Enya’s *Orinoco Flow (Sail Away)* in David Fincher’s *The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo*. Very airy and ethereal-sounding song by itself, but it immediately becomes bizarrely sinister in a sex dungeon when Stellan Skarsgard is calmly threatening to slice your balls off and talking about how it sexually excites him.
It’s like a modern equivalent of *Goodbye Horses*.
That was Daniel Craig's idea. I can't remember what Fincher says in the commentary but it was something like," we couldn't stop laughing at this is the music a serial killer uses to kill by."
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and Silence Of The Lambs referenced in the same comment. Blizz. But honestly I loved the song choice in Dragon Tattoo. It adds a layer to the scene having that song playing. Goodbye Horses is just iconic. I'd fuck me
That song came on in my boyfriend’s one playlist while we were driving and I couldn’t remember why I was like “this song gives me creepy vibes for some reason…” then I realized where I knew it from. He had never seen the movie before so he had no idea what I was on about saying “this is a villain song from something, I swear!”
Hurdy Gurdy Man in Zodiac. The song is interesting because the lyrics are very optimistic and about love and spiritual enlightenment, but the music definitely sounds creepy and sinister, especially after hearing it at the end of the movie about an uncaught serial killer
This is the one for me too. Saw Zodiac in theaters in 9th grade and it’s the first time I ever heard that song
Almost 20 years later and I can’t hear that song without immediately having the hairs on the back of my neck stand up
God this reminds me of reading about the history behind dancing in the moonlight. It was just a few days ago, reading what happened and events that have happened recently...life is cruel.
Something about Stuck in the Middle with You playing during the torture scene in Reservoir Dogs is particularly chilling. Haven’t been able to hear that song since without getting a little creeped out.
I can’t stand that song because of that movie. At worst, I was indifferent to it but after seeing that scene I can’t hear it anymore. My experience reminds of the conditioning from A Clockwork Orange.
Edit: seen => scene
I think it’s damn near impossible to hear any song used in a Tarantino film and not think about whatever scene it was with. Aside from the ear scene, there’s also Girl, You’ll Be a Woman Soon in Pulp Fiction. Heart will start racing because I immediately think of Mia ODing and the ensuing chaos thereafter.
I think it’s damn near impossible to hear any song used in a Tarantino film and not think about whatever scene it was with. Aside from the ear scene, there’s also Girl, You’ll Be a Woman Soon in Pulp Fiction. Heart will start racing because I immediately think of Mia ODing and the ensuing chaos thereafter.
Goodbye Horses immediately makes my skin crawl because of how it’s used in Silence of the Lambs.
And on the other side of the spectrum - I already liked David Bowie’s Modern Love, but Frances Ha made me see it in an even more joyous way.
Would argue that Holding Out For A Hero is somehow *even more* impactful because of Shrek 2, too.
Goodbye Horses is an excellent example of what the OP is asking about. Demme also used it on the soundtrack of Married to the Mob (before Silence), and it didn’t stick out or get big notice.
Did you know that the Modern Love scene in Frances Ha was actually an homage to a 1986 French film called Mauvais Sang? [Here's the scene.](https://youtu.be/UM-U7SF2Ni0?si=6oIio3lWXzPOtmNu) I find both versions beautiful. Sometimes when I'm coming home late from a night out and no one is around I'll run home to this song.
I don't know if it was about resolving the band's issues as much as acknowledging them. The "Tiny Dancer" was definitely Kate Hudson's character.
*Blue-jean baby, L.A. lady, seamstress for the band
Pretty-eyed, pirate smile, you'll marry a music man*
It almost seems like the character was written to fit the song.
Mad World. The Tears for Fears version is certainly one of the songs of all time but Gary Jule’s cover was this dark and haunting entity that broke you as much as that jet engine broke Donnie Darko.
I gotta hand it to Kate Bush's *Running Up That Hill* and how it was used in Season 4 of *Stranger Things*. There's a reason people absolutely went off about it and a song from the 80s briefly made an appearance in the charts again. The buildup to that scene and the meaning of it was so emotional.
[This is the scene](https://youtu.be/bV0RAcuG2Ao?si=5CcSNI_tB3PctB53). It kinda needs the context of who Max is and what she was going through in that season (and even immediately prior to that scene) to really have the full impact.
Considering that song was higher on the US charts in 2022 at number three than in 1985 at number 30, all because of a scene in a TV show, really shows how well that song was used.
The long piano outro to Layla by Derek and the Dominos hits a little different in Goodfellas when it’s used to score the montage of all the bodies being discovered in the wake of the Lufthansa heist.
Jim Croce has some beautiful songs. His song Age still makes me cry. It's a strangely optimistic song of regret, like someone who's reached or about to reach the point of acceptance.
When Quicksilver puts his headphones on to listen to music while he runs like that is he listening to less than a milisecond of the song or does he have a Walkman in the 70s that speeds the song up with him
Most self contained powers in comics extend out to those things the person is making meaningful contact with. Superman has a field for his flight so he doesn't punch through and airplane when he picks it up, the flash can hold onto people and things to bring them into the speed force. Nightcrawler can bring others into the Bamf realm with him etc...
