I told you I had an idea for a themed playlist with the title "Cinematic Shorthand." The other day I was driving and listening to R.E.M. sing "It's the End of the World as We Know It (and I Feel Fine)" and I started to think about songs in movies. Music is integral to moviemaking, obviously, but sometimes it's a way for a lazy filmmaker to set a scene or simulate an emotion without really getting the performance out of the actors and script. As a disclaimer, I'll say that every use of the listed songs does not, in my mind, constitute "lazy filmmaking," but were the only examples of its use that I could come up with. My brother helped me out a lot with this list.

Cinematic Shorthand-

1. Tomoyasu Hotei - Battle Without Honor or Humanity
(Kill Bill, Transformers, Team America)

This song has become the gold standard for the epic power walk- a dramatic, exciting musical flourish that seems perfect for introducing any character when they shift into badass mode. It was parodied in Team America: World Police and recently featured in Transformers when Bumblebee converts from a crappy old Camaro to a new one.

2. Phil Collins - In the Air Tonight
(Miami Vice, Risky Business, The New Guy, Big Trouble, Gang Related)

You know the scene - the hero is driving late at night, windows open or top down, contemplating all the turbulent happenings of "the story so far," and as the music picks up he gathers his strength and decides to fight evil and save the day. See what I mean? Shorthand.

3. Queen (feat. David Bowie) - Under Pressure
(Grosse Pointe Blank, The Invisible, The Player's Club, School of Rock, The Girl Next Door, Stepmom, 40 Days and 40 Nights)

Despite its subject matter, this song is usually used in a positive context- the hero/heroine has a lot on his/her plate and is constantly struggling from moment to moment, but has reached the realization that they really can handle what the world throws at them and though life is hectic, it's ultimately good and they are happy. You may not have realized it, but it's all there.

4. The Police - Every Little Thing She Does is Magic
(Bewitched, The Wedding Singer, Conspiracy Theory, Legally Blonde)

Ah, love. When you're supposed to love a character, despite her quirkiness, you hear this song.

5. B.J. Thomas - Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head
(Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Forrest Gump, Spider-man 2, Clerks II, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Spy Hard)

David and I disagreed a little bit on this one... I think it's a little crass, he insists it "works." I don't know what his wild affection for B.J. Thomas or this song is all about, but it's my website and my list, so there. It is true that this is one of those that kind of parodies itself when used in the right context, but other times it is definitely just lazy.

6. Buffalo Springfield - For What It's Worth
(Legally Blonde 2, Breakfast on Pluto, Lord of War, Ice Age 2, Three Kings)

The Sixties happened, you know. And it wasn't all flowers, the Beatles and anonymous sex. It was bad. It was tough. But it's summer, man. Go outside and enjoy it. There will be time for really sinister later.

7. R.E.M. - It's the End of the World As We Know It
(Independence Day, Blast from the Past, Chicken Little)

Usually it's used as a joke (I still love that it's the song playing right before all the hippies at that party get incinerated by the spaceship in the beginning of Independence Day), but you can see the quality of movie that it's usually associated with. Schlock.

8. Al Green - Ain't No Sunshine
(Notting Hill, When We Were Kings, The Corruptor, Munich)

"Oh, love. We miss you. Our life is nothing without you. We are nothing without you. It's probably raining. It's definitely dark, and we're probably looking up into your window or trying to call but you won't answer. But this is a movie, so soon it will be time to win you back."

9. Barenaked Ladies - One Week
(American Pie, 10 Things I Hate About You)

"Look at all the madcap, crazy things we do. Our lives are so wacky and we're both trying to avoid admitting how totally smitten we are. Isn't life great?"

10. Mike Ness - I Fought the Law
(Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Intermission, Freddy Got Fingered, Man of the House)

The official theme song of any guy getting his ass kicked by the cops, be they crooked or virtuous. Also frequently used in ironic situations, like when the spunky pre-adolescent gets in trouble with the stepdad that just doesn't understand him/her.

