LoC #63: Top 50 Songs from Movies

[ScottotD]

#31: Twist and Shout
36 Points (On 3 of 19 lists)
Highest Placement: #8 by George Harrison

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/tgd46QiHz4I?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/tgd46QiHz4I?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US</a>

 
Featured In: Ferris Bueller's Day Off

Composer/Lyricist: Phil Medley & Burt Russell

Performer: The Beatles

 

Second one from my list, I still can't help doing the "hey! hey! hey!" bit after the chorus.

[wurwolf]

#30: America, Fuck Yeah
37 Points (On 4 of 19 lists)
Highest Placement: #13 by Johnny Unusual, Pak-Man

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/sWS-FoXbjVI?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/sWS-FoXbjVI?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US</a>

 
Featured In: Team America: World Police

Composer/Lyricist: Trey Parker

Performer: Trey Parker

 
Description:
"America (Fuck Yeah)" was played throughout various parts of the film, Team America: World Police, along with the "America, Fuck Yeah (Bummer Remix)", and was intended to mock the stereotypical American's jingoist form of patriotism.

Team America: World Police is a 2004 satirical action comedy film written by Trey Parker, Matt Stone, and Pam Brady and directed by Parker, all of whom are also known for the popular animated television series South Park. The film is a satire of big-budget action films and their associated clichés and stereotypes, with particular humorous emphasis on the global implications of US politics. The title of the film itself is derived from domestic and international political criticisms that the U.S. frequently and unilaterally tries to "police the world". The film features a cast composed of marionettes. Team America focuses on a fictional team of political paramilitary policemen known as "Team America: World Police", who attempt to save the world from a violent terrorist plot led by Kim Jong-il.

Marc Shaiman, composer for South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut, was originally hired to compose the original score and help Parker compose the film's songs. He helped compose "Everyone Has AIDS" and "Derka Derk (Terrorist Theme)". He submitted a score, but the studio rejected it and fired Shaiman, hiring Harry Gregson-Williams as a last minute replacement (Parker had instructed Shaiman to score the film as if it were a typical action film, which they agreed would make it funnier, while the studio felt the score should play up the comedy). However, Shaiman still conducted the orchestra in the film's scoring sessions and Williams stuck to the traditional action film score concept.

Personal Note: I like the YouTube comment that says, "This should have been played when USA entered the Olympics."

[wurwolf]

Oh, and O Brother has one of my favourite all-time soundtracks.  Big Rock Candy Mountain is now an all-time favourite and will be my hobo theme, after maybe tomorrow.

Funny you mention that, "Big Rock Candy Mountain" is my favorite song on the soundtrack and I'm annoyed with myself for forgetting it. I love a song about booze and running away from the cops.

[Johnny Unusual]

Oh, and O Brother has one of my favourite all-time soundtracks.  Big Rock Candy Mountain is now an all-time favourite and will be my hobo theme, after maybe tomorrow.

Funny you mention that, "Big Rock Candy Mountain" is my favorite song on the soundtrack and I'm annoyed with myself for forgetting it. I love a song about booze and running away from the cops.

Though the movie brought my attention to it, I didn't vote for it simply because it had such a long life outside of it, though I wouldn't kick it out of bed for eating crackers on this list.  It also makes for a good accompaniment for reading the comic book "Wimbledon Green: World's Greatest Comic Collector" which is sort of a mix of Citizen Kane, Duck Tales and old-timey kids' humour comics.

#30: America, Fuck Yeah
36 Points (On 4 of 19 lists)
Highest Placement: #13 by Johnny Unusual, Pak-Man

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/sWS-FoXbjVI?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/sWS-FoXbjVI?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US</a>

 
Featured In: Team America: World Police

I knew it was going to be on their but I didn't know how high.  The brilliance of this is that it mocks braindead action themes that gets you pumped up, but it also actually gets you pumped up!

Just like "Montage" (didn't include it since it was on South Park first but equally effective in both)

[wurwolf]

#29: As Time Goes By
37 Points (On 3 of 19 lists)
Highest Placement: #7 by CJones

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/Wo2Lof_5dy4?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/Wo2Lof_5dy4?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US</a>

 
Featured In: Casablanca

Composer/Lyricist: Herman Hupfeld

Performer: Dooley Wilson

 
Description:
Herman Hupfeld wrote "As Time Goes By" for the 1931 Broadway musical Everybody's Welcome. In the original show, it was sung by Frances Williams. It was recorded that year by several artists, including Rudy Vallee and Binnie Hale.

