Read on for part two of our rundown of the Top 25 Movie Music Moments featuring Elton John, The Pixies, The Rolling Stones, Joy Division and Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds.
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Popular songs in film can inspire, excite or touch us. They can make us squirm, laugh or cry. Here we count down Clash’s favourites.
Read the first part of our rundown HERE.
20. ALMOST FAMOUS: ELTON JOHN – ‘TINY DANCER’
Although arguably an airbrushed version of the ’70s music scene, Cameron Crowe’s partially autobiographical, wholly feelgood, coming of age tale is ultimately heartwarming. The story of rockers and writers on the road reaches a touching conclusion when in succession the entourage on the bus start singing along to Elton’s ‘Tiny Dancer’.
AW
19. WINGS OF DESIRE: NICK CAVE AND THE BAD SEEDS – ‘FROM HER TO ETERNITY’
Frustrated angel Cassiel takes to the stage of an underground Berlin as Nick Cave performs his nightmarish hymn. Unseen by the audience and lost in thought as the lyrics reflect his awkward purgatory, he drifts away to the side of the stage with a haunted expression. Strange scene, very strange film.
BH
18. FIGHT CLUB: THE PIXIES – ‘WHERE IS MY MIND’
The final scene sees the narrator and Maria stand powerlessly watching as the last of his actions unfold. Below them the vast cityscape explodes in majestic slow motion before fizzling into one subliminal frame of a penis, efficiently tying together an earlier joke and the conscious self-awareness of the film.
AW
17. CONTROL: CAST RECORDING – ‘DEAD SOULS’
Perhaps the finest moment of Sam Riley’s creepily astute role as Ian Curtis came with this performance. Embodying Curtis’ facial expression and angular stage moves would be an achievement enough, but Riley also captures much of his subject bleak, baritone vocals. The song descends into chaos as Curtis suffers a seizure.
BH
16. PERFORMANCE: MICK JAGGER – ‘MEMO FROM TURNER’
Mick Jagger singing ‘Memo From Turner’. A suited and booted Jagger breaks into song in Nicholas Roeg’s counter-culture classic. The track features a guitar solo by Ry Cooder and the Stones frontman breaks the fourth wall by staring straight down the camera at the viewer. Cinematically brave. Musically brilliant.
RD
Stay tuned across this week as the rundown continues.
Compiled and written by Anna Wilson
Contributors: Ben Hopkins, Paul Weedon, Rob Dabrowski
