Sound design for our visual media outlets, such as movies or video games, are the deciding factor between whether that piece is really amazing, or just okay. Some of the songs designed for specific games or movies are on our regular day-to-day playlists, and are songs we wouldn’t have received otherwise if we didn’t have sound designers doing their job well. Despite this, there are songs we wish we could see added into a movie we love, and some of us can even visualize in what scene that song would play in. This week, we picked some of the songs we think would fit perfectly in a movie.

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ABEL: DELILAH (PULL ME OUT OF THIS) BY FRED AGAIN..

This song has an uptempo house drum pattern to it but the vocal sample and piano that flows through it is very impactful and uplifting. I think that listening to the song for the first couple times by watching the music video really added an extra emotional connection to me which may be swaying my opinion, but I really do think this song is something special and would fit in the right movie.

ISAK: ON THE SEA BY BEACH HOUSE

I picked this song because it could really go well with the resolution to a beautiful movie. The kind of movie I imagine this song to be in would either be a romantic movie or a coming of age style film. The song’s lyrics have a touching delivery about themes of self-discovery and relationships. In addition, the melody is so angelic, it feels like you can fly with the volume up. With all of this though my favorite part is when the guitar solo comes in to really take you away. I also noticed that the bass rhythm is similar to a heartbeat. Idk for me when I listen to this song, I kind of get transported to my own movie and I hope you guys can enjoy it to yours as well.

AUSTIN: IDAG BY DANIEL OGREN AND ANNA AHNLUND

This song is in a globalist dystopian science fiction film where a megacorporation creates engineered humans using CRISPR gene editing to be used as slaves. Individual isolationism and social conditioning of working for the greater good (the good of the company) replaces human connection and empathy with callous worker drones. Until it doesn’t and we find our invalid protagonist falls in love with another love-curious worker. Awhhhh.

The song plays monotone and dreary until it sweeps and swoops the listener with sounds of hope and courage. This is why it fits the bill for this movie.

GATTACA!!

ASHLYN: CHERRY-COLOURED FUNK BY COCTEAU TWINS

This song screams teen coming-of-age movie set in the fall. A 20-something in a big city figuring out what to do with their life, facing all the difficulties of getting older, and how to navigate that. This is a go-to rainy day song to me, not because it’s mopey, but because it conveys that gloominess of a grey rainy day, but it still feels warm. This song really has no meaning, but it does scream for the main character in whatever music coming to that breaking point of having a dramatic change in their life. Cocteau Twins makes music designed to be in a movie, but I think this one stands out amongst the rest.

ANGELA: THE LUCKY ONE BY TAYLOR SWIFT

I think this song would be great in a movie because its lyrics tell such a great story in and of themselves. The Lucky One is about a girl who dreams of fame. Then when she finally achieves it, she realizes it’s not all it’s chalked up to be. The song would fit perfectly in a coming of age film or something of the sort.

GARY: I AM A MAN OF CONSTANT SORROW BY THE SOGGY BOTTOM BOYS

To me, this song is ubiquitous with the symbolism and imagery of the old American South, which is a culture that is inextricable from both suffering and injustice, as well as a romantic and deeply ingrained vision of the American Dream. This song accurately represents these ideals, and would be the perfect musical backdrop to a hypothetical movie set in the American South in the 1930s that follows one man’s journey (or Odyssey, if you will) to discover the true values of life amidst the ill-guided pursuit of an unrealistic goal, or treasure. I imagine a smooth-talking, go-getter, Clooney-like protagonist that easily persuades friend and foe alike, who is initially blinded by his own vanity and desperation, but inevitably learns that the greatest things in life are not material goods, but rather family, commitment, brotherhood, and love for adventure. To me, this is what this song represents.

EVANNE: AUSTRALIA BY ATTIC ABASEMENT

Australia is such a simple song composition wise but makes you think so much. The stripped down guitar and the repeated lyric “how do I know that I’m alive” really seems like it would fit during a scene of someone having a breakdown or making the wrong decision. A character staring out of the window of a moving vehicle as they run away from their problems or a crying character smoking a cigarette on the porch while looking at the Hollywood sign. Sad songs just go with sad scenes but what makes this song different is that the lyrics hit so much deeper without needing to say very much.