20 Awesome and Horrible Uses of Rock Songs in Movies

Our favorite musical genre here at Cracked is classical music, because no headbanging stoner anthem even compares to Shostakovich, and mind-twisting guitar riffs are nothing next to good ol’ Bach. Rock and/or roll comes in second, so we thought we might explore the way rock songs have been used in movies. You know, like Fincher choosing The Pixies’ wonderful “Where’s My Mind” to cap his mind-losing masterpiece, or the way every single movie ever uses The Clash’s “London Calling,” well, whenever the word “London” is uttered.

In this Pictofact, then, we examine 20 awesome and horrible uses of rock songs in film. Some of these are sung by characters, others are background soundtrack songs, so we’re mixing our diegetic and non-diegetic music here, for all you jargon nerds. In every case, though, this is about uses of rock music we love (in which case we headbang in approval), or we profoundly dislike (in which case we cross our arms and say, “Wait, how do you manage to begin your movie with a Pink Floyd song and then not use it in the climactic set piece?). So grab your whisky bottle and pump up your speakers, and let’s rock.