Award season has just begun and with the upcoming Oscars, now is the perfect time to highlight some music within the movie world. So many wonderful films were released this year, from giant blockbusters such as “Deadpool & Wolverine,” as well as some hidden gems like “Dìdi.” The importance of music in film is often overlooked by the average person. A soundtrack or score of a movie can make or break it for many viewers including myself. Music can often elevate scenes to the next level, and without a fitting song it may leave an impactful moment bland. While music and film are highly subjective I wanted to share the musical moments of 2024’s movies that stood out to me the most throughout the year. 

Challengers: Match Point - Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross

Challengers

Final scene of “Challengers” by Luca Guadagnino.

Starting off with a movie that took over the internet for quite some time, the one and only “Challengers.” What more can you ask for? A movie directed by Luca Guadagnino with Zendaya, Mike Faist, and Josh O’Connor, and a killer score by the legendary Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. If Reznor and Ross don’t ring a bell for you, they’re well-known modern-day film composers for their beautiful scores for movies such as “The Social Network" and “Gone Girl.” Their work in Challengers encapsulates the tension between characters so well. The one that grabbed my attention most was “Challengers: Match Point.” This song evolved in different ways throughout the movie, but this version was the one used in the final scene. The electronic song with strings and club-like bass is not something you’d expect to hear in a tennis movie. Yet it captures the tension of the final moments mind-blowingly well. It puts you right on the edge of your seat before it builds up to its grand moment of strings right before the last shot of the film. The rest of the high-energy soundtrack works just as well to build tension and get your energy up. In fact, Charli XCX’s Letterboxd review of the movie tells it best; “Was so amped after watching this I ended up going out ‘til five am with Harrison and was super hungover for the MET.”

CRUSH - Yellow Claw, Natte Visstick, and RHYME

Babygirl

Club scene of “Babygirl” by Halina Reijn.

This next song from Nicole Kidman’s “Babygirl” also happens to be a club banger. “Babygirl” is another movie with high tension between its main characters. However, the moment I want to highlight is the one moment where both characters let loose. This happens in a relatively short scene where Romy (Nicole Kidman) and Samuel (Harris Dickinson) end up in a club. The song playing during this moment is “CRUSH” by Yellow Claw, Natte Visstick, and RHYME. It’s not a very well-known song but might be one of the best electronic dance songs I’ve ever heard. This song was paired with quick cuts, and strobe lighting, and has some crazy over-the-top shots of the crowd. I quite literally felt like I was actually there and could not stop smiling and nodding my head to the song. Although the scene and song were quite short, it was the highlight of the whole movie for me. Now I put this song on to feel that insane energy presented in the movie and I cannot recommend it enough for others to do the same.

Claw Machine - Sloppy Jane and Phoebe Bridgers

I Saw The TV Glow

Sloppy Jane and Phoebe Bridgers appear in “I Saw The TV Glow” by Jane Schoenbrun.

To switch up the vibe, “I Saw The TV Glow” is one of this year's most introspective and haunting films. This movie is not for everyone but I do recommend everyone watching it. The messages it conveys are extremely important and it does so in a very captivating way. The film's soundtrack and score fit perfectly with the themes and accelerate those important themes even more. The score was made by Alex G, who most people probably have at least heard of. And while the score is just as deserving of conversation, the track I want to highlight is an original song from the soundtrack. “Claw Machine” by Sloppy Jane and Phoebe Bridgers goes beyond just a song from a movie, it's one of the best songs of the entire year. The moody lyrics and dark production of the track along with Sloppy Jane and Phoebe Bridgers's emotional vocal tones break your heart. The song is featured as a moment of reflection of the main character, where Owen (Justice Smith) is actually watching a performance of this song. This is a moment for the music to speak for itself with lyrics like “I paint the ceiling black so I don’t notice when my eyes are open.” As well as the song’s chorus, “I think I was born bored, I think I was born blue, I think I was born wanting more, I think I was born already missing you.” The lyrics do such a great job of encapsulating the darkness of the movie while also being a beautiful song on its own.

What Is This Feeling? - Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo

Wicked 

Shot from “What Is This Feeling?” in “Wicked” by Jon M. Chu. 

It’s pretty much impossible for me to make this list without mentioning Wicked. Love it or hate it this was one of the biggest movies of the year. Its production is grand to another scale and its songs are right there with it. I personally thought I was going to not like this movie. I’m not the biggest fan of musicals and I have never seen the play this is based on. However, in its three-hour runtime, I was never once bored or left wanting more. Every element of this film is executed to its full potential, including the musical numbers. While most people's favorite songs from this are probably “Defying Gravity” or “Popular,” the one that I loved was “What Is This Feeling?” performed by Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo. This was the first moment where the two main characters, Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) and Galinda (Ariana Grande) show some sort of connection for the first time. The duet is pretty much vocally perfect, witty, and overall a fun moment. The choreography is also amazing and goes along with the song extraordinarily well. My favorite moment of this song is when they include the crowd chants behind Galinda. This song marks the moment for me when I was fully grasped in the world of “Wicked,” as it’s one of the first songs performed in the film. 

Worm Ride - Hans Zimmer

Dune: Part Two

Paul Atreides gearing up to ride the worm in “Dune: Part Two” by Denis Villeneuve.

To continue the theme of grand and ambitious films, we have to mention the spectacular “Dune: Part Two.” There’s nothing that really hasn’t been said about this movie. The acting, the sets, the script, it’s quite literally all perfect. And that of course extends to the jaw-dropping score as well. The film’s score was created by Hans Zimmer who is probably the most well-known film composer ever. He’s done the scores for “Inception,” “Gladiator,” “The Lion King,” “Interstellar,” and so many more. The score of “Dune: Part Two” is one of the best in terms of building a world. Every single song bumps the scenes to go beyond 100 percent. If I had to pick one song from the score that was my favorite, it would have to be “Worm Ride.” This song comes at an intense moment where Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) is proving himself as a leader by riding one of the land's giant worms. The song pairs this massive moment with powerful synthesizers, compelling strings, and a cool vocal chop. It’s one of the movie's many moments where all you can do is watch in awe. 

The Substance - Raffertie

The Substance 

Demi Moore in “The Substance” by Coralie Fargeat.

To wrap up this list, I chose to showcase another song that is influenced by electronic music. Many of this year's big movies seemed to be very inspired by dance and electronic music, as this is the third on my list with this kind of sound. This theme song from “The Substance’s” score is played multiple times throughout the movie and is the perfect song to do so. “The Substance” is definitely not a movie for everyone. It’s truly an insane movie that's so off the wall that I’ve seen almost nothing like it before. The song from the film with the same title, brings all of the film's feelings together so well. It starts off with eerie synths and goes into a club beat with strong bass, tied together with these almost nauseating sounds. It sounds awful on paper but is actually such an interesting listening experience. It’s an experience of wanting to look away but you can’t.