I’m always happy for friends to give me ideas of themes for new So Much Great Music posts. In this particular instance I received the same one twice – albeit with slightly different twists.

Some time ago Ike suggested documenting popular songs that were memorable for being associated with specific movies. Then more recently Chin turned it up a notch, submitting the concept of songs that are inextricably linked in our minds to particular movie scenes. The distinction is admittedly subtle, but it was that word “inextricably” that really hooked me. Are there, in fact, certain songs now so mentally entangled with said scenes that they’ve functionally become impossible to separate? Moreover, would we even want to, meaning…do you wish them to be able to be extricated? As George asked Jerry on “The Fix-Up” Seinfeld episode: “If you stick your hand in the hair, is it easy to get it out?”

Okay, maybe that’s not really similar at all. Nevertheless, I could no longer ignore having had two different friends separately propose the same basic idea, and thus decided to dive in.

As you might imagine, I’ve now given this important matter ample consideration. And I believe we should proceed by more or less combining the two related thoughtlines. In essence, let’s go ahead and name the best songs with scenes – and alright, sure, we can also make it a classic Top 10 list, ergo: The Top 10 Greatest Songs with Movie Scenes – as measured specifically for their combination of, wait for it…memorability and inextricability. If I’ve done my selecting well, when you see the song titles on your screen you’ll already be visualizing them playing over the movie scene to which they’re attached. Instantly. (at least ideally).

One other introductory note: these must be real music artists with real songs, not fictional movie bands per this prior hotly debated SMGM post. Oh wait a minute, damn, we are going to have to break that rule once. Stay tuned.

Jeez, one more clarifier, in case it’s a question: again, these are strictly from movies, thus we’re not including any scenes from a television series (although in the streaming age those lines have surely blurred). But if we were including TV the slam-dunk winner has already been covered within this piece here in SMGM).

Alright, let’s start the countdown…with the 10 honorable mentions (top 10, schmop 10, we’re now going with 20!).

  • ‘Stuck in The Middle With You’ (Reservoir Dogs) – Ah, didja hear that?
  • ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ (Wayne’s World) – Head banging made both cool and nerdy
  • ‘You Never Can Tell’ (Pulp Fiction) – Uma and John do the twist
  • ‘Eye of the Tiger’ (Rocky III) – Clubber’s got a lotta mo, lotta mo!
  • ‘Anyway You Want It’ (Caddyshack) – So what?! So let’s dance!

  • ‘Afternoon Delight’ (Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy) – Skyrockets in flight
  • ‘Banana Boat (Day-O)’ (Beetlejuice) – Dinner party turned possessed dance party
  • ‘Peter Gunn Theme’ (The Blues Brothers) – On a mission from God
  • ‘Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In) (The Big Lebowski) – Jackie Treehorn presents The Dude in “Gutterballs”
  • ‘Wake Me Up Before You Go Go’ (Zoolander) – What’s cuter than a good ‘ol gasoline fight?

By the way, perhaps you forgot these:

  • ‘Tubular Bells’ (The Exorcist)
  • ‘Born To Be Wild’ (Easy Rider)
  • ‘Tequila’ (Pee Wee’s Big Adventure)
  • ‘Still’ (Office Space)…

…You may not recognize the song title, but you’ll remember the printer

And, maybe you want to forget these (odd that they both feature Patrick Swayze)

  • ‘Time of My Life’ (Dirty Dancing)
  • ‘Unchained Melody’ (Ghost)

Alright, we’re finally moving on to the official Top 10. Are these the most memorable and the most inextricable? Let’s see.

10. ‘Don’t You (Forget About Me)’ (The Breakfast Club)

A self-described brain, athlete, basket case, princess, and criminal seemingly co-authored Simple Minds’ inescapable ‘80’s anthem. Raise a fingerless gloved fist along with Bender and shout it: “Hey, hey, hey, heyyy!”

9. ‘Where Is My Mind’ (Fight Club)

“Trust me, everything’s gonna be fine,” says Ed Norton, as the Pixies siren-like guitars serenade the crumbling buildings targeted by Project Mayhem. Some blissful demolition.

8. ‘Shout’ (Animal House)

Here’s our one real band exception, for the pride of Delta Tau Chi, Otis Day & The Knights. But talk about memorable inextricability: you’re not going to get me to leave off the tune that launched a million toga parties and possibly the greatest party scene in movie history. Hey Otis!! You know you make me wanna…

7. ‘I Got You, Babe’ (Groundhog Day)

Unofficial records note this Sonny & Cher classic turning up 15 times in the film. Last month, on February 2nd (get it?), AMC Network aired a day-long marathon, running it over and over and over. I only watched 3 or 4 times. You do the math.

6. ‘Sister Christian’ (Boogie Nights)

Appearing in only this one sickly tense scene, character actor Alfred Molina practically steals the movie. Honestly, just typing about Night Ranger’s placement on his coked-up mixtape is kinda freaking me the f*ck out.

5. ‘In Your Eyes’ (Say Anything)

Is anything as instantly connectible as Lloyd Dobler’s boombox over the head move? You could just pantomime it and start to hear Peter Gabriel’s voice. Good thing Ione Skye slept with the window open, or the whole exercise could’ve been a bust.

4. ‘Tiny Dancer’ (Almost Famous)

Two in a row for Cameron Crowe, this one at least semi-autobiographical. Elton John rescues a cataclysmic evening and heals a band in crisis with the simple power of a perfectly made song. If you’re not tearing up by the time the chorus hits, you probably also weren’t moved by Penny Lane’s mystical line: “You are home.” Chills.

3. ‘Moving in Stereo’ (Fast Times at Ridgemont High)

This is a family site, so we can’t include the video clip to this indelible moment made possible by The Cars. But suffice to say, if any red-blooded male roughly coming of age around 1982 when this film came out tells you this song doesn’t instantly conjure something in their mind, they’re flat-out lying to you. I’ll simply add Judge Reinhold’s coda to the scene: “Doesn’t anybody f*cking knock anymore?!”

2. ‘Twist and Shout’ (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off)

For sheer spectacle it’s very tough to keep Matthew Broderick’s bravura lip-synced performance out of the top position. Director John Hughes reportedly utilized over 10,000 volunteer extras in this massive set piece at Chicago’s annual Von Steuben Day parade, into which he incredibly snuck an unannounced float. Still, with an archetypal early Beatles tune as the soundtrack, the inextricability index drops even this epic rendition a small notch.

1. ‘Old Time Rock and Roll’ (Risky Business)

The stiff drink of Chivas has been poured. The frozen TV dinner has been sucked. The equalizer levels on the stereo have all been cranked. And then, the eight descending piano notes are struck. Is there anyone alive who doesn’t picture a sock-footed Tom Cruise stylishly sliding across the door frame next? Bob Seger already had a hit in 1979 with the tune often referenced as his favorite song. But in 1983 Tom Cruise took permanent mental ownership of it in the greatest cinematic parental rebellion ever conducted in a pair of tightie-whities. I think memorability and inextricability must have reached their apex in that moment.

That’s it, that’s our Top 10 (with 10 more honorable mentions plus the 4 more forgotten and 2 you’d like to have forgotten). How’d we do? If you believe there to be any other examples of songs with scenes that are sufficiently, well, memorable, please feel free to comment back – that is if you can, um, extricate yourself from whatever else you may be doing.