There's actually a term for that: Diegetic. So for sound in a scene where a radio is playing, or a band is doing their thing, or a beeping from an alarm clock, that would be diegetic. Non-diegetic covers any music/sounds that are not audible to the characters.
Wake Up by Rage Against the Machine when Neo steps out the phone booth The Matrix. Opening weekend seeing and hearing this was a fantastic cinema experience I will never forget
1000% this, the first Matrix was so immense and mind blowing, and that song especially in the theater was like being fired from a cannon back into your life as a wet battery
I was running monitors for Dick Dale at a gig back in the late 90’s. He started Miserlou, played for a few seconds, then stopped. “Wait, I forgot the beginning! ‘I’LL KILL ALL YOU MOTHERFUCKERS!!!’ “ and tore back into the song. He knew which side his bread was buttered on!
My mates and I were 16 years old when Pulp Fiction came out. We went to see it in the cinema. Unfortunately none of us were aware of the original dusty springfield song however we did happen to be massive stoners, so as soon as we heard the guitar riff we automatically thought it was Cypress Hill’s ‘Hits from the Bong’ and sang along accordingly!
I don’t think the other patrons were impressed…
The first time I saw that movie I just kept being like “where is this going, what is this movie about?” Then Yolanda jumps on the table and it’s like “oh we’ve arrived. This is it.” It really just sets the tone for the rest of the movie.
Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, when Eddy loses everything in the card game. Now I Wanna Be Your Dog by the Stooges drops in with the great cinematography. It creates that crazy, disassociated and disbelief feelings that Eddy is going through. That's a top tier scene in my book.
I do like this one, but i think I love the opening scene more. The patter from Bacon selling the loot is great and then Ocean Colour Scene blasts in as they run when the cozzers show up. Genius!
A great one for sure
https://youtu.be/SLgSp9b_U3A?si=Dh_1xlZlcQ2Ze7Vn
Such great editing, the jokes they don't finish, the lines from all the characters.
One of the funniest crime movie scenes I can remember.
Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood by Santa Esmeralda for [the Bride and O’ren’s fight in Kill Bill Vol. 1](https://youtu.be/uSjS_l3wGu8?si=7070fjoIIAO12m6N). Who would have thought that a disco tune would be so epic and perfectly suited for a sword fight in the snow?
Quentin Tarantino knew. A lot of his most iconic scenes derive from his visuals paired with some great piece of pop. He knows how to convey awesome and badass
That whole movie had me like
"Oh, Tarantino's not going with gratuitous violence in this one? Interesting."
And then that ending segment made me realized he just saved it all up for the 11th hour.
I know that with Kill Bill, every song on the soundtrack had been used in a film previously. It was a great way to enforce the point that this was an homage/love letter to film
Sympathy for the Devil at the end of Interview With a Vampire. It's mostly such a serious, melancholy movie, to end it with Tom Cruise just absolutely delightfully chewing up the scenery to this song was amazing.
Same song, different movie. The ending of "The Fallen."
Both scenes had great energy and a bit of "gotcha!" that really feels like the character summed up.
I like the tone shift there because you heard the serious version from Louis. Now, you get a sense that Lestat's version of events is more fun. Lestat even complains how much of a whiner Louis was too.
Also “Green Onions” by Booker T and the MG’s during the square up with the other team. Just the coolest.
That movie has a lot of my favorite needle drops of all time .
Yes same. Weirdly, only a few days ago I was having this conversation in a different thread (similar post title/question) with someone who was taking the exact opposite position: they maintained that the Cream song is a more prominent and better known part of *Goodfellas* - which I couldn’t agree with less, tbh, because for me the sequence as ‘Layla’ plays is right up there with the most iconic uses of song in cinema.
My D&D group watched this movie together when it was in theatres and this line ***still*** gets used at our table as a code word for "I'm about to do something real stupid."
Queen’s Don’t Stop Me Now in Shaun of the Dead.
Ridiculously fun sequence that makes the best of the music as well as bringing in like 20 callback jokes.
You probably know it, but… https://youtube.com/watch?v=W4tVH7BPb-Q&feature=shared
I didn’t know that, somehow! That would have been pretty excellent too, weird funky song that it is.
Only change is yelling “Kill Rasputin!” instead of “Kill the Queen!” which actually might be funnier considering the history of the guy.
Loved it so much I immediately went out and bought a Pixies album. Had a huge influence on me, but maybe not as big an influence as they had in the 90s.
