Finally the list that has been in my head for a while;
Movies with killer music, now this list I know will be controversial, because I
will tell you right away I left off Pulp Fiction. The thing for me was, I had
to come up with my list, soundtracks that I loved and gravitated to. So these
are the movies that I love, for multiple reasons but the main reason being the
music. Please note I do not describe the movies so if you want to know what the
actual movie is about, go look it up, don’t rely on me for everything I
decided to not include any movies that could have been on any of the other
lists, so no movies about bands or musicals. A lot of these movies are about
life, musical personalities and time periods. So hey let’s just jump right into
this shit.
10. Juno
Very cliché’ I know.
Every late 80’s/early 90’s born hipster- kid loves this movie and thinks
that Kimya Dawson is a Goddess. Well, I
am not down with that, I think some of her music is good, and of course all the
good stuff made the movie. Realistically
Ellen Page and Michael Cera make the song Anyone else but you more likable and
better than the original. The real
reason why this movie cracked my top ten is the fact that it included Belle and
Sebastian, Buddy Holly, Cat Power, The Velvet Underground, and most
importantly, the way Sonic Youth’s cover of Superstar got a bit of a promotion
from Michael Bluth. Any scene that he was in really made for good music and
conversation. So I like
the movie for what it is, but the soundtrack makes it that much more
watchable. Funny side note, when Woman
of the House and I started dating I tried to buy this movie for her but could
not find it anywhere. Coincidentally I ended up buying her a different movie
that is on this list. (I have bought it for her now in case you are wondering)
9. Beetlejuice
Yep, that’s right Beetlejuice! Why? This movie introduced me
to the beautiful sounds of Harry Belafonte. Not only that, but because of this
movie I indirectly discovered Oingo Boingo.
When you watch this movie, the music doesn’t really stick out, but the
soundtrack had that beautiful Danny Elfman touch to it. It wasn’t the first
movie that Elfman did, but the first one where I remembered it and heard those
sort of tones that now you only get from him. (Say what you want about John
Williams but I want the soundtrack of my life to be scored by Danny
Elfman.) But the real beauty of this
movie was the 4 just 4 Harry Belafonte songs that were in the movie, it feels
like more but I promise you. Everyone knows Day-O (The Banana Boat Song) and Jump
in the Line (Shake, Senora) but the movie also included Man Smart, Woman
Smarter and Sweetheart From Venezuela. I think that without those little
glimpses of Belafonte the movie would have been a little darker, but man when
you hear calypso you can’t help but get up and dance.
8. Wayne’s World
Ok, before you go hurling on me and saying that it should be
in the top five, name a song from the movie other than Bohemian Rhapsody. I am
sure some of you got that one, but there are others I am sure who are
scratching their heads. So the movie
also had Dream Weaver in it, and Ballroom Blitz(not the original but not
horrible) Also, honest to god, this was the movie that introduced me to Jimi
Hendrix, Now I had heard his songs before and definitely knew that I couldn’t
be a music fan if I didn’t like him, but Wayne Campbell made Foxy Lady a kick
ass song. I mean for christ’s sake I was
only 10. Also the movie had a great Alice Cooper moment in it, not just the
music, but come on, the history lesson that he gives Wayne and Garth backstage
is classic. But now that we have covered that; Bohemian Rhapsody- that is
exactly where it was at. I mean the movie and soundtrack put Queen in the
number 2 spot on the charts, for a song that was 17 years old at that point,
that is pretty damn impressive. And the video they did for it was killer too. I
wanted a Pacer forever. Plus the licorice dispenser. But seriously good music
in the movie, Schwing!
