Edith Piaf, Mötley Lüe and the Best Music Cues of 2010

The way music is used in film makes for an interesting marriage. For every unmemorable movie made memorable because of a perfectly placed pop song, there is an unremarkable song turned iconic by its inclusion great film. There isn't anything inherently brilliant about Donovan's "Atlantis," but when Martin Scorsese used the song during the Billy Batts scene in Goodfellas, it became brilliant. Don't ask me to explain; that's just the way these things work. Who were the Donovans of 2010? Ahead, Movieline offers up the five best music cues of the year.

5. "Never Hear Surf Music Again" from 127 Hours

A funny thing has happened to Danny Boyle's 127 Hours since it came out last month: It got totally forgotten about. Sure, star James Franco is out doing James Franco-y things, but that's more about self-promotion than film promotion. Even the critics circles -- the same critics who bent over backward to give 127 Hours great reviews -- have largely viewed Boyle's film as an also-ran to The Social Network, Black Swan and The Kids Are All Right. That doesn't mean Hours will be ignored come Oscar time -- obviously it won't -- it's just...interesting. Perhaps a fresh listen of "Never Hear Surf Music Again" will help remind some viewers/voters about what made the film so special in the first place. This Free Blood song runs over the opening credits, and its driving bass line -- and cuckoo bananas-but-inspiring lyrics -- set the tone for what follows.

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Comments

  • Abbey says:

    “Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien” from Inception was definitely the best of the above choices. Awesome. Then again I didn't see any of the other 4 movies but this one was memorable.

  • The Winchester says:

    The use of Swan Lake in Black Swan was pretty awesome, but I guess that's more of an all-encompassing theme.
    But how could leave off Garbage Truck, by Sex Bob-Omb!?!?

  • Christopher Rosen says:

    I loved many of the cues in Scott Pilgrim. For what it's worth, "Black Sheep" by Clash at Demonhead (actually Metric) was my fav.

  • S.T. VanAirsdale says:

    "All Out of Love" in Animal Kingdom. Best use of underrated pop majesty in the best film of the year that also happens to remain underrated. I grinned ear-to-ear the first time but wouldn't make that mistake again.

  • Brian Clark says:

    Hopefully they use Grinderman in the next Harry Potter movie.

  • ChristianH says:

    "WE ARE SEX BOB-OMB! 1-2-3-4!"
    *Balls out awesome garage punk/Best opening credits of 2010*