Overused Music in Films

[Sleepless]

So the other day I caught part of Ice Age on TV and noticed that at the very end when the little weasel dude goes to heaven they play an extract of the Adagio from Spartacus:

The eagle-eared among you will notice that's also used throughout The Hudsucker Proxy - and I'm sure in dozens of other heavenish pastiches.

What other pieces of music are used over and over again in films - for better or worse?

I'm sure there are loads, but I can't think of any off the top of my head right now. For some reason all I can think of is Mark Mothersbaugh's snowflake music used in at least Wes Anderson's first three films.

[Frederico Fellini]

I got one:   “Stayin’ Alive”  by  The Bee Gees.


We all get it, you watched and loved SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER. I loved it too, but there's no need to put that fucking song in every.single.fucking.movie.  (and TV show... and commercials)

Disclaimer: It's a great song though. Travolta was a God.

[Reel]

Hans zimmer scores

[Jeremy Blackman]

[tpfkabi]

No joke about Stayin Alive.
I wonder how many times that has been parodied.
I know Teen Wolf did. I was really shocked to see the parody in John Belushi's last film, Neighbors.

Bad to the Bone has been used in tons of movies and commercials.

I avoid most cliche newer movies, so I'm sure I have missed more lazy recycling.

[Alexandro]

So the other day I caught part of Ice Age on TV and noticed that at the very end when the little weasel dude goes to heaven they play an extract of the Adagio from Spartacus:

Ok. This is funny. I'm more than familiar with this piece because I'm actually trying to use it in my film. Not only that, the first ever pre production teaser I made to convince a bunch of people of helping me out with my film was scored with that very same piece, and I think is also the same version, by the London Symphony Orchestra. I remembered the music from Hudsucker Proxy, but I figured, well, no one cares about Hudsucker Proxy. However I made my research and found that it was used in Ice Age (3 of them) and Caligula, and that's it, as far as I know. So I thought, well, Caligula, no one cares. Hudsucker, I remember but it's not the most fortunate use of such a beautiful piece. And Ice Age is a soulless corporate nothing so to me is like non existent. I'm actually convinced that the way I use it is better than in all of those films. Now, let's hope it's even possible, given that licensing for independent mexican films is not that common.

So although I agree with the idea of overused music in films, I would not put that piece among them, specially since there is another piece by the same composer, Aram Katchaturyan, which might just be the epitome of what you are mentioning. It's called Sabre Dance and I believe it's been used everywhere about a thousand times. Look for it and you will instantly know what I'm talking about.

[MacGuffin]

Whenever characters go on an island vacation, Bob Marley's Jammin' will almost always be played. 

Every trailer for every chick flick this past year used Icona Pop.

[Mel]

The problem is much wider: music in films is overused more and more. I remember reading somewhere that in past 30 years or so, amount of score actually going into the films doubled or tripled (if someone has links to such information, I would be very glad to see them).

Influence of music video clips is very visible, if not annoying - in almost every film you can find scene, where actor walks away from camera, while manipulative music track is used and so on. Music no longer accompanies pictures, it often dominates other arts.

This has side effects:
- same tracks are recycled over and over again
- original soundtracks are rarer or of worse quality
- sound design is less recognizable, while drowning under the music

I believe that we should think about music and sound in films similar to cinematography: contrast is important. Not only presence of light is significant, but also lack of it (under exposure, film noir and so on).  Composer Toru Takemitsu used to say that pause/silence is the most important element in film music - this is somehow forgotten.

Some filmmakers still have interesting ideas about music - like Dogma rule that music can only occur in scene itself and not outside of it. Yet signs show that this trend will keep up.

[tpfkabi]

There is some much recorded music out there, people could easily choose recorded music that has not been used and get the same feel. I think they are just lazy. A lot of times the same artist will even have similar material that was not a hit that could be used. Of course, a lot of these types may also be the type to only listen to Greatest Hits type compilations, so they miss all of the deeper cuts.