# Songs perfectly matched to a movie scene **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 14, 2006, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-perfectly-matched-to-a-movie-scene/380393 "2006-11-14T16:21:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Menocchio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de053/32.png) [@Menocchio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Menocchio)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2006, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-perfectly-matched-to-a-movie-scene/380393/21 "2006-11-14T20:40:56Z")
Beetle in the Hay, Happiness, and Ruby Tuesday in The Royal Tennenbaums. It’s ambient music, but the Portuguese version of Space Oddity as the pirates approach in The Life Aquatic. Also the tinny synthesized Zissou theme becoming orchestral as the team springs into action. The opening to “Don’t Let me be Misunderstood” as The Bride and O-Ren square off in the snow in “Kill Bill”. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2006, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-perfectly-matched-to-a-movie-scene/380393/22 "2006-11-14T20:49:31Z")
Excellent thread. I could go on for hours here, but I’ll try to think of my favorites: David Lynch’s _Lost Highway:_ _This Magic Moment,_ sung by Lou Reed, playing in the scene where Alice walks into the mechanic’s garage and Pete sees her for the first time. From TV series: _The Shield:_ _Disarm_ by the Smashing Pumpkins, playing over the final few minutes of the second-to-last episode of the 5th season. Lem has been arrested, the Strike Team is in dissaray, and for the first time we really see Vic Mackey without his confidence and him and his partners as scared, desperate men in over their heads. _The Sopranos:_ _Thru and Thru_ by the Rolling Stones, over the last few minutes of the final episode of Season 2. All the characters are shown in a montage doing various mundane things after having murdered their traitorous best friend. ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2006, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-perfectly-matched-to-a-movie-scene/380393/23 "2006-11-14T20:57:32Z")
Joseph Arthur’s _In the Sun_ in the movie _Saved!_ was perfect. \* Let Go\* by Frou Frou in \*Garden State \* (as well as the rest of the soundtrack, really) helped carry the story to another level. Slightly off topic: Sia’s _Breathe Me_ in the finale of _Six Feet Under_ haunts me everytime I hear the song. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2006, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-perfectly-matched-to-a-movie-scene/380393/24 "2006-11-14T21:02:29Z")
From **Wayne’s World** : “I think we’ll go with a little **Bohemian Rhapsody** , gentlemen” “Good call” ---
**Author:** ![Talon\_Karrde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Talon\_Karrde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Talon_Karrde)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2006, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-perfectly-matched-to-a-movie-scene/380393/25 "2006-11-14T21:05:22Z")
[QUOTE=Anastasaeon] And I have to second \*Perfect Day \* in **Trainspotting** , as that was the one I came to mention, but have been beaten to it. 😛 (_Sing_ by **Blur** was well-placed, too, but I think _Perfect Day_… well, I don’t think _any_ other song would have done.) [/QUOTE] I have to third Perfect Day. Best part of the movie. There’s a great scene of this type in Citizen Kane. I don’t remember all of it, but Kane and Susan Alexander are at a party and the band is doing a song with the words “There can’t be love, for there is no true love”, which in their case is true. ---
**Author:** ![Nurobath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a88e57/32.png) [@Nurobath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nurobath)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2006, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-perfectly-matched-to-a-movie-scene/380393/26 "2006-11-14T21:05:35Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > When Gardner Barnes lifts his brew in tribute to his friends at the end of Fandango and Blind Faith’s Can’t Find My Way Home kicks in… I agree, this is a really good choice. The first thing that popped into my head was Where is My Mind by The Pixies from Fight Club. Mad World from Donnie Darko is also a very well chosen piece. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2006, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-perfectly-matched-to-a-movie-scene/380393/27 "2006-11-14T21:32:48Z")
[QUOTE=initech] I gotta go with Layla in Goodfellas. [/QUOTE] I’d agree with **Goodfellas** , but would go for another song and another scene. How about _Then He Kissed Me_ by the Crystals which was the PERFECT background for the nightclub scene (a scene which was an amazing, flowing, ballet). ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2006, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-perfectly-matched-to-a-movie-scene/380393/28 "2006-11-14T21:50:55Z")
[QUOTE=Argent Towers] _The Sopranos:_ _Thru and Thru_ by the Rolling Stones, over the last few minutes of the final episode of Season 2. All the characters are shown in a montage doing various mundane things after having murdered their traitorous best friend. [/QUOTE] That was great, but even better (IMO) was \*It Was A Very Good Year \* by Sinatra during the opening moments of the first ep of season 2. I can still see Silvio preening in front of the mirror during that opening montage. ---
**Author:** ![ZebraShaSha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/eada6e/32.png) [@ZebraShaSha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZebraShaSha)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2006, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-perfectly-matched-to-a-movie-scene/380393/29 "2006-11-14T21:59:49Z")
The freakin’ Pixies at the end of freakin’ Fight Club. Made the song even more astounding some how. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2006, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-perfectly-matched-to-a-movie-scene/380393/30 "2006-11-14T22:03:31Z")
