Comments on: What's the best song Tarantino hasn't used yet?

Question: What's the best song Tarantino hasn't used yet?

ictow — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 08:43:10 -0800

What's the best song Tarantino hasn't used yet?

I'm directing a theater production that's going to be an improvised Tarantino movie. It's gonna be good, but it'll be even better if I can put together a really awesome soundtrack.

2 needs: before the show and between the scenes.

I'm thinking old school soul/funk and 50s/60s obscurish pop. The songs that are spurring this: I Gotcha - Joe Tex (from Reservoir Dogs), Misirlou - Dick Dale (Pulp Fiction) and Bang Bang - Nancy Sinatra (Kill Bill). Anything with a really strong opening is especially helpful for in-show.

Basically this is a chance to list the badassest song you know. Or the most goose-pimpley. Or, best, both.

Relatedly, any ideas for songs similar to Battle Without Honor or Humanity are appreciated. I've got RJD2's The Horror and that's it.

By: The World Famous

The World Famous — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 08:46:37 -0800

New Dawn Fades by Joy Division. Seriously.

By: Alvy Ampersand

Alvy Ampersand — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 09:00:01 -0800

Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress by The Hollies is good for soundtracks, bris, wakes, and pretty much anything else you can think of. Because it's the bestest song evar.

By: drezdn

drezdn — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 09:01:32 -0800

Mojo Hannah. My favorite version is Little Esther Phillips version.

By: sully75

sully75 — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 09:03:54 -0800

Green Onions by Booker T and the MJs

By: drezdn

drezdn — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 09:09:01 -0800

This page has a preview of the song "Mojo Hanna".

By: box

box — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 09:12:21 -0800

'Rebel Rouser,' by Duane Eddy.

By: saladin

saladin — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 09:15:11 -0800

These fit the old school soul/funk category:

Fatback Band - Gotta Learn How to Dance
Little Denise - Check Me Out
Joseph Henry - Who's the King
Iron Knowledge - Showstopper

By: ictow

ictow — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 09:17:00 -0800

These are so great. Keep 'em coming!

By: drezdn

drezdn — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 09:19:10 -0800

Rebel Rouser was in Natural Born Killers.

If you wanted to go with something poppy and weird, Love You by The Free Design... Though Jordanjessego fans will recognize it immediately.

By: box

box — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 09:22:48 -0800

Natural Born Killers, really? Ah, well. Okay, then, sticking with '50s rock instrumentals, how about Bill Justis' 'Raunchy'?

By: rachelpapers

rachelpapers — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 09:22:50 -0800

Aaron Neville - Hercules

This was before The Neville Brothers got to be such pussies. This is gooooood.

By: togdon

togdon — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 09:28:11 -0800

Vehicle by The Ides of March.

By: farishta

farishta — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 09:30:39 -0800

Village Green Preservation Society or Picture Book by the Kinks (both on the VGPS album).

By: kimota

kimota — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 09:32:48 -0800

Has Jack Nitzsche's "Lonely Surfer" been used in a Tarentino movie? Howabout Jorgen Ingmann's "Apache"?

By: gfrobe

gfrobe — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 09:33:35 -0800

Anything from Elvis Presley's "The Sun Sessions". "Baby Let's Play House" in particular has a great opening.

By: fearfulsymmetry

fearfulsymmetry — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 09:35:19 -0800

Patti LaBelle - On My Own

By: micayetoca

micayetoca — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 09:36:06 -0800

Two Fools by Francine King.

By: fearfulsymmetry

fearfulsymmetry — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 09:36:41 -0800

And just about anything by Duane Eddy

By: kimota

kimota — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 09:37:14 -0800

Oh, Michael Viner's Incredible Bongo Band's version of Apache would be a good funk/soul track as well.

By: drezdn

drezdn — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 09:37:52 -0800

Surf/Badass Instrumental:
Switchblade by Link Wray (I thought someone would have used it before but it only has one mention on the IMDB)

Disintegration by The Ready Men, starts with snare and goes to a quick guitar part, similar to Man... Or Astroman but from the 50s/60s (a preview is available here)

By: micayetoca

micayetoca — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 09:40:29 -0800

Sorry, this one seems to work (careful, some NSFW images) Two Fools (scroll down).

