\t\u2018American Graffiti\u2019 \u2014 \u201cGreen Onions\u201d by Booker T. and the MGs<\/p>\n
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When The Fast & the Furious was still a glint in the eyes of a wee Vin Diesel, George Lucas was showing how you soundtrack a drag race. The slow-rolling cool of this Stax soul classic, with its effortless swagger, is a sonic shortcut to American Graffiti\u2018s early \u201960s nostalgia (\u201cWhere were you in \u201962?\u201d), a world of hot rods, diner pit stops and backseat romance. The soundtrack to Lucas\u2019 ode to post-war Americana features nonstop pop and rock hits of the era, starting with Bill Haley & His Comets\u2019 \u201cRock Around the Clock\u201d and ending with The Beach Boys\u2019 \u201cAll Summer Long.\u201d Securing the rights to all these songs reportedly cost so much that it left no room for a traditional score (Elvis Presley is notably absent because he was too expensive).<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
\t\u2018Another Round\u2019 \u2014 \u201cWhat a Life\u201d by Scarlet Pleasure<\/p>\n
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Thomas Vinterberg\u2019s bittersweet, Oscar-winning ode to alcoholism ends with a moment of 200-proof joy as Mads Mikkelsen gets plastered and channels his inner Fred Astaire in an Old Hollywood dance sequence as corny as it is transcendent. Blasting over the top is this Danish pop-rap track, which, suitably enough, has become the country\u2019s go-to party tune for New Year\u2019s celebrations nationwide.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
\t\u2018Apocalypse Now\u2019 \u2014 \u201cThe End\u201d by The Doors<\/p>\n
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The opening sequence of Apocalypse Now remains American cinema\u2019s definitive master class in the poetic marriage of music and image. Helicopter blades thump rhythmically across the frame as the camera holds on a hazy tableau of tropical foliage. Doors guitarist Robby Krieger\u2019s shamanistic guitar line then wends its way into the scene like the onset of an acid trip, and in the precise moment that Jim Morrison\u2019s haunting baritone abruptly intones, \u201cThis is the end, beau-ti-ful friend \u2026\u201d, the jungle explodes into all-consuming napalm hellfire. The surreal, mournful atmosphere of the song perfectly establishes the ecstatic truth Apocalypse Now is seeking: This is not just a war film, but a journey into whatever comes after existential despair and derangement.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
\t\u2018Beau Travail\u2019 \u2014 \u201cRhythm of the Night\u201d by Corona<\/p>\n
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Claire Denis\u2019 Beau Travail ends with one of cinema\u2019s most transcendent codas: Disgraced Legionnaire Galoup (Denis Lavant), after being broken and brutalized by his military training, finally cuts loose, alone on the dance floor, gyrating to Corona\u2019s Europop hit. After 90 minutes of mounting tension, Denis gives Galoup, and the audience, a euphoric release, as his coiled limbs practically explode and his body finally speaks.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
\t\u2018The Big Lebowski\u2019 \u2014 \u201cHotel California\u201d by The Gipsy Kings<\/p>\n
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As comedic needle drops go, nobody fucks with the Jesus. The Coen brothers are masters of music deployed for ironic effect, and this one remains an all-timer. The scene makes for two hilarious needle drops in one. The slow opening guitar of the Gipsy Kings\u2019 flamenco cover of \u201cHotel California\u201d \u2014 by The Eagles, the band Jeff Bridges\u2019 the Dude famously hates \u2014 introduces us to John Turturro\u2019s Jesus Quintana, hair-netted, purple-jumpsuitted and strutting to the lane to tap his bowling ball with the tip of his tongue in a revolting ritual of swagger and concentration. Of course, he bowls a perfect strike, and just as the pins explode, the Gipsy Kings\u2019 cover kicks into high gear and Jesus breaks into a loose-limbed victory jig. The Dude intones as the scene winds down, \u201cFucking Quintana, that creep can roll, man.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
\t\u2018Blue Velvet\u2019 \u2014 \u201cIn Dreams\u201d by Roy Orbison<\/p>\n
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Orbison\u2019s dreamy ballad, featuring \u201cthe candy-colored clown\u201d that obsesses psycho Frank Booth (Dennis Hopper), is at the nightmarish heart of David Lynch\u2019s early masterpiece. Lynch uses repetitive drops, from Dean Stockwell\u2019s terrifying lip-synch to Dorothy Vallens\u2019 (Isabella Rossellini) desperate night club performance, to blur the line between beauty and horror, linking the characters in their shared obsession with controlling the object of their desires. \u201cIn dreams, you\u2019re mine, all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
