LoC #63: Top 50 Songs from Movies

[wurwolf]

#9: Bohemian Rhapsody
55 Points (On 5 of 19 lists)
Highest Placement: #6 by Mrs. Dick Courier


<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/STt9dqPsFTE?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/STt9dqPsFTE?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US</a>

 
Featured In: Wayne's World

Composer/Lyricist: Freddie Mercury

Performer: Queen

 
Description:
"Bohemian Rhapsody" is a song by the British rock band Queen. It was written by Freddie Mercury for the band's 1975 album A Night at the Opera. The song has no chorus, instead consisting of four main parts: a ballad segment ending with a guitar solo, an operatic passage, and a hard rock section. At the time, it was the most expensive single ever made and remains one of the most elaborate recordings in popular music history.

The song enjoyed renewed popularity in 1992 as part of the soundtrack to the film Wayne's World. The film's director, Penelope Spheeris, was hesitant to use the song, as it did not entirely fit with the lead characters, who were fans of less flamboyant hard rock and heavy metal. However, Mike Myers insisted that the song fit the scene.

According to music scholar Theodore Gracyk, by 1992, when the film was released, even "classic rock" stations had stopped playing the almost-six-minute song. Gracyk suggests that beginning the tape in the middle of the song after "the lyrics which provide the song's narrative ... forces the film's audience to respond to its presence in the scene without the 'commentary' of the lyrics." Helped by the song, the soundtrack album of the film was a major hit.

In connection with this, a new video was released, intercutting excerpts from the film with footage from the original Queen video, along with some live footage of the band. Myers was horrified that the record company had mixed clips from Wayne's World with Queen's original video, fearing that this would upset the band. He said, "they've just whizzed on a Picasso." He asked the record company to tell Queen that the video was not his idea, and that he apologized to them. The band, though, sent a reply simply saying, "Thank you for using our song." This shocked Myers, who said it should be more like him telling Queen, "Thank you for even letting me touch the hem of your garments!"

The Wayne's World video version of "Bohemian Rhapsody" won Queen its only MTV Video Music Award for "Best Video from a Film". When remaining members Brian May and Roger Taylor took the stage to accept the award, Brian May was overcome with emotion and said that "Freddie [who died in 1991] would be tickled." In the final scene of said video, a pose of the band from the video from the original "Bohemian Rhapsody" clip morphs into an identically posed 1985 photo, first featured in the "One Vision" video. This re-release (with "The Show Must Go On" as a double-A side) hit No. 2 in the US in 1992, 16 years after the original 1976 US release peaked at #9.

[wurwolf]

#8: Where Is My Mind?
56 Points (On 3 of 19 lists)
Highest Placement: #3 by DB Barnes


<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/3DDZEdkoaY4?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/3DDZEdkoaY4?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US</a>

 
Featured In: Fight Club

Composer/Lyricist: Black Francis

Performer: The Pixies

 
Description:
"Where Is My Mind?" is a song by the American alternative rock band Pixies. It is the seventh track on their 1988 album Surfer Rosa. The song was written by frontman Black Francis while he attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, inspired by his experiences scuba diving in the Caribbean. He later said he had "this very small fish trying to chase me. I don't know why — I don't know too much about fish behavior."

"Where Is My Mind?" was prominently featured during the final scene and ending credits of the 1999 film Fight Club, which is based on the 1996 novel of the same name by Chuck Palahniuk. The film was directed by David Fincher and stars Edward Norton, Brad Pitt, and Helena Bonham Carter. Norton plays the unnamed protagonist, an "everyman" who is discontented with his white-collar job. He forms a "fight club" with soap maker Tyler Durden, played by Pitt, and becomes embroiled in a relationship with him and a dissolute woman, Marla Singer, played by Bonham Carter.

Palahniuk's novel was optioned by 20th Century Fox producer Laura Ziskin, who hired Jim Uhls to write the film adaptation. Fincher was one of four directors the producers considered and hired him because of his enthusiasm for the film. Fincher developed the script with Uhls and sought screenwriting advice from the cast and others in the film industry. The director and the cast compared the film to Rebel Without a Cause (1955) and The Graduate (1967). Fincher intended the violence in Fight Club to serve as a metaphor for the conflict between a generation of young people and the value system of advertising. The director copied the homoerotic overtones from Palahniuk's novel to make audiences uncomfortable and keep them from anticipating the twist ending.

Studio executives did not like the film and they restructured Fincher's intended marketing campaign to try to reduce anticipated losses. Fight Club failed to meet the studio's expectations at the box office and received polarized reactions from critics. It was cited as one of the most controversial and talked-about films of 1999. However, the film later found commercial success with its DVD release, which established Fight Club as a cult film. Critical reception of Fight Club has since become more positive.

