The Art of the Needledrop

A cinematic resource, that when used right, elevates the craft to a whole new level.

Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, James Gunn and Edgar Wright.

Although not the pioneers in the use of pre-existing music, they’re certainly some of the biggest names in modern film history to have the use of soundtracks be synonymous with their storytelling style. To mark the pace of a scene, convey a specific emotion, set us in a specific time and place, or just straight up bring music to the character’s world.

As a metaphor, analogy or hyperbole is to a written piece, the needledrop, which is the common name used for when a pre-existent song (or original composition, in less frequent cases) starts playing abruptly or not during a scene, is a cinematic resource that calls attention and situates itself in the forefront of the narrative when in use.

For further definition on what a needledrop is and more on its background, I suggest you check out this video by StudioBinder.

As I mentioned briefly, this resource is used to achieve a wide array of objectives, we’ll discuss some of them here in detail:

Introduction of a character and the impression they cause on another character/audience:

Casino (Scorsese, 1995) “Love is Strange” -Mickey and Silvia

Robert De Niro’s “Ace” is a no-nonsense bookie that is sent to Las Vegas to run the Tangiers Casino, he manages this operation like a swiss clock, everything accounted for, everything under control. But then, Sharon Stone’s “Ginger” happened. Unmovable object, meet unstoppable force. Scorsese lets Ginger’s chaos, contrasted by Ace’s inability to put a stop to it flow through one of his famous freeze frames and the track made famous by 1987’s Dirty Dancing. Seamlessly letting us in Ace’s infatuation.

Atom Eve Special Episode (Prime Video, 2023) “Deceptacon” -Le Tigre

Samantha Wilkins AKA Atom Eve is a supporting player in Invincible’s eponymous show and journey, but in this special prequel episode we get to dive into her origin story as a government-created superhero who struggles with being a misfit and relating to other teenagers, while not knowing she has superpowers. In this scene, we get to see her try them out, and what better way to introduce her as Atom Eve for the first time with a punk rock feminist anthem such as “Deceptacon”.

Baby Driver (Wright, 2017) “Bellbottoms” -The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion

In Edgar Wright’s famous heist-action drama, Baby is a mute getaway driver that plans his escapes to the beat of different songs, he plans them so carefully to each song, than when one of the getaways starts with a misstep from one of the robbers, he has to start the song over. We get to learn all of this throughout the film, but there’s no better way to know what this guy is all about than opening the scene with a getaway sequence and a high-paced song like “Bellbottoms”.

Heightening the tension/emotion of a scene:

Industry S03E06 (HBO, 2024) “Getting Away With It” -Electronic

Harper and Yasmin used to work together in the same bank, after Harper got outed by her former mentor for not having completed college, she’s left to fend for herself, eventually clawing her way back into a partnership position at a new hedge fund that’s gaining a lot of traction. Yasmin, undergoing deep family and personal crisis, is taking her eye of the ball at her job, and Harper is exploiting this for professional gain. They’re the quintessential frenemies, and this scene is a culmination of all the tension that’s been brewing for almost three seasons. The moment tension explodes is brought forward in great Industry fashion, with the 90’s Electro Music banger “Getting Away with It”.

The Suicide Squad (Gunn, 2021) “Just a Gigolo/I Ain’t Got Nobody” -Louis Prima

Harley Quinn is imprisoned after murdering the dictator of Corto Maltese, she escapes the prison and kills a small army while at it. In pure James Gunn style, she does this to the tune of 1956’s “Just a Gigolo/I Ain’t Got Nobody”, an off-era, off-tempo song that gets us inside of Harley Quinn’s beautiful insanity. The surreality of the flowers coming out of every single injury Harley inflicts, is a great visual resource to accompany the song.

Mad Men S07E01 (AMC, 2014) “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” -Vanilla Fudge

The beginning of the end. Peggy Olson finally got the courage to stand up for herself, and left his mentor’s side to make her own way in the advertising industry, only to find herself back in the same company, with less relevance and being undermined by her new boss, a way lesser version of Don Draper and emotionally neglected by her previous boss, who’s back with his wife. Don, who’s on administrative leave after doing what he famously never does, letting his troubled past get in the way of his very succesful career, is staring down the abbyss when left by himself and with no job, rendering him purposeless. These sentiments are elevated and the final season is set up by “You Keep Me Hangin’ On”.