7. Forest Gump
Well, this one had to be on the list, I mean really, how
could it not be? There was music in this
movie that spanned across 3 decades and featured some great classic rock, country,
soul and pop. I think this movie turned
me onto a lot of things, definitely Running on Empty sticks out. There was a
lot of the Doors in this movie too, I don’t know if it was the first time I had
heard the Doors but I will tell you for sure that it is the first time I really
listened. Not only that but Elvis is in
the movie, having learned to dance from Forest and apparently Forest Gump
helped write Imagine. (I know sacrilegious, but it was in the movie that way,
sorry.). Also weird is that even though
Lennon appears in the movie there is no John Lennon or Beatles tune in the
flick. The movie worked so well musically because it followed a timeline, so you
are able to cut pieces back and forth through time. The other thing was the
difference between Forest and Jenny’s lifestyle. The soundtrack could almost be
broken in two with a disc for each one of them. Hell I am sure Lt. Dan could
have his own playlist, but Not Bubba. The music in the movie is just really
good what can I say, CCR, Buffalo Springfield, hell even the 5th
Dimension makes an appearance. Go watch
the movie again and just listen. Good shit. I promise you
6. Just Go With It
So this is a newer one, and this is the movie that I got for
Woman of the House when I couldn’t find Juno. Ok, so most people will probably
think this is crazy, the movie was a critical failure and the movie was
lambasted by the press but, I like it. I also like Funny People and Punch Drunk
Love, so apparently I am the reason Adam Sandler keeps making supposedly bad
movies. But enough on that, this is about the music. Ok first off, this
soundtrack is heavy as hell on classic Police tracks, shit man, So Lonely and
Canary in a Coalmine make appearances, but the real heavy hitters in this movie
are the Mash ups. Tenderness (from Weird Science or Clueless depending on your
generation) mixed with Umbrella by Rhianna. Chasing Cars mixed with Every
Breath You Take. Oh and of course Tainted Love mashed under Is This Love by Bob
Marley, come on that is so fucking awesome. There are others and sometimes you
don’t realize it until it smashes you in some weird remix. Oh also, Dave
Matthews is in the movie, and I don’t know if he is still relevant, but he is
there. So go ahead hate the overly predictable plot, or the un funny moments
but enjoy the music
5. Good Morning Vietnam
Another period movie, yeah and a good one at that. I mean you get transported back to 1965 and
you get thrown into the clutches of war, you need good music to make you feel
better. So this movie has it all. The
Beach Boys, James Brown, Martha and the Vandellas, and of course Louis
Armstrong. Look, I will give you that the Hawaiian dude’s version of What A
Wonderful World is good (yes I know his name but don’t know how to spell it,
too many vowels) but Louis Armstrong’s voice and slower version in this movie
is timed precisely when you are looking at war footage. The imagery to the song
is so ironically beautifully, Armstrong says skies of blue and clouds of white,
and you see a bomb explode. That shit will get at your heart every time. Apparently the song was so hot after the movie
came out that it went back on the charts. Another impressive fact. Hey and if
you don’t trust me, how about the fact that Eminem used Game of Love from which
appears in this film by Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders as the backdrop for
his new song Love Game. Yeah!
4. High Fidelity
A great movie with an incredible cast and soundtrack. A beautifully put together movie with a great
cast. And I don’t care who you are, Denise Huxtable’s version of Baby I love
Your Way is a masterpiece. Her Marriage with Lenny Kravitz must have done
something. Of course you can’t mention High Fidelity without talking about
Barry Jive and The Uptown Five or is it Kathleen Turner Overdrive by now? (One
thing is for sure, they are not Sonic Death Monkey anymore) Ok so I hope I didn’t lose you on that tangent.
The music in the movie is incredible, in fact there are supposedly over 50 or
60 songs in the movie, which makes sense, but they were all picked by some
screenwriters including John Cusack himself. That my friends is why the movie is so good I
mean, they work in a record store, so there always has to be music on. And they
went through and picked out every song. Fucking incredible. Plus, they have some of the greatest musical
conversations in the world. A bunch of music snobs talking good music making
top ten lists and the music of The Velvet Underground, Queen, Joan Jett , Elvis
Costello, Elton John, Belle and Sebastian , oh and to top it off Katrina and
the Waves. That is where I really fell in love with Walking on Sunshine. Odd
enough it is. So quick Top 5 side Ones Track Ones?