[wurwolf]

#7: Flash's Theme
58 Points (On 3 of 19 lists)
Highest Placement: #1 by Gunflyer


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

 
Featured In: Flash Gordon

Composer/Lyricist: Brian May

Performer: Queen

 
Description:
"Flash" is a song by British rock group Queen. Written by guitarist Brian May, "Flash" is the theme song of the 1980 film Flash Gordon. The soundtrack released to coincide with the film contained only the music composed and performed by Queen.

There are two versions of the song. The album version ("Flash's Theme") is in fact the start to the movie, with all the dialogue from the first scene. The single version features dialogue cut from various parts of the movie, most memorably, Brian Blessed's character exclaiming "Gordon's alive!" This version was also included on the Greatest Hits compilation from 1981.

"Flash" is sung as a duet between Freddie Mercury and Brian May, with Roger Taylor adding the high harmonies. May plays all of the instruments except for the rhythm section. He used a Bösendorfer Imperial Grand Piano (with 97 keys instead of 88, having an extra octave on the low range), Oberheim OBX synth (which he plays in the video) and his homemade Red Special guitar.

Flash Gordon is a 1980 British-American science fiction film, based on the comic strip of the same name created by Alex Raymond. The film was directed by Mike Hodges, and produced and presented by Dino De Laurentiis; it premiered just two months after what would have been Raymond's 71st birthday. It stars Sam J. Jones, Melody Anderson, Topol, Max von Sydow, Timothy Dalton, Brian Blessed and Ornella Muti. The screenplay was written by Lorenzo Semple, Jr., and adapted by Michael Allin (who previously scripted Enter the Dragon). It intentionally uses a camp style similar to the 1960s TV series Batman (for which Semple had written many episodes) in an attempt to appeal to fans of the original comics and serial films. However, it performed poorly outside the United Kingdom. The film is notable for its soundtrack composed, performed and produced by Queen (although orchestral sections were by Howard Blake).

[wurwolf]

This one actually pissed me off. I hated this song when it was out and I have no idea how it got so high on the list.

[wurwolf]

#6: Singin' In the Rain
62 Points (On 4 of 19 lists)
Highest Placement: #5 by Imrahil


<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/rmCpOKtN8ME?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/rmCpOKtN8ME?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US</a>

 
Featured In: Singin' In the Rain

Composer/Lyricist: Arthur Freed & Nacio Herb Brown

Performer: Gene Kelly

 
Description:
"Singin' In the Rain" is a song with lyrics by Arthur Freed and music by Nacio Herb Brown, published in 1929. However, it is unclear exactly when the song was written with some claiming that the song was written and performed as early as 1927. The song was listed as Number 3 on AFI's 100 Years... 100 Songs.

"Singing in the Rain" was first performed by Doris Eaton Travis in the 1929 revue The Hollywood Music Box Revue. The song became a hit and was recorded by a number of artists, notably Cliff Edwards, who also performed the number with the Brox Sisters in the early MGM musical The Hollywood Revue of 1929. It was also performed by Annette Hanshaw in her album Volume 6. It was also performed on film by Jimmy Durante (in 1932's Speak Easily) and Judy Garland (in 1940's Little Nellie Kelly). An instrumental version was used as background music at the beginning of MGM's 1930 The Divorcee starring Norma Shearer.

The song is probably best known today as the centerpiece of the musical film Singin' in the Rain, in which Gene Kelly memorably danced to the song while splashing through puddles during a rainstorm. The song is also performed during the opening credits of the film.

Singin' in the Rain is a 1952 American musical comedy film starring Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor and Debbie Reynolds and directed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, with Kelly also providing the choreography. It offers a lighthearted depiction of Hollywood, with the three stars portraying performers caught up in the transition from silent films to "talkies."

The film was only a modest hit when first released, with O'Connor's Best Actor win at the Golden Globes and Comden and Green's win at the Writers Guild of America Awards being the only major recognitions. However, it was accorded its legendary status by contemporary critics. It is now frequently described as one of the best musicals ever made, topping the AFI's 100 Years of Musicals list, and ranking fifth in its updated list of the greatest American films in 2007.

In an early draft of the script, the musical number "Singin' in the Rain" was to be sung by Debbie Reynolds, Donald O'Connor, and Gene Kelly on their way back from the flop preview of The Dueling Cavalier. The footage of this scene has been lost.

