# When popular artforms collide: songs about movies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 5, 2004, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-popular-artforms-collide-songs-about-movies/227701 "2004-02-05T18:53:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2004, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-popular-artforms-collide-songs-about-movies/227701/21 "2004-02-08T06:34:20Z")
_Exit Music_ wasn’t about that movie, it was written for the soundtrack. I guess that might put it in a ‘sorta’ category. Radiohead’s _Motion Picture Soundtrack_ certainly seems connected to the Romeo and Juliet story, though not any movie version in particular. ---
**Author:** ![Tentacle\_Monster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba9def/32.png) [@Tentacle\_Monster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tentacle_Monster)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2004, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-popular-artforms-collide-songs-about-movies/227701/22 "2004-02-08T07:07:47Z")
Does _Martin Scorcese_ (sp?) by King Missile count? Frank Zappa also gave us _Conehead_, which wasn’t a movie at the time he wrote it. Then SNL had to go and make a movie out of it. See also _Silence! The Musical_, an _entire musical_ about _The Silence of the Lambs_. It’s available on [mp3lizard.com](http://mp3lizard.com) , artists Jon and Al Kaplan. It’s worth a listen. _Put The Fucking Lotion In The Basket_ is particularly touching. ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2004, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-popular-artforms-collide-songs-about-movies/227701/23 "2004-02-08T07:08:55Z")
This must be a coincidence but 4 Bob Seger songs from the _same album_ are movie titles **“Night Moves” “Fire Down Below” “Ship Of Fools” and “Main Street”**. I don’t think _any_ of these have anything to do with these movies. **"The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence" by Gene Pitney** is definitely about the movie but is _never_ heard in the movie. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2004, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-popular-artforms-collide-songs-about-movies/227701/24 "2004-02-09T08:38:28Z")
A number of Gary Numan’s songs are about Blade Runner. He seems obsessed, and rightly so. _Time to Die_ is based on Roy Batty’s final speech, there’s a remix of _Rip_ that features whatever Japanese drama or poem that’s announced over the blimp’s P.A. system (or was it the billboard? I can’t remember just now), and there’s a third that has Deckard’s “Move! Get outta the way!” spliced into it. The name of that song escapes me at the moment. Gary Numan’s quite prolific, so I imagine he’s based more music on Blade Runner, but those are the songs I’ve heard. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2004, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-popular-artforms-collide-songs-about-movies/227701/25 "2004-02-09T17:16:47Z")
> [@The Scrivener](#): > > “Waterloo Sunset” by The Kinks references a couple in love named “Julie and Terry,” which was widely understood at the time to be Julie Christie and Terrence Stamp, who had just made “Far From the Madding Crowd” together. See also The Kinks’ “Celluloid Heroes” (though it mentions more movie _stars_ than specific movies) and “Oklahoma, USA.” ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2004, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-popular-artforms-collide-songs-about-movies/227701/26 "2004-02-09T17:51:24Z")
**"Planet Claire"** by **The B-52s** mentions the old sci-fi flick **Destination Moon**. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2004, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-popular-artforms-collide-songs-about-movies/227701/27 "2004-02-09T17:54:14Z")
Correction, the B-52s song in question is **“There’s a Moon in the Sky”**. ---
**Author:** ![Mal\_Adroit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df788c/32.png) [@Mal\_Adroit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mal_Adroit)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2004, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-popular-artforms-collide-songs-about-movies/227701/28 "2004-02-09T18:01:44Z")
Bruce Springsteen’s “The Big Muddy” was based on the Pete Dexter novel _Paris Trout,_ which became a movie with Dennis Hopper. (So that kina counts, ey?) ---