\t\u2018Boogie Nights\u2019 \u2014 \u201cSister Christian\u201d by Night Ranger<\/p>\n
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Paul Thomas Anderson proved himself a graduate of the Martin Scorsese school of incongruous needle drops with the \u201ccoke deal gone bad\u201d scene from Boogie Nights. A speedo-wearing Alfred Molina, freebased off his tits, sings along to Night Ranger\u2019s kitschy power ballad. But the top 40 mood is cut with rising menace (those exploding firecrackers don\u2019t help). All that\u2019s needed is a tempo change \u2014 to Rick Springfield\u2019s \u201cJessie\u2019s Girl\u201d \u2014 to trigger violent chaos.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
\t\u2018Call Me by Your Name\u2019 \u2014 \u201cLove My Way\u201d by The Psychedelic Furs<\/p>\n
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Even more than Timoth\u00e9e Chalamet softly sobbing to Sufjan Stevens over the film\u2019s closing credits, this period-appropriate New Wave anthem succinctly captures the tortured feeling of repressed love at the heart of Luca Guadagnino\u2019s romantic masterpiece. You can almost taste the longing as Chalamet\u2019s Elio, alone on the sidelines, watches Oliver (Armie Hammer) dad dance his white socks off.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
\t\u2018Casino\u2019 \u2014 \u201c(I Can\u2019t Get No) Satisfaction\u201d by Devo<\/p>\n
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When Martin Scorsese turns a Rolling Stones classic on its head, you can be sure he knows what he\u2019s doing. In Casino, he uses Devo\u2019s jittery New Wave cover of \u201c(I Can\u2019t Get No) Satisfaction\u201d to electrify the montage showing Ace Rothstein\u2019s empire beginning its violent collapse. It\u2019s almost an inside joke: Scorsese\u2019s films so famously feature Rolling Stones songs (in fact, Casino uses the Stones\u2019 original \u201cSatisfaction\u201d elsewhere, and \u201cGimme Shelter\u201d is featured in no less than three Scorsese films: Goodfellas, Casino and The Departed) that dropping Devo\u2019s robotic 1978 cover highlights how off-kilter everything has become. A needle drop that generates real cinematic tension while also winking at the audience\u2019s expectations \u2014 all while Nicky Santoro and company careen off the rails in Vegas.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
\t\u2018Children of Men\u2019 \u2014 \u201cIn the Court of the Crimson King\u201d by King Crimson<\/p>\n
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Alfonso Cuar\u00f3n\u2019s dystopian masterpiece is packed with striking music cues, but none is as evocative as King Crimson\u2019s prog-rock opus. The 1969 song plays in one of the film\u2019s rare moments of respite \u2014 when Theo (Clive Owen) visits a sanctuary of art (the \u201cArk of the Arts\u201d) amid a future of global infertility and unrest. As Theo glides through the broken city and enters his wealthy cousin\u2019s secluded hideaway, the mellotron-rich strains of King Crimson fill the air, lending the scene a singular atmosphere of eerie, elegiac grandeur.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
\t\u2018Chungking Express\u2019 \u2014 \u201cDreams\u201d by The Cranberries \/ Faye Wong<\/p>\n
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Wong Kar-wai\u2019s vividly alive anthology rom-com is a film practically built on pop-song repetition. The Mamas and the Papas \u201cCalifornia Dreamin’\u201d haunts the film\u2019s first half beautifully, but the movie\u2019s most whimsical and infectious musical motif is \u201cDreams,\u201d both the original Cranberries hit and the Cantonese version recorded by Chungking Express\u2018 star, Faye Wong. As Wong, in her adorable pixie cut, falls helplessly for Tony Leung\u2019s impossibly handsome beat cop, it\u2019s all there in the jangle of \u201cDreams’\u201d guitar and the hopeful longing of the lyrics (\u201cOh my life is changing every day, in every possible way \u2026\u201d). Impatient, giddy young love set amid Hong Kong\u2019s relentless hustle and flow.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
\t\u2018Clueless\u2019 \u2014 \u201cKids in America\u201d by The Muffs<\/p>\n
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As far as \u201990s teen nostalgia needle drops go, this one is hard to beat. Clueless opens with an unforgettable blast of pure pop-punk bliss as The Muffs\u2019 \u201cKids in America\u201d plays over a montage tour of Cher Horowitz\u2019s (Alicia Silverstone) ultra-fabulous Beverly Hills high school life \u2014 friends, pool parties, outfits! The movie\u2019s lovable tone is instantly established \u2014 a soft satire\/celebration of privileged teen superficiality, but with a heart of gold.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