[QUOTE=Fiddle Peghead] “Apocalypse Now”, opening scene, The Doors’ “The End”. [/QUOTE] [QUOTE=initech] I gotta go with Layla in Goodfellas. [/QUOTE] I’d agree with both of these. Note that Scorsese used only the extended coda to “Layla” (mostly Duane Allman’s work on the guitar) in _Goodfellas_, over the montage of finding all the bodies that Jimmy Conway had knocked off. It was a brilliant interlude between the successful Lufthansa heist and the “Sunday, May 11th 1980” sequence (which starts with The Stones “Gimmie Shelter”, Scorsese’s most overused track) and works its way through several tracks varying from delta blues to acid metal to keep the frenetic, disjointed mood going through the whole fifteen minute sequence. You really get a sense of how anxious and rushed Henry Hill’s life is, from having to balance his women through having to get the drug shipment out on time down to making sure the sauce doesn’t stick to the side of the pan. “When they found Carbone in the meat truck, he was frozen so stiff it took them three days to thaw him out for the autopsy.” The use of The Dave Brubeck Quartet’s “Take Five” in _Pleasantville_, in the diner scene where people start asking about the previously empty books in the library, is also extraordinary. The film is kind of heavy handed in its symbolism (but still highly entertaining), but this scene is particularly striking. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![guppy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7feea3/32.png) [@guppy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guppy)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2006, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-perfectly-matched-to-a-movie-scene/380393/31 "2006-11-14T22:08:18Z")
[QUOTE=Menocchio] Beetle in the Hay, Happiness, and Ruby Tuesday in The Royal Tennenbaums. It’s ambient music, but the Portuguese version of Space Oddity as the pirates approach in The Life Aquatic. Also the tinny synthesized Zissou theme becoming orchestral as the team springs into action. [/QUOTE] I’m assuming \*Beetle in the Hay \* is a typo (and a pretty good one at that) but for everyone else it’s _Needle in the Hay_ (Elliot Smith) and I whole heartedly agree with you. I love the soundtracks to Wes Anderson’s movies; I think Mark Mothersbaugh is a genius. ---
**Author:** ![Pashnish\_Ewing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8797f3/32.png) [@Pashnish\_Ewing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pashnish_Ewing)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2006, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-perfectly-matched-to-a-movie-scene/380393/32 "2006-11-14T23:44:37Z")
Two Woody Allens: Gershwin’s \*\*Rhapsody In Blue \*\* in the opening scenes in **Manhattan**. \*\*Twisted \*\* in **Deconstructing Harry.** It goes so perfect between the opening credits and the numerous cuts of Judy Davis slamming the cab door. ---
**Author:** ![Menocchio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de053/32.png) [@Menocchio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Menocchio)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2006, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-perfectly-matched-to-a-movie-scene/380393/33 "2006-11-14T23:53:17Z")
[QUOTE=guppy] I’m assuming \*Beetle in the Hay \* is a typo (and a pretty good one at that) but for everyone else it’s _Needle in the Hay_ (Elliot Smith) and I whole heartedly agree with you. I love the soundtracks to Wes Anderson’s movies; I think Mark Mothersbaugh is a genius. [/QUOTE] Really? I’ve always heard Beetle. Huh. Thought it was a pun. Well, 'Scuse me while I kiss this guy. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2006, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-perfectly-matched-to-a-movie-scene/380393/34 "2006-11-14T23:54:23Z")
[QUOTE=McNew] That was great, but even better (IMO) was \*It Was A Very Good Year \* by Sinatra during the opening moments of the first ep of season 2. I can still see Silvio preening in front of the mirror during that opening montage. [/QUOTE] And Paulie banging the stripper on the pool table. Yeah, that montage was definitely amazing also. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2006, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-perfectly-matched-to-a-movie-scene/380393/35 "2006-11-14T23:55:38Z")
I too admired: - ‘Zorba’s Dance’ in Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels - Wayne’s World ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ - the Blues Brothers - 2001 May I add Jeff Buckley singing ‘Hallelujah’ in The West Wing (where CJ Cregg discovers her secret service agent has been shot). ---
**Author:** ![Albert\_Rose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de053/32.png) [@Albert\_Rose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Albert_Rose)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2006, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-perfectly-matched-to-a-movie-scene/380393/36 "2006-11-15T06:05:11Z")
One of my favorites was in **Almost Famous** , when the lead singer (Russell Hammond, played by Billy Crudup) had been behaving atrociously and alienating the rest of the band. On the bus ride, Elton John’s _Tiny Dancer_ played as one by one, everyone starts singing along, with even Russell joining in, and through the song, he apologizes and is forgiven. A beautiful scene from a great movie. ---
**Author:** ![Albert\_Rose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de053/32.png) [@Albert\_Rose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Albert_Rose)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2006, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-perfectly-matched-to-a-movie-scene/380393/37 "2006-11-15T06:09:52Z")
Uh, lead guitarist. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2006, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-perfectly-matched-to-a-movie-scene/380393/38 "2006-11-15T12:44:31Z")
[QUOTE=McNew] That was great, but even better (IMO) was \*It Was A Very Good Year \* by Sinatra during the opening moments of the first ep of season 2. I can still see Silvio preening in front of the mirror during that opening montage. [/QUOTE] In the opening moments of the first ep of season 3(4?), they were establishing the level of FI surveillance, and they did a “mash up” of the theme from Peter Gunn and “Every Breath You Take” (I’ll be watching you) by the Police. They basically kept the same beat and bass line, but the song kept changing between the two. They’ve had a lot of inspired music moments on that show. ---
**Author:** ![gredbioz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6a8cbe/32.png) [@gredbioz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gredbioz)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2006, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-perfectly-matched-to-a-movie-scene/380393/39 "2006-11-15T13:08:26Z")
The Dropkick Murphys’ “Shipping Up To Boston” in _The Departed_. All the baby boomer movie critics mention the use of the Rolling Stones, which, admittedly, was pretty good, but the use of the Dropkick Murphys track is amazing. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2006, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-perfectly-matched-to-a-movie-scene/380393/40 "2006-11-15T13:28:25Z")
“Inna Gadda Da Vida” in the final fight sequence of “Manhunter.” The director cut between slo-mo shots and normal speed action sequences in exact counterpoint to the music. Tasty. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-perfectly-matched-to-a-movie-scene/380393.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-perfectly-matched-to-a-movie-scene/380393.md?page=3)