Ryan McNeilA day or two ago, Daniel over at Getafilm wondered aloud about a few moments in (500) DAYS OF SUMMER. Specifically, he asked how often in the real world people go vinyl shopping with that special someone…or go about their day wearing giant headphones.
To his I wondering, I can only say “BLASPHEMY!!”
There are still some of us out there, to whom music is an important part of our lives…not just playing in the background during our lives. These are the people who mine through browser racks looking for deleted Smiths singles. These are the ones who wear headphones the weight of earmuffs in the middle of a heatwave. And indeed, every now and then a movie moment comes along to celebrate us, and our refusal to let go of what makes listening to music, such a great part of life.
So let’s go old school with this whole thing. In honour of Les Paul who left us for that big guitar circle in the sky. In honour of the 40th anniversary of Woodstock this week. And in honour of you Daniel, and your out-loud wonderings, I give you…
#5. THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS (2001)… Richie loves Margot, but she is his adopted sister so their love can never be. They steal away for a moment together in Margot’s tent, that feels like it should house the side entrance to Narnia. As they take a moment to try and express a few things, Margot drops the needle into The Rolling Stones’ “Between the Buttons”. The longing waltz of “She Smiled Sweetly” gives way to the hopefulness of “Ruby Tuesday”, and it all comes together to suit the scene perfectly. (Bonus points for anyone who can tell me the slight error in the scene).
#4. PRETTY IN PINK (1986)… Ah Duckie, how can someone whose love travels down a one way street throw himself into a dance so completely? Otis Redding’s classic has shown up in other films, but this has to take the cake as the most passionate playing of it. As Andie and Iona look on, afraid Duckie’s full tilt dancing might knock an entire wall down, The Duck gives one of the most empassioned moments of blue-eyed soul this side of The Commitments. Pity it doesn’t help him get the girl.
#3. JACKIE BROWN (1997)… Yeah, I know, I’ve been coming back to JACKIE BROWN a lot lately, but I’ve been in a Quentin kinda mood. This is a love scene, but not that sort of love scene. When bail bondsman Max Cherry comes calling early one morning, to retrieve a heisted gun, Jackie invites him in for some coffee and music. As she flips through her record collection (which I’m sure would be loaded with awesomeness), she pulls The Delfonics, and spins “Didn’t I Blow You’re Mind This Time”. By the time that second chime of the french horn blows, it’s official – Max is in love…with the song.
#2. SHAUN OF THE DEAD (2004)… Little known fact – LP’s are a handy weapon against zombies. But what to sacrifice from the collection?
Ed: ‘Purple Rain’?
Shaun: No.
Ed: ‘Sign o’ the Times’?
Shaun: Definitely not.
Ed: The ‘Batman’ soundtrack?
Shaun: Throw it.
Ed: ‘Dire Straits’?
Shaun: Throw it.
Ed: Ooh, ‘Stone Roses’.
Shaun: Um, No.
Ed: ‘Second Coming’.
Shaun: I like it!
Ed: Ahhh! ‘Sade’…
Hilarity, and lucky for them, zombies don’t move so quick as to interrupt the choosiness.
#1. ALMOST FAMOUS… Come on, you knew this was coming. The mother of all vinyl bequethments. Young William opens a bag, and finds that he has been left an entire pile of the greatest records one could ever want. He’s told they will set him free. He’s told they will show him his entire future (well, “Tommy” will, anyhow). I could only ever tell such a fortunate soul that he has hit the jackpot.
This one takes top spot, because it actually says a lot about what collecting music is supposed to be about. Try as you might, you can’t take it with you. So at some point or another, you need to keep an eye out for a worthy soul, and to them hand over the mother lode. And here’s the rub – when such torch-passing occurs, it doesn’t have the same lustre if one were to hand over rubber bins of CD’s…or a handful of hard drives. No, for this moment of legacy, only milk crates of vinyl will do. For Zooey’s act of musical selflessness, ALMOST FAMOUS tops my list.
Did I miss one? Feel free to leave comments naming your favorite vinyl related moments, along with any other musical musings that this post might inspire.
Likewise, feel free to leave suggestions for the next top five.
I humbly accept this honour, Hatter – thank you…
#3 and #1 are really terrific choices, and overall I have to admit that vinyl on screen can lead to some really great moments (another Wes Anderson one is Max Fischer on the rainy night in Rushmore). But – you'll notice that the best scenes are usually about the collecting or using, not as much the browsing and flirting.
But yeah, milk crates of vinyl are awesome.
I love this post as I have always been a fan of vinyl showing up in films… Even when they get get it a little wrong… As for the bonus points- In the Royal Tennenbaums, although both songs are on the Rolling Stones' album "Between the Buttons" record, these songs have never appeared consecutively on any of their albums.
One other vinyl appearance of note was the use of Leonard Cohen's Everybody Knows in Pump Up the Volume. The record in question that was filmed had a Sire records label and yet Leonard did not record for them. He is a Sony artiste. (That one always bugged me although the movie was actually quite good.)
Great post! Very enjoyable.
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@ Daniel… You're welcome, and its my theory that what goes unsaid is that the collecting and using leads to the browsing and flirting. Try it sometime…take that special someone to the vinyl shop to browse.
You can thank me when the inevitable sparks fly.
@ Sean… First off, thanks for reading! I love your blog, so it's cool to know you read mine. Secondly, bonus points go to you; "Sweetly – Ruby" are indeed way out of sequence.
And great call with "Everybody Knows" role in PUMP UP THE VOLUME!
LOVE #2!!!
I'm surprised that you don't have anything from High Fidelity listed.
"That was an original pressing!"
No love for High Fidelity though? That whole movie was built around the vinyl and the love of it.
@ Danger and Mike… I couldn't settle on one vinyl moment in HIGH FIDELITY. Plus, more often than not, the boys in HI-FI are elitest about their vinyl. Kinda makes it hard to encourage.
Great list, but you've got to check out a short film called "Love You More." It played at Sundance and Cannes and Cinequest and it's one of the best vinyl-loving movies I've ever seen.
One of my favourite vinyl moments takes place in Barry Levinson's "Diner", when Daniel Stern's character is trying to make his wife understand how important his music collection is to him. It's the best scene in the film.
Here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=au3xP7ITQ0A
Excellent choices all around, Hatter. I think Jackie is probably my favorite; the love for music Quentin showed in that film felt really sincere. As much as I love the musical choices that Anderson consistently makes, I can't help but feel that it's all a little too calculated. Great for owning the soundtracks, but something is taken away from the scenes themselves for me, even though they work great (if that makes sense).