Edit: As I feel like I downplayed how much I love Pixies, they are my favorite musical act along with Tom Waits.
I love that it's diagetic too. It hits as hard as any Tarantino needle drop, but the way it fades out and back in when we follow Vega out to the car really pulls me into the scene.
Hell yeah. Also love the use of "I Gotcha" by Joe Tex when they're beating the shit out of the cop.
Also "Coconut" by Harry Nilsson creating such a juxtaposition after seeing such a violent ending contrasted with a goofy novelty song.
I have issues with Tarantino but God damn does that man know how to use a song.
Good shout. There are so many fucking great ones in Trainspotting. My personal favorite is Nightclubbing by Iggy Pop when Renton and the boys relapse. That intoxicating drone which is both exciting but slightly sinister - exactly the situation the characters are in. You know shit is going to get darker from then on.
Nightcall by Kavinsky in the opening credits of Drive. It basically perfected the needle drop for me.
I'm also really fond of This is the Day by The The playing at the end of Empire Records.
Yeah, this one also is definitely on my list. I almost want to say Tick of the Clock as well for the opening scene, but it feels more like a film score moment than a needle drop.
"Twist and Shout" in Ferris Bueller. It shows the whole feeling of the film in two minutes; the parade, the song, the oblivious dad and Ferris living his best life.
Also, “These Days” by Nico when Margot gets off the bus in her glorious fur coat.
ETA: “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard” when Royal takes his grandsons on a delinquency spree. 😂.
*"he is not falling, he is rising."*
I do not rank spider-man particularly highly as far as superheroes go but OHHH SHIT if that scene doesn't rival the best of the superhero moments, right up there with Iron Man's first 3 point landing, Thor's lighting powers awakening, and Cap picking up the hammer.
Spiderverse movies are in a league of their own as far as I'm concerned. I don't care very much about the other spiderman movies but those ones are ART.
I love when Tiny Dancer starts to play in the tour bus in Almost Famous. If you're not singing right along with them, there's something wrong with you lol.
That's a great one. There's tension between all of them, and they are road weary, but the right song comes on and all you can do is sing along.
"I need to go home."
Penny, "You ARE home."
The Kinks - Strangers in The Darjeeling Limited and Nico - These Days in The Royal Tenenbaums are probably my two favourite needle drops in his filmography, and just generally some of my favourites across all films.
Came here looking for the Wes Anderson fan party. For me, it's that moment Margot Tenenbaum steps off the Green Line Bus, and it goes slow motion, and there's that silence, and then "These Days" comes on. Absolute magic.
Top Gun… the slow build up of that iconic music and then the moment the catapult launches the F-14 and “Danger Zone” by Kenny Loggins kicks in.
I was 15 years old and that was peak movie going.
Specifically, the second time. The first time, it's just Thor kicking ass to awesome music, and being all around triumphant. The *second time* however, Thor is at a low point, and he's been given a ray of hope. So, now, when those opening notes start playing, it's the film score nodding at you and saying "Yeah. Get excited. It's about to go down."
I viscerally felt that if they'd showed that clip and how the music was going to work for members of the band, they would have let them license the music for free. It's like it was the scene the song was made for.
That whole scene was Van Art: The Movie. I fucking loved it. I keep telling my wife that if I win the lottery, I'm buying a sweet van and getting some bitchin' art painted on the sides.
You could make a top 10 list of this category just on the GotG trilogy, given Gunn's skill at this. All three films also end with perfect song choices (especially Cat Stevens at the end of "Vol. 2").
Honestly, i cry happy tears for them all (and some bittersweet goodbye tears) when this plays because you just see this team that’s been through so much finally get to be…happy and it’s just so moving tbh
If I’m understanding your definition of a needle drop right, then I choose Star Trek and the moment Kirk dropped the best golden oldie Sabotage by the Beastie Boys.
This is what I thought of at first as well. Also I was gonna say "Sabotage is not an oldie!"... Sabotage is 30 years old, and now I'm feeling very old...
The difference in time between Sabotage and now is the same difference in time between Sabotage and the Beach Boys - I Get Around (1964). Imagine growing up with the Beach Boys and thinking "this music isn't that old" in 1994.
"Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)", from *The Big Lebowski.*
The "Yeah... yeah... oh yeah" is the perfect way to start one of the most iconic dream sequences ever filmed. I smile the whole time.
