She Likes to Watch

Among the many things I liked about the movie “Superbad” was the music.

On the one hand, funk songs by Curtis Mayfield, Jean Knight and Bootsy Collins might not seem to match a film about geeky white kids trying to score before going to college. And yet at the same time it was just oh-so right.

You see, music used in film doesn’t necessarily have to match the scene thematically. It just has to, well . . . to work.

In fact, at times it seems the best pairings are the ones that make the least sense. Take, for instance, the use of the silly Surfin’ Birds to coincide with battle scenes in “Full Metal Jacket.” It works because of the irony – what the character Joker in that movie would call “the dichotomy of man.”

Such pairings create memorable movie moments. Can you ever hear “Stuck in the Middle” by Steelers Wheel without seeing Mr. Blonde cut off that guy’s ear (Warning: that’s a bloody clip.) in “Reservoir Dogs”?

This all comes to mind because I just saw this
site about the top 77 song moments in film. But I’ve always felt the pairing of music and film is an art few have mastered.

Quentin Tarantino, of course, is the grand pooh-bah of this art form. His use of surf music in “Pulp Fiction” is legendary – and an inspiration to all future film makers willing to spend a little extra money to license previously recorded music.

Martin Scorsese also nailed it in “Goodfellas.” Two songs in particular – Harry Nilsson’s “Jump Into the Fire” and Eric Clapton’s “Layla” – provided the perfect soundtrack to scenes depicting mob chaos, life on the run and corpses.

When done right, the pairing of music and film makes both the song and the scene cool. (“Snatch” would be a good example here.) On the other hand, association with bad music can ruin everything.

“Titanic” was actually a pretty good movie. But every time I think of it, I can’t get my mind around that horrible Celine Dion song.

Ugh.

Anyway, here are some of my favorite music/movie moments:

• “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”/”Twist and Shout,” the Beatles – After seeing this, I went out and bought my first Beatles record, the beginning of a long love affair with the Fab Four.
• “Midnight Cowboy”/“Everybody’s Talkin’,” Harry Nilsson. I also loved how “Borat” copied this famous walking in the city scene.
• “Apocalypse Now”/ “The End,” the Doors. The opening scene to the movie, where napalm is choreographed to psychedelic 60s rock.
• “Rocky”/”Gonna Fly Now,” Bill Conti. After seeing Rocky work out to this
instrumental classic, I almost wanted to enter the ring myself. Then I thought about that time Ali got his jaw broken and decided to stick with Wiffle Ball.
• “Risky Business”/Old Time Rock and Roll, Bob Seger. The good ole days — before Seger was washed up and before Tom Cruise was nutty. Could have been an ad for Hanes underwear.

If you have a favorite movie/music scene, drop a line.

–Pat P.