\t\u2018Donnie Darko\u2019 \u2014 \u201cMad World\u201d by Gary Jules and Michael Andrews<\/p>\n
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Echo and the Bunnymen\u2019s \u201cThe Killing Moon\u201d sets the tone with one of recent cinema\u2019s great suburban alienation openings, as a young Jake Gyllenhaal hops on his road bike to glide through the quiet hills of upper-middle-class 1980s America. But it\u2019s Gary Jules and Michael Andrews\u2019 delicate, haunting cover of Tears for Fears\u2019 \u201cMad World\u201d that delivers the film\u2019s most poignant moment: a devastating closing montage as Donnie\u2019s family and community awaken to the emotional aftershocks of his sacrifice \u2014 a feels-filled fantasy for angst-ridden teenage boys everywhere (\u201cThe dreams in which I\u2019m dying are the best I\u2019ve ever had \u2026\u201d).<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
\t\u2018Do the Right Thing\u2019 \u2014 \u201cFight the Power\u201d by Public Enemy<\/p>\n
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Spike Lee\u2019s magnum opus taps the energy and righteous fury of Public Enemy\u2019s Black Power rap anthem. From the opening credits, as Rosie Perez pops, locks, boxes and boogies to Chuck D.\u2019s call to arms, to the film\u2019s climax, when Radio Raheem\u2019s boombox, playing \u201cFight the Power\u201d on a loop, meets the business end of Sal\u2019s baseball bat. Both summer jam and war cry, it\u2019s a five-minute, 23-second distillation of Lee\u2019s vision, mood and message.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
\t\u2018The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift\u2019 \u2014 \u201cSpeed\u201d by Atari Teenage Riot<\/p>\n
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The F&F franchise is known for its roof-thumping original tracks, but for his stand-alone sequel, Justin Lin picked this Atari Teenage Riot track to rev up the opening race sequence, when our fish out of water hero Sean (Lucas Black) takes on Tokyo\u2019s drift racers. The digital hardcore hits your body as hard as Sean\u2019s Nissan Silvia hits the wall, ATR\u2019s glitchy rage perfectly channeling the film\u2019s raw velocity.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
\t\u2018Fight Club\u2019 \u2014 \u201cWhere Is My Mind\u201d by The Pixies<\/p>\n
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Picking The Pixies\u2019 alt-rock classic to close a film about a man with dissociative identity disorder is the most obvious of needle drops. David Fincher pulls it off perfectly. \u201cYou met me at a very strange time in my life,\u201d Edward Norton\u2019s character, his face half-blown off, mutters to Marla, as drums burst and the skyline collapses in front of them. Black Francis\u2019 lyrics evoke the film\u2019s themes of disconnect and disorientation as Fincher\u2019s visuals illustrate the ecstasy\/horror of destruction and new beginnings.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
\t\u2018Frances Ha\u2019 \u2014 \u201cModern Love\u201d by David Bowie<\/p>\n
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Noah Baumbach\u2019s Frances Ha delivers pure joy in its most famous sequence: Greta Gerwig\u2019s title character dashing and dancing through Manhattan to David Bowie\u2019s anthem \u201cModern Love.\u201d The scene is a direct homage to a 1986 French film (Leos Carax\u2019s Mauvais Sang), in which a similar sprint to the same song occurs. But even if you didn\u2019t catch the cinephile reference, the moment has become an exhilarating and indelible sequence for a whole new generation of film lovers. It\u2019s a needle drop that feels simultaneously spontaneous and cleverly choreographed, much like Frances herself.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
\t\u2018Get Out\u2019 \u2014 \u201cRedbone\u201d by Childish Gambino<\/p>\n
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Jordan Peele opens Get Out with Childish Gambino\u2019s woozy throwback hit \u201cRedbone,\u201d using its \u201cstay woke\u201d refrain as a sly thematic warning. The song plays over the film\u2019s opening scene, establishing a funky yet slightly eerie tone as protagonist Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) gets ready for a trip with his girlfriend (Allison Williams), effectively urging him \u2014 and the audience \u2014 not to get caught sleeping. No such luck.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
\t\u2018Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai\u2019 \u2014 \u201cFast Shadow\u201d by Wu-Tang Clan<\/p>\n