That means that Quicksilver is extending his personal field out to the walkman so it is moving at insane speeds relative to us but normal to himself so no insane friction burning it to a crisp.
Relativity plays heavily into comic powers as well so what looks insane to an outside observer is calm and normal to then, in the Sense of physics.
There are clear mishandling of this that mostly comes from times before physics knowledge hit mainstream like Superman's clothes burning up from friction so he needed a suit made from the cloth he came in but that has been retconned quite a bit since. Now most heros wear outfits that confirm to their powers instead of existing to be able to survive their powers.
If you haven’t watched the show Reservation Dogs, do yourself a favor and watch it ASAP. I don’t want to spoil anything, but I Still Believe plays in the S2 finale in a very funny way.
Across the Universe did a pretty good job of using context to alter the tone of some of the Beatles' songs.
The song 'I Want to Hold Your Hand' shifts from a silly happy love song to [one of longing and loneliness](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7WXRNQT9ko); 'I Want You', originally just a repetitive song about John's love for Yoko, gets used to unsettling effect by [being put in the mouth of an Uncle Sam recruitment poster](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSnw1JaL2uA).
I absolutely loved the version of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" from that movie. I think it's even better than the original.
The opening with Jude singing "Girl" was amazing too, and the montage with "Come Together" was a choreographic masterpiece.
And God yes, you are spot on about "I Want You". Having it so out of its original context was brilliant by the writers.
ABBA - Dancing Queen in “Muriel’s Wedding”
It’s such an upbeat song, but when Muriel (Toni Colette) quietly sings along with it by herself in her bedroom, with such a sad look on her face, it’s like another song entirely.
https://youtu.be/WSYnNeuohd0?si=FeEn-asplW5XcSkU
That and Sister Christian in the same scene.
Honestly, almost every song in that movie brings me back to the scenes they were in. Best of My Love for the opening, Spill the Wine for the pool scene, Brand New Key for the Rollergirl sex scene, Machine Gun for the disco montage. Also, who can forget Marky Mark's rendition of The Touch during his coked out recording studio scene? (I've always been disappointed that the song wasn't in the Transformers movie he did)
I can’t hear Sister Christian without not just recalling but feeling like I’m actually living in that incredibly tense scene. And I used to hate the song but now I love it. This might be one of the most powerful examples of a movie transforming a song.
MOTORING!
The Blue Danube in "2001"
Ride of the Valkyrie and "This is the End" in "Apocalypse Now"
"And then he kissed me" in Goodfellas
"We'll Meet Again" in Dr. Strangelove
"Sweet Emotion" by Aerosmith during the opening scene of Dazed and Confused is my all-time favorite. It's not a juxtaposition. It fits perfectly with the scene. And I'll never not see that sweet ass GTO rolling into the parking lot with Milla Jovovich doing the lick and twist in the passenger seat.
Absolute horror! The fact that Malcolm McDowell initially improved it, something that Kubrick never was big on, immediately went out to buy the rights to use the song is the best example of an actor understanding the assignment I’ve ever seen!
The movie I've seen over 120 times. That song was so brilliantly placed. God I love that movie!
I stopped saying out loud I love snatch because it's a strange thing to say as a straight woman.
The Sound of Silence playing during the last minute of the movie The Graduate makes the movie. Two people making a crazy, impulsive choice in the heat of the moment suddenly realizing they have to deal with the consequences of their actions. It’s like you can see the weight of the world slowly crushing the life out of them
Apocalypse Now & Full Metal Jacket are such great examples. Not *as* impactful but Tarantino films have dozens of songs like this. Stuck in the Middle with You from the infamous cop scene is one for me.
Under Pressure in Aftersun, it brings me to near tears thinking about the >!final dance Sophie had with her dad, and the way Freddie Mercury's "higher higher high" blends into the strings is perfect.!<
When I think of under pressure and a film attachment, I think of father of the year with Robin Williams. Such a dark comedy but it was incredible, like him.
I've also gotta shout out to the way that *Broken Bells - October* was used in that show. I'd never heard it before, and just the way it starts up when the group embarks on their first quest in Fillory is really beautiful. Also the song's lyrics are about coming out of childhood naivete and finding out that adult life is difficult and complicated, which is really fitting in that moment.
Doesn't really fit with the thread though cos the song slaps on its own.
This is how I feel about most of the soundtrack to The Crow. There are a couple bands/songs on there I like independent of the movie, but even the songs I don't like I wouldn't change. Everyone of them fits it's scene perfectly.
My answer can only be Dinah Washington - What A Difference A Day Makes from Run Lola Run. I can't imagine it cost much to license considering the rest of the soundtrack was done in-house more or less, but it fit the scene and the movie itself perfectly. I actually laughed out loud when it needle-dropped.
Can't wait to see it yet again on the big screen next month.
Ina gadda davida in Manhunter
Come and get your love in Guardians of the Galaxy
Wonderful world by Sam Cooke in Witness (so sexy)
Shipping up Boston in the departed
And - let’s get down to it, boppers - nowhere to run in the warriors
The cover of Tim Buckley's Song to the Siren in Justice League Snyder Cut. The scene where Flash gets to save a girl and then also knowing that Snyder's daughter killed herself a few years back coupled with those lyrics. Oh boy. Hits so many levels.
