# Songs that nearly ruin a movie **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 22, 2007, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-nearly-ruin-a-movie/423559 "2007-10-22T14:09:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2007, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-nearly-ruin-a-movie/423559/21 "2007-10-22T22:31:55Z")
I’d say the difference between the score to _Ladyhawke_ and the soundtrack to _A Knight’s Tale_ is that the soundtrack to _Tale_ is supposed to be a joke, while the score to _Ladyhawke_ is meant to be genuinely evocative of the setting. Plus, The Alan Parsons Project is fucking garbage. I can forgive a musical anachronism a lot easier if it’s David Bowie. ---
**Author:** ![Gulo\_gulo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bcef8e/32.png) [@Gulo\_gulo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gulo_gulo)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2007, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-nearly-ruin-a-movie/423559/22 "2007-10-22T23:13:02Z")
I _hated_ the score for [Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0363771/). It was New Age-y garbage that kept drawing my attention away from the film over and over again. ---
**Author:** ![Roland\_Orzabal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c2a13f/32.png) [@Roland\_Orzabal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roland_Orzabal)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2007, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-nearly-ruin-a-movie/423559/23 "2007-10-22T23:24:13Z")
“He Needs Me”, from Punch Drunk Love. _He needs me! He needs me! He needs meeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!_ I watched this movie on DVD, and it was getting on my nerves to begin with. When this song came on, I quite literally stood up and began banging my head into the wall. (For those wondering why I didn’t just quit watching it, few movies provoke that strong of a reaction – positive or negative – from me, so I was interested to see if it’d get any worse.) ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2007, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-nearly-ruin-a-movie/423559/24 "2007-10-22T23:27:30Z")
‘Aqua-Marina’ always ruined the ending of ‘Stingray’ for me. What…? ---
**Author:** ![shamrock227](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@shamrock227](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shamrock227)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2007, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-nearly-ruin-a-movie/423559/25 "2007-10-23T03:06:47Z")
[QUOTE=Miller] I’d say the difference between the score to _Ladyhawke_ and the soundtrack to _A Knight’s Tale_ is that the soundtrack to _Tale_ is supposed to be a joke, while the score to _Ladyhawke_ is meant to be genuinely evocative of the setting. [/QUOTE] This is what I came to say. The soundtrack to _A Knight’s Tale_ just underscores and enhances the whole fun tone of the movie. The soundtrack to _Ladyhawke_ completely clashes with the movie. And takes, what is IMHO, a decent movie and sticks a dagger in its heart. A real shame, too. I like that movie but the soundtrack is so obvious that you can’t ignore it and it renders the movie almost unwatchable. ---
**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:** [October 23, 2007, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-nearly-ruin-a-movie/423559/26 "2007-10-23T03:13:12Z")
I love the anachronism of _A Knight’s Tale_’s soundtrack. I think that movie is going to be a cult movie sometime down the road. I for one thought it was highly entertaining. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2007, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-nearly-ruin-a-movie/423559/27 "2007-10-23T03:48:10Z")
[QUOTE=Roland Orzabal] “He Needs Me”, from Punch Drunk Love. _He needs me! He needs me! He needs meeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!_ I watched this movie on DVD, and it was getting on my nerves to begin with. When this song came on, I quite literally stood up and began banging my head into the wall. (For those wondering why I didn’t just quit watching it, few movies provoke that strong of a reaction – positive or negative – from me, so I was interested to see if it’d get any worse.) [/QUOTE] I never saw Punch Drunk Love, but I remember this song from the movie Popeye! Olive Oyl sings it and [I love it](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEWswHtQUkc)! ---
**Author:** ![KJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b2d939/32.png) [@KJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KJ)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2007, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-nearly-ruin-a-movie/423559/28 "2007-10-23T04:08:44Z")
I liked all of Shrek except for the asinine Smashmouth song at the end. Same for “La vida loca” at the end of Shrek 2. I haven’t seen the third, but from the previews I’ve seen it looks like it also has inappropriately modern music, and I’m guessing it ends with another lame song that will make the movie look incredibly dated not long from now. I realize pop culture references are part of the appeal of Shrek, but a music video is _not_ the way to end the movie. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2007, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-nearly-ruin-a-movie/423559/29 "2007-10-23T04:09:51Z")
I’ll probably get shot for this. The song near the end of Magnolia\* that they all sing. Where it goes from one character to the other. I can hear it, but I can’t hear the words so I can think of what it is right now. Pulls me right out of the movie. I’m not sure if it fits with the OP, I like the song (I think, I can’t remember what it is), but the way that scene is put together I just can’t stand. \*BTW I liked the movie, just not that scene. ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2007, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-nearly-ruin-a-movie/423559/30 "2007-10-23T05:53:26Z")
