The 50 best ever original songs made for movies
Films would be nothing without the music, so here are the best original movie songs ever
Julee Cruise 'Questions In A World Of Blue': The film divided opinion among Twin Peaks fans, but the soundtrack to Fire Walk With Me was every inch as breathtaking as that of the original TV series. Cruise returned for this lead track, which matched, if not surpassed her epic 'Falling' hit.
Daft Punk 'Tron Legacy (End Credits)': How much work the French duo really did on the Tron:Legacy soundtrack is still up for debate, but the squealing, gritty sounds of 'End Credits' was the standout tune, and one of the few that sounded like a DP tune.
Simple Minds 'Don't You Forget About Me': No movie soundtrack countdown would be complete without this eighties classic. Iconic in every way, one listen recalls every moment of one of the most celebrated films of all time.
Tina Turner 'We Don't Need Another Hero': Not the greatest film ever made, but Turner's contribution to the soundtrack is not only a highlight of her career, but alongside Simple Minds' 'Don't You Forget About Me', an example of why the eighties gave us the best soundtracks, ever.
Lana Del Rey 'Young + Beautiful': A recent release, Lana Del Rey contributed the most emotional song of her career to The Great Gatsby in 2013. Beautiful and brilliantly poignant.
Jonsi 'Aevin Endar': We Bought A Zoo was a bit rubbish, but Jonsi's soundtrack was brilliant. 'Aevin Endar' was one of the original compositions and rivals some of his, and Sigur Ros' most delicate and intimate tracks with its simplicity and huge, swelling orchestral sounds.
Bjork + Thom Yorke 'I Have Seen It All': Dancer In The Dark is most memorable as one of the most harrowing cinema experiences of all time. Fortunately, it is soundtracked by a collection of brilliant Bjork track, most of which are mental, but this delicate duet is an absolute classic.
Sia 'My Love': All the Twilight films are utter cack. Oddly enough, they all have great soundtracks, and Sia's contribution to Eclipse is an epic slice of dramatic, string-laden pop perfection. Just try to forget sparkly vampires and stupid topless werewolves.
Madonna 'Who's The Girl': Madonna's early attempts at a film career were laughable, and this was one of her worst. However, the music is worth a mention, with 'Who's That Girl' up their with some of he best eighties work.
Gerard McCann 'Cry Little Sister': Celebrated as one of the best soundtracks of all time, McCann's eerie, epic lead track from the album comes laced with vampiric nostalgia and echoes of Keifer Sutherland in his prime.
Queen 'Princes of the Universe': Highlander is a glorious non-sensical ode to coke fueled 80s insanity, detailing immortal men (who are aliens) fighting to the death by chopping each others heads off until one remains. Add a Queen soundtrack and you have a piece of movie gold.
Massive Attack Vs. Mos Def 'I Against I': Blade is a badass and he deserves a badass soundtrack. This extremely bass heavy offering plays over the daywalker and his crew of leather clad vampires walking Matrix style into a bondage nightclub. As you do.
Skrein 'Reach': Adulthood is a massively under appreciated piece of UK cinema that is worlds apart from Kidulthood. While the score is hit or miss, this melancholic lyrical piece from Skrein perfectly embodies the violent ambience that permeates the movie.
Sonic Youth & Cypress Hill 'Mary Jane': This incredibly odd pairing of artists works in the same way as the stranger than fiction concept, providing two groups of musicians so paradoxical the end product is a little gem of genius.
Eric B. & Rakim 'Juice (Know the Ledge): A ghetto morality play in the vein of Boyz in the Hood starring the legendary Tupac Shakur. Sound good? It's very good and this theme by Eric B. and Rakim brings their uncompromising groove to proceedings.
Tim Cappello 'I Still Believe': Yes this is the ridiculously hench saxophone guy from the Lost Boys and it is an amazing track. Little piece of trivia, he was Tina Turner's saxophonist, also it's the second soundtrack to feature twice on this list.
