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Songs that have been "ruined" by one iconic use

Hopfrog

Hopfrog

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Oct 27, 2017
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What prompted me to think about this was seeing a new Volkswagen commercial using the Joe Cocker version of With a Little Help from My Friends. Now, for me, that song is indelibly connected to The Wonder Years, to the point where if I hear it in any other media context (TV, film, etc.) it just feels....off. So i figured it might be fun to see what other songs people think have become so inextricably linked with one use that it has "ruined" that song for anyone else to use.

And since I am the thread starter, I will give another - Johnny B. Goode by Chuck Berry. I knew the song before I saw the movie but damn it if I don't think immediately of Back to the Future when I hear it.
 
ascii42

ascii42

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Oct 25, 2017
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"Radioactive" by Imagine Dragons makes me think of its use in Arrow. And also of Arrow-GAF.
 

Deleted member 2809

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lmao at that first post, song it still great tho
suicide squad almost managed to ruin rhapsody but they had to chop it up in an awful way so it's fine
 
clearacell

clearacell

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Oct 27, 2017
1,659
Song 2 is always from a car commercial to me. I used to like the song.

Stuck in the Middle is a torture scene.
 
uzipukki

uzipukki

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There's so many, one that comes to mind though is Dragostea din tei or whatever that shit was called.
And the use that ruined it is:
It was made.
 
Korigama

Korigama

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Oct 25, 2017
20,641
Not that I liked the song or consider where it was used iconic, but that "zooby zooby zoo" song, whatever it is, I certainly didn't think of hair care products with those Garnier commercials that used it. Nope, just thought of a season two episode of iZombie I hated for the killer being the only one-and-done character in the series to get away with it.

Can't really avoid thinking back to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo with Orinoco Flow, either. Non je ne regrette rien? Nah Dove, I think Inception with that, not chocolate.
 
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Richiek

Richiek

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Nov 2, 2017
12,063
Angel by Sarah McLachlan. What was once a solemn and powerful song about depression is now walking punchline about sad animals thanks to that ASPCA commercial.
 
frankenstrat

frankenstrat

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Oct 27, 2017
999
Eric Clapton-Layla's piano outro is always gonna be the scene in Goodfellas where bodies start piling up around the town.
 
Korigama

Korigama

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Oct 25, 2017
20,641
frankenstrat said:
Eric Clapton-Layla's piano outro is always gonna be the scene in Goodfellas where bodies start piling up around the town.
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This one, too.
Omnipotent said:
Roundabout in Jojo's Bizzare Adventures and the meme associated with it.
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Definitely the first thing I associate that one with, not familiar with the meme myself though. Wish they kept it for the whole series, because Walk Like an Egyptian was a crappy substitute even though it fit the destination (which they didn't get to until the second half of Stardust Crusaders and switched to Last Train Home by then anyway).
 
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The Almighty Tria

The Almighty Tria

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Oct 27, 2017
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Whenever some middle aged well to do white guy hops on a motorcycle and BOOORRRN TO BE WILLLDD. AKA 99% of any movie with a motorcycle in it.

Okay, to be fair, those moments ruined THE iconic moment from Easy Rider, not the other way around.
 
Bronx-Man

Bronx-Man

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Oct 25, 2017
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Between months of ESPN college football, Big Hero 6's premiere, and ads for WWE SmackDown, I am so utterly repulsed whenever someone plays that fucking Centuries song from Fall Out Boy.

Shit, what was up with every media company in 2014 trying to convince themselves Fall Out Boy was still relevant
 
Akumatica

Akumatica

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Oct 25, 2017
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If you're just talking about songs that immediately remind you of their use in media. Goodfellas has a number of them for me-

Cream - "Sunshine of Your Love"
Derek and the Dominos - "Lalya (piano exit)"
The Rolling Stones - "Monkey Man"
Sex Pistols/ Sid Vicious - "My Way"
George Harrison - "What is Life"
 
Korigama

Korigama

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Oct 25, 2017
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The X-Files comes to mind with Don't Look Any Further, since that one hasn't come up yet.
 
Parthenios

Parthenios

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I've never played more than the demo of Gears of War, but the song Mad World always makes me think of beefy space marines with chainsaw guns.
 
