Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Music Month: 10 favourite movie songs

Wang Chung: "Wait" from To Live and Die in LA (1985)
Can't think of another 80s movie that ended on such a note perfect song. Perfect for driving down roads late at night (pretending to be on the run from angry money counterfeiters).

Public Image Limited: "Order of Death" from Hardware (1990)
Bleak, sober song but unbelievably catchy.  John Lydon's repetitive lyrics get stuck in your head a long time after the song has finished.


Michael McDonald: "Sweet Freedom" from Running Scared (1986)
A yacht rock classic! The Disease Control Centre should get on this song immediately, it's goddamn infectious! Warning: May bring up mental images of Billy Crystal in rollerskates.

Cake: "I Will Survive" from Survival Style 5+ (2004)
Great little weird Japanese film. Quite taken aback to see the director dug out this 90s track by indie rockers Cake to close out the film.

John Parr: "St Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion)" from St Elmo's Fire (1985)
True story: Parr originally wrote the song for wheelchair athlete and activist Rick Hansen but it ended up in this famous brat pack movie instead.

Geto Boys: "Damn It Feels Good to be a Gangsta" from Office Space (1999)
Office Space is a movie I always stick on after I've had a crappy day at work. The next day I go into work listening to this song and try to emulate Ron Livingston.

Peggy Abernathy: "Back to the Shadows" from Pray for Death (1985)
Great Sho Kosugi ninja flick. A little mean-spirited in places (particularly the uncut version) but this great power ballad softens some of its harsh edges.

Quarterflash: "Night Shift" from Night Shift (1982)
Michael Keaton's big screen debut. This movie should be more famous, it's a great little movie about morgue attendants running a brothel and this title track is the icing on the cake.

Jason Segal: "Man or Muppet" from The Muppets (2011)
Ah, man I still haven't gotten around to watching this movie but I f**king love this song. Bret McKenzie really captured that 70s Elton John sound.

Mogwai: "Auto Rock" from Miami Vice (2006)
Love how Michael Mann takes full songs and then edits his movies to them. The ending to Miami Vice was perfect (until that nu-metal version of "In the Air Tonight" kicks in, spoiling it somewhat).

2 comments:

  1. Cool idea for a post, I like music month! I familiar with the tracks by Quarterflash and Geto Boys though I actually haven't seen those movies. I also like John Parr's "St. Elmo's Fire." Though Parr is normally considered a one hit wonder, his song "Naughty Naughty" was a US top 40 hit in 1985.
    I was happy that "Man or a Muppet" won the Oscar for best song last year.
    Of these ten my favorite is Wang Chung's "Wait." Cool tune and works great over the closing credits. I still think it's too bad that Wang Chung is more known for "Everybody Have Fun Tonight" than their work on the To Live and Die in L.A. soundtrack.

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  2. Hey Chris, yeah, I totally recommend all these accompanying films. Night Shift in particular is a great underrated gem. Henry Winkler and Michael Keaton make a great double act.

    Haven't heard much more of Parr's stuff but I can always go for a bit of cheesy power ballad every now and then.

    Totally agree about Wang Chung. Love that soundtrack (and film). Such a perfect match.

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