By: anthom

anthom — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 09:44:48 -0800

Lee Michaels - Do You Know What I Mean

It's not exactly obscure, but then again, neither was "Stuck in the Middle With You."

By: O9scar

O9scar — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 09:52:07 -0800

Some Velvet Morning - Lee Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra

(well, it was in Morvern Callar, but I still think it's relatively obscure)

By: breaks the guidelines?

breaks the guidelines? — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 10:04:36 -0800

Since I just watched the You're Gonna Miss Me documentary last night, I'll suggest looking into The 13th Floor Elevators.

By: fire&wings

fire&wings — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 10:05:36 -0800

No Regrets by the Walker Brothers.

By: Shepherd

Shepherd — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 10:09:38 -0800

Breakwater's "Release the Beast." It was sampled by Daft Punk, which may ruin the effect, though.

Take a long stroll through the Herbaliser's stuff for that "Battle Without Honor" vibe. "A lot of the stuff on the Session One would be good, particularly "Who's The Realest" and "The Missing Suitcase" (link to fan video).

By: Jorus

Jorus — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 10:13:57 -0800

I've always thought that Zeppelin's When the Levee Breaks would be a great soundtrack for a "prep for a fight scene." After the muscular, bluesy intro, the lyrics describe an unstoppable doom.

By: cinemafiend

cinemafiend — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 10:18:01 -0800

Mike Mitchell/Gene King - Never Walk Out on You

By: cinemafiend

cinemafiend — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 10:22:41 -0800

I got the above mp3link from http://www.neapolitanfunk.com/ - a great collection of mp3's ripped from obscure 7 inch releases....

Seconding Shepard,The Missing Suitcase by Herbaliser is excellent...

By: SlyBevel

SlyBevel — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 10:40:25 -0800

James Brown's "The Payback" is awesome. Real grungy, scratchy, raw. Excellent for a gritty film soundtrack.

It was used to great effect in "Poolhall Junkies."

By: matteo

matteo — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 10:43:28 -0800

I don't think Tarantino has ever used Mother Popcorn but I suppose it's what you're looking for. I don't know how easy is it going to be to secure the rights for your play, though.

By: dirtdirt

dirtdirt — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 10:59:46 -0800

Oogum Boogum or Gimme Little Sign by Brenton Wood

Yummy, Yummy, Yummy by Ohio Express

Love Grows Where my Rosemary Goes by Edison lighthouse. (I think maybe K-billy mentions this one, but doesn't play it, in Reservoir Dogs. Could be wrong)

Soul Sisters, (or anything, but Soul Sisters has a killer opening that is pretty Tarantinoriffic) by Weldon Irvine.

By: dirtdirt

dirtdirt — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 11:02:29 -0800

OH! and The Night Chicago Died by Paper Lace

By: Alvy Ampersand

Alvy Ampersand — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 11:04:36 -0800

You Keep Me Hangin' On, as performed by Vanilla Fudge

By: jacobm

jacobm — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 11:04:45 -0800

I've always thought M. Ward's "Right in the Head" from Post-War was a very Tarantino song. (Here's a youtube video of him playing the song live to give you an impression, but the album version has more fuzz and funk to it.)

By: zerobyproxy

zerobyproxy — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 11:27:55 -0800

Death Wish by Herbie Hancock.

By: sully75

sully75 — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 12:13:36 -0800

You know...the begining of Every Picture Tells a Story by Rod Stewart is pretty fucking cool. Starts with some twinkly stuff and then slams into some serious rock. I think it'd be a great movie opener.

By: Rumple

Rumple — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 13:30:11 -0800

Jaan Pehechan Ho

By: nemoorange

nemoorange — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 13:45:47 -0800

I immediately thought of the Budos Band. Funk, Big horns, tight rhythms. All instrumental, so it makes for a sweet badass soundtrack. "Chicago Falcon" or "Adeniji" would make for killer tracks.

