Infectious grooves

One of the many soundtracks running through my head after I turn off the radio is an imaginary list of songs from films I’ve seen. There are a number of popular songs that have been used so perfectly, in my opinion, that I can never again hear the song without also thinking of the scene in the movie where they provided the soundtrack. Ever since I took an Italian cinema class* in college, I can never hear a song in a movie without trying to decide whether it’s diagetic or extradiagetic.**

(*which I nearly failed. Watching Italian movies in the dark is a lot more interesting than writing papers about them.)

(**diagetic means literally that the characters are also hearing the music, or the music occurs within the scene, whereas extradiagetic means that the music has been added and is not actually a part of the scene as it happens in the world within the movie. But I’ve always used these terms — incorrectly — as music that fits organically within the scene versus music used ironically, e.g., like if someone is being brutally murdered to the sound of beautiful chamber music)

Here’s an incomplete list. Please feel free to add your own songs and their movie pairings in the comments section. I’d love to know what tunes infect your brain when you’re trying to get work done:

1. “American Girl” by Tom Petty — Silence of the Lambs

2. “Where is My Mind” by the Pixies — Fight Club

3. “Then He Kissed Me” by the Crystals — Goodfellas

4. “Layla (Piano Exit)” by Derek and the Dominoes — Goodfellas
(which for some years I thought was a Jackson Browne tune. Either way, hearing this song brings forth images of frozen people on meathooks. Thank you, Martin Scorcese.)

5. “Atlantis,” by Donovan — Goodfellas

6. “Lookin’ Out My Back Door” by Creedence Clearwater Revival — The Big Lebowski

7. “Hotel California” (Spanish version) by the Gipsy Kings — The Big Lebowski

8. “Peaceful Easy Feeling” by the Eagles — The Big Lebowski

9. “99 Luftballons” (German version) by Nena — Gross Pointe Blank
(when this plays on my running mix, I feel like I should be dragging around a body wrapped in a prom poster)

10. “Let My Love Open the Door” by Peter Townsend — Gross Pointe Blank

11. “Born Slippy (NUXX)” by Underworld — Trainspotting

12. “Lust for Life” by Iggy Pop — Trainspotting

13. “Angel” by Massive Attack — Snatch
(playing as Brad Pitt’s character Mickey’s trailer burns)

14. “The Child” by Alex Gopher — Amelie
(when I hear this on my local hipster radio station, I’m always a little surprised to find that I’m not in a Parisian sex shop)

15. “Sabotage” by the Beastie Boys — Star Trek (2009)

And now, for a short section devoted to cringeworthy teenage memories:

16. “Take My Breath Away” by Berlin — Top Gun

17. “You’ve Lost that Lovin’ Feeling” by The Righteous Brothers — Top Gun

18. “Crazy for You” by Madonna — Vision Quest

19. “Somebody’s Baby” by Jackson Browne — Fast Times at Ridgemont High