No Direction for the Goodfellas: Martin Scorsese and rock songs

Scorsese is probably a human cinematic and music encyclopedia. He has gone to direct documentaries for The Band (The Last Waltz, 1978), Bob Dylan (No Direction Home, 2005) and The Rolling Stones (Shine a Light, 2008). His favourite era is the golden 60's: he is a big fan of the girl groups of that era such as The Ronettes and The Crystals; and he really likes to use Rolling Stones. His love of rock n' roll as film soundtrack found its undisputed apex with Goodfellas.

"Be My Baby" - The Ronettes (Mean Streets, 1973)
His first great movie, starring Harvey Keitel and Robert De Nirο. The Phil Spector-produced "Be My Baby" is one of the best songs in the history of pop. The drum intro (a double bass drum kick followed by a snare hit) became one of the most classic rhythm patterns in pop and rock music, copied countless times (one such copy will be examined in another post).



"Layla" - Derek and the Dominoes (Goodfellas, 1990)
A truly great sequence and a strangely melancholic one, despite the violent deaths of the gang members depicted, thanks to the piano-led coda of "Layla (piano exit)" with the twin guitars of Eric Clapton and Duane Allman soaring in the background.




"Jumpin' Jack Flash" - The Rolling Stones (Mean Streets, 1973)
Scorsese has used Stones' "Gimme Shelter" twice (in GoodFellas and in The Departed) but nothing can beat this scene, where the movie introduces the Johnny Boy character (and the world is introduced to Mr. Robert De Niro). Coolest entrance in cinema ever.



"Late for the Sky" - Jackson Browne (Taxi Driver, 1976)
This song is the only pop-rock music in the Taxi Driver soundtrack and is chosen for the power of De Niro's performance in the scene alone. As the West Coast ballad plays in the backround, he is watching on the TV couples dancing (which is probably what he should have been doing himself). Myriad emotions and hidden thoughts are conveyed through his face without a word in this very short scene.

Magic Moments: film directors and pop songs

The use of pop and rock songs in cinema is common nowadays. In many films the movie soundtrack consists merely of such songs, with very little or no original score whatsoever.
The first film of such kind was of course The Graduate (1967) with the Simon and Garfunkel songs and the experiment was a success. Other films in the 70's followed, such as Harold and Maude (1971) with Cat Stevens songs, and McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971) with Leonard Cohen songs.
The posts to follow are not a general best-use-of-songs-in-a movie list, but a homage to five directors who I think have established a very close and successful connection with pop and rock music in their filmography.