Ten Iconic Soundtracks

That being said, we’re willing to bet that what makes a memorable movie so great, might just have something to do with its soundtrack! The same can also be said for video games. So many games have soundtracks that are so good, they’re elevated beyond the level of something just to be played, and whisk you away into a fully immersive world that’s hard to escape.

Putting your wedding playlist together can be a daunting task. You should definitely try to include music you love and that means something to you as a couple, but at the same time you probably realise that it’s important to include a varied selection to appeal to as many of your guests as possible. And we’ll let you in on a little secret here...when it comes to this selection, familiarity is key!

Hearing a certain song can instantly transport you back to a time, place, feeling, or experience in a way that nothing else can. So why not use this to your advantage and incorporate music from your favourite soundtracks into your playlist!

To give you some ideas, we’ve come up with a list of some of our most-loved tracks from our favourite soundtracks of all time!

Chuck Berry – You Never Can Tell (Pulp Fiction – 1994)

“It was a teenage wedding, and the old folks wished them well...” From the iconic diner scene in Pulp Fiction where John Travolta’s character, Vincent, is trying desperately hard not to balls up the job of looking after his boss’s wayward, party-girl wife Mia Wallace (Uma Thurman). All he has to do is take her out for dinner, show her a good time and do whatever she wants...it just so happens that what she wants is to win the coveted ‘Jack Rabbit Slims Twist Contest’ trophy! Quentin Tarantino put together an incredible soundtrack to this cult classic 90s movie. And as we’ll see later in this list, that’s kind of what he became known for!

Otis Redding – Love Man (Dirty Dancing – 1987)

We could write an entire article about this film and its outstanding soundtrack (in fact, we may well do at some point...!) There are just so many brilliant songs to choose from! But this scene, where Baby (Jennifer Grey), is introduced to “dirty” dancing for the first time after being taken to one of the camp’s secret staff parties by Johnny’s cousin Billy, really sets the scene perfectly for the rest of the movie. The song was originally recorded in 1967 by Otis Redding, but wasn’t released until 1969, two years after his death.

James – Laid (American Pie: The Wedding – 2003)

Every generation has its coming of age movie. Stand By Me, To Kill A Mockingbird, Rebel Without a Cause, The Breakfast Club, Juno, the list goes on. As a pubescent teen, hormones raging, noticing the opposite sex for the first time, and dealing with the embarrassing social and sexual situations that comes with all of this, it was the American Pie films of the late-90s / early 2000s that really spoke to this writer the most! The franchise’s soundtracks truly captured that golden era when pop-punk ruled the airwaves, everyone had spiky hair and hung out down at the skate park, and all we watched on TV was Jackass, Beavis & Butthead and WWF!

Featuring tracks from Blink 182, Sum 41, The Offspring, Alien Ant Farm, Green Day, Good Charlotte, Barenaked Ladies and a whole load more, it was this track from Manchester band James (of Sit Down fame) from the third film, American Wedding, which really summed up the whole vibe of the movies perfectly. It’s almost like it was an original track that was made for the especially for the film, despite being written a full decade earlier in 1993!

Iggy Pop – Lust For Life (Trainspotting – 1996)

Danny Boyle’s movie adaptation of Irvine Welsh’s 1993 novel has one hell of a soundtrack! Featuring songs from New Order, Blondie, Lou Reed and Underworld among others, it’s this Iggy Pop classic over the introduction of the film which was used in all the trailers and promo material prior to the movie’s release. Mark ‘Rent Boy’ Renton (Ewan McGregor) and his useless, drug-addicted friend Spud (Ewan Bremner) are shown hot-footing it through the streets of Edinburgh, being chased by security guards as a host of expensive, and more importantly, stolen, items cascade from their pockets, before both are nearly run over by a car pulling out of a side street! CHOOSE LIFE.

The Outfield – Your Love (Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Soundtrack – 2002)

The GTA franchise really took action adventure gaming to a new level when it released this smash hit on the Playstation 2 back in October 2002. With a storyline that takes place in a fictionalised version of 1980s Miami, taking major influences from films and TV shows like Scarface and Miami Vice – its soundtrack was a huge leap forward in immersive gaming experience – featuring nine in-car radio and talk radio stations, complete with presenters, killer playlists and humorous adverts.