3. Footloose
Ok, of course one of the 80’s dancing movies would be on
this list. And let me quickly state, Dirty Dancing is not on this list because of serious personal reasons. That’s my thing. Same with
Flashdance. So Footloose did make the list, maybe it’s
an emotional connection to the movie, but hell I still know every single word
to Let’s Hear it For the Boy! Footloose is the first album in my triple threat
club, what that means is I own it on record, cassette, and CD. I don’t count digital as a format and if
anyone can get me a copy of it on 8 track that would be sweet. Yes I know they
remade it, No I have not seen it yet, I don’t know if I ever will. (I have
heard Blake Shelton’s Footloose, and I kinda like it) But let’s get to the
music, Kenny Loggins, He wrote all the movie hits of course he sings a few
great songs on Footloose, Bonnie Tyler’s Holding out For a Hero, that song still
gets me pumped out and I listen to it when I am riding my dad’s riding
lawnmower. Almost Paradise by Mike Reno
and Ann Wilson, I don’t think I dj’d too many weddings where I didn’t sneak
that in as a slow song. And usually came out of it with the song Footloose. How
about when everyone suddenly learns to dance when Dancing in the Sheets comes
on? Hang the fuck on, the angry dance seen to Never by Moving Pictures. I mean
that scene alone has been recreated in so many ways. I think this movie taught me how to dance,
taught me to love music, I think this is the movie that started it all and the
songs that got me interested in music. So what else can I say, I don’t care if
its 80’s crap or whatever you think about it. It came out when I was 2 and
somehow I had access to it for my whole life so far.
2. Loser
This movie is probably not one that you have seen too much
of, or maybe even heard of. But it stars the American Pie dude, and the chick
from American Beauty. I will be totally honest, I saw this movie in the
theatres, and it was simply because of the music. Ok this was just some great late 90’s early
2000’s stuff. Most of all Everclear was in the movie! The soundtrack though,
that featured Foo Fighters, The Cure, a couple of Bloodhound Gang songs, even
that She’s So High song by Tal Bachman. But the 2 real reasons I loved it, Right Now by SR-71 The song never even cracked the top 100 but I
promise you it is a grand song, it
rocked and rolled up there with the best in the pop punk world, but they just
never really caught on. The other song that kicked my ass was Teenage Dirtbag
by Wheatus. (I heard 1 direction does this song now and I hate them for that)
The song is killer, It was the video for the song that made me want to see the
movie.( and have a weird crush on Mena Suvari for most of my life) I mean again, Wheatus never really amounted to
much; but in England I guess they were pretty huge. Brandon, their singer has an unmistakable
voice and they are not a bad band. So yeah check them. Most importantly check out the flick, It’s
not as bad as you think.
1. Angus
Where do I begin, I love this movie and absolutely love it.
Does it have to do with the fact that I hung out with Charlie Talbert, kind of,
but more importantly, the music. Now first of all, I know you have probably not
heard of this movie or seen it and that is totally fine with me well no, go
find it any way you can. It was released on vhs in 1996 but after its fans (including
yours truly) signed as many petitions as possible it finally came to DVD in 2009.
Also, it introduced the world to James Van Der Beek. Ok so with the music; it features Mazzy Star’s
Fade into You. Also the movie features obscure bands like Love Spit Love, Goo
Goo Dolls, and Dance Hall Crashers, plus hey; this little band known as weezer.
Now I had already been in love with weezer, but at this point it was so cool to
hear a great song by them. They wrote a different one for the movie, so if you
have time, find the one the producers didn’t use. It’s called Wanda. Also Green Day plays an important part in the
movie, as there is a contest involving their songs. So there is some great
Green Day action in there as well. Finally of course, this is the movie that
introduced me to the smoking popes. A love story between great music and me
that still goes on. Something about the Popes just kept on pursuing me after
this. So I mean this movie just totally
has the 90’s alternative feeling to it, the sound that moved me and tons of
other kids like me. It was a moment to really get into cool music. So seriously
check it out, you really should. Please
So that is my list, the movies that really shaped my musical
world; the way that I managed to get turned onto so many other artists and
songs. I hope you enjoyed it, I hope that you enjoyed a bit of the controversy
that some of my choices may have caused. I did my best to be subjective in my
list but in the end as I always say- It’s mine!
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