Led Zeppelin Goes to the Movies
Hello and welcome to Cinema Wellman! Today we’re going to take a look at Led Zeppelin songs that have been used in movies over the years.
We’ve talked about a movies’ score, or lack thereof, in previous episodes and today we’ll stick to music, but pivot to the soundtrack as opposed to the score.
Including a hit song in your film costs an amazing amount of money.
When Richard Linklater was making Dazed and Confused, he had a list of songs he wanted to include in the film. He took the list to the producers, and their response was, “We can’t afford these songs! You’ll have to do without them.”
Linklater realized how important this music was to his movie, so he used his director’s salary to pay for the songs, which gives you an idea how costly those songs really are.
And Dazed and Confused just isn’t Dazed and Confused without that soundtrack.
Thank you for paying for the tunes, Richard!
Another anecdote regarding paying for music in a film involves the Coen brothers and The Big Lebowski.
The Coen’s were in negotiations with an artist to use his song over the closing credits, so they brought the artist in for a screening.
When the scene in the cab in which the Dude professes his hatred for the Eagles, (“I fucking hate the Eagles, man!) the musician asked the Coens about the line.
“Is that going to be in the movie?”
“Yes, it is.”
“Then you can use my song for free!”
Lots of Eagles bashers out there, apparently.
These stories show how complicated a process using popular music in a soundtrack can be, and we all know how important that familiar music is to us.
For years, Led Zeppelin was famous for NEVER allowing any of their music to be used in commercials or movies. Something must have changed (THE MONEY?!?!?!”), and now they’re spread all over the place in all kinds of movies.
Today, we’ll look at 10 Led Zeppelin songs that have been used in movies over the years.
This list’s ranking has NOTHING to do with the movies in which they appear, although they will be mentioned. This list is all about the music.
Since it’s all about the music, that’s how the songs are ranked…in order of my preference.
I also want to add that I listened to this ten-song playlist many times to research this episode, but what I wrote about each song was written in the amount of time it took me to listen to the song.
Apologies in advance if some comments seem to end abruptly. I’m safe for quite a few songs, though. I love when they get long-winded.
After a brief rundown of these songs, I’d figure I’d also do a mini “Spoiler Alert” episode and “ruin” Led Zeppelin’s horrendous concert movie The Song Remains the Same while I’m here.
Two birds with one zeppelin.
Here we go…
#10) “Good Times, Bad Times”
from Led Zeppelin
featured in American Hustle, The Fighter, and The Adam Project
Wow. Cut 1 from Side One of their debut album. I should have known this but did not. I really don’t know much about music other than what I like.
This is actually a great place to start since this song highlights what each member of the band does best, and the spotlight is equally shared.
Songwriting credits for Plant, Jones, and Bonham. Compared to some of the other songs on this list, this is a relative shorty at only 2:43.
That’s a radio song!
“I don’t care what the neighbors say, I’m gonna love you each and every day.”
#9) “What is and What Should Never Be”
from Led Zeppelin II
featured in Silver Linings Playbook
Featured in that Philadelphia Eagles propaganda film Silver Linings Playbook, “What is and What Should Never Be” has a gentle, slow start until it kicks in. Quite typical for Zeppelin, whether they’re covering an old blues standard or playing one of their own pieces.
In the middle of this, they play with the sound moving from left to right, alternating speakers and creating a trippy little interlude. I loved when bands did that on albums. When listening on headphones it’s quite pleasing.
Parts of this are extremely quiet and mellow. That’s when Bonham enters the parlor.
Songwriting credits to Page and Plant. This is the 2nd cut on Side One of Led Zeppelin II.
“So, if you wake up with the sunshine and all your dreams are still as new and happiness is what you need so bad, girl, the answer lies with you.”
#8) “Dazed and Confused”
from Led Zeppelin
featured in The Song Remains the Same
John Paul Jones is underrated. The bass player, not the naval captain. He and drummer John Bonham provide the percussion that allows Page to solo and Plant to not pick up an instrument.
This has a very trippy, wandering middle section (this version is 22 minutes long!) that features a sweet Page solo.
More on this later since it was on the list because it was one of the songs in The Song Remains the Same. That version is even LONGER!
Songwriting credit to Jimmy Page. Even the album version has a sick Page solo. He did write it!
This song ends Side One of their debut album. Cascading everything in this one. I listened to all of my old vinyl while writing and I knew exactly where the pops were. Just like I did in 7th grade.
“Been dazed and confused for so long it’s not true - wanted a woman, never bargained for you.”
