Some songs we will forever associate with the movies they soundtrack. Throughout the month of August, we asked our patrons and staff “What movie and song pairing was so perfect, you can't hear it without the scene playing in your head?”
We met online on Tuesday, August 23, at noon to share and discuss these songs in our monthly music discussion group, Music Talk. The full Music Talk: At the Movies playlist is now up on Spotify and you can follow Alachua County Library District's account for more playlists to come. Check out our catalog for the movies with the scenes and songs we love.
These are the scenes and songs we won’t forget:
“When Russell gets back on the bus, everyone's exhausted and frustrated. As the music plays, you slowly see everyone loosen up with some head nodding until, one by one, they start singing. By the time the refrain hits, pretty much everyone is smiling and singing along. It's the ultimate example of how music connects us.” – Jen S.
“Don’t you (Forget About Me)” in The Breakfast Club
“The movie and this song will always be tied together for me. I love that elements of lyrics link so well with lines from the movie. “Will you recognize me?/Call my name or walk on by” lends directly to Bryan’s worry that after the Saturday detention is over, no one will talk again. Which, let’s face it…they probably didn’t. High school is tough.” –Rachelle M.
“Some of the scenes in the film really haven’t aged well, but that drum hit and opening keyboard will always bring to mind the freeze frame with raised fist.” – John J.
“Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head” in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
“Paul Newman riding on his bike and his smile lighting up the screen makes everything all right.” – Fiona L.
“The Imperial March” in Return of the Jedi
“It is used to great effect throughout The Empire Strikes Back, usually when Dark Vader appears on the scene. The most iconic scene to me, though, is the one where Emperor Palpatine arrives at the Death Star to thousands of Storm Troopers standing in formation. The music portrays both the power and the evil of Palpatine.” – Lynda P.
“Suddenly I See” in The Devil Wears Prada
“I always picture all the women getting ready for their day, Anne Hathaway included, each time I hear this song.” – Jessica M.
“Time is on My Side” in Fallen
“This is not a good association because the movie freaked me out so much when I was younger, but in the Denzel Washington movie, Fallen, they used the song “Time is on My Side” by The Rolling Stones. Till this day I cannot hear that song without thinking about that scary movie! – Susie B.
“This was the first soundtrack I ever got (gifted as a cassette tape, so I’m talking the original!) I bopped out to that on the playground with my boombox all year until the school asked my parents to not let me bring it in anymore. How can one NOT associate that song with that movie?” – Rachelle M.
“You Sexy Thing” in The Full Monty
“Hot Chocolate’s “You Sexy Thing” is a great song that is in The Full Monty for a hilarious striptease scene. Whenever I hear this song I think back to that scene. –Fiona L.
“Dela” in George of the Jungle
“This song is such a pure and joyful expression of how great it can feel to like somebody who likes you back, and, just as it is used in this film, it is a great dance song. Johnny Clegg, the artist, is also famous for breaking the laws of South Africa’s Apartheid in order to collaborate with black artists; to me, this gives the song an extra oomph, since it’s a declaration of joy and connection in defiance of the forces that separate us.” – Cynthia M.
“Rewrite the Stars,” “Never Enough,” and “This is Me” in The Greatest Showman
“Rewrite the Stars” “…leaves such an impression and is hard to forget as the two characters fly around the circus on an aerial hoop and do amazing acrobatic moves.” - Joyce
“After I hear it, the song stays in my head all day. Great song.” –Caroline H.
“Never Enough” “takes me back to the scene with the character Jenny Lind dressed very elegantly and with unbelievable, indescribable notes coming out of her mouth. “This Is Me” is totally different… the scene of the “bearded lady,” diversity, and individuality runs through my mind; it is quite inspiring.” – Susan W.
“The scene starts off moody, with a strange spooky planet and some red-eyed creature which—oh, that’s just some sort of mask, and he looks like a human, and for some reason he has a Walkman. And he’s a goofball. Okay, this’ll probably be fun.” – John J.
“I’ve Got You Babe” from Groundhog Day
“Great way to repeatedly use a song in a movie; at first it’s background noise, then it’s ominous, and eventually is almost taunting even while innocently staying such a great tune.” - Laurel C.
“Trouble” in Harold and Maude 
“Harold waiting, receiving news, seen through the reflections on the window; Harold roaring down the street, really putting that car to work.” – John J.
“Shoot to Thrill” in Iron Man 2
“I loved the song before the movie existed and this was just a perfect representation of Tony Stark for the scene in which it appeared.” – Rachelle M.
“Jungle Love” in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
“Morris Day and the Time performed it in the movie at the end and the characters from the movie were dancing… it is hilarious and I just always picture that movie when I hear the song.” – Coleen T.
“This was such a great scene! The character has seen movies and understands that this pivotal moment of his life requires thematically-resonant music, but he has to try several radio channels before he comes across the diegetically perfect jam. So the song not only underlines the emotional moment of the hero’s journey at this point in the movie, it also is a tongue-in-cheek meta-exploration of why music gets used in movies at all.” – Laurel C.