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The whole ethos of Jim Jarmusch\u2019s Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai is essentially a Wu-Tang Clan needle drop in the form of an offbeat indie movie (with a few references to Seijun Suzuki and Jean-Pierre Melville thrown in for film buffs). Directly inspired by Wu-Tang\u2019s founding vision of a Staten Island hip-hop brotherhood bound by martial arts philosophy, the film follows Forest Whitaker as Ghost Dog, a hit man for the New Jersey mafia who lives by the ancient warrior code of the samurai. The film\u2019s animating spirit, undoubtedly, is the soundtrack composed and assembled by RZA \u2014 the first effort in what would become a distinguished screen career for the visionary Wu-Tang ringleader (culminating in scores for Quentin Tarantino\u2019s Kill Bill: Volume 1 & 2). Head-bumping moments abound in the picture, but when Whitaker slips a CD into his stereo while assembling his pistol in anticipation of battle, and Fast Shadow\u2019s beat kicks Method Man\u2019s flow into relentless motion, the scene transcends to a higher plane: a Ouroboros of impossibly cool musical and movie influences, stalking the streets in a hoodie and trench coat.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
\t\u2018Girlhood\u2019 \u2014 \u201cDiamonds\u201d by Rihanna<\/p>\n
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C\u00e9line Sciamma hadn\u2019t licensed rights to Rihanna\u2019s glittering anthem when she shot this scene, in which her Black teen protagonists, in their best shoplifted clothes, dance and lip-synch in front of the mirrors in their hotel room. But the pop star quickly gave her approval once she saw the clip, which shows the power of music to transcend circumstance and reframes joy as resistance.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
\t\u2018Goodfellas\u2019 \u201cLayla\u201d by Derek and the Dominos<\/p>\n
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Arguably, the single best use of the needle drop in cinema history. By contrasting the soaring beauty of the piano interlude to Derek and the Dominos\u2019 power ballad with a montage of corpses, creatively whacked by Jimmy Conway (Robert De Niro) as he cleans shop following the Lufthansa heist, Scorsese transitions the film from hopeful Kennedy-era nostalgia to a dark, ultra-violent future. <\/p>\n<\/li>\n
\t\u2018Good Will Hunting\u2019 \u2014 \u201cMiss Misery\u201d by Elliott Smith<\/p>\n
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Without the achingly authentic music of the late, great Elliott Smith, it\u2019s quite possible that much of Good Will Hunting would have felt like a contrivance (How do you like them apples, Matt and Ben?). Throughout the movie, it\u2019s Smith\u2019s contributions that lend the story its realest undercurrents of delicate, introspective warmth. In a masterstroke, Gus Van Sant convinced Smith to write an original song for the ending, which resulted in \u201cMiss Misery,\u201d Will\u2019s bittersweet sendoff as he drives into the unknown in search of his love (\u201cI had to go see about a girl \u2026\u201d). The song also earned Smith an Oscar nomination, creating one of the most incongruously poignant musical moments in the awards show\u2019s history: a craggy and palpably nervous Smith, alone onstage with his guitar and fragile voice, performing for all of Hollywood\u2019s glitterati.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
\t\u2018The Graduate\u2019 \u2014 \u201cThe Sound of Silence\u201d by Simon & Garfunkel<\/p>\n
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The rare use of an end-credit needle drop that reframes an entire film. What could have been a triumphant romantic climax \u2014 Benjamin rescues Elaine at the altar and the couple run off together \u2014 is turned existential thanks to the strains of Simon & Garfunkel\u2019s plaintive ballad playing over the long shot of Katharine Ross, in her wedding gown, slowly realizing what she\u2019s done, while a dead-eyed Dustin Hoffman stares off into the middle distance.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
\t\u2018La Haine\u2019 \u2014 \u201cNon, Je ne regrette rien \/ Sound of da Police\u201d by \u00c9dith Piaf \/ KRS-One<\/p>\n
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The mashup as cinematic mission statement. La Haine, Mathieu Kassovitz\u2019s visceral portrait of French inner-city youth, takes flight in this rooftop DJ scene fusing \u00c9dith Piaf\u2019s classic chanson \u201cNon, je ne regrette rien\u201d with KRS-One\u2019s scorching boom-bap rap \u201cSound of da Police.\u201d In the fleeting but unforgettable sequence, a DJ (played by Cut Killer) scratches Piaf\u2019s 1960 ballad together with KRS-One\u2019s protest anthem and blasts it out his window. The camera starts in the room alongside him, before pulling out, taking flight through the window and soaring over the banlieues, as if riding the hybrid musical energy that encapsulates all of the rage, identity and contradictions of the world below.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