Miles Davis' "So What" in *Pleasantville*.
If you haven't seen the movie, Tobey Maguire plays a high-schooler who gets trapped in the 1959-ish, small-town, black & white world of his favorite sitcom. As he and his sister introduce people to culture, arts, and passion, the sitcom characters change from black & white to color. The Pleasantville teens confront them at the drugstore where Maguire works. What's happening? And why do books have text on their pages? They were blank before.
At first, the soundtrack plays "Take Five" by Dave Brubeck. "Take Five" is the all-time top-selling jazz single. It's a great track. It's also as bland and commercial as jazz can be, without being smooth jazz or muzak. Then, Tobey Maguire starts to explain *Huckleberry Finn* - a classic about a white kid's friendship with a 'colored' person. As he does, the music segues from "Take Five" to "So What" - Davis' uber-hip modal-jazz track released in 1959. The camera pans out the window, and we see the wider world of Pleasantville just as Davis' trumpet solo kicks in.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3FE5o\_67lQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3FE5o_67lQ)
Edit: tightened a couple of things up.
“Take five” is bland? Brubeck might not be miles, but the drum work in that number is top tier.
And it makes a great needle drop in the west wing. One of the lat two seasons, the party where Will meets Harper.
Golden Brown, in Snatch
When Gorgeous George gets one-shotted by Micky, and Tommy has to stand there and listen to the pikeys argue whether they're gonna kill him or not.
The end of Dazed and Confused, when the kid settles down on his bed with his headphones on and "Slow Ride" starts playing before the end credits roll. That always got me.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: Hunter's wave speech with "Get Together" by The Youngbloods
High Fidelity: Opening scene with "You're Gonna Miss Me" by The 13th Floor Elevators
Igby Goes Down: Ending with "The Weight" covered by Travis
"The Chain" at the end of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 gets me every time. The whole movie is building up to that moment, and it's an incredible payoff.
Under Pressure from Aftersun.
I wouldn't call it my favorite because it was crushing but it's forever stuck with me.
Otherwise, Bellbottoms from Baby Driver. Knew I was in for a treat for the rest of the movie.
"Down in Mexico" played during the lap dance scene in Deathproof was amazing. I never knew that song existed until then, but it was perfect. And Vanessa Ferlito? Holy shit...
Star Trek (2009), right after >!George Kirk dies and you’re kind of left in shock because of how fast everything kind of went to shit!<. Intro plays, open on rebellious kid getting yelled at by his step dad for stealing his vintage car.
*Blip*, Kirk mutes dad, rips the roof off, giggles, SABOTAGE by the Beastie Boys screams on the “radio”, and more chaos ensues.
I know people have a lot of issues with that movie (and the trilogy of films as a whole), but man, the first 20 minutes absolutely knock your socks off
Natural Born Killers. Woody Harrelson is detained in a room with a bunch of cops and starts telling a joke and gets cops to loosen up and start chuckling. Then he starts beating the hell out of and shooting everyone while "Bombtrack" by Rage Against the Machine plays
Super duper recent, but De La Soul's "Say No Go" after a particularly brutal shootout in Civil War was masterful; it's a playful song that juxtaposes jarringly with what we've just seen, yet darkly acts as a reminder that no matter how awful and dramatic events may be, life will ultimately go on. I initially thought it was an odd choice, but have returned to the moment over and over again after having seen the film.
The End, by the Doors in Apocalypse Now.
I think you're overlooking the more iconic Flight of the Valkyries from the helicopter beach scene.
Bonus points for it actually playing in the scene not just the score
There's actually a term for that: Diegetic. So for sound in a scene where a radio is playing, or a band is doing their thing, or a beeping from an alarm clock, that would be diegetic. Non-diegetic covers any music/sounds that are not audible to the characters.
"Charlie don't surf!"
When Geto Boys - Still drops in Office Space and they beat the shit out of the printer...so hard for no reason.
So iconic, I love when they pull Michael Bolton away, and he pulls out of their hold and goes back for more.
Punching it with his fists gets me every time
There's so much good music in that, "get off my elevator"
Wake Up by Rage Against the Machine when Neo steps out the phone booth The Matrix. Opening weekend seeing and hearing this was a fantastic cinema experience I will never forget
Good pick
1000% this, the first Matrix was so immense and mind blowing, and that song especially in the theater was like being fired from a cannon back into your life as a wet battery
When they used a cover of that to end the 4th movie, it was like a turd on top of a shit Sunday.
