Ah, the good old needle drop. This is when a movie uses a pre-existing song, usually in some kind of showy way, and, more often than not, non-diegetically (outside the world of the film) as opposed to diegetically (within the world of the film).Quentin Tarantinoloves using them, for one, with “Battle Without Honor or Humanity” fromKill Bill: Vol. 1and “Cat People” fromInglourious Basterdsbeing two good examples.
Tarantino and some other filmmakers usually use lesser-known or unexpected songs for needle drops, which tends to have more of an impact (and probably costs a little less when it comes to getting permission to use pre-existing music).But on the other end of things, some songs have been overused throughout cinema history, and, if used unironically today, might well elicit eye-rollsmore than any kind of positive emotional response. Of those popular songs, here are some of the most overused.
By George Thorogood and the Destroyers
Shorthand for saying “Hey, this character is one mean piece of work,” “Bad to the Bone” isn’t the kind of thing a movie can use sincerely nowadays. Its main riff has moved beyond iconic and become overplayed, and that’s not to disparage the quality of the song itself. For this song, and the other soon-to-be-mentioned ones, it’s more about how recklessly and frequently they’re used, rather than the songs themselves being either good or bad.
There’s been a compilationof some of the most memorable times thisGeorge Thorogoodsong has been used, with easily the most well-known being near the start ofTerminator 2: Judgment Day. This was probably the last time the song actually left a mark before being relegated purely to comedies or kids’ movies, and even then, given what we soon learn aboutArnold Schwarzenegger’s characterin this particularTerminatorfilm, having “Bad to the Bone” is already a little cheeky/ironic.
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
2"London Calling"
By The Clash
If you’re an editor or someone who’s in charge of deciding what music goes where, and you have a scene that suddenly takes place in London, you’ll probably feel some temptation to insert a certain song by an iconic English band that just so happens to reference “London” very obviously. Of course, the band isThe Clash, and the song is “London Calling,” the title track of what would have to be the band’s single greatest album.
It’s a great song, and yes, it does work well if you pair it with a montage establishing, you know, London… but come on. It’s a bit old hat at this point, innit?
Like with “Bad to the Bone,” someone else hasalready made a nice compilationof a bunch of “London Calling” needle drops, perhaps the most clunky being the oneseen/heard in The Conjuring 2. It’s a great song, andyes, it does work well if you pair it with a montage establishing, you know, London… but come on. It’s a bit old hat at this point, innit?
The Conjuring 2
3"Welcome to the Jungle"
By Guns N' Roses
If there was still any coolness in using “Welcome to the Jungle” before 2022, it was killed well and truly byThor: Love and Thunder. Thatabomination of a superhero movielazily used a bunch ofGuns N' Rosessongs, seemingly in an attempt to mirror the successful usage ofLed Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song” inThor: Ragnarok, but all the needle drops fell short. Bleh.Love and Thunder. Why. Why, why, why.
Anyway, “Welcome to the Jungle” is being picked on here because even before that Marvel movie, it was already kind of close to overplayed.It’s a song that’s been heard in a range of movies, includingThe Dead Pool,Megamind,The Interview,The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, and, perhaps least surprisingly,Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. At this stage, it’s probably been heard enough.
Thor: Love and Thunder
4"Fortunate Son"
By Creedence Clearwater Revival
Reports of “Fortunate Son” being overused in Vietnam War movies might well have been greatly exaggerated. It was a song informed by that conflict, and was well-associated with it perhaps outside of movies, but the only really big movie to tie it explicitly to Vietnam via a needle drop wasForrest Gump, which isn’t even a Vietnam War movie specifically, but does have it factor into the plot.If you want to count war documentaries, too, it did also appear inDear America: Letters Home from Vietnam.
But if you want to inject a scene with energy, preferably while showing something military-related, this Creedence Clearwater Revival will probably get the job done… or it used to get the job done.Once it was used twice in 2016, both inWar Dogsand then infamously in the needle drop-heavySuicide Squad, its time was probably up, regardless of how much you might (mis)remember it being featured inmany Vietnam War movies.
5"Gimme Shelter"
By The Rolling Stones
Speaking of raw rock songs that reflect the Vietnam War in some way, here’s “Gimme Shelter,” byThe Rolling Stones. This has kind of become theMartin Scorsesesong, given he seems to love using it in his movies. It popped up inGoodfellas, then inCasino, and then he gave it a rest for a while (it wouldn’t exactly have fit withthe vibe something likeKundunwas going for), but then “Gimme Shelter” returned with a vengeance forThe Departed, where it was heard more than once.