At the risk of further hijacking the thread with the opposite, I put in another vote for “A Knight’s Tale”. I saw the ad and it made me cringe. Then I caught it on tv and, was , as the first example, the crowd at the joust all singing “We Will Rock You”…well as notered these medival jousts usually get treated as formal events, with Kings, and Ladies and noble knights, and classical music. When in fact they were probably more like modern sporting events, including a stand full of racuos fans, getting drunk and beating each other up over who should win. Seems like a very evocative song for the scene, really. Can’t think of anything else at the moment but of course there’s always the zithers of the “The Third Man”, which is still a point of debate. ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2007, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-nearly-ruin-a-movie/423559/31 "2007-10-23T06:27:22Z")
[QUOTE=Joey P] I’ll probably get shot for this. The song near the end of Magnolia\* that they all sing. Where it goes from one character to the other. I can hear it, but I can’t hear the words so I can think of what it is right now. Pulls me right out of the movie. I’m not sure if it fits with the OP, I like the song (I think, I can’t remember what it is), but the way that scene is put together I just can’t stand. \*BTW I liked the movie, just not that scene. [/QUOTE] “Save Me,” by the great Aimee Mann. And that sequence was my favorite part of the movie. ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2007, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-nearly-ruin-a-movie/423559/32 "2007-10-23T15:30:35Z")
[QUOTE=Big Bad Voodoo Lou] “Save Me,” by the great Aimee Mann. And that sequence was my favorite part of the movie. [/QUOTE] For me it was the _only_ part of the movie I liked. But wasn’t the song “Wise Up?” ---
**Author:** ![Siege](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Siege](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siege)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2007, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-nearly-ruin-a-movie/423559/33 "2007-10-23T16:23:59Z")
Another vote for the entire score of _Ladyhawke_ as nearly ruining the movie, and I like the Alan Parsons Project. It doesn’t fit the tone at all. On the other hand, given the costumes and what they did to Chaucer in _A Knight’s Tale_, the rock and roll music kind of suits it. I’m with **betenoir** on liking “We Will Rock You” in the jousting scene. It’s the kind of move you enjoy so long as you don’t take it seriously. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2007, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-nearly-ruin-a-movie/423559/34 "2007-10-23T17:16:30Z")
[QUOTE=Nzinga, Seated] I never saw Punch Drunk Love, but I remember this song from the movie Popeye! Olive Oyl sings it and [I love it](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEWswHtQUkc)! [/QUOTE] Paul Thomas Anderson actually uses Shelley Duvall’s performance of the song in his film (not surprising since he’s an enormous Altman fan). Oh, and I think it works marvelously in _PDL_. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2007, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-nearly-ruin-a-movie/423559/35 "2007-10-23T17:42:13Z")
[QUOTE=koeeoaddi] For me it was the _only_ part of the movie I liked. But wasn’t the song “Wise Up?” [/QUOTE] It [was indeed](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5PDlfig2U8#). “Save Me” is also on the soundtrack, and is pretty similar in style. It was the one nominated for the Academy Award. I didn’t think it was the song itself that was bothersome about the scene, it was the way it interrupted the movie. It was more like a musical for a moment. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2007, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-nearly-ruin-a-movie/423559/36 "2007-10-23T19:18:35Z")
Most of the entire soundtrack for **Scarface** is horrendous. Has not aged well. Don’t get me wrong, I love Roberta Flack, but you may as well go to the bathroom / grab a beer / whatever during **Play Misty For Me** when Clint (not quite discovered editing yet) plays the entire song “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” during a romantic interlude scene. (Ending with them standing naked in the Big Sur river making out - and strangely not getting hypothermia). And the worst offender, IMO - that crappy windmills song from the original **Thomas Crowne Affair**. Ugh. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2007, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-nearly-ruin-a-movie/423559/37 "2007-10-23T19:36:08Z")
[QUOTE=Morbo] Most of the entire soundtrack for **Scarface** is horrendous. Has not aged well. [/QUOTE] You didn’t like the “Scarface” music?! I hate to be that person who defends every heinous song choice, but I adored it. I know, I have a thing for disco, but I think it defines the time. And there’s gotta be points for juxtaposition–light hearted music and evil deeds. And…well, I just like music you can dance to. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2007, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-nearly-ruin-a-movie/423559/38 "2007-10-23T19:40:19Z")
[QUOTE=Zoggie] You didn’t like the “Scarface” music?! I hate to be that person who defends every heinous song choice, but I adored it. I know, I have a thing for disco, but I think it defines the time. And there’s gotta be points for juxtaposition–light hearted music and evil deeds. And…well, I just like music you can dance to. [/QUOTE] Had they stuck with more Miami-like latin music I think it would have gone better. Now I cringe at the over-synthesizer-dated sound. I don’t think it really sounds much like disco either. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2007, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-nearly-ruin-a-movie/423559/39 "2007-10-23T20:03:11Z")
[QUOTE=Zoggie] You didn’t like the “Scarface” music?! I hate to be that person who defends every heinous song choice, but I adored it. I know, I have a thing for disco, but I think it defines the time. [/QUOTE] Same here–I came of age in the early 80s and it’s just right. Miami Vice, Scarface, Streets of Fire… ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2007, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-nearly-ruin-a-movie/423559/40 "2007-10-23T20:08:13Z")
Madonna doesn’t sing a note and nearly ruins _Die Another Day_ when she appears in the gentlemen’s club. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-nearly-ruin-a-movie/423559.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-nearly-ruin-a-movie/423559.md?page=3)