My top 21 favorite use of song in film list (#10 - 1)

10. "Hurdy Gurdy Man," Donovan, Zodiac [2007].

I couldn't find the ending scene on youtube, but you'll just have to trust me. It sends chills down my spine every time. Because of this song, this ending scene successfully makes me feel something a lot of movies struggle and try too hard to achieve, it scares me.

9. "Across 110th Street," Bobby Womack, Jackie Brown [1997].

It's so hard to narrow it down to one song from this film, doing so means I'd have to leave out The Delfonics' "Didn't I Blow Your Mind This Time," or "Strawberry Letter 23" by Brothers Johnson while Ordell Robbie is preparing to shoot Beaumont Livingston in the face. I decided to go with "Across 110th Street." The song is used both in the beginning and the ending, both effective. It's one of the most triumphant endings I've ever seen because of this song. I love the subtlety of Pamela Grier singing to herself in her car. It's a very personal moment and one of the best moments of victory I've ever seen in a movie.

8. "Save Me," Aimee Mann, Magnolia [1999].

The moment Melora Walters looks at us and smiles is enough to make this coal-hearted man weep. It's so fucking beautiful. Of course, to get the full effect of how powerful this scene is, you'd have to watch all three glorious hours of this film.

 7. "Head Over Heels," Tears For Fears, Donnie Darko [2001].

I had to update the list to 21 spots because I almost forgot about Donnie Darko. Like Tarantino or Guy Ritchie, Richard Kelly knows what songs he wants to use in a scene as he's writing it. I don't think I can exclude "Mad World" by Gary Jules either, so here's this scene...

6. "Stuck In The Middle With You," Stealers Wheel, Reservoir Dogs [1992].

Yeah, you knew this would happen. No one executes the use of songs in film better than Quentin Tarantino. This is one of the most iconic scenes in modern cinema. For a director like Tarantino, who rarely ever has "subtle" attached to his name, he pans away from the actual ear decapitation and makes the scene all the more effective for it.

5. "Sister Christian (Night Ranger)," "Jessie's Girl (Rick Springfield), "99 Red Balloons (Nena)," Boogie Nights [1997].

Aside from Goodfellas, I don't think a movie has captured the mania of coke-binging as well as Boogie Nights has. In arguably the best scene in the whole movie, these three songs perfectly highlight the mood shifts in this scene. It's strange, funny, and scary all at once. And that look cold-blank stare Mark Wahlberg gives as he's realizing the gravity of the situation he's in is phenomenal.

4. "Where Is My Mind?," Pixies, Fight Club [1999].

This could easily fit in my number one spot, if the choices below weren't so great. I don't care how many times I've seen this movie (though, it's been awhile), I still get goosebumps every time. It's one of those moments where my eyes well up, not because the ending is so powerful, but because it's a perfect moment in art. Even if the film wasn't great, I'd still respond to this scene very passionately.

3. Goodfellas [1990]. 

 Martin Scorsese has always had a great ear for music in his films, but none more than Goodfellas. I can't limit it to one song, so I'm choosing three because they're all equally great. Ones I left out that could easily be on this list, "Rags To Riches" by Tony Bennet, Derek And The Dominos' "Layla", or even "My Way" by Sid Vicious. These three songs are all flawlessly executed within the imagery and heighten the moments in the story.

a. "Then He Kissed Me," The Crystals.

b. "Atlantis", Donovan.

c. "Jump Into The Fire", Harry Nilsson.

2. Pulp Fiction [1994]. Much like Goodfellas, I can't narrow it down to one song from this film. Pulp Fiction has the greatest film soundtrack of all time, and every last song is used so effectively that gives every song new meaning. Every song from this film is now iconic because of how Tarantino uses it.

a. "Misirlou", Dick Dale & The Del Tones. I don't think anyone who's watched this film can forget that exact moment they hear this song used in the film. It perfectly captures the mood of the entire film. I didn't even mention the use of "Son Of A Preacher Man" by Dusty Springfield or The Revels' "Comanche."

b. "Girl, You'll Be A Woman Soon", Urge Overkill.

c. "Surf Rider", The Lively Ones. The best closing song in the history of film.

1. "In Dreams," Roy Orbison, Blue Velvet [1986]

I don't even know what to write for this, it's so damn perfect. This is the moment in the film when you start to believe anything can happen, and most importantly you fear what will happen next. Dean Stockwell's role, though sparse, is one of my favorite characters in film and he executes this perfectly as one, suave fucker would. This is a top three favorite scene in film and Roy Orbison's song is one of the reasons why.





Because I limited myself to only actual songs and nothing from original scores, I had to leave out some truly great stuff. I might construct a list like that sometime down the line, but I wanted to post at least one now. This is my absolute favorite moment when a film's scene is perfectly accompanied by its original score.

"Money Train," Nick Cave & Warren Ellis, The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford [2007].

This is the most gorgeously shot moment I've ever seen in a film. You could know nothing about the film and enjoy this purely as visual art. The film's score is one of my top five favorite scores ever, Nick Cave and Warren Ellis are masters. You should probably just watch this.