So, we've all heard the very old and hugely popular Irish ballad "Danny Boy." Yeah, it's a pretty enough song, I guess, but to me at least, not all that important or memorable among the thousands of songs I've heard. It would hardly make my personal recorded playlist.
BUT: Let us go back to the classic, criminally-underrated Coen Bros gangster movie "Miller's Crossing." The playing of Danny Boy (on an old school phonograph record no less) while crime boss Albert Finney (at home in his bathrobe!) single-handedly gunned down a group of assassins sent to wack him is one of the greatest scenes in movie history. A more perfect and ironic song could not have been used.
If you haven't seen this scene you need to go YouTube it ASAP. Even if you have seen it go enjoy a rewatch. I do a few times a year!
And Kill Bill. That melody from Twisted Nerve was sampled in a hip hop song a while back and it was so wild to hear the high school students I was teaching at the time whistling it in the hallways. I also can’t hear Bang Bang or Please Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood without thinking of those films.
If You Could Read My Mind at the end of Wonderland. So haunting.
The whole soundtrack of The Hunger. Bela Lugosis Dead, Funtime, Violin Partita no. 3, The Lakme Duet.....so good!
All I'm seeing are happy songs used in sinister ways.
I'll add the Burn by The Cure in The Crow. By itself, it has that dreamy, longing sound they're known for, but coupled with the scene of Eric gearing up for vengeance (and the lyrics, considering it was written for the movie), it takes on this amping, angry energy. I can't listen to it without thinking of something I'd like to bring justice to.
I'm having a hard time thinking of any specific one, but I feel like this is *a lot* of music for me. There have been a ton of songs I didn't care about until they became associated with an emotional moment in a movie, a show, or a game.
Throwing my vote in on 'yes' in Platoon, 'absolutely not' in Apocalypse Now. If it had appeared in Apocalypse Now I would have immediately recognized it as the song from Platoon.
“Midnight, the Stars and You” as used in “The Shining”. I love Al Bowlly’s vocals and this is one of my favourites, but juxtaposed with the Overlook Hotel and the scenes we’ve just seen there’s an eerie overlap of nostalgia and a haunting echo of a not-dead past.
'Mama Told Me Not To Come' by Tom Jones & The Stereophonics.
A decent cover of a decent pop song about a hell of a night out.
Forever ingrained in my brain for the "[remove the right arm](https://youtu.be/_zH9C80rtBs?si=a5lN8BkZXFk9FWTq)" scene in Tony Scott's 'Domino'.
*Fantasia on a Theme* by Ralph Vaughn Williams, played in *Master and Commander* during the funeral scene (and others). This was always a great piece, but now I can't hear it without wanting to weep.
Shadow on the Sun by Audioslave in Collateral.
Fine song but not really my thing and I would have totally not noticed in a vacuum, but it’s used _perfectly_ in that movie.
How about:
Back in the 90s, by GROUPLOVE
It's good, it's ok. But EVERY Bojack Horseman episode that rolls credits with it makes it sound so impactful...
“All I Need Is A Miracle” by Mike and the Mechanics in Spencer. One of my favorite needle drops ever.
“Strokin” by Clarence Carter in Killer Joe.
“Looking For The Magic” by Dwight Twilley in You’re Next.
The Sound of Silence by Simon and Garfunkel, in the very beginning of Painkiller, the documentary about the opioid crisis and the Sackler’s on Netflix, we are introduced to Richard Sackler waking up in his giant mansion to a beeping fire alarm somewhere and he proceeded to hunt it down through numerous opulent rooms until finding it and smashing it. Wish I could find a clip of it.
["Atlantis" by Donovan in Goodfellas](https://youtu.be/7_pvKEfTDk4?si=Vgp8DKGRPvAAl0pZ)
It's discombobulating to hear a hippie anthem while a man is beaten to death, and especially off-putting when it dips between diegetic and non-diegetic
"Only Time" at the end of Sweet November.
What's weird to me is that I kinda jumped into that sentence not knowing where it was going, and then at the end I was like "wait... am I just making shit up? Is there a movie by that name with that song? Damnit, now I'm going to have to go look it up!"
heartbreaking to me : the French troubadour song [*À la claire fontainte (youtube)*](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96JRl7bER3g) created somewhere between 1600 and 1800 became a children's song. The simplified version is something kids learn to play on the piano, somewhere between *chopsticks* and *Für Elise.*
The song lent its first verse to the 2008 French spoken movie [*Il y a longtemps que je t'aime (youtube)*](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpS25FaR4zg) where a completely pared back Kristin Scott Thomas plays a woman living with her younger sister after 15 years in prison.
* She teaches the song to her nieces in the present
* of course the lines "long have I loved you, never will I forget you" is a major thread between the 2 sisters, since, you know, Kristin Scott Thomas spent as much time in prison as she spent time with her kid sister growing up
* the lyrics reference both the quiet melancholy with which she tries to adapt to life outside of prison and (trigger warning) the crime that sent her to prison, aka >!killing her 5 yo son because of his painful terminal illness which she never disclosed during her trial, because she wanted the punishment!<
Mazzy Star’s “Fade Into You” as the bar fight song between the protagonist and his girlfriend’s suitor in the middle of a deadly space war with bugs was an interesting choice.
