Listen to the director drop the needle on a dramatic scene:
Directors use music, and specifically popular music, for a number of reasons: to provide overall structural unity or coherence to a story; to set the mood or manipulate the viewer's emotions; to affect our interpretation of a scene through a juxtaposition of music and imagery; to enhance the pace or tempo of the film; or to serve as a reminder to the viewer of a time period or place. Directors who are well known for using popular music to score their films include Martin Scorsese, Wes Anderson, Quentin Tarantino, Paul Thomas Anderson, John Hughes, Cameron Crowe, Tom Tykwer, and the Wachowskis. Not only is popular music being used to score film, but popular musicians are being asked to go one step beyond and write the scores themselves, including the likes of Danny Elfman (Oingo Boingo), Mark Mothersbaugh (Devo), Randy Newman, Jonny Greenwood (Radiohead), Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails), RZA (Wu-Tang Clan), and Nick Cave.
The resources below will assist you in doing research in the areas of popular music in film and the specific genre of rock films.
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Essential Elvis the first movies by 
Head by 
Parade : music from the motion picture Under the cherry moon by 
Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid original soundtrack recording by 
That thing you do! original motion picture soundtrack by 
Yellow submarine by The Wiz / Ease on Down the Road / Michael Jackson, Diana Ross
Tommy / Pinball Wizard / Elton John
Grease / Greased Lightning / John Travolta
The Rocky Horror Picture Show / Sweet Transvestite / Tim Curry
Phantom of the Paradise / Phantom's Theme / William Finley
Once / Say It to Me Now / Glen Hansard
Looking at Movies: an Introduction to Film by
Looking at the movies -- Principles of film form -- Types of movies -- Elements of narrative -- Mise-en-scène -- Cinematography -- Acting -- Editing -- Sound -- Film history -- How the movies are made.
The Beatles on Film by 
Changing Tunes by
The Buffalo Springfield years -- Neil Young -- Everybody knows this is nowhere -- After the gold rush -- Harvest -- 1973 : Time fades away -- On the beach -- Tonight's the night -- Zuma & Long may you run -- American stars 'n' bars & Comes a time -- Rust never sleeps -- Hawks and Doves & Re-ac-tor -- Everybody's rockin' -- Trans -- Old ways -- Landing on water -- Life -- This note's for you -- Freedom -- Ragged glory -- Harvest moon -- Sleeps with angels -- Mirror ball -- Broken arrow ; Silver and gold -- Are you passionate? -- Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young
Elvis : the Films and Career of Elvis Presley by 
Heavy Metal Movies by 
Hip Hop on Film by
An iconic figure in the history of rock and pop culture (inducted not once but twice into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame), Neil Young has written his eagerly awaited memoir
Hollywood Rock : a Guide to Rock 'n' Roll in the Movies by
Offers reviews, comments, and production credits for films about rock music, musicals with rock scores, movies featuring rock stars as actors, rock documentaries, and films with influential rock soundtracks.
Hollywood Shack Job by
Foreword -- Introduction / by Holly George-Warren -- Buffalo Springfield again album review -- Clapton and Springfield members busted -- Buffalo Springfield goes to pasture -- Last time around album review / by Barry Gifford -- Neil Young album review / by Gary Von Tersch -- Crosby, Stills and Nash add Young -- Everybody knows this is nowhere album review / by Bruce Miroff -- Crosby, stills, etc., a sellout, etc -- Crosby, Stills, Nash, Young, Taylor and Reeves / by Ben Fong-Torres -- "Oh, lonesome me" singles review / by John Morthland -- Neil young Q & A / by Elliot Blinder -- A statement of a single man / by John Morthlans -- Déjà Vu album review / by Langdon Winner -- They just don't want rip-offs -- Tin soldiers and Nixon's coming -- Top 100 singles of the last 25 years -- "Sugar mountain" singles review / by Ed Ward -- After the gold rush album review / by Langdon Winner -- The top 100 : the best albums of the last 20 years : After the gold rush -- Plenty of C and S and N and Y -- CSNY's pre-road ups and downs -- 4 way street album review / by George Kimball -- Crosby, Nash-Stills? Young? / by Tim Cahill -- Harvest album review / by John Mendelssohn -- Neil Young performance review / by Jon Landau -- Journey through the past album review / by Jim Miller -- Neil Young's first film shown / by Janelle Ellis -- Neil Young opens the Roxy Theater / by Judith Sims -- Time fades away album review / by Bud Scoppa -- CSNY's reunion / by Ben Fong-Torres -- The ego meets the dove / by Ben Fong-Torres -- On the beach album review / by Stephan Holden -- So hard to make arrangements for yourself : the Rolling Stone interview with Neil Young / by Cameron Crowe -- Tonight's the night album review / by Dave Marsh -- The top 100 : the best albums of the last 20 years : Tonight's the night -- Zuma album review / by Bud Scoppa -- Show close to home-Neil Young says no / by Marshall Kilduff -- CSNY : on again, off again / by Cameron Crowe -- Stills and Young performance review / by Dave Marsh -- Stills and Young tour cut short / by Raw Throat -- Quick end to a long run / by Cameron Crowe -- Long may you run album review / by Ken Tucker -- American