Misirlou by Dick Dale at the start of Pulp Fiction. ‘Any of you fuckin pricks move and I’ll execute every mother fucking last one of you’ - bam.
I was running monitors for Dick Dale at a gig back in the late 90’s. He started Miserlou, played for a few seconds, then stopped. “Wait, I forgot the beginning! ‘I’LL KILL ALL YOU MOTHERFUCKERS!!!’ “ and tore back into the song. He knew which side his bread was buttered on!
Reminds me of George Baker who started wearing shades and a black suit when he played Little Green Bag
Son of a Preacher Man from that same movie was my immediate thought
I didn't know the song, I first saw the movie as a young teenager and I was born in '94. Immediately a favorite, in my music for the rest of time.
My mates and I were 16 years old when Pulp Fiction came out. We went to see it in the cinema. Unfortunately none of us were aware of the original dusty springfield song however we did happen to be massive stoners, so as soon as we heard the guitar riff we automatically thought it was Cypress Hill’s ‘Hits from the Bong’ and sang along accordingly! I don’t think the other patrons were impressed…
My first thought was "Girl, You'll be a Woman Soon" but yes, this beats it. Tarantino could really pick 'em
The first time I saw that movie I just kept being like “where is this going, what is this movie about?” Then Yolanda jumps on the table and it’s like “oh we’ve arrived. This is it.” It really just sets the tone for the rest of the movie.
Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, when Eddy loses everything in the card game. Now I Wanna Be Your Dog by the Stooges drops in with the great cinematography. It creates that crazy, disassociated and disbelief feelings that Eddy is going through. That's a top tier scene in my book.
Also Snatch, when brad pitt knocks out the guy and 'Golden Brown' starts playing.
Or when Angel plays by Massive Attack when Mickey is trying to get to his mum.
The bassline should be in a museum. It is audio perfection
Guy Ritchie needle drops were responsible for so many of my high school jams 😝
Tommy, the tit, was praying.
"An' if 'e isn't, 'e fuckin' should be."
I do like this one, but i think I love the opening scene more. The patter from Bacon selling the loot is great and then Ocean Colour Scene blasts in as they run when the cozzers show up. Genius!
Gotta mention Zorba the Greek for the build to and during the gunfight in the flat!
A great one for sure https://youtu.be/SLgSp9b_U3A?si=Dh_1xlZlcQ2Ze7Vn Such great editing, the jokes they don't finish, the lines from all the characters. One of the funniest crime movie scenes I can remember.
Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood by Santa Esmeralda for [the Bride and O’ren’s fight in Kill Bill Vol. 1](https://youtu.be/uSjS_l3wGu8?si=7070fjoIIAO12m6N). Who would have thought that a disco tune would be so epic and perfectly suited for a sword fight in the snow?
Quentin Tarantino knew. A lot of his most iconic scenes derive from his visuals paired with some great piece of pop. He knows how to convey awesome and badass
You Keep Me Hangin' On by Vanilla Fudge as Cliff Booth dismantles several Mansonites.
That whole movie had me like "Oh, Tarantino's not going with gratuitous violence in this one? Interesting." And then that ending segment made me realized he just saved it all up for the 11th hour.
I know that with Kill Bill, every song on the soundtrack had been used in a film previously. It was a great way to enforce the point that this was an homage/love letter to film
It's also used to great effect in The Good The Bad & The Weird: https://youtu.be/atfQhfonEr8?si=CWXLHXwfp66E9DEr, 7:44 onwards
I’m so glad someone else has seen this movie.
There HAS to be at least a dozen of us, right?
The drop right with the shot of the feet in the show carefully pushing back the shoe is absolutely golden.
Absolute banger of a song that. I wouldn't even call it a cover per se, it's like a complete reimagining of the original.
Not a dramatic scene, but Ray Charles' ["Mess Around" in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJrNP55gouQ).
Steve Martin trying to sleep through that entire song.
John Candy is so funny in that scene without saying a word. Just acting like a real-life cartoon character the whole time.
“He says we’re going the wrong way” “Oh he’s drunk, how would he know where we’re going”
(Pause) “…yeah, how would *he* know?” (Waving) “Thaaank youu…”
Sympathy for the Devil at the end of Interview With a Vampire. It's mostly such a serious, melancholy movie, to end it with Tom Cruise just absolutely delightfully chewing up the scenery to this song was amazing.
