Comments on: Top 15 Songs Redefined by their Films, Part I

By: Bobby

Bobby — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 02:59:40 +0000

house of the rising sun – "the animals" in CASINO

By: T-Bag

T-Bag — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 23:45:41 +0000

"In a Gadda Da Vita" from Manhunter is one of the great soundtrack moments, period, and changes that song from a cheesy 70s Cream ripoff to a brooding masterpiece.

Also, many moments from Wes Anderson movies could be on this list.

By: Brian

Brian — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 22:57:20 +0000

If Pee-Wee’s "Tequila" dance makes the list (and I think it should) John Hughes should be remembered for these classic additions:

"Twist and Shout" by the Beatles – how can you NOT think Ferris Bueller?
"Back in Baby’s Arms" by Patsy Cline – I’ll always thnk of those two pillows from "Planes, Trains and Automobiles"

By: Jarvis

Jarvis — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 22:20:09 +0000

Richard Strauss’ Also Sprach Zarathustra from 2001: A Space Odyssey

By: fairportfan

fairportfan — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 20:36:30 +0000

Matt Jones:

I must respectfully disagree with your dad, who you quote as complaining about "Layla":

"…he says it’s because they had a perfect rock song and they made a dumb move by having that song end on such a long, slow note. "

It’s the piano (and the rest of the take-out) that makes what would otherwise have been a semi-decent Brit blooze-rocker about wanting to shag your best friend’s wife a classic.

By: Alex

Alex — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 19:54:36 +0000

I really think you did a great job with most of your list. I think a couple of your choices could be replaced by others but overall it was a really good list. The one song that ALWAYS comes to mind when this discussion comes up is Richard Wagner’s Flight of the Valkyries from Apocalypse Now. Not only do I immediately look for helicopters but the song is also the one with the largest time gap between its composition and the use in the movie. So not only would it be the #1 on my list but I also think it would fit your premise the best. Nice work.

By: Turtle

Turtle — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 16:59:41 +0000

I think the original example of this must be "As Time Goes By" in Casablanca. It was written for a musical in 1931, but was never that popular until it appeared in the film.

By: Matt

Matt — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 16:32:32 +0000

How is goodbye horses not on this list? That is the most famous scene from Silence of the lambs, and that song is now synonymous in my mind with manginas.

By: thanksgiving links

thanksgiving links — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 15:29:40 +0000

[...] PopRox fans know my affinity for movie music, so a list like the 15 songs redefined by the movies they’re used in is right in my wheelhouse. It’s a pretty good list, but they’re definitely missing [...]

By: Joe Shearer

Joe Shearer — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 15:27:38 +0000

MCA, this is actually from the Wikipedia entry about "Wise Up" (yes, hardly the definitive word, but it’s evidence nonetheless):

Many of the songs feature prominently within the film, with "Wise Up" even being sung by the cast at one point, but only two of the songs were written expressly for the film, those being "You Do" and "Save Me."

You are right about Fight the Power in that it was first released, but it did pop up in different forms later. Maybe it’s my larger premise that I need to tweak. My point is that you can’t listen to these songs without thinking of the movies they were in. Most of them were given new life, and some were mostly remembered from the movies they were in (like the two you mentioned).