Remember this sequence? Dead bodies of all kinds of gangsters , killed in the goriest of ways, start appearing across the streets of New York and the incredibly beautiful piano and guitar coda of Layla (Derek and the Dominoes) start playing. Yes, the movie is Martin Scorsese’s great gangster tale, ‘Goodfellas’. The brilliant juxtaposition of gore with beauty, uplifts the drama in such a manner that it remains one of the most unforgettable sequences in the history of cinema.

And now consider the opening sequence of Francis Ford Coppola’s epic, ‘Apocalypse Now’. Napalm bombs falling all over a tropical island and then you hear the opening bars of The End (The Doors) come in, along with Jim Morrison’s haunting voice singing, ‘This is the end, beautiful friend…’. It actually looks like it's the final sequence of the movie and the usage of this particular song seems totally appropriate. But the movie has just begun. Unforgettable.

And then, all of you would certainly remember the sequence from Quentin Tarantino’s ‘Reservoir Dogs’, in which the character Mr Blonde tortures a bound policeman, while singing along and dancing to Stuck in the Middle with You (Stealers Wheel). It’s an upbeat song about a surreal cocktail party and you see an upbeat Mr Blonde cutting off the policeman’s ear. Crazy.

So, here’s what all these great auteurs are doing. They are picking up songs from a huge pool of popular tracks from the modern era and adding them at the right sequences in their screenplay to take the narrative forward. A song which had a life of their own, suddenly gathers a new meaning in the context of the movie. And many times, it so happens, that the viewers (of the movie) get introduced to a song which they hadn't heard before. For example the usage of Tiny Dancer (Elton John) in the bus sequence of ‘Almost Famous’ by Cameron Crowe, got a whole new generation humming this forgotten gem by Mr John. 

While the master auteur Stanley Kubrick mostly depended on Classical Music for his movies and the quirky Woody Allen picks up from the several Jazz standards, it’s the likes of Marty (Scorsese) and Coppola who pioneered the usage of popular songs from rock and pop for their storytelling. A game that directors like  Tarantino, Cameron Crowe, David Fincher and Wes Anderson, are skilfully taking forward. 

In fact, last heard, this has become a super specialization in Hollywood. There are guys, whose job is to pick up the right tracks for the story to move forward in a memorable manner. Man, I’d give my one ear...I mean, my right arm to get that job.

By Meraj Hasan

Meraj Hasan is a Mumbai based communication professional (and an amateur poet/musician) with a passion for listening to music the vinyl way. His 32-year-old Technics turntable along with a humble collection of LPs across genres like Classic rock, Classical, Blues and Jazz (amongst others) are his prized possessions. He's also the author of the book 'Khyaalon ki Tapri', a collection of poems. This bestseller book is available on Amazon.  

He can be reached at +91 9833410791 or email: meraj.hasan@gmail.com