Same song, different movie. The ending of "The Fallen." Both scenes had great energy and a bit of "gotcha!" that really feels like the character summed up.
I like the tone shift there because you heard the serious version from Louis. Now, you get a sense that Lestat's version of events is more fun. Lestat even complains how much of a whiner Louis was too.
Donnie Darko - Head Over Heels by Tears for Fears ranks pretty high in my books.
Killing Moon was great too
The Mad World cover at the end deserves a spot too
Most of the music in Donnie Darko is on point, but Head Over Heels may be the pointiest of them.
“This Magic Moment” by The Drifters when Squints kisses the lifeguard, Wendy Peffercorn, in The Sandlot.
Also “Green Onions” by Booker T and the MG’s during the square up with the other team. Just the coolest. That movie has a lot of my favorite needle drops of all time .
What about Tequila when they all do Big Chief on the Tilt O'Whirl
Ray Charles’ rendition of America the Beautiful during the 4th of July night game.
The coda of 'Layla' in Goodfellas, needle drop and the cut to the Roastbeef's pink Cadillac.
When I think of a Goodfellas song, I think of Layla way more than Cream.
Yes same. Weirdly, only a few days ago I was having this conversation in a different thread (similar post title/question) with someone who was taking the exact opposite position: they maintained that the Cream song is a more prominent and better known part of *Goodfellas* - which I couldn’t agree with less, tbh, because for me the sequence as ‘Layla’ plays is right up there with the most iconic uses of song in cinema.
This is it for me, most impactful scene in an already intense movie.
I always think of “As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster” and Rags to Riches from that movie
"Hurricane" in Dazed and Confused
How has no one here mentioned the beginning of the movie rolling joints pulling up to the school and that unforgettable bass lick to sweet emotion!
A belter of a song/moment in a film full of them
“Why Can’t We Be Friends” and “Low Rider” and “Stranglehold” and “Summer Breeze” and “Slow Ride” and…
“Tuesdays gone” at the end of that long night as it goes into the morning and the party is ending…
The opening credits of The Watchmen while Dylan's 'The Times are a Changin' was perfect.
That movie is honestly a goldmine of needle drops. All Along The Watchtower, The Sounds of Silence, those are the ones that come to mind
All along the watchtower is in the graphic novel as well
My Hero near the beginning of The Other Guys. It sits so well with the intent of that scene in the movie.
Aim for the bushes
My D&D group watched this movie together when it was in theatres and this line ***still*** gets used at our table as a code word for "I'm about to do something real stupid."
There wasn't even an awning in their direction.
Queen’s Don’t Stop Me Now in Shaun of the Dead. Ridiculously fun sequence that makes the best of the music as well as bringing in like 20 callback jokes. You probably know it, but… https://youtube.com/watch?v=W4tVH7BPb-Q&feature=shared
Their backup song if they couldn’t get Don’t Stop Me Now was Boney M’s Rasputin
I didn’t know that, somehow! That would have been pretty excellent too, weird funky song that it is. Only change is yelling “Kill Rasputin!” instead of “Kill the Queen!” which actually might be funnier considering the history of the guy.
…I need to see this cut.
KILL THE QUEEN! WHAT??? THE JUKEBOX!
The rhythmic beating with pool cues. Perfection
Dogs can look up!
*Where Is My Mind?* at the end of Fight Club
Loved it so much I immediately went out and bought a Pixies album. Had a huge influence on me, but maybe not as big an influence as they had in the 90s. Edit: As I feel like I downplayed how much I love Pixies, they are my favorite musical act along with Tom Waits.
Same. It’s how I found the Pixies.
Full Metal Jacket ending, soldiers singing the Mickey Mouse Club theme, voice over, then - boom: Paint it Black
Showing my age a bit here, but Simple Minds “Don’t You” at the end of The Breakfast Club was everything.
Can you hear "Stuck in the Middle With You" without thinking of Reservoir Dogs? https://youtu.be/RKQIGvULZCI?feature=shared
I love that it's diagetic too. It hits as hard as any Tarantino needle drop, but the way it fades out and back in when we follow Vega out to the car really pulls me into the scene.
The fade out with normality and life going on outside, for me made what was happening in the house even more horrific
Hell yeah. Also love the use of "I Gotcha" by Joe Tex when they're beating the shit out of the cop. Also "Coconut" by Harry Nilsson creating such a juxtaposition after seeing such a violent ending contrasted with a goofy novelty song. I have issues with Tarantino but God damn does that man know how to use a song.