The song was re-introduced in 1942 in the film Casablanca, sung by Dooley Wilson accompanied by pianist Elliot Carpenter and heard throughout the film as a leitmotif. Wilson was unable to record a single of the song at the time due to a musicians' strike, leading the studio to re-issue Vallee's 1931 recording and giving Vallee a number one hit in 1942.

The famous opening line, "You must remember this...", is actually the start of the chorus as the song was originally written and performed. Wilson did not sing the preceding verse in Casablanca, however, and most subsequent recordings have followed the film's lead in omitting it, leading to its being virtually unknown to most listeners.

In addition to the American Film Institute including it as number two in their list of the 100 best songs in film, National Public Radio included it in their NPR 100, the 1999 list of the most important American musical works of the 20th century as compiled by their music editors.

[wurwolf]

Awesome re: America!  It's a good 4th of July song.  It kind of cuts to the heart of all the patriotic stuff.

Agreed. This (and the Bummer remix) were on APGIL's mix tapes CD for the drive into Philadelphia for his citizenship swearing in ceremony.

[Johnny Unusual]

#29: As Time Goes By

This was my choice from Casablanca. Should've remembered Marseillaise, but there we are.

I learned about this song first from Bugs Bunny cartoons--they'd always sing parts of it or hum them and I knew it was something, but didn't know what. Then I saw Casablanca when I was in college and went, "oooooh, that's what that is."

Now there's Carrotblanca, which is a short from the '90s that directly parodies the film. It's not bad for latter-day WB animation either.

Oops, forgot this one.  Really should have included it.  Sorry folks (and I think there's a few more I'll be saying that for).

[wurwolf]

#28: Head Over Heels
37 Points (On 3 of 19 lists)
Highest Placement: #3 by Smoky

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/AXwelEWpPXs?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/AXwelEWpPXs?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US</a>

 
Featured In: Donnie Darko

Composer/Lyricist: Roland Orzabal & Curt Smith

Performer: Tears for Fears

 
Description:
"Head over Heels" is a song by the British New Wave band Tears for Fears. It was the band's tenth single release in the United Kingdom (the fourth taken from their second LP Songs from the Big Chair) and eighth UK Top 40 hit, peaking at #12 in July 1985. In the USA, it was the third single from the album and continued the band's run of hits there, peaking at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. A limited edition four-leaf clover shaped picture disc was issued for the single's release in the UK. According to Roland Orzabal of Tears for Fears, "It [Head Over Heels] is basically a love song and one of the most simple tracks that Tears for Fears have ever recorded. It is a love song that goes a bit perverse at the end."

"Head over Heels" was featured prominently in Donnie Darko, a 2001 American science fiction psychological thriller film written and directed by Richard Kelly and starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Drew Barrymore, Patrick Swayze, Noah Wyle, Jena Malone, and Mary McDonnell. One continuous sequence involving an introduction of Donnie's high school prominently features the song "Head over Heels". According to director Richard Kelly on the DVD commentary, the scene was written and choreographed specifically with the song in mind.

[ColeStratton]

Let me just save everyone some time here...

#1 Pumpin' Blowin'
1.1 billion votes
(Every list of all kinds of all time)
Highest Placement: #1 by Christopher Atkins

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/fdlKXRReqNA" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/fdlKXRReqNA</a>

[wurwolf]

#27: Stuck In the Middle With You
37 Points (On 4 of 19 lists)
Highest Placement: #9 by ScottotD

Watch at your own discretion:
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/PGqB6JIUzBo?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/PGqB6JIUzBo?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US</a>

 
Featured In: Reservoir Dogs

Composer/Lyricist: Gerry Rafferty & Joe Egan

Performer: Stealers Wheel

 
Description:
The Reservoir Dogs: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was the first soundtrack for a Quentin Tarantino film and set the structure his later soundtracks would follow. This includes the extensive use of snippets of dialogue from the film. The soundtrack has selections of songs from the 1960s to 80s. Only the group Bedlam recorded original songs for the film. The radio station "K-Billy's Super Sounds of the Seventies" played a prominent role in the film. The DJ for the radio was chosen to be Steven Wright, a comedian known for his deadpan delivery of jokes.