In the famous dance routine in which Gene Kelly sings the title song while twirling an umbrella, splashing through puddles and getting soaked to the skin, Kelly was sick with a 103 °F (39 °C) fever. The rain in the scene caused Kelly's wool suit to shrink during filming. A common myth is that Kelly managed to perform the entire song in one take, thanks to cameras placed at predetermined locations. However this was not the case as the filming of the sequence took place over 2–3 days. Another myth is that the rain was mixed with milk in order for the drops to show up on camera, but the shots were simply lit from the front.

[Johnny Unusual]

Flash is an absolutely ridiculous song, but it is so fun and over-the-top epic that I find it hard not to like.  Too bad the movie doesn't live up to the song.

Never seen Singin' in the Rain.  But I got a lot on that list.

[goflyblind]

Never heard of "Where is My Mind?"

the pixies are wonderful. you listen to them long time.

[wurwolf]

#5: Afternoon Delight
71 Points (On 5 of 19 lists)
Highest Placement: #6 by Imrahil


<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/IBB0M8mQeL4?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/IBB0M8mQeL4?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US</a>

 
Featured In: Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy

Composer/Lyricist: Bill Danoff

Performer: Will Ferrell, Paul Rudd, Steve Carrell & David Koechner

 
Description:
"Afternoon Delight" is a song recorded by Starland Vocal Band, featuring close harmony and sexually suggestive wordplay. It was written by Bill Danoff, one of the members of the band. It became a number-one U.S. Billboard Hot 100 single on July 10, 1976. Danoff's fellow bandmember and then-wife Kathy "Taffy" Nivert told at least one audience that the title came from a spicy menu item of the same name at Clyde's restaurant in Georgetown. Danoff enjoyed writing the song and downplayed the somewhat controversial lyrics, saying, "I didn't want to write an all-out sex song ... I just wanted to write something that was fun and hinted at sex."

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, or simply Anchorman, is a 2004 comedy film, directed by Adam McKay and starring Will Ferrell. The film, which was also written by Ferrell and McKay, is a tongue-in-cheek take on the culture of the 1970s, particularly the then-new Action News format. It portrays a San Diego TV station where Ferrell's title character clashes with his new female counterpart. This film is number 100 on Bravo's 100 funniest movies, and 113 on Empire's 500 Greatest Movies of All Time. The film made $28.4 million in its opening weekend, and $90.6 million worldwide in its total theatrical run.

Empire magazine ranked Ron Burgundy #26 in their "The 100 Greatest Movie Characters" poll. Empire also ranked Anchorman at number 113 in their poll of the 500 Greatest Films Ever. Entertainment Weekly ranked Burgundy #40 in their "The 100 Greatest Characters of the Last 20 Years" poll and Ferrell said, "He is my favorite character I've played, if I have to choose one ... Looking back, that makes it the most satisfying thing I've ever done".

[Mrs. Dick Courier]

Love "Stayin Alive" the opening when Travolta is strutting down the sidewalk is fused into my brain.  Also love the use of it in Airplane! 

And I too have never heard "Where is My Mind?"

[wurwolf]

I did not see that! Awesome!! 

I'll watch this tonight when I get back to Brooklyn.

[wurwolf]

#4: Falling Slowly
74 Points (On 3 of 19 lists)
Highest Placement: #1 by Monty, Johnny Unusual


<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/yzQ9VrnNQLQ?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/yzQ9VrnNQLQ?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US</a>

 
Featured In: Once

Composer/Lyricist: Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova

Performer: Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova

 
Description:
Once is a 2006 Irish musical film written and directed by John Carney. Set in Dublin, the naturalistic drama stars musicians Glen Hansard (of the Irish folk rock band The Frames) and Markéta Irglová as musicians. Collaborators prior to making the film, Hansard and Irglová composed and performed all of the original songs in the movie.

Shot for only €130,000 (US$160,000), the film was successful, earning substantial per-screen box office averages in the United States. It received enthusiastic reviews and awards such as the 2007 Independent Spirit Award for best foreign film. Hansard and Irglová's song "Falling Slowly" received a 2007 Academy Award for Best Original Song and the soundtrack as a whole also received a Grammy nomination.

Once spent years in development with the Irish Film Board. It was during a period where the film board had no chief executive (for about 6 months) that the film was given the go-ahead by a lower level executive on the proviso that the producers could make it on a budget of approximately 150,000 euros and not the initial higher budget.

"Falling Slowly" was written while Once was in production. John Carney developed the script around songs provided by Hansard and Irglová. In the movie, the duo play the song in Walton's music shop in Dublin, with Hansard on guitar and Irglová on piano. The couple performed it at gigs in various European venues over the next two years. Versions appeared in 2006 on two albums: The Cost by Hansard's band The Frames, and The Swell Season, an album by Hansard and Irglová.

[Pak-Man]

I'm beginning to think "Ninja Rap" isn't going to place at all...

