Sonic the Hedgehog 2020
Rob name-checks Shazamming a song mid-screening as basically his whole relationship to movie music.
The Big Picture · Discussion · Roundtable · Interview
Top Five Movie Soundtrack Needle Drops. Plus: Robbie Robertson
February 25, 2020/ 66 min/ Sean Fennessy · Rob Harvilla
Sean and Ringer staff writer Rob Harvilla trade top-five needle drops, then Robbie Robertson on 'Once Were Brothers' and scoring movies with Scorsese.
36 films across 4 segments.
AI-generated This episode was transcribed and analyzed with AI models. The matches aren't perfect — expect the occasional misheard title or a link to the wrong film.
What makes a good needle dropbefore the list
Fifty Shades of Grey 2015
Cited for the slowed-down, ironic trailer-cover trend, alongside Suicide Squad.
Suicide Squad 2016
Same trailer-cover trend Rob says goes too far into pure irony.
Dazed and Confused 1993
Brought up for Linklater's rule of using music teenagers actually listened to, not what a later generation assumes they did.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood 2019
Sean notes Tarantino has said many of its songs came straight off the KHJ playlist of the period.
Sean and Rob's top five needle drops counted down five to one, one host per pick
Picked by Rob Harvilla
Django Unchained 2012
No. 5: Rick Ross's '100 Black Coffins' plays as Django rides free, his one respite in what he calls his least favorite Tarantino movie.
Picked by Sean Fennessy
Groundhog Day 1993
No. 5: Sonny & Cher's 'I Got You Babe' as the alarm-clock reset. He dislikes the song but says it does exactly what it needs to do to Bill Murray.
Picked by Rob Harvilla
Chungking Express 1994
No. 4: 'California Dreamin'' on repeat in Wong Kar-wai's U.S. breakout, boosted stateside by a Tarantino-endorsed Miramax release.
Picked by Sean Fennessy
Fight Club 1999
No. 4: the Pixies' 'Where Is My Mind' over the buildings falling. He says the movie turned a deep cut into a canonical hit.
Picked by Rob Harvilla
The Royal Tenenbaums 2001
No. 3: Nico's 'These Days' as Gwyneth Paltrow steps off the bus toward Luke Wilson.
Picked by Sean Fennessy
Do the Right Thing 1989
No. 3: Public Enemy's 'Fight the Power' under Rosie Perez's opening-credits dance, which he calls the most significant needle drop of the last 30-40 years.
Picked by Rob Harvilla
Goodfellas 1990
No. 2: Derek and the Dominos' 'Layla' piano coda scoring the bodies turning up after the Lufthansa heist.
Picked by Sean Fennessy
Reservoir Dogs 1992
No. 2: Stealers Wheel's 'Stuck in the Middle with You' under Michael Madsen's ear-cutting dance.
Picked by Rob Harvilla
Wayne's World 1992
No. 1: Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody' headbanged in the car, in a movie directed by Penelope Spheeris.
Picked by Sean Fennessy
Mean Streets 1973
No. 1: the Rolling Stones' 'Jumpin' Jack Flash' scoring De Niro's entrance, the moment he says Scorsese invented the modern needle drop.
Honorable mentions one critic, one film
Picked by Rob Harvilla
This Is Spinal Tap 1984
The a cappella, out-of-key 'Heartbreak Hotel' at Elvis's grave.
Picked by Rob Harvilla
High Fidelity 2000
The Beta Band record-store scene: 'I will now sell five copies of the Three EP.'
Picked by Sean Fennessy
Reality Bites 1994
'My Sharona' turning a convenience store into a dance party.
Picked by Sean Fennessy
Almost Famous 2000
The tour-bus 'Tiny Dancer' sing-along, left off the list proper for being too well-worn by now.
Picked by Sean Fennessy
Billy Madison 1995
ELO's 'Telephone Line' under Steve Buscemi's murder-list phone call.
Picked by Sean Fennessy
Lost in Translation 2003
The Jesus and Mary Chain's 'Just Like Honey' closing the film.
Picked by Sean Fennessy
American Psycho 2000
Huey Lewis's 'Hip to Be Square' right before Christian Bale starts killing people.
Picked by Sean Fennessy
Boogie Nights 1997
Night Ranger's 'Sister Christian' scoring the Alfred Molina firecracker scene; Sean's own alternate pick from the movie is Charles Wright's 'Do Your Thing.'
In conversation
Robbie Robertson on
Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and the Band 2019
The documentary drawn from his memoir Testimony; Martin Scorsese came on as executive producer after seeing a rough cut.
Robbie Robertson on
The Last Waltz 1978
The Band's farewell concert film, which he says was more a performance document than the full history 'Once Were Brothers' tells.
Robbie Robertson on
The Irishman 2019
His latest Scorsese scoring job; some of that work found its way onto his new record, 'Sinematic.'
Robbie Robertson on
Double Indemnity 1944
One of the film noirs that hooked him young. He says he's 'never gotten over' it.
Robbie Robertson on
Kiss of Death 1947
Another early noir touchstone he names alongside Double Indemnity.
Robbie Robertson on
8½ 1963
The Fellini film he saw in a theater between sets, after which he says he was never the same.
Robbie Robertson on
The Wolf of Wall Street 2013
Howlin' Wolf's 'Spoonful' scoring Belfort's walk down the street, a deliberate mismatch he calls 'pure magic.'
Robbie Robertson on
Casino 1995
Another Scorsese collaboration he singles out for its music, including a Devo cue.
Robbie Robertson on
Parasite 2019
The other film he names when asked for the last great thing he's seen.
Also mentioned raised along the way
In passing Beavis and Butt-Head Do AmericaRushmoreThe DepartedPerformanceThe Decline of Western Civilization
Not films filtered out: TV, games, ads
TV SurvivorWestworldOzarkHigh Fidelity (Hulu series)