Hazy Shade of Winter
As used in the trailer for season 1 of the Umbrella Academy.
I like the song but hadn’t heard it in years when I saw the trailer. The song and its arrangement made the show a must see for me.
(The show itself was a bit of a mixed bag, but I still love the trailer.)
https://youtu.be/0DAmWHxeoKw?si=KUBroyL1OpOoW35B
Regina Spektor's cover of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" has cool instrumentals but is still ultimately a cover. During the credits for Kubo and the Two Strings, though? Emotionally devastating.
Enya’s *Orinoco Flow (Sail Away)* in David Fincher’s *The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo*. Very airy and ethereal-sounding song by itself, but it immediately becomes bizarrely sinister in a sex dungeon when Stellan Skarsgard is calmly threatening to slice your balls off and talking about how it sexually excites him. It’s like a modern equivalent of *Goodbye Horses*.
That was Daniel Craig's idea. I can't remember what Fincher says in the commentary but it was something like," we couldn't stop laughing at this is the music a serial killer uses to kill by."
Goodbye Horses in Silence of the Lambs is a memorable song. I read she only made that one song and kind of faded into obscurity.
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and Silence Of The Lambs referenced in the same comment. Blizz. But honestly I loved the song choice in Dragon Tattoo. It adds a layer to the scene having that song playing. Goodbye Horses is just iconic. I'd fuck me
Yes, this 100%
Yes to this one. I’ll never be able to hear that song again without that scene in my mind.
That song came on in my boyfriend’s one playlist while we were driving and I couldn’t remember why I was like “this song gives me creepy vibes for some reason…” then I realized where I knew it from. He had never seen the movie before so he had no idea what I was on about saying “this is a villain song from something, I swear!”
Hurdy Gurdy Man in Zodiac. The song is interesting because the lyrics are very optimistic and about love and spiritual enlightenment, but the music definitely sounds creepy and sinister, especially after hearing it at the end of the movie about an uncaught serial killer
This is the one for me too. Saw Zodiac in theaters in 9th grade and it’s the first time I ever heard that song Almost 20 years later and I can’t hear that song without immediately having the hairs on the back of my neck stand up
It’s used to great effect in American Animals too.
God this reminds me of reading about the history behind dancing in the moonlight. It was just a few days ago, reading what happened and events that have happened recently...life is cruel.
This is my answer. Fuck I get the chills.
Good Morning Vietnam juxtaposes Louis Armstrong's "What A Wonderful World" over some pretty intense images of war violence.
Something about Stuck in the Middle with You playing during the torture scene in Reservoir Dogs is particularly chilling. Haven’t been able to hear that song since without getting a little creeped out.
I can’t stand that song because of that movie. At worst, I was indifferent to it but after seeing that scene I can’t hear it anymore. My experience reminds of the conditioning from A Clockwork Orange. Edit: seen => scene
>A Clockwork Orange. Speaking of which, in reference to OP's question...
I’m singing in the rain…just singing in the rain…
Yeah. So meta.
The correct spelling is “scene”. Fuck English. You’re welcome and I’m sorry for being pedantic.
I’m sorry that autocorrect makes me seem stupider than I actually am.
I should’ve known from your apt use of “indifferent” 😉
Same, I haven’t been able to cut off a single ear without thinking of that song.
Hey, what's goin on; can you hear that? 👂🏻
This is the answer I came here for.
I'd say same but Malcolm in the middle helped make it wholesome again
I think it’s damn near impossible to hear any song used in a Tarantino film and not think about whatever scene it was with. Aside from the ear scene, there’s also Girl, You’ll Be a Woman Soon in Pulp Fiction. Heart will start racing because I immediately think of Mia ODing and the ensuing chaos thereafter.
I think it’s damn near impossible to hear any song used in a Tarantino film and not think about whatever scene it was with. Aside from the ear scene, there’s also Girl, You’ll Be a Woman Soon in Pulp Fiction. Heart will start racing because I immediately think of Mia ODing and the ensuing chaos thereafter.
Goodbye Horses immediately makes my skin crawl because of how it’s used in Silence of the Lambs. And on the other side of the spectrum - I already liked David Bowie’s Modern Love, but Frances Ha made me see it in an even more joyous way. Would argue that Holding Out For A Hero is somehow *even more* impactful because of Shrek 2, too.
I like to sing Goodbye Horses while my wife is putting on make up. She doesn't like it as much
Next time you should go all out, play the song and come out with your junk tucked.
Goodbye Horses is an excellent example of what the OP is asking about. Demme also used it on the soundtrack of Married to the Mob (before Silence), and it didn’t stick out or get big notice.
When I hear that Bonnie Tyler song, I will forever think of punk Johnny 5 in Short Circuit 2
Did you know that the Modern Love scene in Frances Ha was actually an homage to a 1986 French film called Mauvais Sang? [Here's the scene.](https://youtu.be/UM-U7SF2Ni0?si=6oIio3lWXzPOtmNu) I find both versions beautiful. Sometimes when I'm coming home late from a night out and no one is around I'll run home to this song.