Amanita

Amanita

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Oct 27, 2017
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Wagner's "Flight of the Valkyries" - Apocalypse Now
Dick Dale's "Misirlou" - Pulp Fiction
 
Keldroc

Keldroc

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Oct 27, 2017
12,049
Bohemian Rhapsody in Wayne's World.

I mean it didn't "ruin" it, it's a great scene, but it's so iconic that any use of the song in any other media context is automatically either a reference to the WW scene or involuntarily compared to it. If you're under 45 or so, that song is inextricably linked to that movie.
 
Luchashaq

Luchashaq

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Nov 4, 2017
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Every classic rock song from the 70s I see people talking about as if it was amazing just reminds me of whatever beer or car commercial they were in a billion times.
 
retroman

retroman

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Oct 31, 2017
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Lots of classical music has been used extensively in cartoons, to the point it's impossible to listen to some tunes without instantly getting images in your head of Elmer Fudd chasing Bugs Bunny.
 
Border

Border

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Oct 25, 2017
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Goodbye Horses seems like the best possible answer, since nobody wants to hear a song and think about some sociopath tucking his penis between his legs.

Take My Breath Away by Berlin is maybe my favorite example. Such a beautiful song, and yet everytime you hear it you're thinking of silhouetted sex scenes and hunky guys playing volleyball. It's inextricably linked to Top Gun.

Personally I think Mamma Mia (the play/film) kinda ruined ABBA for an entire generation. I am so glad I heard all of their catalog before Mamma Mia and don't associate it with the stage play's silly story and theatrics.
 
Bronx-Man

Bronx-Man

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Oct 25, 2017
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Keldroc said:
Bohemian Rhapsody in Wayne's World.

I mean it didn't "ruin" it, it's a great scene, but it's so iconic that any use of the song in any other media context is automatically either a reference to the WW scene or involuntarily compared to it. If you're under 45 or so, that song is inextricably linked to that movie.
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I wonder how many people 18 or under associate it with Suicide Squad.
 
Sun's Resting Place

Sun's Resting Place

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Oct 25, 2017
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retroman said:
Lots of classical music has been used extensively in cartoons, to the point it's impossible to listen to some tunes without instantly getting images in your head of Elmer Fudd chasing Bugs Bunny.
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Symphony No. 9 aka From the New World is actually connected to both One Piece and Asura's Wrath for me, so it's 'epic fight scene' music since it was used as such in both.

 
Teiresias

Teiresias

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Oct 27, 2017
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Honestly, I don't even know if the song is considered good, as I'm not really into pop or rock for the most part, but this was ridiculous and endemic of why Dreamworks movies quickly become cringe-worthy and dates as they rely too much on pop-culture references for their brand of "humor." The song had been overplayed on the radio months before the movie came out.
 
Fallout-NL

Fallout-NL

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Oct 30, 2017
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Border said:
Goodbye Horses seems like the best possible answer, since nobody wants to hear a song and think about some sociopath tucking his penis between his legs.

Take My Breath Away by Berlin is maybe my favorite example. Such a beautiful song, and yet everytime you hear it you're thinking of silhouetted sex scenes and hunky guys playing volleyball. It's inextricably linked to Top Gun.

Personally I think Mamma Mia (the play/film) kinda ruined ABBA for an entire generation. I am so glad I heard all of their catalog before Mamma Mia and don't associate it with the stage play's silly story and theatrics.
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I still love Goodbye Horses. Great fucking track. Amazing scene too.
 
Beef Supreme

Beef Supreme

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Oct 25, 2017
5,076
Queen - We Are the Champions
We Will Rock you

Sporting events have ruined these 2 songs for me and I'm a HUGE Queen fan
 
Keldroc

Keldroc

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Oct 27, 2017
12,049
Bronx-Man said:
I wonder how many people 18 or under associate it with Suicide Squad.
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This was a debate I got into with my friends, who were teenagers when WW came out, around the time the Suicide Squad trailers were running, and in the end to settle it two of my friends who teach high school polled their classes about it. About 70-80% of the students said "Duh, that's from Wayne's World, it was on TV constantly when I was a kid." I'd say WW will continue to own the song considering I doubt Suicide Squad is going to get the same airplay among today's kids that WW did in the '90s and '00s.
 
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