\t\u2018Love Actually\u2019 \u2014 \u201cGod Only Knows\u201d by The Beach Boys<\/p>\n
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Rom-com maestro Richard Curtis deploys The Beach Boys\u2019 1966 masterpiece just as his sprawling ensemble cast finds resolution in a succession of emotional reunions inside Heathrow Airport\u2019s arrivals hall. Brian Wilson\u2019s shimmering harmonies and that joyful French horn melody do the heavy lifting as the characters\u2019 scenes dissolve into footage of actual public embraces between loved ones of all varieties, elevating the movie\u2019s sentimentality into something genuinely moving (some might even argue the ending is rescued from schmaltz via Wilson\u2019s pop genius).<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
\t\u2018The Matrix\u2019 \u2014 \u201cWake Up\u201d by Rage Against the Machine<\/p>\n
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As Neo chooses to \u201cwake up\u201d from the simulated reality of the Matrix and accept his destiny as \u201cthe one\u201d to lead the revolt against the machines, RATM\u2019s explosive track detonates over the end credits. It\u2019s an on-the-nose drop from the Wachowskis that lands perfectly, with a guitar riff of hard-rock rebellion and Zack de la Rocha\u2019s voice spitting pure prophecy.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
\t\u2018Moonlight\u2019 \u2014 \u201cHello Stranger\u201d by Barbara Lewis<\/p>\n
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Barry Jenkins\u2019 Moonlight is a master class in emotional restraint, and nowhere is that more evident than the diner reunion between Chiron and Kevin (Trevante Rhodes and Andr\u00e9 Holland). When Kevin puts Barbara Lewis\u2019 1963 R&B ballad on the jukebox, the lyrics do what words can\u2019t: reconnect two men who once shared a fleeting moment of tenderness. As Lewis sings, \u201cIt seems like a mighty long time,\u201d the space between them collapses, and the film opens its heart.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
\t\u2018Napoleon Dynamite\u2019 \u2014 \u201cWe\u2019re Going to Be Friends\u201d by The White Stripes<\/p>\n
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Sometimes a needle drop simply charms your socks off. Case in point: Napoleon Dynamite\u2019s opening credits, set to The White Stripes\u2019 \u201cWe\u2019re Going to Be Friends.\u201d Jack and Meg White\u2019s now-timeless acoustic ditty plays as we see a series of quirky, nostalgia-steeped still-life shots \u2014 student ID cards, tater tots on a plate, a \u201cliger\u201d drawing \u2014 all creatively arranged to show the film\u2019s credits. The song\u2019s lyrics about school friendship and its childlike melody instantly establish the film\u2019s sincere, offbeat approach to cringe humor. Director Jared Hess loved it so much he mailed an early cut to the band to request approval. (Of course, they said yes \u2014 making Napoleon Dynamite the first film to feature a White Stripes song, long before it became Conan O\u2019Brien\u2019s podcast theme song.) The result is one of the most endearing credit sequences of the 2000s.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
\t\u2018Office Space\u2019 \u2014 \u201cDamn It Feels Good to Be a Gangsta\u201d by Geto Boys<\/p>\n
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The essence of Mike Judge\u2019s enduring cult classic Office Space resides in its hilarious juxtaposition of gangsta rap and the nebbish world of white-collar malaise. The move simultaneously highlights the farcical nature of the protagonists\u2019 \u201cstruggle,\u201d while also transforming their mundane devotion to slacking off into something akin to a triumphant act of rebellion, perfectly capturing the film\u2019s sarcastic but deeply relatable spirit.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
\t\u2018Past Lives\u2019 \u2014 \u201cYou Know More Than I Know\u201d by John Cale<\/p>\n
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Near the climax of Celine Song\u2019s subtle romantic drama, Nora\u2019s childhood soulmate, Hae Sung, and her husband, Arthur, share a charged, awkward moment while waiting for the check in a late night New York bar. Playing softly \u2014 but unmistakably \u2014 in the background is John Cale\u2019s elegiac ballad \u201cYou Know More Than I Know.\u201d The song perfectly captures the complicated emotions and quiet realities between these two very different but decent men, each of whom knows a profound part of Nora that the other will never fully access. The effect is subtle yet powerful \u2014 a needle drop that articulates unspoken understanding and gentle sorrow, laying the emotional groundwork for the devastating goodbye still to come.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
\t\u2018Reservoir Dogs\u2019 \u2014 \u201cStuck in the Middle with You\u201d by Stealers Wheel<\/p>\n