**Author:** ![Mal\_Adroit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df788c/32.png) [@Mal\_Adroit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mal_Adroit)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2004, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-popular-artforms-collide-songs-about-movies/227701/29 "2004-02-09T19:19:06Z")
**23skidoo,** I dig your tune! What’s with the Heart _homage_ at the end there? It’s a nice touch. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2004, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-popular-artforms-collide-songs-about-movies/227701/30 "2004-02-09T20:02:35Z")
Springsteen’s \“Nebraska”\ was based on the movie \Badlands\. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2004, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-popular-artforms-collide-songs-about-movies/227701/31 "2004-02-09T21:39:03Z")
The Statler Brothers sang a song called **Movies** that specifically references all the following films: _The Wolfman Bridge on the River Kwai The Best Years of Our Lives Citizen Kane The Caine Mutiny Mutiny on the Bounty The Bounty Hunter The Sting Thunder Road Road to Rio Rio Grande Grand Hotel Tell Them Willie Boy Was Here Bride of Frankenstein Shane Peyton Place The Wizard of Oz Captain Blood Ben Ben-Hur The Way We Were True Grit The Music Man Thunderball Walking Tall Jaws Dr. No Vertigo Singin’ in the Rain Blood and Sand Santa Fe The Getaway Mexicali Rose Rose Marie Blackboard Jungle Jungle Jim Jim Thorpe, All-American An American in Paris Paris Blues Blue Hawaii Teacher’s Pet Ship of Fools The Graduate Twelve O’Clock High One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest_ ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2004, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-popular-artforms-collide-songs-about-movies/227701/32 "2004-02-09T22:14:31Z")
Then there’s **“Werewolves of London”** by **Warren Zevon** , a reference to the movie **The Werewolf of London**. ---
**Author:** ![Gail](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Gail](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gail)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2010, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-popular-artforms-collide-songs-about-movies/227701/33 "2010-01-10T04:36:37Z")
_A New Hope Blink 182_ they also did a song called _I miss you_ where they mention Jack and Sally from _Nightmare Before Christmas_. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2010, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-popular-artforms-collide-songs-about-movies/227701/34 "2010-01-10T05:08:07Z")
[Red Angel Dragnet](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfaDArVGV14) by **The Clash** includes pieces of Travis Bickle’s monologues from **Taxi Driver**. ETA: Zombie thread! Run away! ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2010, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-popular-artforms-collide-songs-about-movies/227701/35 "2010-01-10T05:40:15Z")
Roky Erickson’s “Creature with the Atom Brain” is about the 50’s B-movie horror flick. ---
**Author:** ![Gift0Gab](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/258eb7/32.png) [@Gift0Gab](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gift0Gab)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2010, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-popular-artforms-collide-songs-about-movies/227701/36 "2010-01-10T05:42:21Z")
“Bringing Up Baby” by Talulah Gosh is about the film Bringing Up Baby ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2010, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-popular-artforms-collide-songs-about-movies/227701/37 "2010-01-10T05:53:49Z")
“Western Movies” - The Olympics Lord, I’m old. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2010, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-popular-artforms-collide-songs-about-movies/227701/38 "2010-01-10T07:58:56Z")
“Die Hard” and “Requiem” by Guyz Nite All of these [these](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_songs_based_on_a_film). ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2010, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-popular-artforms-collide-songs-about-movies/227701/39 "2010-01-10T08:09:59Z")
_Hey Leonardo (She Likes Me For Me)_ by Blessid Union Of Souls contains a reference to “That guy who played in _Fargo_”, if that counts for the OP. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2010, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-popular-artforms-collide-songs-about-movies/227701/40 "2010-01-10T08:39:20Z")
Lloyd Cole & the Commotions have _Rattlesnakes_ “She looks like Eve Marie Saint, in _On the Waterfront_” Fields of the Nephilim have _Dawnrazor_ (which samples and references Oz horror movie _Razorback_) and _Reanimator_(a shoutout to the eponymous film more than the Lovecraft original) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-popular-artforms-collide-songs-about-movies/227701.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-popular-artforms-collide-songs-about-movies/227701.md?page=3)