Some of the best movies have had the best soundtracks. Some of the worst movies have had the best soundtracks too. On the other side of it, there are many songs that I think didn’t have much of an impact and were generally good songs that were then used in a soundtrack. Once there is a visual, cinematic, and emotional context, the song changes completely.
Undoubtedly, many of my readers have likely seen the new “Superman” (2025) movie. I finally watched it the other night. Before I begin my spiel, I have to say I was delightfully surprised and felt a lot of kinship with some of the characters and an emotional connection to some of the scenes.
Before I had seen the film, I had seen the trailers and the edits of the movie on social media. All of these clips had the same song in the background, “Punkrocker” by Teddybears featuring Iggy Pop.
Having heard this song over and over in the last few weeks, I was never really impressed with it. It was a good song, just not generally something I would listen to. The lyricism didn’t feel right to me and generally I like higher energy music with those kinds of vocals.
After having seen the film earlier this week, I can see the song in a different light. It’s still not my favorite song in the world but it is good after having had some context from the film. It almost has a feel-good energy and really added to the film. I can appreciate the song now out of context and still feel similar feel-good emotions I felt in the film.
There are many movies and songs like this. Some notable examples would be “Secrets” by OneRepublic in “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice,” even though I’m not a big fan of this song, “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” by Simple Minds in “The Breakfast Club,” and “Twist and Shout” by The Beatles in “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.”
I know there are many other examples but these are some of the most notable for me.
— dj dragonfly