Kirk Hammett & Orbital 'Satan': This film is awful, awful awful (but could do with a reboot). However the soundtrack was a stomper featuring the likes of the Prodigy and Tom Morello riffing together. The reimagining of Orbital's classic 'Satan' with Metallica's Kirk Hammett riffing over the top is sheer brilliance.
Emily Wells 'Becomes the Color': This was one of the best films of 2013 and it was weirdly released at the beginning of the year. The visually striking movie builds to a violent conclusion and realization as this beautiful track helps realize the bittersweet nature of the main character.
The Cure 'Burn': The Cure re-recorded this track especially for this movie that is an angry goth classic. 'Burn' plays over the main characters transformation into a vengeful wraith stalking his murderers years after his death. It's moody and brilliant.
Simon and Garfunkel 'Mrs. Robinson': An early version of this classic appeared in the Graduate, along with 'The Sound of Silence'. It's still a great song, still a great movie and a testament to Simon and Garfunkel's incredible song writing.
Samuel L Jackson 'Stack-O-Lee': It's a bad-ass American folk tale from the 1920s that has been reworked by the likes of Beck, The Grateful Dead, The Black Keys, James Brown and most famously Nick Cave. However the most expletive and violent version was recorded by Mr Jackson for Blake Snake Moan. The movie got mixed reviews, but the soundtrack begs the question of why Samuel L Jackson doesn't make more shit-hot blues music.
Bruce Springsteen 'Streets Of Philadelphia': Award-winning, tear-jerking powerballadry at its finest. There's a reason they call him The Boss.
Radiohead 'Talk Show Host': Sinister and seductive, it seems a crime that this Radiohead classic never made it onto an album of theirs - it's definitely one of the highlights of their career.
David Bowie 'Absolute Beginners': Bowie's dabblings with cinema range between the classic and the catastrophic. This movie was definitely the latter, but bloody hell - what a song.
The National 'Think You Can Wait': How do you put the cherry on the cake of a brilliant American indie film? You ask America's most brilliant indie band to pen a song of sheer aching beauty. That's how.
REM 'The Great Beyond': Michael Stipe and co had long had an obsession with Andy Kauffman, making them the perfect band to pen the lead track for his biopic. With a dark genius beneath a jaunty facade, you'd struggle to find a more fitting song. It's ever so good.
Beck and Bat For Lashes 'Let's Get Lost': Another tragic case of 'shit film, awesome song', this is just gorgeous. Beck's dulcet, pining tones are the perfect marriage with Natasha Khan's bewitching and heavenly vocal. Lovely stuff.
Beck 'Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometimes': Just a thoroughly perfect cover. Good on you, Beck.
The Bootleggers and Mark Lannegan 'White Light / White Heat': Most cover versions seek to put a more modern spin on a classic, but this charming little number takes the iconic Velvet Underground track back to the decadent days of 1920s Prohibition. Totally awesome.
Anthony Hamilton & Elayna Boynton 'Freedom'. It's a song that's both uplifting and desperately sad, and its placement in one of the most harrowing scenes of Django Unchained reinforces this beautiful contradiction.
David Bowie 'As the World Falls Down': Labyrinth is such a wonderfully bizarre film that there was no-one better to write the soundtrack than David Bowie, who also stars as the Goblin King. Of course.
Cat Stevens 'If You Want to Sing Out Sing Out': The entire soundtrack to cult classic Harold and Maude features songs by Cat Stevens, but this one's the most iconic.
Alex Turner 'Piledriver Waltz': "I etched the face of a stopwatch on the back of a raindrop, and did a swap for the sand in an hourglass." That could only be Alex Turner, who wrote the whole Submarine soundtrack.
Lady in the Radiator 'In Heaven': Potentially one of the creepiest scenes in cinema history, this song from Eraserhead is haunting, disturbing and a tiny bit funny.
Gene Wilder - 'Pure Imagination': This song had the potential to be a bit twee, but - as is the case with the whole of Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory - there's a sinister edge that balances it out perfectly.
