Getting a positive winning attitude through music and movies

November 29, 2006 6:34 PM

Keep your eyes on the prize. Never give up. Fight until the end. This is the kind of positive message I'm looking for in music and in movies, and I'm asking for recommendations from the hivemind

Specifically, the kind of music I listen to is alt/rock/metal but I'll listen to rap as long as there's a no "N" word or swearing. Same goes for movies: I'm looking for inspirational family movies like "Remember the Titans" and Rocky which convey a strong message of winning.

posted by dropkick to media & arts (50 comments total)

Homeward Bound. It's about animals, but it still has that message.
posted by Stynxno at 6:35 PM on November 29, 2006

Music wise, whenever I need positive inspiration, I just listen to "You're the Best Around" by Joe Episito (from the Karate Kid soundtrack).

Heck, it even says to "Never give up/until you reach the top (FIGHT!)"
posted by champthom at 6:37 PM on November 29, 2006

Fight Fight Fight, The Cure
posted by four panels at 6:38 PM on November 29, 2006

Guillemots - Trains to Brazil
posted by Black Spring at 6:43 PM on November 29, 2006 [1 favorite]

Here's some metal suggestions:

Bolt Thrower - "No Guts, No Glory" (from Mercenary)
Cirith Ungol - "I'm Alive" (from Frost and Fire)
Judas Priest - "Screaming for Vengeance" (from the album of the same name), "Invader" (from Stained Class), "Take on the World" (from Killing Machine)
Manilla Road - "The Veils of Negative Existence" (from Crystal Logic)
Manowar - "Kill With Power" (from Hail to England)
Metallica - "Seek & Destroy" (from Kill 'em All)
Saxon - "Suzie Hold On" and "Stand Up and Be Counted" (both from Wheels of Steel)

Some might not be exactly what you're looking for, but I'd say they're all victory/triumph or change-the-world type songs...
posted by vorfeed at 6:57 PM on November 29, 2006

Eye of the Tiger - Survivor
The Final Countdown - Europe

as for movies how about:

Victory
Hoosiers
or the coincidentally Indiana based: Breaking Away
posted by Pollomacho at 6:58 PM on November 29, 2006

Eye of the Tiger
posted by fenriq at 6:59 PM on November 29, 2006

Also, I Will Survive by Cake (its a better version than Gloria Gaynor's).
posted by fenriq at 7:00 PM on November 29, 2006

Movies quickly off the top of my head - all fairly clean:
The Hurricane
Rudy
The Last Dragon
posted by filmgeek at 7:04 PM on November 29, 2006

Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure.
Monsters Inc.
The Great Escape.
Finding Nemo.
Love Actually.
posted by Dipsomaniac at 7:06 PM on November 29, 2006

"The one and only," Chesney Hawkes
"We are the champions," Queen, does that fit?
posted by whatzit at 7:07 PM on November 29, 2006

There's a bucketload of movies from the 90's with this theme, a huge amount are based around some form of sporting endeavour. Two that come to mind:

Champions (aka Mighty Ducks 1)
Little Giants
posted by cholly at 7:10 PM on November 29, 2006

Red Dawn
posted by Pollomacho at 7:12 PM on November 29, 2006

One of the most under-rated movies of the last few years: CINDERELLA MAN. And no, you don't have to even like boxing to be inspired by this great Ron Howard film with a great performance by Russell Crowe.
posted by Gerard Sorme at 7:17 PM on November 29, 2006

Movies:
The Greatest Game Ever Played
Invincible
Finding Forrester
Rudy
The Rookie
Turtles Can Fly (Iranian, subtitled)
The Island
That Thing You Do
The Truman Show
Napolean Dynamite (in a weird, off-kilter way)
Coal Miner's Daughter
Lucas
Forest Gump (but bittersweet)
Changing Lanes (rated R for language, but a great morality tale)
posted by The Deej at 7:17 PM on November 29, 2006

Pretty much anything by The Bouncing Souls (who just came up on shuffle, wierd).
There's a song called "Boys on the Docks" by Dropkick Murphys but given your name you probably knew that one.
"No Division" by the great (yet, sadly, defunct) Hot Water Music.
"Birthday" by the equally great (and equally defunct) Kid Dynamite.