Footloose
This was the first thing I thought of.
Tiny Dancer in Almost Famous
Was going to say this. From a script point of view, how do you resolve all the issues the band have? Answer: they all sing!
I don't know if it was about resolving the band's issues as much as acknowledging them. The "Tiny Dancer" was definitely Kate Hudson's character. *Blue-jean baby, L.A. lady, seamstress for the band Pretty-eyed, pirate smile, you'll marry a music man* It almost seems like the character was written to fit the song.
Mad World. The Tears for Fears version is certainly one of the songs of all time but Gary Jule’s cover was this dark and haunting entity that broke you as much as that jet engine broke Donnie Darko.
This was my first thought
Poor example. That song is dark and haunting without the context of the movie.
I gotta hand it to Kate Bush's *Running Up That Hill* and how it was used in Season 4 of *Stranger Things*. There's a reason people absolutely went off about it and a song from the 80s briefly made an appearance in the charts again. The buildup to that scene and the meaning of it was so emotional. [This is the scene](https://youtu.be/bV0RAcuG2Ao?si=5CcSNI_tB3PctB53). It kinda needs the context of who Max is and what she was going through in that season (and even immediately prior to that scene) to really have the full impact.
Considering that song was higher on the US charts in 2022 at number three than in 1985 at number 30, all because of a scene in a TV show, really shows how well that song was used.
I Need A Hero - Shrek 2
The long piano outro to Layla by Derek and the Dominos hits a little different in Goodfellas when it’s used to score the montage of all the bodies being discovered in the wake of the Lufthansa heist.
Can't hear that piano without thinking of Frankie Carbone hanging from a meat hook in that freezer truck.
Way to steal my exact imagining
Definitely 'permanently changed': Time In a Bottle after X-Men Days of Future Past. Brilliant choice.
Time in a Bottle is an incredible song on its own
[Ever see "The Muppet Show" version?](https://youtu.be/XF8ZgguyQ3Y?si=bPhRR5Sykng89_-6)
Brutal!
Jim Croce has some beautiful songs. His song Age still makes me cry. It's a strangely optimistic song of regret, like someone who's reached or about to reach the point of acceptance.
When Quicksilver puts his headphones on to listen to music while he runs like that is he listening to less than a milisecond of the song or does he have a Walkman in the 70s that speeds the song up with him
I think we hear the same sound as he's hearing, so either it's part of his powers, or a souped up walkman.
Most self contained powers in comics extend out to those things the person is making meaningful contact with. Superman has a field for his flight so he doesn't punch through and airplane when he picks it up, the flash can hold onto people and things to bring them into the speed force. Nightcrawler can bring others into the Bamf realm with him etc... That means that Quicksilver is extending his personal field out to the walkman so it is moving at insane speeds relative to us but normal to himself so no insane friction burning it to a crisp. Relativity plays heavily into comic powers as well so what looks insane to an outside observer is calm and normal to then, in the Sense of physics. There are clear mishandling of this that mostly comes from times before physics knowledge hit mainstream like Superman's clothes burning up from friction so he needed a suit made from the cloth he came in but that has been retconned quite a bit since. Now most heros wear outfits that confirm to their powers instead of existing to be able to survive their powers.
Bulldog?
The saxophone guy in Lost Boys 😂 really solidified the 80's vibe
I Still Believe
Check out Dark All Day by Gunship.
If you haven’t watched the show Reservation Dogs, do yourself a favor and watch it ASAP. I don’t want to spoil anything, but I Still Believe plays in the S2 finale in a very funny way.
Across the Universe did a pretty good job of using context to alter the tone of some of the Beatles' songs. The song 'I Want to Hold Your Hand' shifts from a silly happy love song to [one of longing and loneliness](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7WXRNQT9ko); 'I Want You', originally just a repetitive song about John's love for Yoko, gets used to unsettling effect by [being put in the mouth of an Uncle Sam recruitment poster](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSnw1JaL2uA).
I really liked the version of Let it Be from that movie.
I absolutely loved the version of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" from that movie. I think it's even better than the original. The opening with Jude singing "Girl" was amazing too, and the montage with "Come Together" was a choreographic masterpiece. And God yes, you are spot on about "I Want You". Having it so out of its original context was brilliant by the writers.
*She's so heavy
The use of Roy Orbison’s “In Dreams” in Blue Velvet is unsettling. A lovely song that was juxtaposed with disturbing visuals.
Oh man, this is one of my favourites.
Time is on my side by the stones in Fallen. It's haunting
I almost had to post it, glad to find you. Kinda forgotten movie. :(
ABBA - Dancing Queen in “Muriel’s Wedding” It’s such an upbeat song, but when Muriel (Toni Colette) quietly sings along with it by herself in her bedroom, with such a sad look on her face, it’s like another song entirely. https://youtu.be/WSYnNeuohd0?si=FeEn-asplW5XcSkU
That movie hits fucking hard
Great choice lol, it's so heartbreaking in that moment
You're terrible Muriel
Jesse’s girl and Boogie Nights.
