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Song of the Day #3,492: ‘Bellbottoms’ – The John Spencer Blues Explosion

Before getting to my next 2017 movie music moment, I want to give a shout out to a song I’m not featuring this week because I posted it during my movie wrap-up last month. That track is the Dave Matthews Band’s ‘Crash Into Me,’ which was used so beautifully in Greta Gerwig’s Lady Bird, not once but twice.

The first time ‘Crash Into Me’ plays, it’s a bittersweet but comic moment, as Lady Bird and her best friend cry to the song over a failed relationship. The second time, it marks a lovely moment of growth for Lady Bird as she becomes more confident in who she is and who she doesn’t have to pretend to be any longer. (I’m being vague because I know some of my readers haven’t seen the film yet and I don’t want to ruin its many lovely surprises).

So ‘Crash Into Me’ is technically my top movie song of 2017. But let’s get to the car chase!

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Song of the Day #3,491: ‘Annie’s Song’ – John Denver

Another favorite movie music moment from 2017 is from Bong Joon-ho’s Okja, and it’s the second example this week to feature a John Denver song.

In fact, by coincidence or cosmic fate, John Denver’s songs were featured in no fewer than five films last year, including the Kingsman and Alien sequels and the crime film Free Fire.

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Song of the Day #3,490: ‘Remember Me’ – Anthony Gonzalez & Ana Ofelia Murguia

My next 2017 movie music moment comes from the Pixar film Coco, which I remember more and more fondly over time.

The film is set in Mexico and centers around the Day of the Dead, when (in this movie’s universe) the ghosts of family members past return from the Land of the Dead to celebrate with their living loved ones. Through a series of hijinks I won’t get into, young Miguel winds up in the Land of the Dead and must orchestrate a reconciliation between a long-lost ancestor and his own family.

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Song of the Day #3,489: ‘Take Me Home, Country Roads’ – John Denver

Continuing my pattern of looking back at 2017 well into 2018, this week I’ll highlight five of my favorite musical moments from last year’s movies.

Two of these picks are performed by characters in the films, one is played through headphones by a character in the film, one is a song used as score and the last is a traditional instrumental score (and a bit of a cheat, as I’ll explain when I get there).

Where possible, I’ll embed a clip of the actual scene as well as the original song.

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Song of the Day #3,488: ‘Come Monday’ – Jimmy Buffett

Every time I hear Jimmy Buffett’s Songs You Know By Heart, I wonder why I don’t play it far more often. As much as I dislike the idea of greatest hits albums, I can’t help but feel that this particular collection is one of the best records I own.

I’ve heard other Jimmy Buffett songs over the years, either online or on the Sirius/XM Margaritaville station, but nothing that’s flipped my lid the way these 13 songs do.

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