stars'n bars album review / by Paul Nelson -- Young's Give to the wind due -- Neil Young's Human highway / by Peggylee Bellas -- Neil Young performance review by / Pual Nelson -- Getting into Neil Young's bizarre act / by Cameron Crowe -- Neil Young and crazy horse performance review / by John Rockwell -- The 20 greatest concerts / by David Fricke -- Comes a time album review / by Greil Marcus -- Malibu fire takes rock stars' homes / by Salley Rayl -- Neil Young : the last American hero / by Cameron Crowe -- Rust never sleeps album review / by Paul Nelson -- The top 100 : the best albums of the last 20 years : Rust never sleeps -- Live rust album review / by Tom Carson -- 1979 music awards -- Hawks & Doves album review / by John Piccarella -- Re-ac-tor album / by John Piccarella -- Trans album review / by Parke Puterbaugh -- Everybody's rockin' album review / by David Fricke -- Neil young performance review / by Steve Pond -- Old ways album review / by Parke Puterbaugh -- Landing on water album review / by Jim Farber -- Neil Young and Crazy Horse performance review / David Fricke -- Young rejoins CSN / by Michael Goldberg -- CSNY reunion album atalled / by Michael Goldberg -- Life album review / by Steve Hochman -- Neil Young bows blues band / by Michael Goldberg -- This note's for you album review / by David Browne -- Neil Young : the Rolling Stone interview / by James Henke -- MTV nixes Neil Young's acerbis "This note's for you" video / by Fred Goodman --The 100 top music videos / by Rick Marin -- CSNY release American Dream / by Michael Goldberg -- This note's for you year-end album review / by David Fricke -- American dream album review / by Anthony DeCurtis -- Neil Young covered on Tribute album / by David Fricke -- Neil Young finds his Freedom / by Shelia Rogers -- Freedom and The bridge : a tribute to Neil Young album reviews / by David Fricke -- Top 100 albums of the eighties -- Neil Young pulls plug on jeans ad / by Jimmy Guterman -- CSNY honors its former drummer / by Jeffrey Ressner -- Ragged glory album review / by Kurt Loder -- Back in the saddle again / by James Henke -- Ragged glory year-end album review / by David Fricke -- Neil Young performance review / by Michael Corcoran -- Weld album review / by Don McLeese -- Neil Young performance review / by Alan Light -- Harvest Moon album review / by Greg Kot -- Lucky thirteen : excursions into Alien territory album review / by James Hunter -- Unplugged album review / by Burl Gilyard -- Forever young / by Alan Light -- Discography -- Selective videography -- About the contributors
Interpreting Rock Movies by
Traces the revolution's growth from a rebellion against parental control and the Vietnam War to a coercive and sometimes divisive social movement, and examines the protestors, their motives, their critics, and their legacy. Contents: Preface -- Campus wars and culture wars : Outstanding events, issues, and contrasting interpretations of the 1960s. The good 1960s and the bad 1960s. -- Civil Rights and wrongs : Origins of the civil rights movement. Founding of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. Stokely Carmichael. Rise of Black Power. Huey Newton. Racial unrest. Great Society. -- Who protested? : Causes of white student protest. Birth of the student New Left and New Right. Social characteristics of student activists. Red diaper babies. Ideological beliefs of white radicals. -- Other dissenters--and their critics : Role of academics, clergy, intellectuals, and media in 1960s protest. Intellectuals and American foreign policy and race relations. William Appleman Williams. Critics of the left. Thomas Wolfe. -- Escalation, 1964-1967 : American military escalation of the Vietnam War. Mississippi freedom summer. Berkeley free speech movement. Spiral of campus protest and urban riots. H. Rap Brown. -- Explosion, 1968-1970 : Tet offensive. Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. Columbia University uprising. 1968 Democratic National Convention. Tom Hayden. Election of Richard Nixon. Founding of the Weather Underground. Kent State slayings. -- Counterculture : LSD. Rock and roll. Sexual revolution. Entertainment industry and the counterculture. Janis Joplin. Betty Friedan's The feminine mystique. -- Legacies of the 1960s : Fragmentation of the New Deal electoral coalition. George McGovern. Ronald Reagan. Changes in the post-1960s moral climate. Political correctness on the post-1960s campus. American foreign policy in the aftermath of the Vietnam War
Magical Musical Tour by
From Graham Nash -- the legendary musician and founding member of the iconic bands Crosby, Stills & Nash and The Hollies -- comes a candid and riveting autobiography
Movies, Moves and Music : the Sonic World of Dance Films by
Over the last 40 years, while the musical film has faded from its historical high-point to a more isolated and quirky phenomenon, the dance film has displayed refulgent growth and surprising resilience. It has spawned profitable global enterprises (Billy Elliot), has fashioned youthful angst as sociological voice (Saturday Night Fever, Footloose, and Dirty Dancing) and acted as a marker of post-modern ironic camp (Strictly Ballroom). This modern genre has influenced cinema as a whole in the ways bodies are made dimensional, in the way rhythm and energy are communicated, and in the filmic capacity to create narrative worlds without words.