That's all I've got for now, hope it helps a bit.
posted by Doublewhiskeycokenoice at 7:18 PM on November 29, 2006

A few good ones from my music library...

New Radicals - You Get What You Give ("If you feel your dream is dying / Hold tight / You've got the music in you")

Chumbawumba - Tubthumping ("I get knocked down / But I get up again")

Smashing Pumpkins - Today ("Today is the greatest / Day I've ever known")--unlike the other songs, though, it's not as 'upbeat' sounding.

Switchfoot - Dare You to Move ("I dare you to move / I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor")
posted by fogster at 7:22 PM on November 29, 2006

Another movie: Tucker: The Man and His Dream
posted by Gerard Sorme at 7:23 PM on November 29, 2006

Great thread! Thanks for the suggestions thus far.
posted by dropkick at 7:23 PM on November 29, 2006

The Full Monty
posted by BoscosMom at 7:33 PM on November 29, 2006

Music and Movie: Chariots of Fire
posted by theora55 at 7:35 PM on November 29, 2006

The Edge, written by David Mamet, about three guys who get stranded after their plane crashes in bleak Alaska. Memorable quotes include, "Most people lost in the woods, they die of shame" and (my personal favorite), "What one man can do, another can do."
posted by cribcage at 7:38 PM on November 29, 2006

Good Enough By Dodgy. Actualy contains the lyric "Keep your eyes on the Prize."
posted by gergtreble at 7:45 PM on November 29, 2006

Quite liked Barnyard's "I won't back down" done by Sam Elliott (original by Tom Petty).
posted by lundman at 7:48 PM on November 29, 2006

Music:
U2
Walk On
Elevation
Where the Streets Have No Name
Sometimes You Can't Make it on Your Own
Beautiful Day
All Because of You
Yaweh
When Love Comes to Town
One

Pink Floyd:
Learning to Fly
Coming Back to Life
Shine On You Crazy Diamond

The Innocence Mission:
Bright as Yellow
Brave
Happy, The End
Surreal

Switchfoot:
The Beautiful Letdown (the whole CD)

Sarah Masen: Almost anything from her, but may be hard to find
posted by The Deej at 7:51 PM on November 29, 2006

"All Star" by Smash Mouth is obligatory, don't you think?

Depending on your tastes and whether you can afford a copy, the album "Dancing for Your Mental Health" by Will Powers will either do wonders or creep you out.
posted by ardgedee at 8:03 PM on November 29, 2006

Oh, and for movies, nearly all of Miyazaki's major films are about protagonists who succeed through determination and hard work, without being nearly as heavy-handed as that sounds.
posted by ardgedee at 8:07 PM on November 29, 2006

I return!
"Player Hater Anthem" by The Loved Ones
"Go Big" by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
"Brother" by Murder By Death is a little more degenerate, and has a drinking reference or three, but it's about standing by your family no matter what, and it's a damn fine rock 'n roll song to boot.
And of course "Hit Somebody: The Hockey Song" by the dear departed Warren Zevon
posted by Doublewhiskeycokenoice at 8:09 PM on November 29, 2006

I'm Not Down by the Clash
"When my nerves were pumping out
I Fought my fear in, I didn't run
I was not done."

It's Up to Me and You by Agent Orange
"Let tomorrow wait. We can make it happen, now, today -- or we could wait forever. It's up to you."
Make Up Your Mind And Do What You Want To Do (what a title!) by Agent Orange
"well you just can't be that far away from what you want
to think that nothing's gonna get you there
'cuz the truth is you were born
with everything you need."

