Music can make or break a movie. From the original score to the selection of pre-existing songs, finding the right music for the right moment can be absolutely crucial to establishing the mood and feel of a scene, and even an entire film. Find the right song, find a classic moment…the wrong song, and you have people in the audience laughing at you. It is a very delicate thing. So, I’ve been watching a lot of movies lately…I’ve had some free time for the first time in a while…and I started thinking about songs I love. More specifically, songs I love in movies. So, I decided to make a little list here of my favorite moments. Note that I said songs. This is not a look at film scores, but songs that were either written specifically for a film, or songs that just belong to the moments they share in a film. There is nothing too old here, mainly the last 10-15 years…but these are merely my personal favorites. Feel free to let me know yours.
12) Still–Ghetto Boys…From the film Office Space
You know the film, you know the moment. Mike Judge is, in fact, a comedic genius. From Beavis and Butthead, to King Of The Hill, to this…his first feature film, no funny man around has made so many laugh on such a consistent basis. This particular scene is the crowning jewel to one of the funniest movies of the 1990′s. When Peter and Co. open the trunk to the car and the copy machine that has antagonized them throughout the film is revealed, the hard beats from this Ghetto Boys classic starts bumping, and you know what is about to happen. The violent scene that follows is absolute comic gold. Never has revenge against an inanimate object been so poignant, brutal, and absolutely hysterical.
11) Come What May–Nicole Kidman and Ewan Mcgregor…from the film Moulin Rouge
Oddly, though I love music in films, I really do not like musical films. But I f—ing love Moulin Rouge. Can’t explain it. Something about this film just gets me in all the right places. It twists and turns and tortures and pleases and never settles for an easy moment. By the time the play takes place in the end, and this song finally happens…it is pure ecstasy. Funny thing is, this song was not even written for this film. Baz Luhrman actually wrote it for his re-imagining of Romeo + Juliet, but didn’t use it for that film. Good thing, cause he found the perfect song to end his opus.
10) Moonlight Mile–The Rolling Stones…from the film Moonlight Mile
Despite the fact that it stars Dustin Hoffman, Susan Sarandon, Jake Gyllenhall, and Ellen Pompeo, I find that not many people have seen this move. Or even heard of it. Which is a real shame. The story of the aftermath of the death of a young man’s fiancee is a wonderful little film with a lot of heart. And a kick-ass soundtrack to boot. The center-peice of which is this song. Perfect moments are rare. This one is very close. Sad boy ends up at bar, plays a song on a jukebox. Girl emerges from bathroom, randomly begins dancing with boy. The rest, as they say, is history. This moment ends with the perfect line as well. Boy: What’s happening?
Girl: You played my song.
9) Doola and Dawla–The Bang-Bang…from the film Brothers Of The Head
This is another one that not many of you have seen. So, I will say this. GO RENT THIS MOVIE IMMEDIATELY!!! The story of siamese twins who start a punk band in early 1970′s England is an absolute joy to watch. And the music, all original songs played by the actors in the film, is brilliant. Pure punk joy. When the brothers play the first notes of this song, the rules in the story…and the film itself, completely change. The lyrics are spot-on, the music itself is great, and when you finally find out what the song is really about, you may find yourself genuinely moved.
Inside of You–performed by Russell Brand…from the film Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Russell Brand’s performance as Aldous Snow is one of my favorite comedic performances of the last decade. He does not have a false moment in this film, and is completely on fire in this scene. Sexy, raunchy, silly, ridiculous…but totally serious. It’s quite a moment, and he owns it. With music and lyrics by writer/star Jason Segel, this is one of those moments that makes you laugh even on the 10th viewing. And I dare you not to laught at scene stealer Jonah Hill here. What more can you say? Look for Brand to reprise the character of Aldous Snow in next year’s quasi-sequel Get Him To The Greek.
7) All These Vicious Dogs–Will Oldham…from the film All The Real Girls
If you haven’t seen this film, shame on you. David Gordon Green’s second film is a near perfect meditation on love, the choices we make, and growing up. This is the opening music for the film, and it sets the perfect tone. It starts over a black screen, then slowly fades into a shot of a young man and woman…and plays over what may be my all time favorite opening to a film. It’s a lovely, haunting song that will stay with you for days after you’ve seen the movie. The opening chords of this song just play and play and play.
6) You’re Gonna Miss Me, Baby–Thirteenth Floor Elevators…from the film High Fidelity
“Which came first? The music, or the misery?” That is the question. This movie almost single-handedly restored my faith in music. John Cusack delivers a flawless performance as Rob Gordon, a hapless, almost directionless music snob recounting the great loves of his life as he tries to get his life in order. His life is a mess because his girlfriend has just let him, and this is the scene that opens the film. You can guess by the title why this is the perfect song for the moment. And it is a bad ass song too.
