Memory soundtracking

Some songs are permanently linked to a film they appeared in, whether written for the soundtrack or not. Sometimes this builds upon the meaning to the song, other times it changes the original meaning completely, creating a new statement. Either way, all these tracks immediately conjure characters and dialogue in my head, at least.

Song: Roy Orbison - In Dreams
Film: Blue Velvet (1986)
In David Lynch's unsettling '80s masterpiece, villain Frank Booth (Dennis Hopper) demands the song be played during two awesome scenes. The first is at the homestead of a pimp named Ben. His ghoulish, white-painted face glows eerily over a worklight held like a mic as he lip-syncs, starting with the opening line about a "candy-colored clown." Frank takes a break from slamming a PBR while holding terrified college-age Jeffry hostage to enjoy the nocturnal ballad. Later, after a terrifying joy ride, Frank demands one of his goons play "the candy-colored clown" before beating the living snot out of Jeffry as one of Ben's overweight hookers dances on the roof of the car.

Lynch's films always play like disorientating nightmares, and Bue Velvet removes any comfort from Orbison's tune, making it as frightening as the deranged characters lurking beneath Blue Velvet's idyllic small town setting.


Song: Bobby Womack - Across 110th Street
Film: Jackie Brown (1997)
Though the characters in Tarantino's most underrated film bond over the Delfonics, no other track encapsulates Quintin's reverent throwback to blacksploitation cinema like this smooth-operating ode to hustling and the wah-wah peddle. The song not only gets stuck in your head, it packs it's bags full of scenes from the film for deposit in your frontal lobe.



Song: Geto Boys - Damn it Feels Good to be a Gangster
Film: Office Space (1999)
I'm pretty sure Bushwick Bill, Scarface and Willie D never intended their jam to be synonymous with white-coller rebellion against the soul-sucking strife of cubicle culture, but its use in the film is effective either way. The track's inclusion is perfectly framed by scenes like the opening credit sequence, when a harmless Micheal Bolton is seen rapping to Scarface's "No Tears" like a real hardass, before nervously rolling up the window at the first glance of a black man. I'm not ashamed to admit that Office Space introduced me to the Geto Boys, easily one of the best rap groups of any decade whose influence goes way beyond posturing computer programmers.



Song: Bob Dylan - The Man in Me
Film: The Big Lebowski (1998)
The Coen brothers took this song, from one of Zimmy's unloved '70s albums, and made it the Dude's complete and utter bitch. You can't hear the "na na nana, na nana na" chorus and not think of Jeff Bridges floating through the LA sky with a bowling ball, pajama pants, jellies and all.
Kenny Rogers' "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In" is also forever altered by the Dude.

A film (or more) for every year

I can't help myself, I had to do a list for movies also. I'll probably keep updating it as my mind changes, or remember things I forgot. The first listed under each year is my favorite, and then the others are runner ups.

1985 Back to the Future
Classics often ignored - Better off Dead, Brazil

1986 Ferris Bueler's Day Off
Stand By Me
Aliens
Platoon
Classic often ignored - Blue Velvet

1987 Full Metal Jacket
The Princes Bride
Raising Arizona
The Untouchables
Robocop
Spaceballs
Lethal Weapon

1988 Die Hard
Big

1989 Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure
Major League
Batman

1990 Goodfellas
Miller's Crossing
Total Recall
Home Alone
Edward Scissorhands
Classic often ignored - Wild at Heart

1991 Terminator 2
Barton Fink
Slience of the Lambs
Cape Fear


1992 Reservoir Dogs
Wayne's World
Alladin

1993 Nightmare Before Christmas
Jurassic Park
Groundhog Day
Classic often ignored - True Romance

1994 Pulp Fiction
Shawshank Redemption
The Professional
Classic often ignored - Ed Wood

1995 Se7en
The Usual Suspects
Get Shorty
Toy Story

1996 Fargo
Trainspotting

1997 L.A. Confidential
Jackie Brown
Boogie Nights
Austin Powers
Goodwill Hunting
Lost Highway

1998 The Big Lebowski
Saving Private Ryan
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Dark City
American History X

1999 The Matrix
Office Space
Fight Club
Being John Malkovich
Magnolia
American Beauty
Classics often ignored - Eyes Wide Shut, Election

2000 O brother, Where Art Thou?
High Fidelity
Reqium for a Dream
Classic often ignored - American Psycho


2001 Memento
Mulholland Drive
Donnie Darko
Royal Tenenbaums
Classic often ignored - Ghost World

2002 The Pianist
Adaptation
City of God

2003 American Splendor
21 Grams

2004 Oldboy
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
The Incredibles
Mean Girls


2005 A History of Violence
Capote
The 40-Year-Old Virgin

2006 Pans Labyrinth
The Prestige
Little Miss Sunshine
V for vendetta
Borat
Classic often ignored - Children of Men

2007 No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood
Zodiac
Ratatouille
Superbad

2008 The Dark Knight
In Bruges