Creating uncertainty/expectation for what comes next:

The Bear S02E09 (FX, 2023) “If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It)” -AC/DC

This entire season has been about putting all the pieces of this disfunctional puzzle that is The Bear, the restaurant, its employees and most importantly, its chef, together. A show that is so distinctly known for its high pace and its ability to create, maintain and nurture tension, makes its second to last episode of the season two one to remember with a final sequence that feeds from a previous oner (long continous take), where Carmy and Sydney have a heart-to-heart that has been basically avoided during the entire show. Then it kicks things up a couple of notches with the kitchen being fired up in preparation for opening night. And if AC/DC isn’t the right MC to lead this high-octane affair, I don’t know who is.

Winning Time S02E06 (HBO, 2023) “Burning Down The House” -Talking Heads

The short-lived ambitious sports-drama project by Adam McKay that cost him his personal and professional friendship with Will Ferrell is a show that grabs you by the throat and doesn’t loosen the grip, using all the possible camera formats known to man in order to conduct its gas-cooking paced basketball sequences, and take you along for the drive and show you how the Los Angeles Lakers became the behemoth they are today. Constantly paralleling with how their rivals, pre-existing dinasty and league-dominating Boston Celtics are doing on the other coast, it has all been for this, the definitive showdown, Lakers and Celtics meeting in the Finals, and there ain’t no better way to put us in the edge of our seats that doing the ultimate parallel, having both teams in a pre-finals lockeroom speech, fueled by each team owner’s personal stake in this match-up and Talking Heads’s “Burning Down The House”, title that’s -not by accident- paraphrased in Celtic’s owner speech.

The Sopranos S06E14 (HBO, 2007) “Evidently Chickentown” -John Cooper Clarke

The end is near. Phil Leotardo de-facto head of one of New York’s Mafia Families is sick and tired of the constant disrespect by New Jersey Soprano family’s boss, Tony. In a sequence where we paralell Leotardo’s disgrace, seeing his deceased former leaders and family members on a wall, and Tony becoming his protege’s , Christopher, son’s godfather, creates the anticipation of something that’s about to go south, something that this show has famously refined during its entire run. The song choice is immaculate, and this show, not only known for being the father of the Golden Era of Television, is also famously known - through his creator, David Chase - for taking great leaps in the use of pre-existing music in television.

Succession S01E06 (HBO, 2018)“Which Side Are You On?” -Pete Seeger

Kendall has finally garnered the courage to invoke, and gather enough votes, for a no-confidence vote on his dad, the CEO of the company he’s been tacitly promised to since he was a young kid. After guaranteeing the final vote needed to secure a majority, he struggles to make it back in time to the office when a terrorist scare blocks tunnels heading to the city, making some of his constituents’ support to falter at the last minute. By the time he arrives for the surprise backstabbing, he’s been outnumbered and consequently fired. The end of the scene sees Logan being called back by an apologetic President of the United States, showing him in his full might, while Kendall wanders the streets of New York purposeless.

Using a union/worker’s rights song to catalyze this moment is genius in two levels, it situates Logan as the mighty CEO striking down any attempts of change or insurrection, and Kendall as the underdog who got punished for aspiring for more. In a second point of view, there’s a cognitive dissociation in using a union fight song to portray the struggle of two billionaires for more power, which is exactly the kind of creative choice that makes Succession the greatest dramedy of the last decade.

Conclusion

After providing several examples of well-executed uses of the needledrop resource, one must keep in mind it musn’t be abused, nor used in poor-taste, it can turn the narrative onto an undesired path, contrast too gravely with the already established style of your piece, or worse, alienate your audience to a point of no return.

The needledrop must be used with care, and with intention. It can pack your scene with well-needed punch or get us inside your character’s head with ease, in a way other resources sometimes fall short. And as with everything else in life, proceed with caution. But don’t you forget to take risks.