I skipped out of work early yesterday afternoon to go catch the day's first showing of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Now, I know it sounds ridiculous to bitch about product placement in a movie based on a line of action figures, especially a sequel that comes as close to being a live-action cartoon as I've ever seen. Still, I got my knickers in a serious twist when I heard the new Green Day single factor into the movie's soundtrack.
"21 Guns" pops up in a way that's about as obvious as a faced can of soda or the prominently featured GMC on the grill of nearly every Autobot. Near the beginning of the movie, Sam Witwicky is entering into his dorm room, and you clearly hear the chorus to Green Day's recently released "21 Guns," clear as a bell.
Stocking a soundtrack with hip new bands in an attempt to cross promote is nothing new. There are also new tracks from Nickelback and the All-American Rejects' new albums, but in no way are the so prominently featured. Hell the Used's cover of "Burning Down the House" is at least in the film as background music to a frat party (shades of Revenge of the Nerds--clever), so I can accept that as music kids would be dancing to. But dropping in the new Green Day single, from their new album that dropped just weeks prior is just sad.
Anyone else remember movie soundtracks that used music to enhance the viewing experience instead of just trying to get people to buy someone's new record? Bill Haley & the Comets in The Blackboard Jungle? Simon & Garfunkel in The Graduate? Black Flag in Repo Man? Hell, I'd accept the soundtrack to Pump Up the Volume, considering it introduced me to both the Pixies and Soundgarden. How is it that an even more lowbrow film like Return of the Living Dead has a stronger soundtrack than a movie from a top-grossing producer?
Just questions for discussion, really. Leave your favorite pop music movie moment in the comments. And, of course, no mention of Transformers would be complete without their greatest musical moment: "The Touch," by Mr. Stan Bush.
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I lurve the movie. I hate Wheelie. Prime kicked deceptibooty. All that's well ends well. I just hope if ever they make part 3, it's going to be a lot better.
Scott- "Hurdy Gurdy Man" over the credits of Zodiac took that songs from drugged-out to effing scary and creepy really fast. I will forever more listen to that song and shudder a little.
I don't know that I'd call Green Day, the Used, or All American Rejects "hip new bands," but I get your point.
With a nod to Megan Metzger, who recently reminded me of this, "The Touch" is the song Dirk attempts to record to get his singing career started in "Boogie Nights." So, yeah.
"Married to the Mob" has a fantastic soundtrack (and short cues by David Byrne as the underscore) and is my favorite Jonathan Demme movie.
On the Wes Anderson tip, the "Hey Jude" opening of "The Royal Tenenbaums" is kind of awesome.
I played the shit out of that "Risky Business" soundtrack in junior high. I dubbed it from a friend's tape and left off the Seger song. Nothing against old Bob, a couple of whose songs I like fine, but the microgenre of rockers crouching to protect their coked-out balls from punk is a dark moment in music best left to Billy Joel's "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me."
Jason, thanks for remembering LWIII's "Knocked Up" songs. "You Can't Fail Me Now" is an amazing song (co-written with that soundtrack's producer, Joe Henry).
Speaking of Loudon, two of his best songs are on the soundtrack of "The Squid and the Whale," a fine compilation.
It's cheap and lazy, but I'll point at Martin Scorsese as an expert at placing music, even if he's a little too stuck on "Gimme Shelter" as a montage panacea.
David Fincher's "Zodiac" probably owes its own brilliant use of period songs to Scorsese but gets full credit for making a Donovan song fucking scary.
"Never" by Moving Pictures.
Don't remember that one?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...
Few songs can inspire angry dancing AND angry acrobatics. Shove that cassette in there, Ren! Smash that beer bottle! GRRRR!
At the end of Rushmore, when Faces' "Ooh La La" begins playing and everyone dances in slow motion.
Ian - yes. Balls. And John Turturro calls attention to it, saying where he is in reference to the scrotum.
Is it true that, in one scene, a transformer has wrecking balls (symbolizing actual balls)?! Also, "Southland Tales" was a fucking awful movie but there's this scene with Sean William Scott and the Rock and it's in slow-motion to the tune of the UK Surf version of "Wave of Mutilation" by Pixies and I think THAT is my favorite pop music in a movie moment in a longggg time.
Aw, man, this is a good one. Thanks, first of all, for filling the Stan Bush-shaped gap in my memory. I totally remember seeing that as a kid.
So, anyway, the movie soundtrack question. I was a fan of Peter Gabriel way before I ever saw that one John Cusack movie, but him holding up the jambox while wearing a trench coat and blaring "In Your Eyes" at Frazier's dad's daughter was pretty neat.
Single-artist soundtracks: Cat Stevens' soundtrack to Harold & Maude, oh, and, of course, Air's soundtrack to The Virgin Suicides (timely!). I don't care what you think about Hugh Grant, I love About a Boy and its Badly Drawn Boy-penned tunes, especially "Silent Sigh." Loudon Wainwright III getting Knocked Up.
And let me just say that Tangerine Dream's contributions to Risky Business deserve to be way more iconic than Bob Seger's.
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