Popcorn by 
Popular Music and Film by
The story of four landmark albums of 1970, tracing the musical, political and cultural changes of the time. Contents: Part1 : Winter into spring : a song that they sing when they take to the highway -- Part 2 : Spring into summer : a feeling I can't hide -- Part 3 : Summer into fall : away, I'd rather sail away -- Part 4 : Fall into winter : gone your way, I'll go mine
Quadrophenia : a Way of Life : Inside the Making of Britain's Greatest Youth Film by
Examines the 1979 film Quadrophenia, based on the 1973 concept album by the Who, which depicts clashes between Mods and Rockers in mid-1960s Britain.
Risky Business : Rock in Film by
Expecting to fly : Byrdsong and the California dream -- Back to the garden : getting it together in the "country" -- New kids in town -- Horses, kids and forgotten women : country rock -- Escape from sin city -- A case of me -- With a little help from our friends -- The machinery vs. the popular song -- After the thrill is gone -- Coda : Los Angeles in the long run
The Rock and Roll Film Encyclopedia by
"At large". Excerpt from Trips: Rock Life In The Sixties / Ellen Sander -- Crosby, Stills, Nash, Young, Taylor and Reeves / Ben Fong-Torres -- Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young: flying freely / Lenny Kaye -- David Crosby: the Rolling Stone interview / Ben Fong-Torres -- Graham Nash: "We may fight, but the music wins" / Vicki Wickham -- At home with Steve Stills / Richie Yorke -- The Sounds talk-in. Stephen Stills and Neil Young / Allan McDougal & Penny Valentine -- Will CSNY ever re-unite and find true happiness? This is David Geffen, by gentleman's agreement, manager to the superstars / Roy Carr -- Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young Carry On / Cameron Crowe -- Crosby, Stills, Nash, Young and Bert / Roy Carr -- So hard to make arrangements for yourself. The Rolling Stone interview with Neil Young / Cameron Crowe -- Stephen Stills grows up / Lowell Cauffield -- Rocky and Bullwinkle in Marin County / Jaan Uhlszki -- Quick end to a long run. In which Neil Young and Stephen Stills find that old magic and lose it all to a sore throat / Cameron Crowe -- The actual, honest-to-God reunion of Crosby, Stills & Nash / Cameron Crowe -- Dark Star: working the vampire shift with Stephen Stills / Peter Knobler -- Graham Nash: the winds of change / Dave Zimmer -- Crosby, Stills & Nash bury the hatchet again / Dennis Hunt -- A long time gone / Mark Christensen -- The confessions of a coke addict / David Crosby with Todd Gold -- Neil Young on CSNY. Excerpt from "Blue notes from a restless loner" / Dave Zimmer -- A Louisiana Encore for Stephen Stills / Steve Rush -- Crosby, Stills & Nash: Deja Vu all over again / Chuck Crisafulli -- Stephen Stills / Parke Puterbaugh -- Crosby plays his heart / Joel Selvin -- Talk Talk: Graham Nash / Bill DeYoung -- CSNY:Deja Vu all over again / Joel Selvin -- Four Play: Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young / Gary Graff -- Band of brothers / Gary Graff -- Deja Vu for CSNY. Neil Young leads veteran supergroup on hard-rocking tour heading for Bay area / Joel Selvin -- Looking forward: David Crosby muses on politics, life and music / Ian D'Giff
Social Network / Trent Reznor
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford / Nick Cave
Ghost Dog / RZA
Mark Mothersbaugh on scoring for Wes Anderson films
Listed below are notable collections and items from the Rock Hall's Archives. You can find more by searching our catalog here.
Absolute Beginners by 
Coal Miner's Daughter by 
Fast Times at Ridgemont High by 
The Graduate by 
Harold and Maude by 
Help! by 
King Creole by 
The Music Never Stopped by 
There's No Business Like Show Business by Rock Rock Rock! / Alan Freed
Jailhouse Rock / Baby I Don't Care / Elvis Presley
Beach Blanket Bingo / Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello
Rock 'n' Roll High School / The Ramones
This Is Spinal Tap / Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, Harry Shearer
The Breakfast Club / Don't You Forget About Me / Simple Minds
Reality Bites / My Sharona / The Knack
Pulp Fiction / You Never Can Tell / Chuck Berry
Almost Famous / Tiny Dancer / Elton John
The Life Aquatic / David Bowie covers / Seu Jorge
The Matrix / Spybreak! / Propellerheads
Magnolia / Wise Up / Aimee Mann
Perks of Being a Wallflower / Heroes / David Bowie
Quentin Tarantino
Jim Jarmusch
Anatomy of a Scene / Begin Again / John Carney
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