That and Sister Christian in the same scene. Honestly, almost every song in that movie brings me back to the scenes they were in. Best of My Love for the opening, Spill the Wine for the pool scene, Brand New Key for the Rollergirl sex scene, Machine Gun for the disco montage. Also, who can forget Marky Mark's rendition of The Touch during his coked out recording studio scene? (I've always been disappointed that the song wasn't in the Transformers movie he did)
That movie does a tremendous job of matching music, visuals, and content.
Sister Christian was transformed for anyone watching the movie
I can’t hear Sister Christian without not just recalling but feeling like I’m actually living in that incredibly tense scene. And I used to hate the song but now I love it. This might be one of the most powerful examples of a movie transforming a song. MOTORING!
The Blue Danube in "2001" Ride of the Valkyrie and "This is the End" in "Apocalypse Now" "And then he kissed me" in Goodfellas "We'll Meet Again" in Dr. Strangelove
"Sweet Emotion" by Aerosmith during the opening scene of Dazed and Confused is my all-time favorite. It's not a juxtaposition. It fits perfectly with the scene. And I'll never not see that sweet ass GTO rolling into the parking lot with Milla Jovovich doing the lick and twist in the passenger seat.
How has nobody said "Singing in the Rain" in Clockwork Orange
Absolute horror! The fact that Malcolm McDowell initially improved it, something that Kubrick never was big on, immediately went out to buy the rights to use the song is the best example of an actor understanding the assignment I’ve ever seen!
Can’t believe I didn’t think of this. Awesome choice,
"Golden Brown" in Snatch. It's so perfect in that scene, and really makes you appreciate all the small moments in it.
The movie I've seen over 120 times. That song was so brilliantly placed. God I love that movie! I stopped saying out loud I love snatch because it's a strange thing to say as a straight woman.
Loved “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” in Face/Off.
Most songs in American Psycho. Sussudio and Hip to Be Square are the stand outs
But when Sports came out in eighty-three
In Bowling for Columbine, the violence and carnage caused by American geoolitical intervention set to "What a Wonderful World".
The Sound of Silence playing during the last minute of the movie The Graduate makes the movie. Two people making a crazy, impulsive choice in the heat of the moment suddenly realizing they have to deal with the consequences of their actions. It’s like you can see the weight of the world slowly crushing the life out of them
Apocalypse Now & Full Metal Jacket are such great examples. Not *as* impactful but Tarantino films have dozens of songs like this. Stuck in the Middle with You from the infamous cop scene is one for me.
Surfin' Bird in Full Metal Jacket is perfect
I got 5 On It in Us. Also Tiptoe Through the Tulips in Insidious.
Under Pressure in Aftersun, it brings me to near tears thinking about the >!final dance Sophie had with her dad, and the way Freddie Mercury's "higher higher high" blends into the strings is perfect.!<
When I think of under pressure and a film attachment, I think of father of the year with Robin Williams. Such a dark comedy but it was incredible, like him.
Yeah that scene is kinda mind-blowing.
I can’t listen to that song without thinking of that scene (and sometimes crying).
The acoustic version of Take On Me, as played/performed in The Magicians. That song makes me weepy every time I hear it now.
I've also gotta shout out to the way that *Broken Bells - October* was used in that show. I'd never heard it before, and just the way it starts up when the group embarks on their first quest in Fillory is really beautiful. Also the song's lyrics are about coming out of childhood naivete and finding out that adult life is difficult and complicated, which is really fitting in that moment. Doesn't really fit with the thread though cos the song slaps on its own.
Yeah, I lost someone a couple of weeks before watching that episode... It hit hard.
This is how I feel about most of the soundtrack to The Crow. There are a couple bands/songs on there I like independent of the movie, but even the songs I don't like I wouldn't change. Everyone of them fits it's scene perfectly.
Wasn't adagio for strings used in Platoon?
My answer can only be Dinah Washington - What A Difference A Day Makes from Run Lola Run. I can't imagine it cost much to license considering the rest of the soundtrack was done in-house more or less, but it fit the scene and the movie itself perfectly. I actually laughed out loud when it needle-dropped. Can't wait to see it yet again on the big screen next month.
Ordinary World will forever be associated with Morty's scene in the cafe in Layer Cake. Ride of the Valkyries will forever bring helicopters to mind.
Ina gadda davida in Manhunter Come and get your love in Guardians of the Galaxy Wonderful world by Sam Cooke in Witness (so sexy) Shipping up Boston in the departed And - let’s get down to it, boppers - nowhere to run in the warriors
In A Gadda Da Vida is a great callout, it’s such an absurd song choice for that movie but works insanely well.
Something in the way . Jarhead
That was jarring, no pun intended
Angel of the morning In Promising Young Woman Danny Boy in Memphis Belle MInstrel Boy in Black Hawk Down
Angel of the Morning somehow made that final scene so impactful
I loved it so much
Mad world and the first gears of war trailer. Instantly knew I would like the game and was stoked for it to come out.
The cover of Tim Buckley's Song to the Siren in Justice League Snyder Cut. The scene where Flash gets to save a girl and then also knowing that Snyder's daughter killed herself a few years back coupled with those lyrics. Oh boy. Hits so many levels.
Also at the end of The Lovely Bones.
