The 50 best uses of songs in movies

TONY ranks the coolest soundtrack moments of all time.

By David Fear, Joshua Rothkopf and Keith Uhlich Thu Jan 12 2012

Pulp Fiction

Colloquially, it used to be called the "needle drop"—when a Martin Scorsese or Quentin Tarantino picked a piece of preexisting music and laid it down under a dramatic scene, with seismic results. We've thumbed through our stacks of wax (i.e., Blu-ray collections) to collect cinema's most potent examples, allowing for iconic uses of classical music and jazz along with the expected pop hits. One parameter, though: no songs composed for the movie itself. (Sorry, Simple Minds.) The result is our most toe-tapping list to date. But do let us know if we've left out your favorite jam.

Listen to the best uses of songs in movies playlist on Spotify

50. "Orinoco Flow (Sail Away)," Enya, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)

In David Fincher's latest antiseptic thriller, the murderer has all the usual instruments of torture: poison gas, sharp scalpels, immobilizing slings. But most harrowing of all? A taste for blasting Enya's cloying hit song at eye-glazing volume. (We don't have the clip—and wouldn't want to ruin the killer's identity for you anyway—but here's that cool trailer again.)—Keith Uhlich

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Watch the video for "Orinoco Flow (Sail Away)" by Enya

49. "Hip to Be Square," Huey Lewis and the News, American Psycho (2000)

True to the spirit of the novel, this adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis's serial-killer satire uses Huey's catchy hit single to score the cutthroat dispatching of a Wall Street rival. Christian Bale alternates gleeful critical assessments with grisly ax thwacks, making this superficially slick '80s tune emblematic of the ultimate Reagan-era hollow man.—David Fear

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Watch the video for "Hip to Be Square" by Huey Lewis and the News

48. "You Never Can Tell," Chuck Berry, Pulp Fiction (1994)

Of the many peppy, pop-culture-charged scenes in Quentin Tarantino's landmark crime comedy, few pack the giddy punch of this Jack Rabbit Slim's musical number, set to a Chuck Berry jaunt. Uma Thurman slinks with feline grace, and John Travolta proves he's still got the Tony Manero moves.—Keith Uhlich

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Watch the video for "You Never Can Tell" by Chuck Berry

47. "He Needs Me," Shelley Duvall, Punch-Drunk Love (2002)

The lilting love anthem from Robert Altman's 1980 Popaeye was brilliantly repurposed by Paul Thomas Anderson for his quirky romance: Adam Sandler races to join inamorata Emily Watson in Hawaii. When they finally embrace, the music flourishes and the rush is palpable.—Keith Uhlich

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Watch the video for "He Needs Me" by Shelley Duvall

46. "Some Velvet Morning," Lee Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra, Morvern Callar (2002)

A psychedelic groove of soap-opera strings and lyrical menace accompanies Samantha Morton, lost in her headphone cloud, as she cruises to her McJob at the supermarket. It's a perfectly rendered Gen-Whatever moment, an interior mood that few filmmakers have nailed as expertly as Scotland's Lynne Ramsay.—Joshua Rothkopf

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Watch the video for "Some Velvet Morning" by Lee Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra

45. "The Times They Are a-Changin'," Bob Dylan, Watchmen (2009)

Zack Snyder's faithful-to-a-fault adaptation of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons's influential graphic novel is a dud, save its mesmerizing, Bob Dylan–scored opening-credits sequence. Dylan's folk prophecy poetically complements the history of the story's superhero protagonists, from their WWII heyday to a Vietnam-era fall from grace.—Keith Uhlich

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Watch the video for "The Times They Are a-Changin'" by Bob Dylan

44. "Natural's Not in It," Gang of Four, Marie Antoinette (2006)

Sofia Coppola's threading of anachronistic postpunk into her portrait of the 18th-century queen prompts head-scratching among historical purists. But kicking things off with Gang of Four's Marxist critique is inspired: The song immediately puts displays of conspicuous consumption within contextual air quotes. (Here's the trailer, with a taste of Gang of Four at the 0:30 mark, along with other artists.)—David Fear

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Watch the video for "Natural's Not in It" by Gang of Four

43. "Danny Boy," Frank Patterson, Miller's Crossing (1990)

It's ironic enough for an Irish crime boss to be assassinated in his bedroom while listening to this ballad. Yet the Coen brothers rev up the humor massively by having the wistful gent (the mighty Albert Finney) actually survive the hit, returning a hail of submachine-gun fire while his favorite song calmly concludes.—Joshua Rothkopf

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Watch the video for "Danny Boy" by Frank Patterson

42. "These Days," Nico, The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)

Gwyneth Paltrow is immortalized as the alluring, raccoon-eyed Margot Tenenbaum in Wes Anderson's slo-mo tracking shot, which captures a sweet reunion, a hint of nostalgia and the filmmaker's signature coziness, all wrapped up in the Teutonic loveliness of Nico's quiet voice. If Anderson's choices were always this restrained, he'd be a giant.—Joshua Rothkopf

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Watch the video for "These Days" by Nico

41. "Imagine," John Lennon, The Killing Fields (1984)

This Oscar-winning drama about an American journalist and his captured Cambodian translator uses John Lennon's hit to end on a high note. The former Beatle's wish-list lyrics and the moment's emotional uplift—a tearful reunion—make such utopian fantasies seem both noble and absolutely necessary.—David Fear

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Watch the video for "Imagine" by John Lennon

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(4 ratings)

a Lovely day in 127 hours - the entire soundtrack of Into the wild dueling banjos in Deliverance the "little train song Harry and Hermione dance to in HP&the DH the Doors in what?every Vietnam movie

Lisa Thompson Fri Sep 28 2012
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good call, digga; the entire movie was a set up of that movie - You're gonna love me from Dreamgirls should be here, too and and where are streets of fire,feed me from Little shop of horrors; sister act? and sweeney todd?the proclaimers in Beny & Joon

Lisa Thompson Fri Sep 28 2012
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Kubrick dominates these lists and i love it !

Luke Sun Sep 23 2012
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No Streets of Fire?

Mike Fri Jul 20 2012
Rated as: 3/5
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No "Little Green Bag" from Reservoir Dogs?

WC Fri Jul 20 2012
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So a song from an Adam Sandler movie beats out "La Marseilles" AND "AsTime Goes By" from "Casablanca"? Who's making these f*ing lists, chimps with typewriters?

Brainslks Mon Jul 16 2012
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Bird is the Word - Trashmen this was brilliant in Full Metal Jacket

Liam Fri Jun 29 2012
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how about "memories are made of this" in Veronika Voss?

jason Wed May 30 2012
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