Elton John - 'The Circle of Life': From the iconic opening to The Lion King, The English translation for the Swahili part is "Here comes a lion, Father. Oh yes, it's a lion." Slightly less epic.
Roger McGuinn 'Ballad of Easy Rider': Bob Dylan wrote the lyrics to the first verse of this song for Easy Rider, but couldn't really be bothered to finish it off. Enter Roger McGuinn.
Audrey Hepburn 'Moon River': How the song in any way relates to Breakfast at Tiffany's is not entirely clear, but there's no doubting it's a classic.
Rachel Verney & The Magnets - Willow's Song: Another contender for weirdest scene in a film, but not even a naked Britt Eckland punching and caressing walls in The Wicker Man can distract from how good this song is.
Pharrell 'Happy': Taken from the animated caper Despicable Me 2, the film isn't much but this joyful song truly is. It's simple but effective, and manages not to cross the line into cheesy. Plus, Pharrell's vocals sound wonderful.
Three 6 Mafia 'It's Hard Out Here For A Pimp': Memphis rap group Three 6 Mafia took home the Oscar for Best Original Song in 2005 for this number taken from Terrence Howard vehicle Hustle & Flow. The rappers became the first hip hop group to ever perform at the ceremony, changing the chorus' "bitch" lyrics to "witch", obviously.
Des'ree 'Kissing You': A simple piano arrangement and Des'ree's heartfelt vocals are all that is needed to make this a truly powerful track, which perfectly soundtracks the scene Leonardo DiCaprio's Romeo and Claire Dane's Juliet meet on either side of a fish tank.
Coolio 'Gangsta's Paradise': Everyone remembers this 90s hip hop classic, but less so the film it's from - the poorly-recieved Dangerous Minds, which starred Michelle Pfeiffer as a teacher trying to educate a group of disadvantaged youths and like, try and expand their minds. Or something.
Gary Jules 'Mad World': Donnie Darko film score composer Michael Andrews commissioned childhood friend and singer Gary Jules to cover Tears For Fears' 1982 hit 'Mad World' for the Jake Gyllenhaal-starring science fiction/drama. Jules' haunting rendition of the track is heard playing in the final sequence of the film.
Eminem 'Lose Yourself': Written from the viewpoint of his semi-autobiographical character Rabbit in critically acclaimed 2002 drama 8 Mile, 'Lose Yourself' is probably Eminem's finest song. It was also the first rap song to ever be nominated for Best Original Song at the Oscars.
Prince 'Purple Rain': This epic gospel/soul/rock ballad soundtracked The Purple One's semi-autobiographical film drama of the same name.
Air 'Alone in Kyoto': This haunting piece of minimalist electronica from the French duo perfectly encapsulated the loneliness and alienation Scarlett Johansson's character experiences throughout 2003 film Lost In Translation, as well as the sensory overload of Tokyo.
MIA & AR Rahman 'O..Saya': The soundtrack to 2008's sleeper hit Slumdog Millionaire, which told the story of a young man who appears on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? and is accused of cheating, was just as colourful as the film itself. This atmospheric, rousing track was just one of the highlights.
Beyonce 'Listen': Beyonce loosely channelled Diana Ross in both her role in Dreamgirls as the lead singer of a Motown girl group, and in her performance of this epic ballad.
Blondie 'Call Me': Giorgio Moroder originally asked Fleetwood Mac's Stevie Nicks to pen the theme song for American Gigolo, but she declined. And, we never thought we'd say this, but thank God she did. Otherwise, we'd never have been blessed with the brilliant dance-rock anthem that is 'Call Me'.
This week saw the Oscar nominations revealed with Karen O, Pharrell and U2 all receiving nods in the Best Original Song category. The finalists were whittled down from a comprehensive list of 75 artists, with Lana Del Rey, the XX and more missing out on making it to the final three.
All this talk of movies got the cogs turning as to our favourite original songs from our favourite movies; whether it be the sublime 80s madness of the Lost Boys Soundtrack, to the 90s glory of the Matrix.
Music can make a film (or break it) and there are some truly incredible offerings out there. These are some of our favourites.