Friday Music Day

FMD — Movies songs

24 Comments

A couple of weeks ago I watched the movie Wings of Desire at the Walker Art Center. I had seen it when it came out in (I think) 1988 and loved it, but I don’t think I’ve seen it since. The end of the movie is at a Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds concert where they perform the song From Her to Eternity. (Attached video is the scene).

I loved this movie, scene, and this song back 30 some years ago and almost doubly so now. The song is a perfect summation of the movie, which if you're not familiar, is about an angel in Berlin who gives up his immortality to be with a woman he observed here on earth. They finally meet IRL at this nightclub where the song is being performed. The song was recorded in 1984 so it wasn’t made specifically for this movie but it fits so snugly with the message, I can’t think of how a different song would work better, even if one tried. Even though one could argue that this woman (her) drove the angel “from” eternity, in fact by actually experiencing humankind and earthly desires - instead of just observing them - the angel found true immortality. The song is a lot noisier than the vibe of the movie, but that also fits. Real life is a lot noisier, grittier than what the angels from their “heavenly” perches can observe and experience. I could go on but it really is a beautiful movie.

Anyway, what does that have to do with FMD? Well, we may have covered this topic before but are there other songs in a movie that “just fit?” They sum up the movie (or character) just so, that the movie could barely exist without that song? The Pixies’ Where Is My Mind at the end of Fight Club gets mentioned a lot. Also Jumpin’ Jack Flash as the Robert DeNiro character in Mean Streets is introduced is another. (the link below demonstrates one can do a whole post on Martin Scorsese and music in his movies). Any others?

The 20 Greatest Music Moments In The Films Of Martin Scorsese

And as usual, drop ‘em if you got ‘em.

24 thoughts on “FMD — Movies songs”

  1. Spolier alert: I'm going to post a 9 minute live version of From Her to Eternity when I am guest DJ in August.

  2. 1. Fiona Apple “Paper Bag” When the Pawn...
    2. Mitski “My Body's Made of Crushed Little Stars” Puberty 2
    3. Meat Puppets “Taste of the Sun” No Joke!
    4. Hercules & Love Affair* “Blind”
    5. Eric Copeland “Get My Own (Dutch E Germ Remix)” Black Bubblegum Remixed

    6. Ray Charles “Careless Love”* Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music
    7. Eric Copeland “Gutterhouse” Flushing Meats
    8. M.I.A. “Bamboo Banga” Kala
    9. Black Moth Super Rainbow “[Untitled]” Eating Us*
    T. Mati Zundel “Aero Tinku” Amazonico Gravitante*

    *Notes:
    4. Vox by Antony, who isn't listed as a featured performer though. Discogs shows Antony as part of the band for this release.
    6. Bonnie 'Prince' Billy wrote a song of the same name; his isn't a cover.
    9. First use in discogs.com I've seen "Hai" as part of a release's abbreviated description: "(CD, Album, Ltd, Hai)"... it means "Hairy".
    T. Discogs.com has this album as the only release to Zundel's name (and just a few more to an alias). I know little about him, like even where I heard of the song (though I'd assume p4k). But it's cool.:

  3. I thought the final song on Breaking Bad was perfect. I don't want to mention the name in case anyone is still watching.

    1. Oh no doubt, that's a great example. It's like they wrote the whole story arc so that they could use that song at the end.

      1. And now I see that was today's song war winner on The Current.

        We definitely live in the matrix.

  4. 01. "We're Different Now" – Aye Nako – Silver Haze
    02. "The Ledge" – The Replacements – Pleased To Meet Me
    03. "My Baby (Cares For The Animals)" – Margot & The Nuclear So And So's – Buzzard
    04. "Visions Of Johanna" – Bob Dylan – The Bootleg Series Vol. 4: Bob Dylan Live 1966, The "Royal Albert Hall" Concert
    05. "Why Didn't You Say That?" – The Lemon Twigs – Brothers Of Destruction
    06. "Times To Die" – Car Seat Headrest – Teens Of Style
    07. "Cross Boes Style" – Cat Power – Moon Pix
    08 "I Am Here" – Savages – Silence Yourself
    09. "thou shall not murder" – elvis depressedly – new alhambra
    10. "Mellow My Mind" – Neil Young – Tonight's The Night

  5. 1. Sail On--Commodores
    2. The Longest Time--Billy Joel
    3. Hummingbird--Seals and Crofts
    4. Something--The Beatles
    5. Both Sides Now--Judy Collins
    6. If You Could Read My Mind--Gordon Lightfoot
    7. It's a Miracle--Barry Manilow
    8. The Unicorn--The Irish Rovers
    9. Precious and Few--Climax
    10. I Won't Last a Day Without You--The Carpenters

  6. "Mad World" is the best thing about Donnie Darko, but that movie can just go ahead and not exist anyway.

      1. I loved it when I first saw it in ‘02, and ended up buying the director’s cut. It is so much more bloated (and feels like you’re being spoon-fed the ‘heavy’ material) than the original released version that I haven’t rewatched it in probably 8 years.
        For the purpose of this post, "The Killing Moon" by Echo & the Bunnymen was replaced with "Never Tear Us Apart" by INXS in the directors cut ... not a fan of the move.

  7. I thought Gary Jule's version of "Mad World" worked well in Donnie Darko.

    Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack set the bar for prerecorded music used in a movie.

    1. I don't know if I'd go that far, but a few tracks were very well placed. That Cat Stevens song, for instance (and I don't even really like Cat).

      1. I'm not talking necessarily about set the bar for me (although I thought most were well placed), it set the bar for soundtrack sales

        The soundtrack album reached number one on the US Billboard 200 chart, becoming the first soundtrack album in history consisting entirely of previously released songs to top the chart.

        Although Valerian of the Thousand Planets failed on a lot of levels, I did think the opening sequence was the best part (and had "Major Tom" in the background)

  8. 1. $.90 Skank - Big Youth
    2. Radio Free Europe - R.E.M.
    3. Pato and Roger a Go Talk - The Beat
    4. Let My Love Open the Door - Pete Townshend
    5. Pimper's Paradise - Bob Marley & the Wailers
    6. Rain Rain Beautiful Rain - Ladysmith Black Mambazo
    7. Wrote a Song for Everyone - CCR
    8. 54-46 That's My Number - Toots & the Maytals
    9. It's Wonderful - The Young Rascals
    10. Jet - Paul McCartney & Wings

      1. Playing Rhu_Ru's advocate, Mark Mothersbaugh deserves as much if not more credit for the tone of the film. Damn fine song selections besides though.

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