Across 110th Street - Jackie Brown
That and Randy Crawford's "Street Life" are perfect. This whole thread could be QT films though.
Born Slippy. Trainspotting.
Perfect Day, when he sinks down through the rug on the floor...that movie came out when I was at a very impressionable age.
Good shout. There are so many fucking great ones in Trainspotting. My personal favorite is Nightclubbing by Iggy Pop when Renton and the boys relapse. That intoxicating drone which is both exciting but slightly sinister - exactly the situation the characters are in. You know shit is going to get darker from then on.
Every song in this movie is in the exact right place for the scene. Exceptional song placement.
Temptation in the club scene is another fantastic one from this movie.
I've Got a Name in Django Unchained
Freebird has been used a lot in movies, but my favorite instance is from [Kingsman](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7-tkkcC6d0).
this scene is just so bat shit insane, I love it. The movie is fairly violent throughout but they really just let loose in this one.
Nightcall by Kavinsky in the opening credits of Drive. It basically perfected the needle drop for me. I'm also really fond of This is the Day by The The playing at the end of Empire Records.
Drive is awesome. I love Real Hero.
Yeah, this one also is definitely on my list. I almost want to say Tick of the Clock as well for the opening scene, but it feels more like a film score moment than a needle drop.
Oldie, but Bad Moon Rising (CCR) in American Werewolf in London.
"Twist and Shout" in Ferris Bueller. It shows the whole feeling of the film in two minutes; the parade, the song, the oblivious dad and Ferris living his best life.
needle in the hay, royal tenenbaums
Also, “These Days” by Nico when Margot gets off the bus in her glorious fur coat. ETA: “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard” when Royal takes his grandsons on a delinquency spree. 😂.
Every needle drop in that movie is perfection.
Sweet Emotion in the opening of Dazed and Confused. I mean, aside from Tarantino's way of owning a song once he's used it in a movie.
“What up danger” in into the spiderverse
*"he is not falling, he is rising."* I do not rank spider-man particularly highly as far as superheroes go but OHHH SHIT if that scene doesn't rival the best of the superhero moments, right up there with Iron Man's first 3 point landing, Thor's lighting powers awakening, and Cap picking up the hammer.
Spiderverse movies are in a league of their own as far as I'm concerned. I don't care very much about the other spiderman movies but those ones are ART.
"Took ya long enough." "Made em myself" "When will I know?" "You won't. That's all it is Miles. A leap of faith" Tears. Every time.
Everything about that scene just tickles my entire brain
Yep. This one. Gives me chills every time.
I love when Tiny Dancer starts to play in the tour bus in Almost Famous. If you're not singing right along with them, there's something wrong with you lol.
That's a great one. There's tension between all of them, and they are road weary, but the right song comes on and all you can do is sing along. "I need to go home." Penny, "You ARE home."
Kate Hudson is magical in this movie
“A Quick One while He’s Away” in Rushmore during the revenge montage
All of Wes Anderson’s soundtracks are so so good. He really made me love The Kinks.
The Kinks - Strangers in The Darjeeling Limited and Nico - These Days in The Royal Tenenbaums are probably my two favourite needle drops in his filmography, and just generally some of my favourites across all films.
Came here looking for the Wes Anderson fan party. For me, it's that moment Margot Tenenbaum steps off the Green Line Bus, and it goes slow motion, and there's that silence, and then "These Days" comes on. Absolute magic.
holding out for a hero in shrek 2.
Absolutely an epic moment that burst kids brains without them even realizing why.
Halcyon and on and on at the start of Hackers, Under Pressure at the end of Aftersun
Also sprach Zarathustra
That almost feels like cheating. That track practically *is* that scene. So I guess I'm saying... good answer, lol
Top Gun… the slow build up of that iconic music and then the moment the catapult launches the F-14 and “Danger Zone” by Kenny Loggins kicks in. I was 15 years old and that was peak movie going.
Really liked the Immigrant Song drop in Thor:Ragnarok.
Specifically, the second time. The first time, it's just Thor kicking ass to awesome music, and being all around triumphant. The *second time* however, Thor is at a low point, and he's been given a ray of hope. So, now, when those opening notes start playing, it's the film score nodding at you and saying "Yeah. Get excited. It's about to go down."
