10 songs from 1996 movies you never want to hear again
Nothing has aged worse in terms of 1996 movies than the music.
The films have generally aged quite well, and a majority of them wouldn’t have any issues connecting with audiences today, partially because of how much direct inspiration has been taken from those 30-year-old releases. Scream has six sequels now, Fargo was turned into an acclaimed FX television show, Mission: Impossible became one of Hollywood’s greatest franchises, Trainspotting became a classic for Gen X, and Independence Day created a formula for summer blockbusters that studios have been ripping off ever since.
In many ways, this was the last era in which filmmakers felt comfortable setting their films in the present, as today it’s hard to tell ‘current’ stories that aren’t ruined by cell phones and the internet, one way or another. The one consequence of setting a film in the present is that it encapsulates the popular culture of the moment of its release. While this can often be instructive in helping films feel like time capsules, it can lead to some cheesy and outdated components, often most evident in the original movie soundtrack.
1996 was a year of great original scores, such as Rachel Portman’s vivacious music for Emma, Gabriel Yared’s sweeping score for The English Patient, and John Williams’ underrated theme for Sleepers. Although this was the same year as Tom Hanks’ musical comedy That Thing You Do!, which told a story that was entirely centred around a ‘one hit wonder’ band, the other original songs from 1996 films haven’t earned the same acclaim.
10 songs from 1996 movies that need to be deleted
Van Halen – ‘Humans Being’
Movie: Twister (Jan de Bont)
Van Halen actually composed several tracks for the score in Twister, the hit disaster film that became one of the year’s biggest hits. It is a fun film that thankfully doesn’t take itself too seriously, but the inclusion of Van Halen’s ‘Humans Being’ sets the film off on an awkward first note and doesn’t convey the suspense needed for what is otherwise an action-packed thriller.
That the song was the last to feature singer Sammy Hagar before his departure from the band later the same year would suggest that it was something special, but Van Halen would’ve been a much better choice for one of the year’s weirder spectacle films, such as Broken Arrow or Mars Attacks! Unsurprisingly, there were no references or homages to Van Halen’s work on the original film in Twisters, the soft reboot from 2024 that starred Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones.
Joe – ‘All the Things (Your Man Won’t Do)’
Movie: Don’t Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood (Paris Barclay)
The film was an elaborate parody from the Wayans brothers, in which they spoofed ‘90s ‘hood movies’, such as Menace II Society, Boyz n the Hood, and Juice, but unfortunately, they didn’t follow the same rule of parody that made Mel Brooks’ films so great. Brooks understood that the dedication had to match that of the original films being spoofed, which is why he poured so much meticulous detail into classics like Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein.
The Wayans didn’t show nearly as much enthusiasm for Don’t Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood because they seemingly had no respect for the hood films that they were parodying, all of which had memorable soundtracks. This might explain why ‘All the Things (Your Man Won’t Do)’, a completely forgettable R&B single, made its way onto the soundtrack.
Barbra Streisand – ‘I Finally Found Someone’
Movie: The Mirror Has Two Faces (Barbra Streisand)
Barbra Streisand developed a reputation for making no compromises on any of the films that she directed, which is why all of them feel like self-indulgent fantasies in which she plays perfect characters. Among the many issues with The Mirror Has Two Faces is that Streisand miscasts herself in the role of a beautiful yet self-conscious professor, which results in a romantic comedy that is well over two hours long.
There’s so much padding and filler in The Mirror Has Two Faces that the film definitely didn’t need an overlong power ballad inserted into the middle of the story, especially given how laughable most of the ‘sincere’ dramatic moments are. Streisand and Bryan Adams are two musicians who have never learned to edit themselves, and they joined forces with the single ‘I Finally Found Someone’ to make a song of unbearable length and cloying sentimentality.
Madonna: ‘The Lady’s Got Potential’
Movie: Evita (Alan Parker)
Madonna received both praise and criticism when she took on the lead role in the adaptation of the Broadway hit Evita. While her singing capabilities were obviously excellent, her acting skills hadn’t improved in the slightest. The original song ‘You Must Love Me’ was written specifically for the film adaptation and works quite well, but there is also a remix of the original show’s memorable number ‘The Lady’s Got Potential’ that is edited to include more expositional dialogue.
It’s an awkward new take on the song that makes clear what the storytelling issues with the film are, given that a lot of the narrative’s inherent power comes from being seen live on the stage. It also saddles Madonna with more instances in which she has to depict emotions in the midst of singing, which has never been her strong suit.
Quad City DJ’s – ‘Space Jam’
Movie: Space Jam (Joe Pytka)
Looney Tunes was a failing brand that needed a revitalisation in order to ensure that merchandise sales could be consistent throughout the rest of the decade, which is why Space Jam was a brilliant marketing move that capitalised on the success of Michael Jordan and the NBA. The issue is that Space Jam introduced an entire generation of kids to an iteration of the characters that were designed to be as commercially appealing as possible, and lacked the rambunctious energy that had made the classic shorts so iconic in the world of animation.
