The Art Of Needle Drops
Fight The Power by Public Enemy. Best Of My Love by The Emotions. The Sound Of Silence by Simon and Garfunkle. What do all three of these songs have in common? They’re all needle drops that open and set the tone for three massive movies (Do The Right Thing by Spike Lee, Boogie Nights by Paul Thomas Anderson, and The Graduate by Mike Nichols). I love a good score, it’s one of my favorite things about movies. On any given day you will most likely find me listening to John Williams, but sometimes you need a needle drop to set the mood and to push the story forward.
Drive by Nicolas Winding Refn would not be the same without Nightcall by Kavinsky blasting over the LA skyline during the opening credits, nor would the subtext and tension between Ryan Gosling and Carey Mulligan really hit without Under Your Spell by Desire playing in the background (I would be remiss if I didn’t mention A Real Hero by College. Because it’s both a banger and it sets the scene).
I don’t believe there is a bigger fan of Gimme Shelter by The Rolling Stones than Martin Scorcese. He’s used it in Goodfellas, Casino, and The Departed. But if you take a look at the scenes that Scorcese used the track in, it pushes the story forward. Goodfellas has Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) talking about his cocaine business, Casino has Sam Rothstein (Robert DeNiro) and Nicky Santoro (Joe Pesci) narrating back and forth how Nicky is constantly being blamed for hits, and The Departed we see Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson) both discuss his respect and how he gets his respect from the neighborhood. Three different movies, but at the core they’re all the same. Exposition and character development over a montage that’s completed by Mick Jagger’s and Merry Clayton’s harmony.
I could write a whole separate blog about Martin Scorcese needle drops. Please Mr. Postman by the Marvelettes over the bar brawl in Mean Streets, Sleep Walk by Santo and Johnny adds a layer of eeriness over an assassination in The Irishman, and Late For The Sky By Jackson Browne showcasing the isolation and further descent into madness as Travis Bickle (Robert DeNiro) pretends to shoot his TV. The list goes on but there are other directors who like to show that they have something to say with the tracks they pick.
Paul Thomas Anderson could have gone with a lot of choices for the scene in Punch Drunk Love where Barry Egan (Adam Sandler) meets up with Lena Leonard (Emily Watson) in Hawaii but choosing He Needs Me by Shelley Duvall really captures both the sweetness of the moment while highlighting Barry’s crippling anxiety. (There is probably also some hero worship since the song originated from Robert Altman’s Popeye starring Robin Williams and Duvall. Anderson is a huge fan of Altman.)
For Quentin Tarantino you really could stand backwards blindfolded to a dart board, and even if you missed the board you’d still be bound to hit a great needle drop. Just like Paul Thomas Anderson with He Needs Me, Tarantino had a lot of choices he could have gone with for the scene in Inglorious Basterds where Shoshanna (Melanie Laurent) gets ready for the Nazi’s to visit her theater. But playing David Bowie’s Cat People (Putting Out Fire) doesn’t just make the scene infinitely cooler, it’s also a great theme song for her preparing for war. Yes Shoshanna is getting dressed up, but she’s here to burn the place down and ask questions later. Compared to Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt), she’s the most prepared person in the theater and Bowie’s crooning is an excellent backdrop.
Every single one of these needle drops sets the tone, pushes character arcs, and if we’re being honest are just fun. However there is another approach to needle drops, one that I prefer, and that’s having the song being played by and or interacting with the characters. What would the first season of Stranger Things be without Should I Stay Or Should I Go by The Clash being both a favorite song and guide to finding Will Byers (Noah Schnapp)? Would you be able to feel Faye’s (Faye Wong) daydream of being lost somewhere else in Chungking Express if there were any other track than California Dreaming by The Mama’s And The Papa’s? What this does is it allows the audience to take another step further into the characters' world. Not just feel it, but actually live in the scene. Few directors have done this as often and as effectively as Edgar Wright.
Edgar Wright knows how to use music being played in the world to not only enhance the scene, but by also adding humor. In Shaun Of The Dead, having Don’t Stop Me Now by Queen blasting over a jukebox while Simon Pegg and Nick Frost beat a zombie on beat with a pool stick not only makes for a great scene, it’s hilarious. The opening riff to Black Sheep by Metric builds great tension while also setting the stage for a hilarious reveal that not only is Scott Pilgrim’s (Michael Cera) ex-girlfriend (Brie Larson) about to play, but he’s going to have to battle the bassist (Brandon Routh) Ramona’s (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) ex-boyfriend. In fact Scott Pilgrim is so full of needle drops that it prepared Edgar Wright to make what is probably the magnum opus of needle drops, Baby Driver.
From the opening scene of Edgar Wright’s Baby Driver where Bellbottoms by The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, fuels the setup of a getaway driver with tinnitus, Baby (Ansel Elgort), you know you’re in for a ride that’s fun and filled with music. Much like how I said I could write a separate blog about Martin Scorcese’s needle drops, I could write one just on Baby Driver. From the action packed getaway of a heist gone wrong while Neat Neat Neat by The Damned blasts, to the more reflective moment of possibly leaving the life while Easy by Commodores serenades the air, to the final climatic shredding of Brighton Rock by Queen during the faceoff. There are so many good needle drops that elevate the scene in Baby Driver, which is why I think Baby Driver is the best movie to feature needle drops.
To enjoy all the tracks mentioned in the blog, along with some of Charthouse’s personal favorites, enjoy the playlist below.
For the love of movies,
Jonathan Austin