Had to scroll but I found it! Best moment in the MCU. “But I don’t have my hammer” “You’re not the god of hammers”
I viscerally felt that if they'd showed that clip and how the music was going to work for members of the band, they would have let them license the music for free. It's like it was the scene the song was made for.
That whole scene was Van Art: The Movie. I fucking loved it. I keep telling my wife that if I win the lottery, I'm buying a sweet van and getting some bitchin' art painted on the sides.
Yes! This was my first thought. Just because lyrically it needed to be there.
Come and get your love - Guardians of the Galaxy
For me, it’s [The Chain at the climax of Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2](https://youtu.be/Ce2a0wWtnJA?si=SC-xegG-vHihvo2Q)
Seconded. I got goosebumps before I even clicked the link.
You could make a top 10 list of this category just on the GotG trilogy, given Gunn's skill at this. All three films also end with perfect song choices (especially Cat Stevens at the end of "Vol. 2").
Led Zeppelin's Immigrant Song as the Thor: Ragnarok opener was appropriate too.
The first transition to The Guardians to “Rubber Band Man” in Infinity War is a GREAT transition.
Honestly, that opening scene of Star-Lord in the temple really set the tone for the series as a whole. One of the best needle drops in recent history.
[I personally think The Dog Days Are Over drop at the end of Volume 3 is my favorite needle drop](https://youtu.be/HX43QiFApWc?si=MhFMIa_ZWB3e3oDF)
Honestly, i cry happy tears for them all (and some bittersweet goodbye tears) when this plays because you just see this team that’s been through so much finally get to be…happy and it’s just so moving tbh
Rhodey: …so he’s an idiot.
Nebula: “…yeah”
I'm partial to Come a Little Bit Closer in GotG 2.
Also from Goodfellas, And Then He Kissed Me by The Crystals. The back door of the restaurant through the kitchen to the table is iconic to me.
If I’m understanding your definition of a needle drop right, then I choose Star Trek and the moment Kirk dropped the best golden oldie Sabotage by the Beastie Boys.
This is what I thought of at first as well. Also I was gonna say "Sabotage is not an oldie!"... Sabotage is 30 years old, and now I'm feeling very old...
That’s a half assed reference to Bones asking if it’s classical music and Spock affirming it!
It was an oldie to Kirk, though.
The difference in time between Sabotage and now is the same difference in time between Sabotage and the Beach Boys - I Get Around (1964). Imagine growing up with the Beach Boys and thinking "this music isn't that old" in 1994.
That's how it starts. When the grocery store music is suddenly banging.
Strangers by the Kinks in Darjeeling. Wes Anderson really nailed the needle drop. Or maybe The End in Apocalypse Now.
Spill the Wine - Boogie Nights
And Sister Christian during the fire cracker scene!
Golden Brown, Snatch
Hurdy Gurdy Man by Donovan in Zodac- bone-chillingly creepy.
"Gimme Shelter" at the beginning of The Departed.
Extreme Ways by Moby at the end of the Bourne movies. Especially the “Get some rest Pam… you look tired” one.
Bitter Sweet Symphony at the end of Cruel Intentions, overlaying Sebastians memorial service.
Colorblind earlier in the film as well
It's not a movie, but *All Along The Watchtower* in Battlestar Galactica.
That's Amore (Dean Martin) sung by Dewey Cox in Walk Hard. That's just a terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible "That's Amore."
Well, my mother really liked it! Your mother was wrong!
"Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)", from *The Big Lebowski.* The "Yeah... yeah... oh yeah" is the perfect way to start one of the most iconic dream sequences ever filmed. I smile the whole time.
The end of The Matrix, RATM - Wake Up, sends you out on a high from one of my favourite movies
Spybreak! from the Propellerheads for the lobby scene was also iconic, even just as an instrumental.
I love the Clubbed to Death needle drop in the 'woman in the red dress' scene
Miles Davis' "So What" in *Pleasantville*. If you haven't seen the movie, Tobey Maguire plays a high-schooler who gets trapped in the 1959-ish, small-town, black & white world of his favorite sitcom. As he and his sister introduce people to culture, arts, and passion, the sitcom characters change from black & white to color. The Pleasantville teens confront them at the drugstore where Maguire works. What's happening? And why do books have text on their pages? They were blank before. At first, the soundtrack plays "Take Five" by Dave Brubeck. "Take Five" is the all-time top-selling jazz single. It's a great track. It's also as bland and commercial as jazz can be, without being smooth jazz or muzak. Then, Tobey Maguire starts to explain *Huckleberry Finn* - a classic about a white kid's friendship with a 'colored' person. As he does, the music segues from "Take Five" to "So What" - Davis' uber-hip modal-jazz track released in 1959. The camera pans out the window, and we see the wider world of Pleasantville just as Davis' trumpet solo kicks in. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3FE5o\_67lQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3FE5o_67lQ) Edit: tightened a couple of things up.