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No one does the upbeat-music-paired-with-shocking-violence combo better than Tarantino. And nowhere better than in his debut, playing Stealers Wheel\u2019s \u201cDylanesque, pop, bubble-gum favorite\u201d over an ear-cutting torture scene, heightening both the humor and the horror. As suave psychopathic Mr. Blonde, its peak performance from the late, great Michael Madsen, showing off both his razor work and his soft shoe. <\/p>\n<\/li>\n
\t\u2018Rocky III\u2019 \u2014 \u201cEye of the Tiger\u201d by Survivor<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Courtesy Everett Collection\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
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Name a song more synonymous with a movie than \u201cEye of the Tiger\u201d and Rocky III. Ironically, the rock anthem wasn\u2019t Sylvester Stallone\u2019s first choice. After failing to secure the rights to Queen\u2019s \u201cAnother One Bites the Dust,\u201d Sly turned to the then-little-known band Survivor and asked them to write \u201csomething street, something with a pulse.\u201d The band lifted lyrics straight from the script \u2014 zeroing in on Apollo Creed\u2019s warning that Rocky had lost the \u201ceye of the tiger\u201d \u2014 and timed their power-chord blasts to match the punches onscreen. It\u2019s now impossible to imagine the movie training montage without it.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
\t\u2018The Royal Tenenbaums\u2019 \u2014 \u201cThese Days\u201d by The Velvet Underground & Nico<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Courtesy of Photofest\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
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From the very start, Wes Anderson\u2019s inimitable aesthetic has leaned heavily on impeccably curated soundtracks (think back to the masterful use of The Rolling Stones\u2019 \u201c2000 Man\u201d at the climax of his first feature, Bottle Rocket). His filmography is littered with dozens of music cues that hit with all of the arresting poignancy of unruly teenage emotion \u2014 which happens to be his most enduring theme. But The Royal Tenenbaums arguably contains his magnum opus of musical moments: the use of Nico\u2019s \u201cThese Days\u201d during Richie and Margot\u2019s reunion. In this achingly tender scene, Richie Tenenbaum (Luke Wilson), fresh off a failed tennis career and an emotional breakdown, watches his adopted sister Margot (Gwyneth Paltrow) step off a Green Line bus in slow motion. As she approaches \u2014 fur coat, heavy eyeliner, cigarette in hand \u2014 Nico\u2019s voice floats in: \u201cI\u2019ve been out walking \u2026 These days I seem to think a lot about the things that I forgot to do \u2026\u201d The effect is mesmerizing \u2014 a lifetime of unspoken feeling distilled into a prolonged moment of eye contact.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
\t\u2018Running on Empty\u2019 \u2014 \u201cFire and Rain\u201d by James Taylor<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Courtesy Everett Collection\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
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Taylor\u2019s musically sweet, lyrically devastating ballad is the perfect encapsulation of Sidney Lumet\u2019s elegy to \u201960s idealism. Playing over the Pope family as they wash up after dinner, dancing and singing along, the song is both balm and burden. Anti-war activists on the run from the FBI, the Popes know how fleeting this moment of domestic bliss will be.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
\t\u2018Sir\u00e2t\u2019 \u2014 \u201cAmber Decay\u201d by Kangding Ray<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Courtesy of Cannes\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
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Sir\u00e2t is by far the newest title on this list \u2014 it premiered to acclaim at the Cannes Film Festival in May and has yet to receive a wide release \u2014 but its status as a future cult classic already feels assured. How can a film \u2014 in story and setting \u2014 possibly capture the sublime grandeur of the most austere and intense techno? Sir\u00e2t is a feature-length answer to that question. French producer Kangding Ray\u2019s \u201cAmber Decay\u201d sets the tone and the stakes early, as a booming analog sound system is assembled and a piratical rave takes shape deep in the Moroccan desert. As Ray\u2019s ambient anthem echoes off the cliffs, a father and young boy stumble through the writhing dancers, searching for a daughter and sister who has gone missing. Is this a vision of hell or the last refuge of broken bodies and minds straining to feel alive? Before long, filmmaker Oliver Laxe makes clear it\u2019s both: The whole broken world is a rave, and we\u2019re all just clinging to the music.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