By: Anything

Anything — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 14:01:17 -0800

This is a whole album full of Tarantino-ready songs: O Bidu: Silencio no Brooklin by Jorge Ben, released in 1967. I can't listen to any of the first three songs without imagining opening credits whizzing by me. The third one, Jovem Samba, kicks extra ass.

What may be a problem for you with this album is that it's truly lo-fi material. Very tinny sound. Then again, that might not be a bad thing at all, depending on what you're looking for.

This guy has put the whole album on blogspot because it's apparently not sold anywhere. Download is through Rapidshare, and you have to jump through all sorts of hoops, but you should finally get access to the file itself.

By: FelliniBlank

FelliniBlank — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 14:25:32 -0800

P.J. Proby -- Niki Hoeky
Mickey and Sylvia, Love Is Strange
The BroJays (i.e., Brothers Johnson) -- Strawberry Letter 23

By: FelliniBlank

FelliniBlank — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 14:27:10 -0800

P.J. Proby -- Niki Hoeky
Mickey and Sylvia -- Love Is Strange
The BroJays (i.e., Brothers Johnson) -- Strawberry Letter 23

By: Bernt Pancreas

Bernt Pancreas — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 15:14:47 -0800

The best for this would be Driver's Seat by Sniff 'n the Tears, but there's also The Night Chicago Died by Paper Lace.

By: Bernt Pancreas

Bernt Pancreas — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 15:18:26 -0800

Apologies, dirtdirt.

By: rokusan

rokusan — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 15:34:15 -0800

For a couple of years I thought of April March's Chick Habit as the best song Tarantino never used... then it showed up over the end credits of Death Proof. I laughed out loud. Some of her stuff with the Dust Brothers also fits.

Other than that... um.... 96 Tears? Anything by Helena Noguerra?

By: Vervain

Vervain — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 15:38:34 -0800

Ooh, fun stuff.

"You Got What You Wanted," Ike and Tina Turner

"Cebu", The Commodores (apologies for the stupid video clip)

"Engine No. 9," Wilson Pickett

I would also suggest tracking down "Grits Ain't Groceries" by Little Milton, as well as "Mr. Lucky" by Betty Wright (the latter is available on this compilation).

By: Martin E.

Martin E. — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:00:57 -0800

You probably need to get to know Barry Adamson. "The Snowball Effect" from The Negro Inside Me will really grab someone's attention.

By: joaquim

joaquim — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:13:03 -0800

Look at the soundtrack from Walker (released in '87), specifically Brooding Side of Madness, Tennessee Rain, or Unknown Immortal. Most of the music is by Joe Strummer.

John Kongos: Tokoloshe Man or He's Gonna Step On You Again

Dick Dale: Ghostriders in the Sky or Mexico

Bodeans: Fadeaway (maybe not so obscure)

Traffic: 40,000 Headmen

Village Stompers: Washington Square

By: ictow

ictow — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:38:15 -0800

God this is so much fun.

By: genefinder

genefinder — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 18:06:19 -0800

Psychotic Reaction
Come and Get Your Love
Hocus Pocus
Keep a Knockin'
Treat Her Right
Little Bitty Pretty One

By: carsonb

carsonb — Sat, 03 May 2008 17:45:52 -0800

I've always wanted Tarantino's soundtrack producer's job.

Betty Davis - If I'm In Luck I Might Get Picked Up
The Deadly Snakes - Everybody Seems to Think (You've Got Some Kind of Hold On Me)
Soul Children - Hearsay
Just about anything from A Cellar Full of Motown or Vol. 2
The Free Design upthread is a good suggestion; there's also a remix album available called The Now Sound Redesigned that's an excellent blend of 60's sunshine pop and modern hip-hop/pop.
Along the same lines, A Light in the Attic Records is known for rereleasing forgotten classics from the 60's and 70's. They're home to The Free Design and Betty Davis.