My top 21 favorite use of song in film (#21 - 11)

Using songs in a film is an art, and surprisingly very few filmmakers do it well. Using a song in scene is supposed add to the scene, whether it's to juxtapose what's happening on the screen or to add another layer of what the scene is trying to convey. So here's a list of the best uses of song in film! I've made these choices  because every one of these scenes has burrowed themselves into my subconscious and are now defined by the song used in them. If you can't think of a particular scene in a movie without the track used in the moment, then you know it was effective. I'm leaving out original scores, but I'll proably just construct a list of those too sometime down the line...

21. "Blue Velvet," Sam Cooke, An American Werewolf In London [1981].

One of the best uses of soundtrack dissonances I've ever seen.

20. "Angel," Massive Attack, Snatch [2000].

19. "East Hastings," Godspeed You! Black Emperor, 28 Days Later [2002].

I couldn't find the scene, but it's used in the scene when Jim is wandering around the vacant streets of London and discovering the hopeless situation he's in. Danny Boyle is always great when it comes to using music, but this is my favorite.


18.  "Hip To Be Square," Huey Lewis And The News, American Psycho [2000].

If it weren't for Reservoir Dogs, this would probably be my favorite use of soundtrack dissonance. Christian Bale nails this scene. Also, Phil Collin's "Sussudio" is used rather well in the film too.

17. "A Waltz For A Night," Julie Delpy, Before Sunset [2004].

16. "Tiny Dancer," Elton John, Almost Famous [2000].

15. "Cat People (Putting Out Fire)," David Bowie, Inglourious Basterds [2009].

This is one of my favorite montages and David Bowie's song perfectly sets up the carnage that's in store. Also, this is the first of my heavily-saturated use of Quentin Tarantino's masterful talent of using song in film. But I'm pretty sure that was going to be obvious.

14. "Goodbye Horses," Q Lazzarus, The Silence Of The Lambs [1991].

13. "Nightcall," Kavinsky, Drive [2011].

12. "The End," The Doors, Apocalypse Now [1979].

That is fucking incredible, and that's how the movie starts. This song is now synonymous with the film and I can't imagine the two apart.

11. "In Heaven (Lady In The Radiator song)," David Lynch & Peter Ivers, Eraserhead [1977].