The other day, I overheard my friend singing Luis Bacalov’s “His Name was King” to his 2 year-old son. It’s a song that my friend had discovered while watching Django Unchained. And by divine providence, his 2 year-old just happens to have a toy horse named “King”, a precedent that had been established well before my friend, the father, had seen Django. The whole incident helped cement a fact in my mind- that Quentin Tarantino’s films are inexorably linked to their soundtracks. Thinking about it gave me one example after another. Here are ten songs I’ll never hear again without thinking of a Tarantino movie.
Misrlou, Dick Dale and the Deltones
I bet when you saw the article headline, this is the first song you thought about. It’s THE iconic song from all of Tarantino’s work.
Battle Without Honor or Humanity, Tomoyasu Hotei
It has been used ALL OVER THE PLACE ever since Kill Bill first came out. But I’ll always think of where I saw it first.
Slaughter, Billy Preston
Some Major League Baseball player needs to make this song their walk-up music. I’m shocked it hasn’t been done yet. If it was good enough for Hugo Stiglitz, it’s sure as hell good enough for some fat lefty off the bench whose only tool is getting extra-base hits in the late innings.
Woo Hoo, The 5.6.7.8s
Just like its Kill Bill twin, Battle Without Honor, Woo Hoo has also appeared near and far across the landscape, up to and including some stupid phone company commercial. Fortunately, it’s insulated from damage to its reputation by having first appeared in O-Ren’s bar/palace/whatever.
Little Green Bag, The George Baker Selection
It’s the song you hear as the opening credits roll while the colorful cast struts down the street in slow-motion. K-Billy’s super sounds of the 70s weekend just keeps on truckin’.
Across 110th Street, Bobby Womack
Across 110th Street is easily my favorite song on this list. Even without the Jackie Brown affiliation, it’s hard not to love this song.
Stuck in the Middle With You, Stealers Wheel
In 1974, the musicians who made up Stealers Wheel came together and decided to create a song parodying Bob Dylan. Just shy of twenty years later, the song found its legacy in Reservoir Dogs.
You Never Can Tell, Chuck Berry
If someone was inclined to combine the Batusi- Adam West’s Batman dance- and the twist all in one dance, there’s no better song to make that happen. It’s a great song. It’s not as good as a five dollar milkshake, but it’s pretty fuckin’ good.
I Got a Name, Jim Croce
What makes this entry from Django Unchained so memorable is that it comes smack in the middle of the blood and the guts and the beer, just as the film is beginning to take off. In typical Tarantino, French New Wave pastiche fashion, the pacing of the film is completely disrupted in a humorous way with Jim Croce and a character development montage establishing King Schultz as the father figure.
Comanche, The Revels
Otherwise known as “the surf song they play when The Gimp comes out and all Hell breaks loose”.
In full disclosure, this list could have included almost the entire soundtracks of most Tarantino films. What are your favorite Tarantino music moments?
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Tarantino + music = Genius. His movies can be debated. His choice of music? Rarely does he get it wrong. If it’s new material, or something no one has heard in 50 years, he uses it to produce maximum effect. I have to agree with you on the “Slaughter” front – If it’s badass enough for Hugo Stiglitz, it’s badass enough for baseball.
Slaughter would also make a great intro song for a closer. That hard-ass guitar riff the second, say, Jason Motte comes in from the bullpen would set the crowd off. It’d be amazing.
“Stuck in the Middle” is kind of the quintessential “you never hear it the same way again” song after Reservoir Dogs. We like “Hold Tight” from Death Proof, too.
Yeah, I kind of instinctually grab my ear whenever I hear Stuck in the Middle.
Bang Bang from Kill Bill vol 1 comes to my mind.
That was basically #11. Nancy Sinatra has never been so cool.
Nancy Sinatra has plenty of cool songs.
Summer Wine and These Boots are both about a girl taking control… and in both songs the girl seems to have a thing for boots.
Anyway… Nancy has always been cool, even before her song was featured in a movie.
Remember that douche bag who’s favorite Bob Dylan song was “Stuck in the Middle” by Stealer’s Wheel? In a sense, everybody has met that douche bag somewhere in life, but for me, it’s a specific douche bag. With Tarantino, you can do a part 2 and 3 of this same article. What is the whistling song on Kill Bill when Daryl Hannah’s character first makes an appearance? That’s one that American Horror Story went on to use after QT.
It’s called “Twisted Nerve”. It’s apparently a Bernard Hermann song that first appeared in a British psychological horror called (survey SAYS!) “Twisted Nerve”.
I haven’t seen it but I bet it’s awesome.
Battle Without Honor or Humanity-Tomoyasu Hotei,The most ultimate BAMF theme song ever. Needed for walking in the room like a boss and u forget abt Benard Hermann’s infamous whistle in Kill Bill!
I’d love to have it play as I walk up, in slow motion, to a bacon cheeseburger.
That sounds good….I could imagine this man…I would love to play this when I am near my haters.
Completely agree on all these except haven’t seen Django Unchained yet. I’d add the entire soundtrack of Pulp Fiction too. Even ‘Son of a Preacher Man’ which I was already familiar with before seeing the film. Tarantino just has a fantastic knack of making iconic moments from his his mix of soundtrack and image.
I just did a Tarantino Weekend, of sorts (Pulp, Reservoir, Basterds, Death Proof, and Kill Bill)… and it’s mind-boggling how many songs could have gone on this list. The jukebox song before the lap dance in Death Proof, the French songs in Basterds, the spanish language tune when Beatrix is in Mexico… It could really go on and on.
Reblogged this on Madrid Journal.
You forgot “Rumble” by Link Wray