban detective’s moves--cagey, hip (For the time period) and street-wise. I’ll bet you can hear it now and see Eddie Murphy back when he could pull off being a badass
7, “Heart’s Filthy Lesson“ - the discordant, jarring tones of this theme mirror the twisted mindscape of the 7 deadly sins killer. Give it a listen and you can almost feel yourself spiraling into insanity yourself.
Almost Famous, “Tiny Dancer” - that scene on the bus, where they’re all mad at each other but can’t help singing along and then everything’s ok. Music heals, people. Music heals people.
Silence of the Lambs, “Goodbye Horses” - you can’t have one without the other, and some lotion. (This was the only clip we could get without signing in to prove our age, so you are all spared the image of Buffalo Bill tucking it back. You're welcome)
Dave Kelley
All Through the Night, from The Sopranos
There are many film makers who do a tremendous job of
using music in their movies. The three that leap immediately to
my mind are Paul Michael Anderson, Quentin Tarantino, and Martin
Scorcese. So of course, my selection does not come from one of their
films.
Two of my favorite series ever are The Wire and Breaking
Bad. I considered a number of scenes from these classic shows. How
in the hell did I not see Vince Gilligan's use of "Chrystal Blue
Persuasion" coming from a mile away. You guessed it. I looked
elsewhere.
The song I picked is a Welsh lullaby that is hundreds of
years old. I know, I know, how many times can this blog keep going to the
Welsh lullaby cliche. I did not select "All Through The Night"
because I particularly like the song. I mean it is a Welsh lullaby for
God's sake. I swear I do not have a Welsh lullaby playlist on
Spotify.
My choice is based upon the tremendous way in which David
Chase used the song in the final scene from one of my favorite Soprano's episodes.
Season One, Episode Three..."Denial, Anger, Acceptance."
Throughout the episode, Tony and his crew do some very violent and bad
things. Someone accuses him of being a Golem. A Frankenstein
without feeling or human emotion. In his session with his psychiatrist,
it is clear that Tony wonders if this is true.
At the same time, he clearly loves his family.
Especially his children. Daughter Meadow has a vocal recital performance
that is referenced in advance throughout the episode. The final scene
cuts back and forth from the recital to some very bad things being done to
Tony's crew in retaliation for their wrongs. It is a fantastic piece of
filming and editing. The sweet lullaby being sung by a group of
high school girls contrasts beasutifully with the violence taking
place . What really sells it though is Gandolfini's acting. He
is tremendous in the scene even though he has no dialogue. He conveys
both the great love he has for his daughter and his tremendous relief that
he is perhaps not a monster. I think the scene encapsulates a great deal
about the real subject matter of the entire series.
Cyndi Brandenburg
I wrote this on my
iPad, so I apologize of the formatting is
particularly wonky...
Offenbach's Barcarolle in La Vita e Bella (Life is Beautiful)
First of all, you should know that this is, hands down, my favorite
movie of all time. Set in Italy during World War II, it's a tale of
love and sacrifice, agency and salvation. It's brilliance lies in how
it manages to be simultaneously completely tragic and wholly uplifting
(not to mention Robert Benini's incredible performance as Guido). If
you have never seen it, go watch it now. Seriously. I mean it.
The song (also known as Belle nuit, o nuit d'amour) is heard twice
during the film. Early on, it's being performed at the Opera as Guido
"wills" Dora, a la Shopenhauer, to just look at him. The translated
lyrics are sweet, but also ominous: Lovely night, oh night of love,
Smile upon our joys.... Time flies by, and carries away, Our tender
caresses forever....
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=
This scene is pretty great in and of itself, but more importantly, it
serves as the prelude for understanding the full weight and meaning of
the song when it is played again later on.
**Mini-spoiler alert**.... In a tragic turn of events, Guido, Dora,
and their young son end up in a concentration camp. Separated into
male and female barracks, the constant not-knowing whether the other
is okay becomes the agonizing burden they are forced to endure. But
then one night, after Guido is asked to serve as a waiter for some
officials, this happens:
http://youtu.be/q1ZZxwnur7g
I cry every time I see this. Somehow with enough fierce
determination, a message is communicated. The incredible reassurance
in that moment (through either faith, intuition, or clear knowledge)
that they are both alive is enough to keep them going through their
blackout a little bit longer.
Love and music are curious forces, readily present and taken for
granted in our everyday, yet transcendent and savior-like in their
power to help us get to the other side. The way this song is used in
the movie reminds us of that perfectly.
Finally, I include this clip of Roberto Benigni accepting the Academy
Award for his work on this film, which he not only starred in, but
also directed and co-wrote. I love this moment, and I cry ever time a
play this clip too. Life truly is beautiful.
http://youtu.be/8cTR6fk8frs
particularly wonky...
Offenbach's Barcarolle in La Vita e Bella (Life is Beautiful)
First of all, you should know that this is, hands down, my favorite
movie of all time. Set in Italy during World War II, it's a tale of
love and sacrifice, agency and salvation. It's brilliance lies in how
it manages to be simultaneously completely tragic and wholly uplifting
(not to mention Robert Benini's incredible performance as Guido). If
you have never seen it, go watch it now. Seriously. I mean it.
