Best Uses of Music in Movies

In honor of the fact that this is the first movie post (sort of), this one goes to 11.

There are only 3 rules:

First, it cannot have been written for the movie (Sorry "Mrs. Robinson" from The Graduate).
Second, there must be a great scene that goes along with the usage of the song (Sorry "Misirlou" from Pulp Fiction)
Finally, the movie cannot be a concert/musical movie (Included: This Is Spinal Tap).

11. Superbad - "These Eyes" by The Guess Who
Michael Cera is awkward

I bought into a lot of hype about Superbad, and in the end, I didn't like it as much as I thought I would. Looking back, it was an OK movie for what it was trying to do, but I can name about 5 movies of that style from the past 3 or 4 years that were funnier.

Superbad had a few great moments, but all of them involved McLovin and the police officers... except for one: "These Eyes".

The Guess Who know how to write a good song, Canadian though they may be. Michael Cera cannot sing, at least he can act like he can't sing, and the idea of singing "These Eyes" a cappella to a bunch of stoners is just odd enough to be hilarious.

10. Almost Famous - "Tiny Dancer" by Elton John
Singin' in the bus

This movie has a lot of great music. However, while most of the songs set the theme in the background, this song is does more. At first, it seems like any other background song, bridging the farewell shots to the on-the-road shots. Then, one-by-one, the entire bus starts singing along. In doing this, director Cameron Crowe engages the audience, connecting the audience to the characters on the screen.

9. Love, Actually - "All You Need Is Love" by The Beatles
Just Married

This scene just keeps getting better and better. First, there's the choir. Then notSeal steps in to sing, and Chiwetel Ejiofor is all like, "Awwrgh," which I think means something like "Oh, you guys *finger point* *embarrassed smile*." Then the strings, then the brass, then the flutes, then trombones, then sax, then ELECTRIC GUITAR!

OK, so the electric guitar part was kinda corny and unnecessary. But the scene's pretty cool anyway.

8. Back to the Future - "Johnny B. Goode" by Chuck Berry
Rock 'n Roll Under the Sea

Now this is how you do electric guitar. Sure, there's a huge paradox created (How can Marty know the song if Chuck Berry knew the song because Marty went back in time and played the song that Chuck Berry wrote that Marty knew?). But for a movie that does such a great job at continuity, I'm willing to excuse that. Just a great use of the song.

7. Anchorman - "Afternoon Delight" by The Starland Vocal Band
Ron Burgundy explains love

There were way too many Will Ferrell musical moments to choose from without leaving something great out (*cough* "Dust in the Wind" *cough*), but I decided I'd impose a fourth rule allowing only one moment per actor.

"Afternoon Delight" won only because it combined the talents of Will Ferrell, Paul Rudd, Steve Carell, and David Koechner.

6. American Psycho - "Hip to Be Square" by Huey Lewis and the News
Hey Paul!

I'm a big fan of this movie, but I can't explain what makes some of the scenes in this movie so funny. It's all little nuances, especially in this scene. Maybe it's the absurdity of Patrick Bateman's obsession. Or maybe it's the way he talks or smiles or gestures. It all just works together, and for some crazy reason, "Hip to Be Square" is the perfect song to go along with it.

5. Beetlejuice - "Day O (The Banana Boat Song)" by Harry Belafonte
Best haunting ever

This song is overused and annoying.

But damn it, if it isn't funny in this context.

4. Reservoir Dogs - "Stuck in the Middle" by Stealer's Wheel
Mr. Blonde goes insane

Quentin Tarantino knows how to elevate a song from the depths and put them on a pedestal. "Stuck in the Middle" sticks out from the pack because it's such a major part of Reservoir Dogs' torture scene. You don't just remember what happened, you hear the song in your head when you think about it happening, and, sometimes, just hearing the song on its own makes your ears ache. And not because it's a bad song....

3. Apocalypse Now - "Ride of the Valkyries" by Richard Wagner
Smell of napalm, sound of Wagner

Duh Dun, duh-dun, duh, duh.
Dun, duh-dun, DUH, DUH.
Dun, duh-duh, DUH, DUH!
Duh, Duh-Duh, DUH!!!

That is all.

2. Say Anything - "In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel
Getcha boom box ready

The 80s are my favorite years for music, and there are a lot of great musical moments in 80s movies. Unfortunately, there are some great movie moments that don't make this list due to the rules I set. However, even if I could choose songs like "Take My Breath Away" or "Don't You (Forget About Me)" or the entire soundtrack to Scarface, "In Your Eyes" would still win. The scene is just so iconic; it's been parodied countless times. It all comes down to this, though. Admit it to yourself: you've always secretly wanted to do this. And that's why it's number 2 on the list.

1. Wayne's World - "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen
No, they will not let him go.

I'm sure everyone has seen this scene. If you have not, you need to re-check your movie priorities. Wayne's World may be the best Saturday Night Live movie ever made*. I'm not going to ruin things by over-analyzing this scene, but I do want to mention that they went back and changed the music video to "Bohemian Rhapsody" based on this scene.

Oh, and everyone has done this. Multiple times, probably. But without the kidnapping part.

And that's why this one is number one.




So that's it. That was much harder than I expected, even given the extra 6 spots. I hope I've inspired you to go back and watch some of these great scenes. And as for that asterisk under number 1?


*OK, so The Blues Brothers is better.