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Favorite use of a song in a film.

Antoine Doinel

over 4 years ago

Coppola’s use of The Doors “The End” at the beginning of Apocalypse Now and also the Rolling Stones’ “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” during the water skiing sequence with a very young Laurence Fishburne grooving away is absolute perfection!

Carlos Conceiç​ão

over 4 years ago

“Hey Jude” (beatles) in THE ROYAL TENNENBAUMS, “Rhymes Of An Hour” (Mazzy Star) in STEALING BEAUTY, “Dagger” (Slowdive) in MYSTERIOUS SKIN and the Nino Rota scores used in PARANOID PARK.

Mathias Palmber​g

over 4 years ago

1. “Just Like Honey” by The Jesus and Mary Chain in Lost In Translation.
2. “Mad World” by Gary Jules in Donnie Darko
3. “Vessel In Vain” by Smog in Dead Man’s Shoes
4. “Where Is My Mind” by The Pixies in Fight Club
5. “Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want” by Clay Hill in This Is England

Leah Marie

over 4 years ago

^ I’ll second “Just Like Honey” in LIT.
Also, The Cure “All Cats are Grey” in Marie Antoinette.
Agree with “The End” for Apocalypse Now. (That actually lured me in.)
“Visions of Johanna” in I’m Not There.
Nico “These days” in Royal Tenenbaums.
“Porque Te Vas” in Cria Cuervos. (Nearly cried when Ana Torrent lipsynched this.)
Cat Stevens “Don’t Be Shy” in Harold and Maude.

This could get long.

Sonja

over 4 years ago

one of the best movie soundtracks ever is from Harold and Maude. Using all of Cat Stevens i though was a fantastic idea.

secondly, the best use of a song in the Royal Tennenbaums was “Ruby Tuesday”.

finally, the best use of a song in donnie darko was “Love will tear us apart”

:P

Shotzi

over 4 years ago

“This Woman’s Work” by Kate Bush was used exceptionally well in the series finale of Extras, but that’s not a movie.

Sonja

over 4 years ago

this woman’s work was actually in the birthing scene in she’s having a baby. woah. movie!!!!!!!!!!

Hans Lucas

over 4 years ago

Every Wes Anderson Montage ever and the end f 400 blows

Marko

over 4 years ago

Screaming Jay Hawkins’ “I Put a Spell on You” in Jarmusch’s “Stranger than Paradise”.

Mark Penny

over 4 years ago

“Fool’s Gold” by The Stone Roses; “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels”; the scene where Vinnie Jones leaves the bar at the end of the film, and tells his son they’re in the money lending business; priceless.

“A Whiter Shade of Pale” instrumental interpretation by King Curtis; opening credit sequence to “Withnail and I”

Ed Gordon

over 4 years ago

“Tell Me” from Mean Streets
the Goreki piece in ‘Fearless’
“gimme shelter” in gimme shelter
the opening to “Fire Walk With Me”
“California Dreaming” in Chunking Express
“Misirlou” in Pulp Fiction

MATT

over 4 years ago

why i would say this but in Korine’s GUMMO where the two male lead characters and riding there bike down these streets and DIO or some Black Sabbath-ish band is playing.

SYNECDOCHE NY had an amazing song lyrics written by Kaufman himself, he has wrote a lot of his film song lyrics. HUMAN NATURE was another. Most of his work musically is conducted by JON BRION

Another Jon Brion involved film: Shelly Duvual song in PUNCH DRUNK LOVE worked so oddly well. Plus all the avant-garde instrumental sounds and noises through out the film.

THE BIG LEBOWSKI Come on! That has the best music I ever heard in film, even though the dude hates the F**king Eagles.

L V

over 4 years ago

Perfect Day (by VU) – Trainspotting
Llorando (Roy Orbison’s “Crying”) – Mulholland Drive
Everybody’s Got to Learn Sometime (by Beck) – Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

I also agree with the other commenters that mentioned the music used by Wes Anderson (the music in Darjeeling is especially stunning and poignant) and the incorporation of the Stones into Scorsese films.

I think Sofia Coppola really tried to create impact with The Cure and New Order in Marie Antoinette by providing a disjuncture between the audio and the visual (her dad’s trick, right?), but I think she really fell short. A large problem was that the music clips she chose were often too short (faded rather suddenly) and were used in too close a succession with other pieces. Plainsong by The Cure could have done so much more if it were allowed to work its way out.

