50 Coolest Movie Music Moments

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Ah, music + images. We celebrate the greatest music in the cinema... most of it written by Kenny Loggins.

In this month's issue of Total Film (issue 123 - on sale 23 November), we did a superb feature, if we do say so ourselves, on the 50 Coolest Movie Music Moments...

As promised, you can click here or on the iMix graphic below to gorge your ears with our iTunes iMix selection.

HELL’S BELLS
MIKE OLDFIELD – TUBULAR BELLS
The Exorcist (1972)

GET IT: Tubular Bells Vol 1: Remastered (Virgin)

TONE DEAF
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN – NINTH SYMPHONY
A Clockwork Orange (1973)

GET IT: A Clockwork Orange OST (Warners)

WINGED WARRIORS
KENNY LOGGINS – DANGER ZONE
Top Gun (1986)

GET IT: Greatest Hits (Columbia)


HEAR MY SONG
PETER GABRIEL – IN YOUR EYES
Say Anything (1989)

Slacker Lloyd Dobler (John Cusack) pulls out a last-ditch, cheesy charm offensive to swipe the heart of the unattainable girl (Ione Skye). Trench-coat flapping, he takes position below her window, hoists his trusty boom-box and blasts out Gabriel’s soppy confessional (“In your eyes I am complete...”). The spontaneous serenade has since been parodied to bits (best, in South Park episode ‘Raisins’).

GET IT: So (Virgin)

TIMBER!
HUEY LEWIS & THE NEWS – HIP TO BE SQUARE
American Psycho (2000)

GET IT: Greatest Hits (EMI)

GO, MARTY, GO!
CHUCK BERRY – JOHNNY B GOODE
Back To The Future (1985)

GET IT: Chuck Berry Is On Top (MCA)

CHILL OUT
MARVIN GAYE – I HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE
The Big Chill (1983)

GET IT: The Best Of Marvin Gaye (Polydor)

DEATH METTLE
THE BEAT – MIRROR IN THE BATHROOM
Grosse Pointe Blank (1997)

GET IT: Beat This: The Best Of The Beat (London)

CYBER SAX
VANGELIS – LOVE THEME
Blade Runner (1982)

GET IT: Blade Runner OST (Atlantic)

RECORD NEEDLE
URGE OVERKILL – GIRL, YOU'LL BE A WOMAN SOON
Pulp Fiction (1994)

With smackhead goon Vince (John Travolta) in the bog, his boss’ missus Mia (Uma Thurman) sways to this brooding Neil Diamond cover before taking a near-fatal sniff of skag. ‘Song Sung Blue’ MOR crooner instantly linked with a black-bobbed babe and fizzing nose-bubbles of heroin snot.

GET IT: Pulp Fiction OST (MCA)

GALAXY QUEST
THE CHURCH – UNDER THE MILKY WAY TONIGHT
Donnie Darko (2001)

GET IT: Donnie Darko OST And Score (Sanctuary)

SCHOOL OF ROCK
BILL HALEY & THE COMETS – ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK
The Blackboard Jungle (1955)

GET IT: The Ultimate Collection (Spectrum)

CAMP STAMP
CECE PENISTON – FINALLY
The Adventures Of Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert (1994)

GET IT: Finally (A&M)

REVVING REBELS
STEPPENWOLF – BORN TO BE WILD
Easy Rider (1969)

GET IT: The Collection (Spectrum)

SPACE OPERA
JOHANN STRAUSS – THE BLUE DANUBE
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

GET IT: Marches And Waltzes (Universal)

GRIER CHANGE
BOBBY WOMACK – ACROSS 110TH STREET
Jackie Brown (1997)

“You don’t know what you’ll do until you’re put under pressure. Across 110th Street is a hell of a tester...” Womack’s sumptuous urban soul standard tracks Pam Grier’s Amazonian air steward as she glides along the LAX conveyors. Tarantino holds it close and tight, just about scratching through the surface dignity to her inner turmoil. And all a sly nod to the opener of The Graduate.

“I’M MAKING TIME…”
THE JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE – VOODOO CHILE (SLIGHT RETURN)
Withnail And I (1986)

GET IT: Experience Hendrix (MCA)

RAP SHEET
GETO BOYS – DAMN IT FEELS GOOD TO BE A GANGSTER
Offi ce Space (1999)

GET IT: Offi ce Space OST (Interscope)

DREAM ON
RADIOHEAD – EVERYTHING IN ITS RIGHT PLACE
Vanilla Sky (2001)

Eyelids flicker, keyboards shimmer, the trance begins... “Everything. Everything. Everything in its right place.” “Jason Lee was really in love with Radiohead,” says director Cameron Crowe. “We played a lot of their tracks during filming.” No surprises there... This one is the ideal, lucid-dreaming opener to a film where nothing is in its right place.

GET IT: Kid A (Parlophone)

SONG OF THE SOUTHPAW
SURVIVOR – EYE OF THE TIGER
Rocky III (1982)

GET IT: Rocky III OST (EMI)

BAND AID
ELTON JOHN – TINY DANCER
Almost Famous (2000)

GET IT: Madman Across The Water (Mercury)

PROTEST POWER
PUBLIC ENEMY – FIGHT THE POWER (UNCENSORED)
Do The Right Thing (1989)

GET IT: Fear Of A Black Planet (Def Jam)

EARWIG-OUT
STEALERS WHEEL – STUCK IN THE MIDDLE WITH YOU
Reservoir Dogs (1992)

GET IT: Stuck In The Middle With You – The Hits Collection (Spectrum)

MY ONLY FRIEND
THE DOORS – THE END
Apocalypse Now (1979)

GET IT: The Best Of The Doors (Warners)

NEW YORK SHITTY
HARRY NILSSON – EVERYBODY'S TALKIN'
Midnight Cowboy (1969)

Naïve Texan Joe’s (Jon Voight) self-conscious disorientation on the mean streets of NYC is already heavy with tragedy. But coupled with Nilsson’s impossibly plangent (Grammy-scooping) elegy to lost familiarity, it becomes almost unbearable – particularly when you know what’s around the corner...

