This has been making the rounds among my friends. Stereogum made a list of the 40 Best Musical Moments in Film -- not musical as in musical theater, but as in moments in which music plays a crucial or memorable part in the film. The caveat is that it can't be a song written for the film -- no soundtracks. Has to be a song that already exists. The full list with explanation and clips is here:
http://www.stereogum.com/archives/003637.html
But this is the list:
40. "Cuban Pete," Desi Arnaz – The Mask
39. "The Promise," When In Rome – Napoleon Dynamite
38. "I Think I See the Light," Cat Stevens – Harold and Maude
37. "Cruel to Be Kind," Letters To Cleo – 10 Things I Hate About You
36. "Closer," Nine Inch Nails – Se7en
35. "Across 110th Street," Bobby Womack – Jackie Brown
34. "Beth," Kiss – Beautiful Girls
33. "I Say a Little Prayer," Dionne Warwick – My Best Friend’s Wedding
32. "Sweet Emotion," Aerosmith – Dazed and Confused
31. "Oh Yeah," Yello – Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
30. "Louie, Louie," The Kingsmen – Animal House
29. "Under Pressure," Queen and David Bowie – Grosse Pointe Blank
28. "Jump in the Line," Harry Belafonte – Beetlejuice
27. "Everybody Knows," Leonard Cohen – Pump Up the Volume
26. "Lust for Life," Iggy Pop – Trainspotting
25. "You Can Leave Your Hat On," Tom Jones – The Full Monty
24. "I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow," The Soggy Bottom Boys – O Brother Where Art Thou?
23. "Where Is My Mind," The Pixies – Fight Club
22. "If You Were Here," Thompson Twins – Sixteen Candles
21. "Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You," The Four Seasons – 10 Things I Hate About You
20. "In a Gadda-Da-Vida," Iron Butterfly – Manhunter
19. "Tequila," The Champs – Pee Wee’s Big Adventure
18. "Layla," Derek and the Dominoes – GoodFellas
17. "Afternoon Delight," Starland Vocal Band – Anchorman
16. "Spybreak," The Propellerheads – The Matrix
15. "Don’t Stop Me Now," Queen – Shaun of the Dead
14. "Misirlou," Dick Dale – Pulp Fiction
13. "Old Time Rock and Roll," Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band – Risky Business
12. "Sweet Caroline," Neil Diamond – Beautiful Girls
11. "Perfect Day," Lou Reed – Trainspotting
10. "Try a Little Tenderness," Otis Redding – Pretty in Pink
9. "The End," The Doors – Apocalypse Now
8. "Moving in Stereo," The Cars – Fast Times at Ridgemont High
7. "Shout," Otis Day & the Knights, Animal House
6. "Stuck in the Middle with You," Stealer’s Wheel – Reservoir Dogs
5. "Tiny Dancer," Elton John – Almost Famous
4. "Damn It Feels Good 2 Be A Gangsta," The Geto Boys – Office Space
3. "Twist and Shout," The Beatles – Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
2. "In Your Eyes," Peter Gabriel – Say Anything
1. "Bohemian Rhapsody," Queen – Wayne’s World
So my friends and I, clearly on break from doing Very Important Things, are adding to the list. this is what we've tacked on:
"These Days," Nico, The Royal Tennenbaums
*replacement requested: "Live and Let Die" as the entry for Grosse Pointe Blank
*replacement requested: "Day-O" as the entry for Beatlejuice
"This Magic Moment," Lou Reed, Lost Highway
"Everything In Its Right Place," Radiohead, Vanilla Sky
"Everybody Get Together," Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
"Dry the Rain," The Beta Band, High Fidelity
*replacement requested: "Trouble" by Cat Stevens as the entry for Harold and Maude (my note: while I agree that this is a powerful song in the movie, I would like to point out that I Think I See the Light is brilliantly used as it is used twice, the first after Harold sets himself on fire and breaks the fourth wall in a cheeky moment, the second when they watch the fireworks and then they cut to the show of Harold blowing bubbles in bed, and the second time the song gets to the chorus so it is much more satisfying. This use adds a nice element of continuity and evolution. I would also like to note that although I've seen about four movies in my life, the ones I've seen I've seen one hundred gazillion times apiece.)
"Brass in Pocket," The Pretenders, Lost in Translation
*replacement requested: "Canned Heat," Jamiroquai, Napolean Dynamite
"Ordinary World," Duran duran, Layer Cake
"Finally," CeCe Peniston, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
"Put a Little Love in Your Heart," Annie Lennox, Scrooged
"The Only Living Boy in New York," Simon & Garfunkel, Garden State
"Tempted," Squeeze, Reality Bites
"Sugar High," empire Records
"Unchained Melody," Righteous Brothers, Ghost
"Love is Strange," Mickey & Sylvia, Dirty Dancing
all of Aimee Mann in Magnolia
*suggestion contended: "My Sharona," Reality Bites
"Tiny Dancer," Elton John, Almost Famous
*suggestion contended: either "That's the Way" or "The Rain Song" by Led Zeppelin in Almost Famous (higher bittersweet factor, better transitions)
the Brian Eno song at the end of Traffic when Benicio Del Toro is watching the kids on the baseball diamond
the sheep song when Alan Rickman sees Kate Winslet singing at the piano, Sense and Sensibility
"Desperado," the little girl, In America
"Blue Moon," singing mice, Babe
*replacement requested: "Die M********a," Ghetto Boyz, Office Space
*replacement requested: "You Could Be Mine," Terminator 2
"Paint It Black," The Rolling Stones, The Devil's Advocate
"The Man Comes Around," Johnny Cash, Dawn of the Dead
"Mambo Italiano," Big Night
Any additions? Clearly we're running out.