Fast forward a few decades, and film critics adopted it to refer to the use of pre-existing music in a film or television property. The descriptor has stuck from then onwards, popping up on Letterboxd reviews galore.

How you use music can make or break a scene. It can be the cherry-on-top, the song that sparks a pang of recognition years later, or the unwanted extract that sours the mix.

There are many directors famed for their pitch-perfect choices over the years, like auteurs Sofia Coppola and Wes Anderson, helping to enhance iconic segments in stories and build soundtracks to remember. Not to mention the new lease on life it can give an old classic. Take dearly beloved Kate Bush’s ‘Running Up That Hill’ charting at No.1 around 37 years after its release, due to its feature in Netflix sci-fi drama, Stranger Things - even if the powerful ballad wound up soundtracking cake-pop recipes on Instagram Reels by the end of the run.

Here are some of people’s favourite needle drops in film and TV - with a few contributions from the author. Spoiler warning for those who haven’t yet watched the second season of Yellowjackets!

 

Needle-drop: ‘Uncle ACE’ by Blood Orange

Luca Guadagnino’s simmering, techno-driven sports drama made tennis cool again, for the summer, with its seamless editing; a messy, bisexual love triangle, and an awful lot of Uniqlo product placement. Early in the film, the building tension between our tennis prodigies comes to a release with a messy hotel make-out scene, establishing control of Zendaya’s icy Tashi Duncan upon the boys. The best part? It’s soundtracked to London-born musician and producer Dev Hynes’, better known as Blood Orange, 2013 indie track ‘Uncle Ace’.

Watching the three lovebirds writhe their heads around in passion as the song hits a peak of whining sirens is nothing short of genius, enhancing an already-electric scene to its finest degree. Lyrically, Hynes’s themes of lost, queer youth align well with Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist’s highly repressed characters, adding another layer to the dynamics.

Needle-drop: ‘Look On Down from the Bridge’ by Mazzy Star

There are few shows as impactful on modern television as David Chase’s HBO mobster drama, The Sopranos. Capturing the attention of Sunday viewers across the globe, the series cemented the late James Gandolfini’s performance in the history books, with his turn as the complex Mafia patriarch, Tony Soprano. In this moving sequence, accompanied by American alt-rock 90s group Mazzy Star’s ‘Look On Down from the Bridge’, the gangster’s young son AJ watches his father at a family friend’s funeral, surrounded by many “uncles” of dubious connection. As he puts two-and-two together, Hope Sandoval’s melancholy vocals hang in the air. That heartbreaking realisation that his parents are hiding something is perfectly captured by the use of such a tragic song, and all its fragility.

 

Needle-drop: ‘Heroes and Villains’ by The Beach Boys

Wes Anderson’s warm-hearted adaptation of a Roald Dahl classic features a soundtrack brimming with cozy 1960s hits to accompany each scene of hand-crafted stop-motion. It’s the ultimate comfort watch, both of childhood nostalgia and equal adult enjoyment in the clever jokes. If there’s any band with music to be described as kind-natured, it’s The Beach Boys, with the late, great Brian Wilson’s compositional prowess. Using ‘Heroes and Villains’, a song written about the idealised “heroes” of American myth, fits perfectly for a character as gleefully scheming as Mr Fox. Watching the film’s lead couple gallivant through fields on a farmyard heist is enough to pluck a smile from the most miserly of viewers. After all, Wes Anderson and niche 60s-70s rock and folk go hand-in-hand on the track record. A needle drop joyful enough to warrant two contributions from The People.

Needle-drop: ‘Climbing up the Walls’ by Radiohead

Surprisingly, this wasn’t the only answer received from the American psychological-horror series, Yellowjackets. For those who aren’t aware, the show follows a group of teen girls stranded in the Canadian wilderness after a plane crash. It skips between this timeline and their traumatised adult selves. In order to immerse viewers in their stationary mindsets, there’s a soundtrack of (mostly) 90s hits to set the tone. Apart from a few from Florence + the Machine. She’s just a really big fan.

Needle-drop: ‘Complicated’ by Avril Lavigne

Although another recent pick, Emma Seligman’s Bottoms pays tribute to the early high school comedies it’s inspired by with this hilariously camp sequence. The film can best be described as “lesbian teenage fight club” and uses its exaggerated colourful setting to the strongest degree throughout.

Characters have classes that last a matter of minutes, and there’s a giant tapestry of the lead football player in the cafeteria. After a shattering argument between protagonists PJ and Josie, Seligman harks back to the distant days of 2002 with an expert use of ‘Complicated’ by Avril Lavigne. Using a song that captures teen angst to the finest degree, over the comedically-drawn out footage of Ayo Edebiri’s Josie kicking an empty can down the street, generates both a touch of sympathy and a chuckle in the silliness of it all. It’s a film that knows exactly how to conjure the right audience emotion at a precise moment, and uses music to do so.

Needle-drop: ‘This is the Day’ by The The

For the final of our six picks, a cult 90s classic had to be featured. Essentially, Empire Records is an enjoyable, offbeat comedy about friendship, corporate greed, and growing up. It’s also about music, and giving unrealistic expectations for your first job.

All bitterness aside, it’s full of great needle-drops, because the film relies heavily on them to drive fun into the story beyond its charming ensemble. Nothing screams “pivotal-turning-point-for-your-characters” more than casually using one of the greatest 80s new-wave tracks of all time: ‘This is the Day’ by The The. It’s a song that literally tells you “this is the day, your life will surely change”. Not at all subtle, but encouraging nevertheless. Empire Records may not have done it first, but it did it before most, and in many eyes, the best. There’s nothing more triumphant than watching the ragtag bunch dance merrily upon the rooftop after saving the record store, twirling round to that delightful accordion.