RANDALL POSTER

Notable Credits: Kids, Rushmore, School of Rock, The Hangover, Boardwalk Empire, Spring Breakers, The Wolf of Wall Street, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Joker

Favourite Drop: “Starálfur,” Sigur Rós (The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou) https://youtube.com/watch?v=IPMf8G8Pi5o

Perhaps the most prominent name on this list, boasting thousands of credits that span film, television, and advertisements, Randall Poster has been responsible for some of the most iconic needle drops in pop culture history, counting filmmakers like Martin Scorsese, Harmony Korine, Richard Linklater, Todd Haynes, and Todd Phillips among some of his most frequent collaborators. He’s even won a Grammy for his efforts, specifically for his work on the HBO series Boardwalk Empire. Amongst those accomplishments, however, it’s his working relationship with director Wes Anderson that has stood the test of time. Poster has sourced music for nearly all his films, starting with Rushmore, and continuing into The Royal Tenenbaums, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Moonrise Kingdom, The Grand Budapest Hotel, and Asteroid City. To pick a favourite drop would be difficult, but The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (still Anderson’s most polarizing film) holds a special place in my heart for its underrated use of Sigur Rós’ “Starálfur,” which scores the moment the title character goes through the final stage of grief: acceptance. It’s a great example of not only the heart that lies beneath Anderson’s signature quirk, but most importantly, how Poster meets him there.

ALEXANDRA PATSAVAS

Notable Credits: The O.C., Grey’s Anatomy, Gossip Girl, Mad Men, Twilight, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, CODA

Favourite Drop: “Hide and Seek,” Imogen Heap (The O.C.)

https://youtu.be/LQBxK1XMpCs?si=7eSAaNv5jCxgequt

There was a time when Alexandra Patsavas was considered the most famous music supervisor in the game, and that’s for good reason. Whenever she handled soundtrack work on a project, it was usually a mark of quality, as her ever-growing CV includes shows like The O.C. (which started working relationships with showrunners Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage), Grey’s Anatomy (which similarly started a working relationship with Shonda Rhimes), Gossip Girl, and Mad Men, not to mention films such as the Twilight franchise, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and Academy Award-winning Best Picture CODA. It’s her work on The O.C. (one of my favourite shows, I should add), in particular, that made her name stay with me because of the many indie artists it exposed me to, including Death Cab for Cutie, The Walkmen, and Modest Mouse, but also how expertly she used even the best-known artists (Will Smith, Coldplay, Beastie Boys, and Beck, among others). Of all the drops Patsavas provided for the show, though, nothing beats her use of Imogen Heap’s “Hide and Seek,” featured twice in the second season finale but most memorably placed in its devastating cliffhanger, a moment so famous that it launched several parodies and memes (arguably started by the Saturday Night Live digital short “Dear Sister,” iconic in its own right).

LUCY BRIGHT

Notable Credits: Aftersun, Tár, The Iron Claw

Favourite Drop: “Under Pressure,” Queen & David Bowie (Aftersun) https://youtube.com/watch?v=912Ntw7oYOg

When compared to some of the other people on this list, Lucy Bright may strike some as a fresh face. However, she has been working as a music supervisor for more than 15 years, with some of her most notable credits including Sean Durkin’s The Iron Claw (which has one of the best uses of Rush’s “Tom Sawyer” in recent memory), Lynne Ramsay’s short film Swimmer, and most recently, Blumhouse’s Speak No Evil remake). I came to know her name through two of my favourite films of 2022: Charlotte Wells’ Aftersun and Todd Field’s Tár, both awards darlings that were music-driven in their own ways. Her work on the former film particularly sticks in my mind since the song selections perfectly match its 1999 setting. Tracks such as Bran Van 3000’s “Drinking in L.A.” (a personal favourite), Chumbawamba’s “Tubthumping,” and R.E.M.’s “Losing My Religion” float over the scenes they’re placed in, steeping the audience into the time effectively. But if we’re talking favourite drops, nothing trumps the use of the Queen & David Bowie classic “Under Pressure,” where a unique crossover between soundtrack and score (provided by experimental composer Oliver Coates) occurs. Arguably one of the most overused songs in media (and an expensive one for a film of Aftersun’s size), it manages to change the way you think about that song in a big way. My jaw was on the floor the first time I saw it, and every time I think back to that moment, that feeling remains.