GET IT: Aerial Ballet (RCA Victor)

“I LIKE THAT – TURN IT UP!”
THE ROLLING STONES – MEMO FROM TURNER
Performance (1970)

GET IT: Performance OST (Warners)

WELCOME TO THE SMALL TIME
SPINAL TAP – STONEHENGE
This Is Spinal Tap (1983)

GET IT: This Is Spinal Tap (Polydor)

DIVIDED THEY FALL
PIXIES – WHERE IS MY MIND?
Fight Club (1999)

GET IT: Surfer Rosa (4AD)

SLASH ’N’ BERNARD
BERNARD HERRMANN – PSYCHO: THE MURDER
Psycho (1960)

GET IT: Psycho OST (Virgin)

FUR CRAZY
SAM COOKE – BLUE MOON
An American Werewolf In London (1981)

GET IT: Hit Kit (Keen)

AUTO EROTICA
YELLO – OH YEAH
Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)

“The 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California...” Perfectly cut to the Swiss duo’s pulsing one-hit wonder, the moment Ferris first claps eyes on Cameron’s dad’s slinky Ferrari is love at first sight and sound. “I’d wanted to use it for ages,” says director John Hughes. “But it never felt right – until here.”

GET IT: Essential Yello (Universal)

THE NU NATIONAL ANTHEM
AMERICA, FUCK YEAH!
Team America: World Police (2004)

GET IT: Team America: World Police OST (Atlantic)

AUNTIE’S ’SHROOMERS
LOU REED – PERFECT DAY
Trainspotting (1996)

GET IT: Transformer (RCA Records)

PISTOL POPPED
IGGY & THE STOOGES – SEARCH AND DESTROY
The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou (2004)

GET IT: Raw Power (Columbia)

POP AND ROBBERS
IGGY POP – LUST FOR LIFE
Trainspotting (1996)

GET IT: Lust For Life (Virgin)

BROTHERLY LOVE
SMOG – VESSEL IN VAIN
Dead Man's Shoes (2004)

“I can’t be held responsible...” Shane Meadows plants his mournful, revenge-themed Western of the soul in the fertile soil of American indie-roots music. Scratchy Super-8 images contrast with grown-up Paddy Considine and brother adrift, wandering the hills. Bill Callahan intones on fate and futility, hinting at the sadness to come.

GET IT: Dead Man’s Shoes OST (Warp)

ROBBIE DON’T SURF
FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD – TWO TRIBES
The Supergrass (1985)

GET IT: Bang! The Greatest Hits (ZTT)

HIGHLY STRUNG
DUELLING BANJOS
Deliverance (1972)

GET IT: Deliverance OST (WEA)

MORNING GLORY
MY BLOODY VALENTINE – SOMETIMES
Lost In Translation (2003)

GET IT: Loveless (Creation)

THIS REALLY IS THE END
VERA LYNN – WELL MEET AGAIN
Dr Strangelove (1963)

GET IT: Best Of Vera Lynn (EMI)

THE EAT GOES ON
SAM COOKE – WONDERFUL WORLD
National Lampoon’s Animal House (1978)

GET IT: Portrait Of A Legend (ABKCO)

CRY ME A RIVER
AIMEE MANN – WISE UP
Magnolia (1999)

Aimee Mann’s tangy love songs coarse like bitter tears through PT Anderson’s symphony of hurt. Realism and unabashed romanticism converge, with music used to forge connections Anderson’s characters crave. Audacious, but not implausible – sad people do listen to sweet, sad music. “They surrender to that moment,” says Anderson. “Sink into it, sit there and cry their eyes out.” Let it rain...

GET IT: Magnolia OST (Reprise)

PARCHED SOUL
PORTISHEAD – ROADS
Tank Girl (1995)

GET IT: Dummy (Go! Beat)

YOU’RE MINE…
ROY ORBISON – IN DREAMS
Blue Velvet (1986)

GET IT: The Very Best Of Roy Orbison (BMG)

CIRCLE OF LIFE
BONEY M – BROWN GIRL IN THE RING
Touching The Void (2003)

GET IT: The Magic Of Boney M (Sony)

ROYAL CRUSH
QUEEN – DON'T STOP ME NOW
Shaun Of The Dead (2004)

“The only other song we considered was 'Rasputin' by Boney M,” says director Edgar Wright. Thankfully, sense prevailed. British fi lm, British humour, British music. Ruined by '80s discos, reclaimed in this rom-zom-com. "It's not an ironic use of Queen!” insists Wright.

GET IT: Greatest Hits (EMI)

SCHOOL DAZE
SIMON & GARFUNKEL – THE SOUND OF SILENCE
The Graduate (1967)

GET IT: Sounds Of Silence (Columbia)

NO STAIRWAY!
QUEEN – BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY
Wayne's World (1992)

GET IT: A Night At The Opera (Hollywood Records)

So... did we miss any corkers? Were there any you particularly loved? Pray share your thoughts on our glorious Forum...

Source: ( iTunes )

Total Film

The Total Film team are made up of the finest minds in all of film journalism. They are: Editor Jane Crowther, Deputy Editor Matt Maytum, Reviews Ed Matthew Leyland, News Editor Jordan Farley, and Online Editor Emily Murray. Expect exclusive news, reviews, features, and more from the team behind the smarter movie magazine.