Fever 105 featured disco, soul r’n’b and funk, there was Wildstyle, which was straight up hip-hop and electro, V-Rock (hard rock and heavy metal), Wave 103 (new wave and synthpop), Emotion 98.3 (soft pop and power ballads), a Latin station called Radio Espantoso which featured Latin jazz, mambo and salsa and Flash FM, which showcased the finest 80s pop. You can check out the entire collection of music from the game on Spotify HERE but our pick is this 1986 classic from The Outfield – “Josie’s on a vacation far away...” Oh the memories!

Oasis – F*ckin’ In The Bushes (Snatch – 2000)

Like Tarantino, Guy Ritchie is no stranger to a great soundtrack! Much like his previous film, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) – which also had a great soundtrack – this gritty, London crime comedy also includes music from The Stranglers (‘Golden Brown’), 10CC (‘Dreadlock Holiday’), The Specials (‘Ghost Town’), Madonna (‘Lucky Star’) and Massive Attack (‘Angel’). All have their place over iconic scenes in the film, but we love this balls out alt-rock banger which plays over the final fight scenes as Mickey (Brad Pitt) comes face to face with his toughest opponent yet. Taken from Oasis’ fourth album ‘Standing On The Shoulders Of Giants’, released in the same year, the music video (which doesn’t seem to be online anymore) was particularly hilarious, as Liam Gallagher doesn’t actually sing any lyrics in the song – he just stands there swaggering about!

Stealers Wheel – Stuck In The Middle With You (Reservoir Dogs – 1992)

Yep. It’s that scene! After a somewhat botched diamond heist goes very wrong, a crew of jewel thieves, known only by their colour related aliases, scatter to pick up the pieces and figure out their next move. Mr Blonde (Michael Madsen) arrives at an abandoned warehouse with a kidnapped cop and proceeds to tie him to a chair and torture him – culminating in him hacking the poor officer’s ear off with a razor blade!

This 1973 country rock classic from British Band Stealers Wheel (made up of Gerry Rafferty and Joe Egan) plays over the scene in one of the finest, cringe-inducing moments in cinema history!

Blue Swede – Hooked On a Feeling (Guardians of the Galaxy – 2014)

There’s an interesting story behind this song. Originally released in October 1968 by B.J. Thomas, it was covered by Jonathan King in 1971 (when the “ooga chaka” chant was first added), before finally being recorded by Swedish pop group Blue Swede in 1974 and it scored them a number one single in the US. The Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack (also known as the ‘Awesome Mix Vol: 1’) brought it back to the attention of a new generation as it featured alongside superb tracks from the likes of David Bowie, 10CC, The Jackson 5, Marvin Gaye and more...

Ray Charles featuring The Blues Brothers – Shake A Tail Feather (The Blues Brothers – 1980)

A truly timeless soundtrack that also features contributions from John Lee Hooker, James Brown, Cab Calloway and the late, great Aretha Franklin. This track, which was originally a hit for The Five Du-Tones in 1963 and has been covered by everyone from The Monkees to Hanson, features in a scene where Ray Charles (playing the character, Ray, of ‘Ray’s Music Exchange’) shows Jake and Elwood (John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd respectively) that there’s still some life left in a battered old electric piano that they’re trying to get from his store for a song! Perhaps more famous (and something which always raises a smile when people inevitably get involved at weddings) is the 60s dance moves in the lyrics – the twist, the fly, the swim, the monkey.... and dooo the birrrd!

SPECIAL MENTION: M.O.O.N. – Hydrogen (Hotline Miami – 2012)

Ok, so this one wouldn’t work at a wedding (we don’t think, anyway) but it’s worth a mention, because the soundtrack to this game is just so... Damn... GOOD!

Hotline Miami's special breed of game play combines speed, skill and ultraviolence with a soundtrack that pulses through your ears for hours on end! You emerge with the kind of head-spinning momentum that almost makes you want to dive straight back in, but more importantly keep that same soundtrack on loop in the background. Playing the game, you realise just how well the techno-drenched soundtrack fits with each level, but listened to in isolation it's a heart-pounding masterpiece. Take a listen to the rest of the Hotline Miami soundtrack on Spotify HERE.

So there’s our list! Whether it’s a dancefloor filler, a power ballad or an 80s disco classic, try putting some songs from soundtracks into your next playlist!