5) Just In Time–Nina Simone…from the film Before Sunset
On the topic of great beginnings…how about a perfect ending? Seven years after making the seminal “walking and talking movie” Before Sunrise, Richard Linklater, Ethan Hawke, and Julie Delpy got together again to revisit their characters Jesse and Celine. The first film was a meandering tale of two young people walking all night through Vienna and falling in love. This film is far more immediate. The stakes are much higher, time is much shorter, and the connection more intense. Again they walk, again they talk, again they fall. I really had no idea where this movie was going to end. Then, this song is played…Julie Delpy begins to dance and tell the story of seeing Nina Simone live…and I knew. “Baby…you are gonna miss that flight.” Indeed.
4) Didn’t I Blow Your Mind This Time?–The Delfonics…from the film Jackie Brown
As far as perfect moments go, this is one of them. This song plays over two scenes in this film, and it is the second one that makes it for me. The story is very complicated, so I won’t waste time setting up the scene. Just that two men are on their way to a fateful destination. The two men are Robert Forster as a bail bondsmen and Samuel L. Jackson as a low-life gun smuggler. They sit quietly in a car, on their way to the destination. It is a quiet drive. Then Jackson’s character pushes a tape into the cassette player. This song plays. The men share a moment of content as the music plays. Jackson’s character speaks. “I didn’t know you like The Delfonics.”
Forster responds, “They’re pretty good.”
And that’s the scene. I have no idea why this scene gets to me the way it does…but I love it. I imagine many of you will be asking how I could use this over Girl, You’ll Be a Woman Soon, or Stuck In The Middle With You…both of which are iconic movie/music moments. They are not, however, my favorite.
3) Poor Old Grandad–Faces…from the film Rushmore
Ah, Max Fischer. You are the great character I dream of writing one day. And this film is peppered with great musical moments. None more powerful than the last. Wes Anderson has, at times, been an exceptional filmmaker. At times, a bit self-indulgent. When he is on, there are few better. In this film, his second feature, he was on. Start to finish, there is not a false moment…and it all culminates into this last scene where everyone from the film reappears to have a dance to this song. I don’t know if it is the image, or super slo-mo, or the colorful characters that pepper the scene that make the moment. I don’t think that any of those things hold up on their. Not without this song. It is the glue in a perfect final shot. And I simply cannot imagine another song taking its place.
2) Save Me–Aimee Mann…from the film Magnolia
Magnolia is my all-time favorite film. Hands down. A film with great vision. A perfect blend of style, grandeur, and soul. Much of the soul for this film is anchored in the music of Aimee Mann, whose songs inspired director Paul Thomas Anderson to write this script. Luckily, she was a friend, and Anderson persuaded her to lend many songs to the soundtrack…and a perfect soundtrack was married to a perfect film. The closing scene, and it takes a lot to get there, is nothing but a slow push in on the angelic face of Melora Walters…whose character may be the most beautiful/damaged of a group of beautiful/damaged people. The lower body of a man stands before her as she lays in bed. He speaks, but we do not understand his words. Her expressions change throughout as the man speaks and this song plays. In the final moment of the film…she smiles. I suppose you have to see it to truly feel it. But it is the single most rewarding ending to a movie I have ever seen. A moment of pure cinematic joy…and the perfect song to sell it. Wait…why is this song number two?
1) Tiny Dancer–Elton John…from the film Almost Famous
Here’s why. Essentially, this entire film is an ode to music and moments.. Seems sort of a cheat to pick one song from this film, but nobody can deny the power of this scene. If you haven’t seen the film, I won’t ruin the moment. I will say, “WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?! GO RENT THIS MOVIE.” But if you have seen the film, you have likely seen this scene many, many times. I’ve watched this movie at least a dozen times (5 times in the theater) and this scene gives me chills every single time. It’s a scene about friendship, forgiveness, finding yourself and your place, and above all it is about the healing power of song. A perfect marriage of music and moment. And that’s what it’s all about. Cameron Crowe is a filmmaker that understands the power of songs. He is also the guy behind that scene in Say Anything, which is not on this list because it is just too perfect and a little to easy. He has put together some of the great soundtracks in film history, though he did criminally misuse not one, but two great Ryan Adams songs in Elizabethtown. This is a guy that gets it.
There you have it. I know I will spend the next week or so thinking about all the songs and moments I forgot, I may even post an addendum at some point…but, for now, this is my list and I am sticking to it. Enjoy it, Monkeywhalers!