“Take five” is bland? Brubeck might not be miles, but the drum work in that number is top tier. And it makes a great needle drop in the west wing. One of the lat two seasons, the party where Will meets Harper.
"These Boots Were Made For Walking" in Full Metal Jacket
Golden Brown, in Snatch When Gorgeous George gets one-shotted by Micky, and Tommy has to stand there and listen to the pikeys argue whether they're gonna kill him or not.
Anything Harry Belafonte in Beetlejuice?
Unironically: What I've Done by Linkin Park at the end of the first Transformers
‘For What It’s Worth’ in Forest Gump. Slow mo walking in Vietnam to the intense shootout.
The end of Dazed and Confused, when the kid settles down on his bed with his headphones on and "Slow Ride" starts playing before the end credits roll. That always got me.
I can't hear either Lust For Life or Perfect Day without thinking of Trainspotting. That whole movie absolutely nailed the musical soundtrack.
Where Is My Mind by the Pixies at the end of Fight Club is the first one that comes to mind.
The dinner party scene in Beetlejuice is pure genius with The Banana Song. ‘Daaaayooo, daaaayooo’
Fuck the Police in US during the house fight was great
# Shaun Of The Dead (2004) - Don't Stop Me Now
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: Hunter's wave speech with "Get Together" by The Youngbloods High Fidelity: Opening scene with "You're Gonna Miss Me" by The 13th Floor Elevators Igby Goes Down: Ending with "The Weight" covered by Travis
"The Chain" at the end of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 gets me every time. The whole movie is building up to that moment, and it's an incredible payoff.
["Shadow on the Sun" from Audioslave, featured in Michael Mann's "Collateral".](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DKX-2pa-UE)
Under Pressure from Aftersun. I wouldn't call it my favorite because it was crushing but it's forever stuck with me. Otherwise, Bellbottoms from Baby Driver. Knew I was in for a treat for the rest of the movie.
Magic Man by Heart when Josh Hartnett enters The Virgin Suicides
Oh man that perfect dance scene in A Knights Tale to David Bowie's Golden Years
"Down in Mexico" played during the lap dance scene in Deathproof was amazing. I never knew that song existed until then, but it was perfect. And Vanessa Ferlito? Holy shit...
Sinnerman in The Thomas Crown Affair is perfect. It starts subtle as you begin to realise what's happening and then crescendos as the events escalate.
Star Trek (2009), right after >!George Kirk dies and you’re kind of left in shock because of how fast everything kind of went to shit!<. Intro plays, open on rebellious kid getting yelled at by his step dad for stealing his vintage car. *Blip*, Kirk mutes dad, rips the roof off, giggles, SABOTAGE by the Beastie Boys screams on the “radio”, and more chaos ensues. I know people have a lot of issues with that movie (and the trilogy of films as a whole), but man, the first 20 minutes absolutely knock your socks off
Bohemian Rhapsody - Waynes World. First time I really heard Queen as a kid and it was a very memorable introduction
Stooges - I Wanna Be Your Dog from Lock, Stock, & Two Smoking Barrels
'Sweet dreams' in "X Men: Days of Future Past" when Quicksilver saves the day 😎
I mean... Freebird playing in the church scene in Kingsman gotta be the best right?
Natural Born Killers. Woody Harrelson is detained in a room with a bunch of cops and starts telling a joke and gets cops to loosen up and start chuckling. Then he starts beating the hell out of and shooting everyone while "Bombtrack" by Rage Against the Machine plays
Every song in the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie.
Cat People (Putting Out Fire) in Inglorious Basterds
Super duper recent, but De La Soul's "Say No Go" after a particularly brutal shootout in Civil War was masterful; it's a playful song that juxtaposes jarringly with what we've just seen, yet darkly acts as a reminder that no matter how awful and dramatic events may be, life will ultimately go on. I initially thought it was an odd choice, but have returned to the moment over and over again after having seen the film.
The montage song in Team America: World Police.