Top 5 soundtrack moments

There’s something about a song at the perfect moment in a movie that stays with you after the credits roll. The right track can define a character or a scene, or become tied to the film forever. I’m counting down the top five music moments in movies.

#5 Misirlou by Dick Dale in Pulp Fiction

“I’ve never heard that song, Bronson!” I hear you say. Yes you have, you just don’t know it by name. It may as well be called Theme For Pulp Fiction after Tarantino used it in the film’s opening. And then the Black Eyed Peas got their hands on it and sampled it for Pump It.

The Film Experience’s Chris Feil doesn’t have it in his top 10 Tarantino song cues, but I don’t have Stuck In The Middle With You from Reservoir Dogs in my all-time top five, so we’ll call it square.

#4 Where Is My Mind? by The Pixies in Fight Club

Some scenes wouldn’t be the same without the music. Take the last scene of Fight Club – Edward Norton and Helena Bonham Carter stand hand-in-hand watching the skyline collapse as The Pixies perfectly capture the movie’s themes of alienation and surrealism. Even the book’s author Chuck Palahniuk says he prefers the movie to his book – maybe he would’ve liked it better if it had a killer soundtrack.

It wasn’t a hit when The Pixies released it in ‘88 but it became a cult classic in the meantime. Fight Club is what made it iconic though.

#3 Lose Yourself by Eminem from 8 Mile

How could I write a blog about the best songs in movie soundtracks without mentioning the Mom’s Spaghetti classic Lose Yourself. Not only did it become Eminem’s first Billboard Hot 100 number-one single, it scored the 8 Mile star his first Oscar for Best Original Song. Plus, it was the first rap song to win an Oscar. That’s a lot of firsts for one song.

The story goes that Eminem wrote the song while he was on the set of the movie. It became the lead single from the soundtrack and plays as B-Rabbit walks into the metaphorical sunset.

#2 Still by Geto Boys from Office Space

There’s one scene from Office Space that everyone knows. No, I’m not talking about the stapler scene. This one’s been parodied countless times. It’s the legendary printer scene where we see our three heroes Peter, Michael and Samir carry out their sweet revenge on everyone’s least favourite office fixture: the printer. It’s all set to Still by Geto Boys.

The film celebrated its 26th anniversary last month and this soundtrack moment still stands out. In fact, years later its soundtrack feels more relevant than ever.

#1 Don’t You (Forget About Me) by Simple Minds from The Breakfast Club

Sometimes all it takes to make a soundtrack moment legendary is Saturday school detention and an iconic fist pump. This one became the anthem of ’80s teen angst and shorthand for a feel-good ending, fist raised as our hero walks away from the bleachers.

It was written by producer Keith Forsey specially for The Breakfast Club. Initially, Simple Minds didn’t want to record someone else’s song. Lucky for us, Forsey talked them into it.

What do you think? Did I nail this list or what? I’m sure you’ve got an opinion on why I’m totally wrong so get in the comments and let me know your top five!

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