11. Tom Petty - American Girl
(Sugar & Spice, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Chasing Liberty, The Silence of the Lambs)

This is for when main character realizes he loves the girl, not because of her quirkiness (then we'd have to default to The Police), but because she's almost perfect, except for one tragic flaw.

12. Kansas - Dust in the Wind
(Old School)

The only solid example of this song I could find was Old School, where it's used in brilliant parody, but the instance of it that I best identify it with is in an episode of the Highlander TV series, where it plays over a montage of scenes from the show recalling Tessa, Duncan MacLeod's great love who died in a random act of violence. I know it's been used this way in other things, I just can't find examples.

13. The Lovin' Spoonful - Summer in the City
(Die Hard With a Vengeance, Osmosis Jones)

Intercut scenes of traffic, street vendors, blowing trash and crowds of people at crosswalks and you have your establishing shot. Suddenly you know that life in the city is hectic and uncomfortable.

14. Kool and the Gang - Jungle Boogie
(Undercover Brother, Beerfest, Pulp Fiction)

"Uh-oh, we're about to do something crazy and fun and it would be a real shame if the audience didn't notice."

15. Gloria Gaynor - I Will Survive
(The First Wives Club, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Holes, In & Out, Man on the Moon, Priscilla: Queen of the Desert, The Replacements, Selena)

"I have been spurned by a lover or suffered a great trauma, and now, with my friends and my boombox and maybe a wooden spoon to use as a microphone, we're going to sing away all our troubles and get ready for the climax of the movie."

16. The Youngbloods - Get Together
(Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas, Forrest Gump, Riding the Bullet, Easy Rider)

"The Sixties were wonderful and oh!, would you look at all the hippies that are enjoying themselves? Wouldn't it be nice if we all just got along? Don't worry, we'll get back to how scary and seedy the Sixties were presently."

17. The Zombies - Time of the Season
(Awakenings, 1969)

"It's dark. We're in an alley somewhere and probably either getting robbed or finishing a drug deal. It's the Sixties, but it's the 'bad Sixties,' and we need to remember that it really wasn't all flowers, the Beatles and anonymous sex. Vietnam, man. The draft. People were dying and doing drugs and while in this scene we're not going to show any VC, you should probably be aware that it's part of the backdrop of this whole movie."

18. The Animals - House of the Rising Sun
(Casino, 15 Minutes, Confidence, Remember the Titans, The Waterboy)

This is for the scene in the movie when something really bad happens to the main character or one of his closest friends- probably in slow motion and with several anguished, "eyes turned heavenward" reaction shots. You should be feeling how bad all everything is going for the good guys right now.

19. Louis Armstrong - What a Wonderful World
(Freaky Friday, Good Morning Vietnam, Madagascar, Madeline, Michael, 12 Monkeys, What a Girl Wants, Finding Forrester)

"Things were tough, but our travails are done and we've discovered the happiness and contentment we need to make sure no one leaves this movie angry or disappointed. Or, alternately, we're being used ironically and if that's the case, this is probably a Kubrick film and you shouldn't be waiting for a happy ending anyway."

20. Peter Gabriel - Solsbury Hill
(In Good Company, Vanilla Sky)

"There's an older character in this movie that I have discovered is really a father figure for me, and we've bonded during whatever it was that we went through before this scene. I have a newfound respect for him and because now we have each other, we're going to be OK." But actually, the thing I personally associate with this song the most is the promos and scheduling notes that WFLX Fox 29 in West Palm Beach, FL used to run- they used this song and whenever I hear it I think of that stupid parrot logo they used to have.

21. Imogen Heap - Hide and Seek
(The Last Kiss, The O.C.)

This one is used in a couple of shows and movies recently, but more than anything, putting this on the list is just an excuse to show this video, which I find to be extremely funny:

I should have been a movie director. I could go whole movies without having to wring one genuine emotion out of an actor.

Tags: music
hey little fella, how are you doing today?: bouncy
soundtrack: Imogen Heap - Hide and Seek