[wurwolf]

#3: Imperial March
83 Points (On 4 of 19 lists)
Highest Placement: #2 by Gunflyer


<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/QzntZLHcYy0?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/QzntZLHcYy0?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US</a>

 
Featured In: Empire Strikes Back

Composer/Lyricist: John Williams

 
Description:
"The Imperial March (Darth Vader's Theme)", also known as the "Imperial Death March", is a musical theme present in the Star Wars franchise. It was composed by John Williams for the film Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. Together with "Yoda's Theme", "The Imperial March" was premiered on April 29, 1980, three weeks before the opening of the film, on the occasion of John Williams' first concert as official conductor-in-residence of the Boston Pops Orchestra. One of the best known symphonic movie themes, it is a classic example of a leitmotif, a recurrent theme associated with characters or events in a drama.

"The Imperial March" is sometimes referred to simply as "Darth Vader's Theme." In the movies (except for Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope), the march is often played when Darth Vader appears. It is also played for the arrival of Emperor Palpatine on the Death Star in Return of the Jedi, though it does segue into the Emperor's own theme as he appears.

The piece is first heard in The Empire Strikes Back in low piccolos as the Galactic Empire sends probe droids across the galaxy in search of Luke Skywalker. Its major opening occurs as Star Destroyers amass and Darth Vader is first presented in the film, eighteen minutes into the movie. The theme and related motifs are also incorporated into tracks such as "The Battle of Hoth" and "The Asteroid Field". Return of the Jedi makes similar use of the theme, though its final statement is significantly different, making quiet use of a harp as a redeemed Anakin Skywalker dies in his son's arms.

[ColeStratton]

#3: Imperial March
83 Points (On 4 of 19 lists)
Highest Placement: #2 by Gunflyer

This one feels out of place to me -- it's part of John Williams score and is a theme for a character, and not really a "song" from a movie. Add some lyrics and we'll talk...

[wurwolf]

#2: Ghostbusters
83 Points (On 5 of 19 lists)
Highest Placement: #1 by Pak-Man


<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/KvkKX035484?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/KvkKX035484?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US</a>

 
Featured In: Ghostbusters I & II

Composer/Lyricist: Ray Parker Jr.

Performer: Ray Parker Jr.

 
Description:
"Ghostbusters" is a 1984 song recorded by Ray Parker, Jr. as the theme to the film of the same name starring Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd. It hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on August 11 in 1984, and stayed there for three weeks. It also peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart on 16 September 1984, where it stayed for three weeks.

It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Music, Original Song, but lost to Stevie Wonder's "I Just Called to Say I Love You".

According to Parker, he was approached by the film's producers to create a theme song for the film. Unfortunately, he only had a few days to do so and the film's title seemed impossible to include in any lyrics. However, when watching television late at night, Parker saw a cheap commercial for a local service that reminded him that the film had a similar commercial featured for the fictional business. This inspired him to write the song as a pseudo-advertising jingle that the business could have commissioned as a promotion.

Parker was later the defendant in a copyright infringement lawsuit which claimed "Ghostbusters" was too similar in musical structure to "I Want a New Drug," written and performed by Huey Lewis and the News (more specifically, the bass/guitar riff which runs through the song). "I Want a New Drug" was a U.S. top-ten hit earlier the same year and was extremely similar to Pop Muzik by M, a project by Robin Scott. The two parties settled out of court. Details of the settlement (specifically, that Parker paid Lewis a settlement) were confidential until 2001, when Lewis commented on the payment in an episode of VH1's Behind the Music. Parker subsequently sued Lewis for breaching confidentiality. Coincidentally, Lewis had at one point been asked to record a theme song for the movie, but turned it down because he was writing songs for the Back to the Future soundtrack.

Lindsey Buckingham claims to have been approached to write the Ghostbusters theme based on his successful contribution to Harold Ramis's National Lampoon's Vacation (the song "Holiday Road"). He turned down the opportunity as he did not want to be known as a soundtrack artist.

Ghostbusters is a 1984 American supernatural comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. The film stars Bill Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis as three eccentric parapsychologists in New York City, who start a ghost catching business. Sigourney Weaver and Rick Moranis co-star as a potential client and her neighbor. It was released in the United States on June 8, 1984 and made $238,632,124 in the United States. The American Film Institute ranked Ghostbusters 28th in its AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs list of film comedies.

The film was followed by a sequel, Ghostbusters II in 1989, and two animated television series, The Real Ghostbusters (later renamed Slimer! And the Real Ghostbusters) and Extreme Ghostbusters. As of February 2012, a third feature film remains in development hell [for reals, Wikipedia].