“Sixteen Tons” in Joe versus the Volcano
“A perfect use of a song to establish character, setting, beginning conflict, and to help make the inciting incident much more understandable. Also, funny.” – Laurel C.
“Welcome to Jurassic Park” in Jurassic Park
“John Williams’s “Welcome to Jurassic Park”…gets me every time because you get this sense of awe and joy and overwhelming inspiration right before you remember that human hubris will lead to the downfall of humanity and a guy getting murdered while he’s on the toilet. Genius.” – Assh A.
“A Lovely Night Scene” from La La Land
“The recollection of Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone’s characters dancing under the purple starlit sky is imprinted on my brain.” – Susan W.
“I can never hear this song without thinking of the movie. I was an adult before I realized that this is probably not what the song is actually meant to be about. And that makes it even funnier to me….Poor Beach Boys.” – Laurel C.
“What is Love” in Night at the Roxbury
“Every time I hear that song, the urge to bob my head like they did in Night at the Roxbury is irresistible! I recently re-watched that movie to see if I still found it just as funny as I did in ’98 and, sure enough, it was still hilarious!” – Susie B.
“The juxtaposition of how light and bouncy the song is with the violence of the scene it’s featured in has burned both into my mind. Whenever the song comes on the radio, immediately I think of that particular scene.” - Sally F.
“Stayin’ Alive” from Saturday Night Fever
“Can’t imagine a better song for a young John Travolta to strut along the streets of New York.” – Fiona L.
“It is so ingrained in my brain. Especially since this week I saw a PBS documentary on the well-known hit-maker group, as well as hitting a little turbulence in the skies and on our trip home from up north!” – Cindy B.
“I picture all of them dancing in the bedroom during the sleepover scene when I hear this song.” – Jessica M.
“My Heart Will Go On” from Titanic
“I didn’t even have to think hard about this one. Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On” from Titanic. It fits the story of Rose and Jack and their timeless love. I can’t think of the movie without the song. She goes back in time with her memories, but he is still there with her. Especially the last scene when they reconnect.” – Nicole W.
“You’ve Lost that Loving Feeling” in Top Gun
“My choice is “You’ve Lost that Loving Feeling” in Top Gun. I’ve always been a Tom Cruise fan, and every time I hear that song I think of Maverick and Goose singing in the bar.” – Martha S.
“Supermassive Black Hole” and “Clair De Lune” in Twilight
“Even though I am not a huge Twilight fan I can say that the first movie’s soundtrack was phenomenal. I discovered one of my favorite bands from that soundtrack, Muse, with the song “Supermassive Black Hole.” I also found my favorite classical song “Clair De Lune” by Debussy. Those are only 2 of several great songs on that soundtrack. – Susie B.
“I will never be able to hear Richard Strauss’ “Also Sprach Zarathustra” without thinking of Stanley Kubrick’s movie 2001: A Space Odyssey. When Strauss’ tone poem plays at the beginning of the film, and at other significant moments during the movie, the sound of the brass instruments and the timpani creates a musical atmosphere equal to Kubrick’s visual mastery.” – Teague F.
"A Thousand Miles" in White Chicks
Terry Crews’ performance of "A Thousand Miles" by Vanessa Carlton in White Chicks was absolutely unforgettable! I still see his face and mannerisms when I hear that song.” – Susie B.
Some other favorites:
“Against All Odds” in Against All Odds, “Moondance” and “Blue Moon” in American Werewolf in London, “In Dreams” from Blue Velvet, “Moon River” in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, “As Time Goes By” in Casablanca, “Dhoom Machale” in Dhoom, “Ghostbusters” in Ghostbusters, “Reaching for Heaven” in Ice Princess, “Jump (For My Love)” in Love, Actually, “I Say a Little Prayer” and “The Way You Look Tonight” in My Best Friend’s Wedding, “There You’ll Be” in Pearl Harbor, “Try a Little Tenderness” in Pretty in Pink, “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” in Real Genius, “Pour Some Sugar on Me” in Rock of Ages, “These Days” from The Royal Tenenbaums, “Love Will Turn You Around” in Six Pack, “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” in 10 Things I Hate About You, “That Thing You Do” in That Thing You Do, and “Bohemian Rhapsody” in Wayne’s World.
Don't forget to mark your calendar for next month's Music Talk! We'll meet on Tuesday, September 28 at 12 p.m. on Zoom for Music Talk: Undercover. Sometimes it takes a different performer to transform a good song into a great song. We’d like to know what your favorite cover songs are. Send an email to librarian Cameron Burris with the song title and artist along with a sentence or two about why you chose it. He'll add it to the Spotify playlist and have it queued up to play for the live program. If you don't have a particular song in mind, come to the program anyway to hear some great music and join in on the conversation!