Absolute Beginners by the Jam
"You can lose some hours thinking of it
You need the strength to go and get what you want"

Not really what you asked for AND not in English, but when I feel down I think about this video.
Pyar Hua Iqrar Hua Hai By Lata Mangeshkar and Mohammed Rafi
(We fell in love, we promised each other -- why should our hearts be afraid?)
posted by Methylviolet at 8:12 PM on November 29, 2006

Anything by Andrew WK, especially his record "The Wolf."
posted by one_bean at 8:25 PM on November 29, 2006

And hey, take a chance -- this is exactly what you are looking for:
Main Madhuri Dixit Banna Chaati Hoon
(I want to become Madhuri Dixit). A naive village girl goes to big bad Mumbai to chase her dreams of stardom. She sings, she dances, she never gives up. If your kids can read subtitles, they will love this movie, and so will you.
posted by Methylviolet at 8:30 PM on November 29, 2006

I can't believe nobody's mentioned John Belushi's speech in Animal House yet.
posted by SBMike at 8:35 PM on November 29, 2006

Muse: "Butterflies and Hurricanes." That's been my go-out-there-and-whoop-ass song for a while now.
posted by Schlimmbesserung at 9:09 PM on November 29, 2006

Be sure check out Stan Chin's classic 80's inspirational montage soundtrack question.
posted by O9scar at 9:11 PM on November 29, 2006

Metal:

Dragonforce. All of it. Almost all they sing about is fighting until the end and never giving up.

Gamma Ray - Fight.
Hammerfall - Hearts on Fire.
Edguy - Babylon and Vain Glory Opera. The live versions are better.
Blind Guardian - I'm Alive
posted by TheOnlyCoolTim at 10:05 PM on November 29, 2006

Michael Jackson, "Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough"
posted by kirkaracha at 10:14 PM on November 29, 2006

Stand and Deliver
posted by Duncan at 10:19 PM on November 29, 2006

Zoolander.
posted by justgary at 10:57 PM on November 29, 2006

Movie: Rudy
Music: Ben Folds Five - Philosophy

Both are highly recommended.
posted by jne1813 at 1:02 AM on November 30, 2006

Whip It by Devo.
posted by MetaMonkey at 1:41 AM on November 30, 2006

Headup. Deftones w/ Max Cavalera, from Around The Fur. Sounds like your cup of tea musically, and my absolute first choice when I want a quick boost of confidence/positive energy. I call it my fight song.

"Walk into this world/With your head up high"
posted by corvine at 3:08 AM on November 30, 2006

The 300 Spartans or 300.

The Spartans were famous for fighting until the end. See the Battle of Thermopylae for details.
posted by fellion at 6:26 AM on November 30, 2006

Haha 300 might not fit the family movie requirement. Whoops.
posted by fellion at 6:27 AM on November 30, 2006

Chemical Brothers - Galvanize

The refrain is "don't hold back".
posted by sleepyflywheel at 6:32 AM on November 30, 2006

Midnight Oil, Sometimes
posted by nickmark at 8:00 AM on November 30, 2006

Songs:

New Radicals - You Get What You Give
Michael Jackson - HIStory
Incubus - Drive
I second all of U2's recent singles
Foo Fighters - Learn To Fly

Movies:

-Rudy
-Joe vs. the Volcano (this is my *most* uplifting movie to watch, ever since I was a kid)
-The Shawshank Redemption
-American Beauty
-The Lord of the Rings trilogy (huge in overcoming oppression, evil etc)
-Star Wars of course!


Tons more but that's what comes to mind right away.
posted by PetiePal at 8:10 AM on November 30, 2006

Jawbreaker's "Save Your Generation" (off Dear You):

If you could save yourself,
you could save us all.
Go on living, prove us wrong.
Your leap of faith could be a well-timed smile.
Survival never goes out of style.

I have a message: save your generation.
We're killing each other by sleeping in.
posted by nasreddin at 1:57 PM on November 30, 2006

Another movie:
Empire of the Sun

(It ran on TV today. I had forgotten how great it is.)
posted by The Deej at 5:26 PM on November 30, 2006

I really like a song on the album 'Felt: A tribute to Christina Ricci.' The song is called 'All I Can Do' and the message is just that when times are tough, the tough keep going. The refrain is 'When the wind blows as hard as it blows right now, all I can do is put my hood up and walk.'

I don't know how family oriented you need to be, but the most innappropriate line is 'it can be soft-core porn or Max Hardcore'-other than that, it's very tame, and doesn't use the n-word.
posted by HighTechUnderpants at 10:39 PM on November 30, 2006

Pretty much anything by Superchic[k].
posted by maldrin at 12:16 PM on April 18, 2007