L V

over 4 years ago

Oh, and of course Kubrick’s use of music was amazing! (Just doesn’t really apply to “my favorite use of a ‘song’ in film”. Still worthy of a mention, though!)

Michel

over 4 years ago
“shampoo suicide” by Broken Social Scene" in Half Nelson". it fits the scene so perfectly

Noseeum

-moderator-
over 4 years ago

Most of the soundtrack of Lost in Translation is highly memorable.

But how about the Peaches track playing when Bill Murry’s character Bob Harris arrives at the strip club where he’s supposed to meet Scarlett Johansson’s character Charlotte.

That deep, crude base and those unforgettable opening lyrics as Bill sits ruminating over the choice of venue. Charlotte sits down next to him and asks, “How long have you been here?” “I couldn’t say,” he replies and a dancer shows them both some rather sloppy yoga positions…

Suckin’ on my titties like you wanted me,
Callin me, all the time like blondie
Check out my chrissy behind
It’s fine all of the time
Like sex on the beaches,
What else is in the teaches of peaches? huh? what?

Priceless!

Aaron

over 4 years ago

Exit Music (For a Film) used as exit music for the film “Romeo + Juliet”.

Robert Nishimu​ra

over 4 years ago

I’m shocked nobody has mentioned the titular song from Altman’s The Long Goodbye.
The musak version when Marlowe walks into the supermarket (to get catfood) is priceless.

Musycks

over 4 years ago

The Coens first film…. Blood Simple, is a gem and uses The Same Old Song by The Four Tops while tracking cowboy boots walking along a bar from memory….. and for use of Motown before anyone… Philip Kaufman in The Big Chill.

Rodney Welch

over 4 years ago

Don’t you mean Lawrence Kasdan?

Musycks

over 4 years ago

Sorry Rodney…… brain fade…. not sure why I thought Kaufman?… thanks.

Emily Anderso​n

over 4 years ago

Goodfellas and Casino take the cake for soundtracks. Also Kill Bill 2, Easy Rider, High Fidelity, Beware of a Holy Whore and the score to Lone Wolf and Cub.

captain

over 4 years ago

Recently: the use of Dylan’s “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright” in Dogfight

“why i would say this but in Korine’s GUMMO where the two male lead characters and riding there bike down these streets and DIO or some Black Sabbath-ish band is playing.”

It’s been a while, but I think that it is the early 90’s band Sleep. That whole soundtrack is killer, and though I like Dio, he definitely could not have made it on. Great stuff by Sleep, Bethlehem, Brujeria, Spazz, Bathory, Eyehategod, Absu and even an abridged version of a minimalist song by Burzum. Probably the most extreme/metal soundtrack of all time, especially for a movie that could be found in Blockbuster. It’s out of print though, so it would probably be at least $20 used.

Chen

over 4 years ago

ok this is just off the top of my head ..
there’s a scene in the french triller Tell No One where the guy is in a internet cafe and his dog is waiting outside, and U2’s With or Without You is played.

i’m not a huge fan of U2 and the song is so over played but somehow it worked so well with the emotion of the charactor and the goofily intense stare exchange with the dog. it just stuck with me.

Simon

over 4 years ago

The Blower’s Daughter by Damien Rice in Closer
perfect

Sam Lim

over 4 years ago

Xavier Cugat’s Perfidia in the work of Wong Kar-Wai. Especially Days of Being Wild.
Fuck it, all the music in the work of Wong Kar-Wai, save the extremely 80’s synth in As Tears Go By.

Derrick Steele

over 4 years ago

I love how the Lost in Translation soundtrack fits the mood and feeling of the movie so well. The stand would have to be Just Like Honey by Jesus and Marry Chain.

joseph

over 4 years ago

“MY DARLING CLEMINTINE”, John Ford’s “My Darling Clemintine”

michael

over 4 years ago

SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT for “High Fidelity”

Barry sings “Lets Get It On”

michael

over 4 years ago

High Fidelity — a mesmerizing Lisa Bonet singing “Baby I Love Your Way”

Rob: “I used to hate that song.”
Barry+Dick “Yeah”
Rob: “Now I think I kinda like it.”
Barry+Dick “Yeah.”