An unusual feature of the soundtrack was the choice of songs; Tarantino has said that he feels the music to be a counterpoint to the on-screen violence and action. He also stated that he wished for the film to have a 1950s feel while using '70s music. A prominent instance of this is the torture scene to the tune of "Stuck in the Middle with You".

"Stuck in the Middle with You" (sometimes known as "Stuck in the Middle") is a song written by Gerry Rafferty and Joe Egan and originally performed by their band Stealers Wheel. The song was inspired by a real occasion when the record company and producers were conducting business across Rafferty and Egan at a restaurant table. Gerry Rafferty's solo work also includes the 1978 hit "Baker Street".

[wurwolf]

#26: (Everything I Do) I Do It For You
38 Points (On 2 of 19 lists)
Highest Placement: #7 by Mrs. Dick Courier, anais.butterfly


<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZGoWtY_h4xo?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/ZGoWtY_h4xo?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US</a>

 
Featured In: Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves

Composer/Lyricist: Bryan Adams, Michael Kamen & Robert John "Mutt" Lange

Performer: Bryan Adams

 
Description:
"(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" is a power ballad performed by Canadian rock singer Bryan Adams and co-written with Michael Kamen and Robert John "Mutt" Lange, featured on the soundtrack album from the 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and on Adams' album Waking Up the Neighbours. It was an enormous chart success internationally, particularly in the United Kingdom, where it spent sixteen consecutive weeks at number one on the UK Singles Chart (the longest in British chart history), seven weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, and nine weeks atop the RPM singles chart in Canada. It was a number one hit on many charts and sold 8 million copies worldwide, making it Adams' most successful song.

Adams, Kamen and Lange won a Grammy Award for Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or Television at the Grammy Awards of 1992, and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Song. Subsequently, the song has been covered by numerous singers around the world.

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves is an adventure film directed by Kevin Reynolds. Kevin Costner heads the cast list as Robin Hood. The film also stars Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio as Maid Marian of Dubois, Morgan Freeman as Azeem, Christian Slater as Will Scarlet, and Alan Rickman as the Sheriff of Nottingham.

[anais.butterfly]

#26: (Everything I Do) I Do It For You
38 Points (On 2 of 19 lists)
Highest Placement: #7 by Mrs. Dick Courier, anais.butterfly


<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZGoWtY_h4xo?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/ZGoWtY_h4xo?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US</a>

 
Featured In: Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves

YES YES YES


I am such a girl sometime

[Tripe]

Spew.

[wurwolf]

Speaking of spew...

#25: Tubular Bells
39 Points (On 3 of 19 lists)
Highest Placement: #9 by Compound


<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/8LEWkwvaNcs?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/8LEWkwvaNcs?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US</a>

 
Featured In: The Exorcist

Composer/Lyricist: Mike Oldfield

Performer: Mike Oldfield

 
Description:
Tubular Bells is the debut record album of English musician Mike Oldfield, released in 1973. It was the first album released by Virgin Records and an early cornerstone of the company's success. Vivian Stanshall provided the voice of the "Master of Ceremonies" who reads off the list of instruments at the end of the first movement. The opening piano solo was used as a soundtrack to the blockbuster William Friedkin film The Exorcist (released the same year) and gained considerable airplay because of this.

The Exorcist is a 1973 horror film directed by William Friedkin, adapted by William Peter Blatty from his 1971 novel of the same name. The book, inspired by the 1949 exorcism case of Roland Doe, deals with the demonic possession of a young girl and her mother’s desperate attempts to win back her daughter through an exorcism conducted by two priests.

The film features Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Jason Miller, Lee J. Cobb, Linda Blair, and (in voice only) Mercedes McCambridge. It is one of a cycle of "demonic child" films produced from the late 1960s to the mid-1970s, including Rosemary's Baby and The Omen.

[wurwolf]

#26: (Everything I Do) I Do It For You

Hold on a minute. That wasn't ever played in the movie.

Ugh, you're going to make me do more research about that song?