Beyond the fact that the title song in Space Jam is terrible and representative of a regrettable moment in mainstream hip hop, it became the unofficial theme for the Looney Tunes moving forward, also inspiring a remix in the sequel Space Jam: A New Legacy that is completely unforgivable.
Randy Newman, Paul Terry – ‘My Name Is James’
Movie: James and the Giant Peach (Henry Selick)
Randy Newman somehow turned from a radical protest artist of the ‘70s to a favourite among kids thanks to ‘You’ve Got a Friend In Me’ from Toy Story in 1995, which became one of the decade’s biggest hits. Newman was only partially able to recreate the same magic the following year when Henry Selick enlisted his help for James and the Giant Peach, a live-action/animated hybrid film adapted from the popular children’s novel of the same name by Roald Dahl.
While the singer received an Academy Award nomination for his score, the songs themselves in the film are lacking, and the live-action segments are particularly weak. ‘My Name is James’ is not only a derivative and annoying song, but a showcase for the fairly obnoxious child actor Paul Terry, who couldn’t hit the notes.
Nellee Hooper and Marius de Vries – ‘#1 Crush’ (remix)
Movie: Romeo + Juliet (Baz Luhrmann)
Baz Luhrmann made a bold choice with the soundtrack for his adaptation of Romeo + Juliet by including modern songs in order to reflect the contemporary setting. Although it’s mostly successful, the film makes the strange choice to include a remix of Garbage’s “#1 Crush” by Nellee Hooper and Marius de Vries in the opening scene. Garbage’s original version was already a recent hit, and the remix added strange samples, synth elements, and a reworked percussive backdrop that just doesn’t work.
Given that nearly all of the other songs from the film weren’t tampered with, it doesn’t make sense why Luhrmann felt the need to include a remix, since Garbage was only rising in popularity (and would go on to do the theme for the James Bond film The World Is Not Enough three years later). It is one of Luhrmann’s very few musical miscalculations in an otherwise perfect soundtrack.
Jerry Cantrell – ‘Leave Me Alone’
Movie: The Cable Guy (Ben Stiller)
The Cable Guy is a deeply strange film that audiences might not have been prepared for in 1996, as it came only two years after Jim Carrey had starred in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, The Mask, and Dumb & Dumber within a 12-month period. Ben Stiller, a much more experimental filmmaker than he has ever been credited for, created a disturbing psychological dark comedy in which Carrey played an unhinged sociopath, aeons away from what he became famous for.
Stiller smartly built an atmosphere of paranoia, but the use of Jerry Cantrell’s ‘Leave Me Alone’ was too overt a tonal clash that didn’t fit within the hypnotic rhythms of the film, and it’s among the reasons that The Cable Guy was initially so polarising, and it took the success of Zoolander and Tropic Thunder for Stiller to be recognised for his skills as a director.
Shirley Walker – ‘Escape from Happy Kingdom’
Movie: Escape From LA (John Carpenter)
John Carpenter had many difficulties making his long-anticipated sequel to Escape From New York, as funding was cut amidst filming, and several edits were made by the studio. Although Carpenter is known for writing his own music for the films he directs, Escape From LA saw him join forces with composer Shirley Walker, leading to a disjointed and awkward soundtrack.
The film’s finale action set in the remnants of Disneyland is already pretty disappointing, considering that Carpenter wasn’t able to make the visual effects look good, but the instrumental theme from Walker is an uneven blend of the bland score, notes from Carpenter’s theme from Escape From New York, and more whimsical interludes meant to evoke the connection to Magic Kingdom. It’s further proof that Carpenter is at his best when he saves most of the responsibilities for himself.
Tito & Tarantula – ‘Angry Cockroaches (Cucarachas Enojadas)’
Movie: From Dusk Till Dawn (Robert Rodriguez)
Robert Rodriguez pulled one of cinema’s greatest bait-and-switches in From Dusk Till Dawn when the neo-western thriller turns into a vampire horror flick after the brothers Seth, played by George Clooney, and Richie Gecko, played by Quentin Tarantino, encounter the bloodsuckers at a bar in Mexico. As was the case with many of Rodriguez’s early films, From Dusk Till Dawn was exciting because the filmmaker drew from what he knew and created a soundtrack representative of the Texas blues music he had grown up listening to in San Antonio.
The only misstep in the soundtrack is the cheeky inclusion of the Chicano band Tito & Tarantula, who appear as themselves in the bar. Although their song ‘After Dark’ became an iconic track that served as the unofficial theme for the entire franchise, the other single, ‘Angry Cockroaches’ leaves something to be desired.
