Certain songs in movies...

Browsing through some of the posts on here, I've noticed several people asking about a particular song (or songs) in a movie, especially if they aren't found on the soundtrack. I've had the same problem myself a few times, and -- for those of you that don't know about it -- usually I find the Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com) to be a big help (if I can't find what I'm looking for in the film's credits).

The movie entries on the IMDb have a sidebar along the left side of the page, and under "Fun Stuff", there are six links. One of them is "soundtrack listing", and provided there's been at least one submission for a song in the movie, the link will be clickable. If the submission is accurate (and most of the time, they seem to be), it'll list the title of the song, (sometimes) the writer and producer, and the song's performer.

There is a disclaimer at the top of every "soundtrack listing" page: "Please note that songs listed here (and in the movie credits) cannot always be found on CD soundtracks. Please check CD track details for confirmation." But if a soundtrack was made for the movie, the entire contents of the soundtrack will usually be listed; and even songs that aren't on the soundtrack may be listed too.

After checking the IMDb, the All Music Guide (www.allmusic.com) is another great site to try to find any song or songs one might be looking for. The AMG allows you to search by Name, Album, or Song; so provided the song is on an available CD, chances are you can find it there. And if there's any confusion, just from the name of the song listed on the IMDb, as to which song you're looking for from the movie, most CD listings on AMG allow you to hear a 30 second sample of each track (through Windows Media Player); that would probably help locate the song, too.

I hope this might help anyone that's been having trouble finding those certain songs!

amoore.va, November 10, 2004; 10:57 PM