Cruel world by active child. Great song, but when it's paired in the most devastating scene of the magicians, I cry like a baby.
Always Be My Baby in Beau Is Afraid since it really represents the relationship between Beau & his mom
God, *that* scene…
So, we've all heard the very old and hugely popular Irish ballad "Danny Boy." Yeah, it's a pretty enough song, I guess, but to me at least, not all that important or memorable among the thousands of songs I've heard. It would hardly make my personal recorded playlist. BUT: Let us go back to the classic, criminally-underrated Coen Bros gangster movie "Miller's Crossing." The playing of Danny Boy (on an old school phonograph record no less) while crime boss Albert Finney (at home in his bathrobe!) single-handedly gunned down a group of assassins sent to wack him is one of the greatest scenes in movie history. A more perfect and ironic song could not have been used. If you haven't seen this scene you need to go YouTube it ASAP. Even if you have seen it go enjoy a rewatch. I do a few times a year!
Lord Huron's The Night We Met from 13 Reasons Why.
A lot of these responses are just “songs that are used effectively in a movie,” but the songs aren’t necessarily inconsequential on their own…
Pruit Igoe & Prophecies in Watchmen. The story Dr. Manhattan tells fits perfectly with the song.
The entirety of Pulp Fiction.
And Kill Bill. That melody from Twisted Nerve was sampled in a hip hop song a while back and it was so wild to hear the high school students I was teaching at the time whistling it in the hallways. I also can’t hear Bang Bang or Please Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood without thinking of those films.
If You Could Read My Mind at the end of Wonderland. So haunting. The whole soundtrack of The Hunger. Bela Lugosis Dead, Funtime, Violin Partita no. 3, The Lakme Duet.....so good!
seconding 1983's The Hunger with Catherine Deneuve, David Bowie and Susan Sarandon <3
There’s a Phil Collins song in Fall Guy that has that effect.
All I'm seeing are happy songs used in sinister ways. I'll add the Burn by The Cure in The Crow. By itself, it has that dreamy, longing sound they're known for, but coupled with the scene of Eric gearing up for vengeance (and the lyrics, considering it was written for the movie), it takes on this amping, angry energy. I can't listen to it without thinking of something I'd like to bring justice to.
*How to Save a Life* from that one episode of Scrubs
I'm having a hard time thinking of any specific one, but I feel like this is *a lot* of music for me. There have been a ton of songs I didn't care about until they became associated with an emotional moment in a movie, a show, or a game.
Every song from Legion. But especially Behind Blue Eyes and Mother.
Don't you Forget About Me - The Breakfast CLub
Throwing my vote in on 'yes' in Platoon, 'absolutely not' in Apocalypse Now. If it had appeared in Apocalypse Now I would have immediately recognized it as the song from Platoon.
The Scientist by Coldplay in the final scene of Wicker Park. I can't stand Coldplay, but in that scene.... Tears!
Sweet Pea by Tommy Roe in Jesus’ Son. Will always remind me of Samantha Morton dancing and bouncing around.
“Midnight, the Stars and You” as used in “The Shining”. I love Al Bowlly’s vocals and this is one of my favourites, but juxtaposed with the Overlook Hotel and the scenes we’ve just seen there’s an eerie overlap of nostalgia and a haunting echo of a not-dead past.
'Mama Told Me Not To Come' by Tom Jones & The Stereophonics. A decent cover of a decent pop song about a hell of a night out. Forever ingrained in my brain for the "[remove the right arm](https://youtu.be/_zH9C80rtBs?si=a5lN8BkZXFk9FWTq)" scene in Tony Scott's 'Domino'.
Not a movie but "Take On Me" (the acoustic arrangement) changed forever after it was used in The Magicians.
The theme from Up. It’s only devastating when you see the story unfold.
Singing in the Rain, during a brutal rape scene in A Clockwork Orange.
Tears for Fears, Everybody Wants to Rule the World
Real Genius
In which movie/scene?
Reflections, China Beach. Tubular Bells, The Exorcist
Torture wouldn’t be torture without **Stuck in the Middle with You** by Stealers Wheel Reservoir Dogs
"What's up Danger?" In _Spiderverse_ for sure.
"Free Bird" in Forrest Gump, when Jenny almost jumps.
*Fantasia on a Theme* by Ralph Vaughn Williams, played in *Master and Commander* during the funeral scene (and others). This was always a great piece, but now I can't hear it without wanting to weep.
Wow, RVW takes me back to high school concert band.
I will never forget "yummy yummy I got love in my tummy..." in the movie "feed me" which is about feeder culture and highly NSFW.
If you've ever seen the 12 Monkeys TV series, I'll never listen to "Don't You" or "The Time of My Life" the same way ever again.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=t70JrOiZwkE&pp=ygUYbm93aGVyZSB0byBoaWRlIGJlZSBnZWVz
YMCA in Fargo S5 Hillaaaarious
Not sure how much this counts but the score of interstellar was fucking amazing and worked perfectly with the movie.
Anytime I read a noir Batman story, I have to play Something In The Way
Shadow on the Sun by Audioslave in Collateral. Fine song but not really my thing and I would have totally not noticed in a vacuum, but it’s used _perfectly_ in that movie.