\t\u2018Trainspotting\u2019 \u2014 \u201cBorn Slippy\u201d by Underworld<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Polygram Filmed Entertainment\/Photofest\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
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Danny Boyle cues could fill an entire list of epic needle drops, with at least a dozen from Trainspotting alone. But the single best is Underworld\u2019s club anthem, its pounding four to the floor beat, and Karl Hyde\u2019s self-loathing chant (\u201cLager lager lager\u201d) playing over the film\u2019s final scene, when Renton (Ewan McGregor) chooses life by betraying his junkie mates, stealing their cash and making off into the London streets.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
\t\u2018Valley Girl\u2019 \u2014 \u201cI Melt With You\u201d by Modern English<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Atlantic Releasing\/Courtesy Everett Collection\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\tMartha Coolidge set the standard for the romantic dating montage with this pure slice of \u201980s delight. Modern English\u2019s New Romantic ballad, playing over scenes of courtship between Deborah Foreman\u2019s eponymous Valley Girl, in all her pink-sweatered, feathered lock glory, and Randy, the spiky punk bad boy, played by Nicolas Cage in his first leading role, is a synth-laced distillation of teenage longing.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
\t\u2018Wayne\u2019s World\u2019 \u2014 \u201cBohemian Rhapsody\u201d by Queen<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Photofest\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Wayne and Garth and the boys headbang to Queen\u2019s magnum opus in a beat-up AMC Pacer. A glorious comedy set piece balanced on the edge between mocking parody and heartfelt tribute, it revived Freddy Mercury for a new generation. Suburban metalheads around the world finally felt seen.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
\t\u2018The Worst Person in the World\u2019 \u2014 \u201cI Said Goodbye to Me\u201d by Harry Nilsson<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Courtesy of TIFF\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
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Norwegian director Joachim Trier\u2019s 2021 breakout is packed with offbeat and nostalgic needle drops, but his use of Harry Nilsson\u2019s soft rock ballad is particularly poignant. As Julie (Renate Reinsve) leaves longtime lover Aksel for new beau Eivind, Nilsson\u2019s bittersweet lyrics suggest she feels the loss of the old relationship more than the joy of the new. The happy times with Eivind may prove just as fleeting.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
\t\u2018Zodiac\u2019 \u2014 \u201cHurdy Gurdy Man\u201d by Donovan<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Paramount\/courtesy Everett Collection\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
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David Fincher\u2019s magisterial police procedural opens on a serene Fourth of July night in 1969. A young couple sits in a car, flirting and killing time, as Donovan\u2019s psychedelic folk-rock single \u201cHurdy Gurdy Man\u201d plays quietly over the radio. But when sudden, unspeakable violence descends upon them, the volume picks up, and a bone-chilling dissonance takes hold between the song\u2019s mellow haze and the Zodiac Killer\u2019s brutality. Bad men are out there, lurking \u2026 By the time the Hurdy Gurdy Man\u2019s ominous drone returns for the film\u2019s finale, it has been fully transformed into an anthem of dread. Mood-setting at its most masterful.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Music has been an indivisible part of movies from the start, or at least since cinemas begin hiring…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":70890,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[171,1020,1801,53,975,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-70889","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-movies","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-film","10":"tag-international","11":"tag-movies","12":"tag-music","13":"tag-united-states","14":"tag-unitedstates","15":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114870651029497602","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70889","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70889"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70889\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/70890"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70889"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70889"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}