The song (also known as Belle nuit, o nuit d'amour) is heard twice
during the film. Early on, it's being performed at the Opera as Guido
"wills" Dora, a la Shopenhauer, to just look at him. The translated
lyrics are sweet, but also ominous: Lovely night, oh night of love,
Smile upon our joys.... Time flies by, and carries away, Our tender
caresses forever....
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=
This scene is pretty great in and of itself, but more importantly, it
serves as the prelude for understanding the full weight and meaning of
the song when it is played again later on.
**Mini-spoiler alert**.... In a tragic turn of events, Guido, Dora,
and their young son end up in a concentration camp. Separated into
male and female barracks, the constant not-knowing whether the other
is okay becomes the agonizing burden they are forced to endure. But
then one night, after Guido is asked to serve as a waiter for some
officials, this happens:
http://youtu.be/q1ZZxwnur7g
I cry every time I see this. Somehow with enough fierce
determination, a message is communicated. The incredible reassurance
in that moment (through either faith, intuition, or clear knowledge)
that they are both alive is enough to keep them going through their
blackout a little bit longer.
Love and music are curious forces, readily present and taken for
granted in our everyday, yet transcendent and savior-like in their
power to help us get to the other side. The way this song is used in
the movie reminds us of that perfectly.
Finally, I include this clip of Roberto Benigni accepting the Academy
Award for his work on this film, which he not only starred in, but
also directed and co-wrote. I love this moment, and I cry ever time a
play this clip too. Life truly is beautiful.
http://youtu.be/8cTR6fk8frs
Gary Scudder
God Bless America, from The Deer Hunter
The first time I saw The Deer Hunter back in the late 1970s I loved it, and become even more impressed with it every year. You would be hard pressed to convince me that there have been many better movies ever made in America, and harder pressed to convince me that there was ever been a better movie about America. One of my never to be completed writing projects is a book entitled The 1970s was a great decade (and yours wasn't). When I was reaching my formative years during that decade I just felt that it was a pretty stupid valid decade, and now it's just parodied as an entire decade defined by disco. However, as I get further away from that age, and we slide into greater and greater buffoonery, I've begun to realize that it was actually a pretty amazing age. It's difficult to remember a political age when even the Republican presidents were arguably at least somewhat liberal, and the country actually forced a president out of office for crimes. In some ways it was the high point of the auteur in American culture, which led to ridiculous excess but also to albums such as Marvin Gaye's What's Going On (which I always forget came out in 1970) and Tonight's the Night and Darkness on the Edge of Town and a wealth of amazing films (before Steven Spielberg and George Lucas made us stupid). Think how many complex, fascinating, dark films focused on morally ambivalent characters came out during that period: Godfather and Godfather II and Chinatown and Network and Manhattan and, what I would consider the best of the bunch, The Deer Hunter. The movie has been copied and parodied so much that it's easy to lose sight of how groundbreaking it was. Take the Russian roulette scene. I had a colleague one time dismiss it because there wasn't actually any evidence that the Vietnamese made American prisoners play Russian roulette, which led to me pointing, out, "it's a metaphor, dumbass, do you not understand the meaning of metaphor?" Yes, I'm that guy. Since it's been parodied by people from The Great White North and Archer it's easy to lose sight of what a raw and harrowing scene that is. With all this in mind I chose the final scene where they're meeting up after Nick's funeral in the local bar and they end up singing God Bless America, an ending that I remember people just being stunned by - and which they still argue about today - which was really the director's point. As a country we had a very conflicted view of the war and the country and our role as citizens and patriotism, and I can't imagine that you could have created a more powerful ending. In the midst of that you see Streep and DeNiro, at arguably the height of their acting prowess, struggling to reach out to each other, but they're such damaged souls it's painful to watch. The backstory is that Streep took the role mainly to spend as much time as possible with her boyfriend at the time, John Cazale, before he died of cancer. Apparently DeNiro paid for all of Cazale's medical bills, but still denies it today, which makes me admire him all the more.
Honorable Mention
Oddly, The Deer Hunter also contains another one of the other great uses of a song in a movie, the raucous cover of I Love You Baby during the pool game. Every one of the characters, and especially DeNiro, provides a brilliant little glimpse into their personality in their response to the song.
As Dave Kelley knows, I'm a huge fan of the Hal Hartley film Simple Men, which tells the story of two brothers travel into the wilds of Long Island to escape the law and also to find their father, the "revolutionary shortstop." I absolutely love this iconic dance number from the bar where they end up hiding out.
Seriously, much like Miranda and Nate, I could go on and on, but I need to get on to other things, so I'll add just one more. How about the scene in Casablanca where the Viktor Lazlo character leads the bar in singing La Marseilleaise and drowning out the Germans. I can't imagine what my response would have been if I saw that in the theater in 1942.
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