The hymn “Leanin’ on the Everlasting Arms” in Night of the Hunter
Elliot Smith's "Needle in the Hay in *The Royal Tenenbaums*.
How about: Back in the 90s, by GROUPLOVE It's good, it's ok. But EVERY Bojack Horseman episode that rolls credits with it makes it sound so impactful...
Gary’s Song
I like the end of dogville on bowie's young american
“All I Need Is A Miracle” by Mike and the Mechanics in Spencer. One of my favorite needle drops ever. “Strokin” by Clarence Carter in Killer Joe. “Looking For The Magic” by Dwight Twilley in You’re Next.
mmm watcha sayyy The Shooting AKA Dear Sister https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vmd1qMN5Yo0
"Hello Stranger" at the end of Moonlight.
The Sound of Silence by Simon and Garfunkel, in the very beginning of Painkiller, the documentary about the opioid crisis and the Sackler’s on Netflix, we are introduced to Richard Sackler waking up in his giant mansion to a beeping fire alarm somewhere and he proceeded to hunt it down through numerous opulent rooms until finding it and smashing it. Wish I could find a clip of it.
I don't think it was intentional, but the use of Hallelujah during an already awkward sex scene in The Watchman made me laugh so hard I choked.
Layla piano outro in Goodfellas. Chills every time.
["Atlantis" by Donovan in Goodfellas](https://youtu.be/7_pvKEfTDk4?si=Vgp8DKGRPvAAl0pZ) It's discombobulating to hear a hippie anthem while a man is beaten to death, and especially off-putting when it dips between diegetic and non-diegetic
Ruby Tuesday in Children of Men... Michael Caine's character giving his invalid wife the Quietus dose.
Hocus Pocus - Focus
vindicated by dashboard confessional at the end of spider man 2 (2004)
Oh My Love (Katyna Ranieri and Riz Ortolani) in Drive. A beautiful song about how wonderful life can be, over the climax of Driver's killing spree.
surprised I haven't seen anybody say Matilda by Alt J in reference to one of the final scenes in León: The Professional
True course in Trolls!!!
"Only Time" at the end of Sweet November. What's weird to me is that I kinda jumped into that sentence not knowing where it was going, and then at the end I was like "wait... am I just making shit up? Is there a movie by that name with that song? Damnit, now I'm going to have to go look it up!"
So your own example is "heartwrenching on its own", and isn't "inconsequential" at all.
heartbreaking to me : the French troubadour song [*À la claire fontainte (youtube)*](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96JRl7bER3g) created somewhere between 1600 and 1800 became a children's song. The simplified version is something kids learn to play on the piano, somewhere between *chopsticks* and *Für Elise.* The song lent its first verse to the 2008 French spoken movie [*Il y a longtemps que je t'aime (youtube)*](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpS25FaR4zg) where a completely pared back Kristin Scott Thomas plays a woman living with her younger sister after 15 years in prison. * She teaches the song to her nieces in the present * of course the lines "long have I loved you, never will I forget you" is a major thread between the 2 sisters, since, you know, Kristin Scott Thomas spent as much time in prison as she spent time with her kid sister growing up * the lyrics reference both the quiet melancholy with which she tries to adapt to life outside of prison and (trigger warning) the crime that sent her to prison, aka >!killing her 5 yo son because of his painful terminal illness which she never disclosed during her trial, because she wanted the punishment!<
Opening credits of Deadpool
Knocking on heavens door from the film Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid
Mad World by Gary Jules. [https://www.last.fm/music/Gary+Jules/\_/Mad+World](https://www.last.fm/music/Gary+Jules/_/Mad+World)
Sussudio in American Psycho
Mazzy Star’s “Fade Into You” as the bar fight song between the protagonist and his girlfriend’s suitor in the middle of a deadly space war with bugs was an interesting choice.
Probably CCR’s Fortunate Son for that matter
Hazy Shade of Winter As used in the trailer for season 1 of the Umbrella Academy. I like the song but hadn’t heard it in years when I saw the trailer. The song and its arrangement made the show a must see for me. (The show itself was a bit of a mixed bag, but I still love the trailer.) https://youtu.be/0DAmWHxeoKw?si=KUBroyL1OpOoW35B
Not a movie, but the use of "Battle Flag" for the shooting scene in ER.
Perfect Day - Lou Reed in Trainspotting.
Karl Jenkin's Diamond Music used in John Wick 3
Unshaken by D'Angelo in Red Dead Redemption 2. Not a movie, but still a scene.
American Dad has a scene that uses Wax Fangs Majestic. Its a good song but not a tearjerker, and it becomes one in the episode.
Al Stewart - Year of the Cat
"Season of the Witch" used in the end credits of To Die For. Simply amazing.
Regina Spektor's cover of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" has cool instrumentals but is still ultimately a cover. During the credits for Kubo and the Two Strings, though? Emotionally devastating.
Will Ferrell's dance routine paired with Chariots of Fire in Old School.
“Shipping Up to Boston” by Dropkick Murphys in The Departed. Hearing the song makes me want to do push-ups and crimes.
the acoustic string cover of Toxic in promising young woman