You know what? That’s enough.Being used that many times in Scorsese’s body of work is pretty much enough for it to reach over-saturation territory. Though he doesn’t have a patent for using it, by any means, given you can also hear it inFlight. It was prettybrave ofRobert Zemeckisto step onto Scorsese’s turf there, though.
Goodfellas
6"What a Wonderful World"
By Louis Armstrong
The most obvious use of “What a Wonderful World” would be in a scene where, indeed, you want to highlight the world being wonderful. Duh, right? Well, not so fast! As it turns out,you can also use a sweet and uplifting song like this while showing images that paint the world as the complete opposite of wonderful. The contrast between song and image, for such a scene, used to pack a punch.
As it turns out, you may also use a sweet and uplifting song like this while showing images that paint the world as the complete opposite of wonderful.
This clashing can be found in the rock-solid war movie that isGood Morning, Vietnam, yet was perhaps most famously used in an ironic way duringthe aggressive and passionate documentarythat wasBowling for Columbine. Other movies it can be heard in, to mention just a few, includeTwelve Monkeys,Madagascar, andHarold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay. Using it either sincerely or ironically, at this stage, has probably run its course, in all honesty. The only option left is to use it during an entirely neutral/boring scene, and cross your fingers, hoping the audience gets it somehow.
Good Morning, Vietnam
7"Holding Out for a Hero"
By Bonnie Tyler
This is a bit of a tricky example, because the first use of “Holding Out for a Hero” wasn’t a true needle drop, since it was written forFootloose. So, does that count? Well, it got needle-dropped, so to speak, in some films since that 1984 movie about a town outlawing dancing, perhaps most memorably toward the end ofShrek 2.
But wait! Was that a needle drop? It was definitely “Holding Out for a Hero,” but not the originalBonnie Tylersung version, instead beinga cover sung byJennifer Saunders. Hmm. Still counts, maybe? Anyway, once it was used as legendarily as it was inShrek 2, any other film or TV show would inevitably be doomed to use it less compellingly. By the time it was heard in 2023’sThe Super Mario Bros. Movie,it was kinda like, “Wrap it up, folks,” you know?
8"Mr. Blue Sky"
By Electric Light Orchestra
James Gunnknowshow to make a good superhero movie, best exemplified by theGuardians of the Galaxyfilms. These ones make great use of memorable pop/rock songs, mostly from the 1970s, even if some of the needle drops heard come dangerously close to feeling a little played out. Gunn was right on the cusp of played-out territory, it has to be admitted, with the use of “Mr. Blue Sky” inGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
Still, it gets a pass for being used well, right in the opening scene complete with a dancing Baby Groot (and it wasapparently very hard to secure the rightsto use the song). But still, it’s one of those songs it’s probably best to retire indefinitely from needle drop territory, given it’s also been heard in the likes ofEternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,Paul Blart: Mall Cop,The Invention of Lying,Megamind, andThe Super Mario Bros. Movie, to name just a few.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
9"Sabotage"
By Beastie Boys
Even if it had never been used in a movie, theBeastie Boyssong “Sabotage” would already be kind of cinematic, on account of ithaving an awesome music video. But its usage throughout film was inevitable, perhaps, since it’s such a high-energy and easy-to-like song;the kind that can add punch to a scene that might be lacking it, or further intensify something that’s already energetic.
Maybe filmmakers have been a little too enthusiastic, though, since there are too many uses of “Sabotage” to go through them all. It can be heard, though, in two of the more recentStar Trekmovies,Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising, briefly inRed Notice, andKimi. Any more attempts to use it could well end up sabotaging the impact of “Sabotage,” funnily enough.
10"Hallelujah"
By Leonard Cohen
See, “Hallelujah” is frequently covered for sure, perhaps overly so, and it’s proven similarly like the music version of catnip for filmmakers, since it’s been used so often to underscore somber scenes. And it makes some degree of sense, since there’s a poetry and undeniably intense melancholy to thisLeonard Cohensong, all to the point where it’s probably his most recognizable song (whether it’s his best, though, is another debate altogether).
What isn’t debatable is the fact that it’s been used so often throughout so many movies,includingZack Snyder’sWatchmen, the firstShrekmovie,Lord of War,Zack Snyder’s Justice League(Snyder strikes again), andSing, plus too many TV shows to count. It worked for some of those, but if a movie tried to use it sincerely again, in 2025 (or beyond), there’s agood chance a fair few viewers would roll their eyes upon hearing it underscore yet another emotionally heavy scene.