SUSAN JACOBS

Notable Credits: Unbreakable, Little Miss Sunshine, American Hustle, Big Little Lies, Sharp Objects, Promising Young Woman, Trap

Favourite Drop: “Come Down,” Sylvan Esso/“Tumbling Lights,” The Acid. (Sharp Objects) https://youtube.com/watch?v=GMi11rurhcQ

Much like some of the other music supervisors on this list, Susan Jacobs has built a considerable reputation in the 30+ years she has been working, forming relationships with filmmakers like M. Night Shyamalan, David O. Russell, Bennett Miller, and Craig Gillespie in the process. Of all those collaborations, my favourite lies with her work alongside the late, great filmmaker Jean-Marc Vallée, who throughout his filmography, deeply understood the role music plays in our lives, especially when interwoven with memory. Together, they curated the soundtracks for his films Wild and Demolition, as well as his two HBO miniseries, Big Little Lies (which would win Jacobs the first-ever Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Supervision) and Sharp Objects. Her work on the latter is especially impressive considering she was able to secure the rights to four Led Zeppelin tunes, a massive achievement given how expensive it is to license their music and how difficult it is to get the band’s permission. However, I think a better example of how well the two worked together came in Objects’ opening scene, a flashback that slowly becomes a nightmare, soundtracked by Sylvan Esso’s “Come Down” before drifting into the ambient chimes of The Acid’s “Tumbling Lights.” It perfectly sets the tone for the dark and twisted story that is to come.

MARY RAMOS

Notable Credits: Pulp Fiction, Reality Bites, Jackie Brown, Kill Bill: Vol. 1 & 2, Inglourious Basterds, Django Unchained, Wish I Was Here, Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood

Favourite Drop: “Cat People (Putting Out Fire),” David Bowie (Inglourious Basterds)

https://youtu.be/TzkW-380ESI?si=Yy2XBRBBwYzPBBIn

If you ask the average film fan what their favourite needle drop in a movie is, chances are they would mention a Quentin Tarantino film. It’s really not hard to figure out why, as the celebrated auteur has demonstrated his eclectic taste in music throughout his entire filmography. He’s also famously specific about which songs go with which scene, from Stealers Wheel’s “Stuck in the Middle with You” scoring the infamous ear-cutting scene in Reservoir Dogs, to The Rolling Stones’ “Out of Time” signifying the end of Old Hollywood in Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood. Mary Ramos is the reason many of those songs are part of the final product, having been in the role of music supervisor for nearly all his films since Pulp Fiction (though, her relationship with Tarantino actually dates back to Dogs, where she assisted that film’s music supervisor as a coordinator). Of course, she has many credits outside of Tarantino, from Ben Stiller’s directorial debut Reality Bites (which had a popular soundtrack all its own), to the Adam Sandler vehicle Happy Gilmore, to 2015’s Best Picture-winning Spotlight (which continued a working relationship with director Tom McCarthy). However, her work with Tarantino has simply yielded so many iconic music moments, and if I had to pick a favourite, Inglourious Basterds’ use of David Bowie’s “Cat People (Putting Out Fire)” is a personal standout. Originally composed for Paul Schrader’s 1982 remake of the same name, Tarantino and Ramos use it to open the film’s third act, where Mélanie Laurent’s character sets up her explosive revenge against the Nazis responsible for killing her family. By soundtracking a moment featuring a woman regaining her sense of agency in the face of adversity, it brings more power to the lyric “putting out fire with gasoline.”