I decided to start up a new series of article, mainly because I have found myself with an abundance of time as of late, but also because I actually enjoy film soundtracks a lot. I thought that this would be a fun new thing to do and try. My encyclopedic knowledge of films also extends to the musical styling that are present in films, more importantly to the over usage of certain songs in movies. In this case, the showcase for today is the 1998 Album Mezzanine from Massive Attack, which apparently has three songs on the album that are in constant use for television programs and movie trailers or soundtracks. The song “Angel” alone shows up in over a dozen movies and I am not counting the dozen or so television shows that also use this song. So below is a nice little cobbling of clips where the song appears in and frankly, I want you to tell me if it fits within the context of the clip.
Here is the original song in its entirety:
It’s a beautifully haunting song, but as you will see below, used in a lot of movies.
Go (1999):
I actually enjoyed the movie Go a lot, but the song was used as background music before being amped up during a little drug trip that Sarah Polley takes, that or Angel was used as a means to describe the way Timothy Olyphant’s abs look in that movie. Not sure which.
Snatch (2000):
If Guy Ritchie uses it in a movie, then it is pretty damn awesome. Admittedly, most of the movies that use this song use the same lyric verse and musical section.
Antitrust (2001):
Ugh, didn’t really like this movie personally, but I do remember “Angel” showing up during one of the many bouts of paranoia that plagues Ryan Phillippe. The song is used more tense moments than anything else, which I guess given the sound and structure of song, it has a lot of practical applications in movies.
Flight of the Phoenix (2004):
You can just barely make it out in the background of this scene, but the same musical chords are undeniable. Did anyone really see this remake when it came out. Slightly forgettable, minus my love of Hugh Laurie.
Stay (2005):
For me, this is one of the best uses of “Angel” in any movie The tone of the song fits perfectly with the thematic elements that are showcased in Marc Forster’s film. If you haven’t read my review of the film, check it out here. The emotional trappings in the film from Ryan Gosling are fantastic and moving, especially within the context of the films meaning.
Firewall (2006):
Ooooooooooo, mysterious and intriguing opening of a hacker looking at the subjects in a voyeuristic manner. Personally this was a dull movie, but I do appreciate the use of the song, mainly the instrumental portions of it.
There were 3 other movies that used this song which I wasn’t able to find clips for, Pi (1998), Wonderland (1999), and Best Laid Plans (1999) which was a little seen Reese Witherspoon movie. So that is 9 movies altogether that use this song in particular, plus not counting the eight television shows that seem to enjoy the dark, musical styling of this song.
I do enjoy the fact that along with this song and two others off the Mezzanine album, Inertia Creeps and Teardrop, show up in a lot of other film and television shows. For me, Angel is a fantastic song that Stay managed to use the best.
That’s it for Name that Tune, but hopefully I will continue the picking apart of film soundtracks for the often used songs you hear more than anything.
*image via Listal