#7) “Ramble On”
from Led Zeppelin II
featured in Oblivion, Our Friend, and Uncharted
A very breezy beautiful opening before chaos ensues. Plant’s voice is definitely an extra instrument in this group. True front man in Plant.
Plant’s voice is magnificent, but I can do without him going note for note with Page’s guitar that they sometimes did in concerts. No. Just no. They share the songwriting credit on this one.
It does sneak in a little wizard stuff, but not too much.
I don’t think I’ve seen all of these films, so I can’t vouch for how the song is used in them.
“For now, I smell the rain - and with it pain - and it’s headed my way.”
#6) “In My Time of Dying”
from Physical Graffiti
featured in It Might Get Loud
Haunting before waking up with more thunderous drums from Bonham.
Jones and Bonham on this are amazing. This is the first song on this list where all four members share songwriting credit.
I tend to lean toward longer songs when it comes to Zeppelin, and this one is 11:08.
If you like music, you need to see the film that featured this song. Madness. Guitar Madness. See It Might Get Loud.
I obviously spent more time listening than writing. This is flat out amazing.
“Oh, it feels pretty good up here, pretty good up here.”
#5) “Achilles Last Stand”
from Presence
featured in Dogtown and Z-boys
This album is easily the most underrated Zeppelin album ever. This song, along with “Nobody’s Fault but Mine” are the tent posts for a very strong album that tends to get lost in the shuffle.
“Achilles Last Stand” was used perfectly in Stacy Peralta’s wonderful documentary from 2001 Dogtown and Z-boys, one of the best movies on this list.
I used this album as “make out music” in my dorm at BU.
Once. That happened once.
I remember it very well. I’m sure she’s forgotten it long ago.
“Achilles Last Stand” has a rolling pace to it that never seems to let up for the entire 10:28 runtime.
Page and Plant once again share songwriting credits.
“Slipping off a glancing kiss - To those who claim they know - Below the streets that steam and hiss - The devil’s in his hole.”
#4) “When the Levee Breaks”
from Led Zeppelin IV
featured in Argo and The Big Short
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention a phenomenal cover version of this song that you can watch on YouTube.
It’s a stunningly all-star group of musicians from around the world playing “together” but appearing in their geographical location. Indigenous and native peoples are well represented as artists from Norway, Nigeria, Congo, England, Argentina, New Zealand along with U.S. cities including Los Angeles and Austin. It’s impressive and moving. I just watched it again and teared up. It’s stunning.
It features John Paul Jones and some amazing artists you may not recognize. It’s well worth a look!
I love the use of the harmonica in this one, along with more thunder from Bonham.
Andrew always tells me that his “favorite” song by a band frequently changes. Ask me next Wednesday? This is #1.
Songwriting credit goes to Memphis Minnie and the individual members of Led Zeppelin according to an Interwebs peek.
“Cryin’ won’t help you, prayin’ won’t do you no good.’
That’s for sure.
#3) “Tangerine”
from Led Zeppelin III
featured in Almost Famous
There were more than 10 songs used in film and TV, and you can find the rest if you visit what-song.com which is an unbelievably comprehensive database that has everything you need if you want to know where your favorite artists’ music is playing.
I absolutely love the movie Almost Famous and Led Zeppelin is ALL OVER that movie, soundtrack (and script!).
This song is beautiful and melodic and it’s here to show that Led Zeppelin can be beautiful and melodic.
Solo songwriting credit to Jimmy Page.
“I was her love, she was my queen, and now a thousand years in between.”
#2) “Kashmir”
from Physical Graffiti
featured in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, and Ocean’s 12
Any song that’s a part of Fast Times at Ridgemont High has a special place in film/music history. It’s barely recognizable in Ocean’s 12. I’m shocked that Soderbergh paid for it. But in Fast Times, it’s part of a great story.
Damone is giving Rat dating advice before his big date with Stacy Hamilton (played by friend of Cinema Wellman, Jennifer Jason Leigh) and tells him that when he’s ready to make out, “Put on Side One of Led Zeppelin IV.”
Cut to the date and the song that plays is “Kashmir.” “Kashmir” is NOT the song that’s on Side One of Led Zeppelin IV. The song that’s on Side One of Led Zeppelin IV is actually the song “Black Dog.” “Black Dog” is NOT make out music! Trust me. Been there.
Turns out that the deal the filmmakers made with Zeppelin insisted that they use a song from the Physical Graffiti. Film and music fans have been laughing about this mix-up for years. I remember the first time I saw the movie. My first thought was, “Kashmir isn’t on Led Zeppelin IV.”
Great movie, nonetheless. And a great song.
It’s an epic (8:37) musical journey with a Middle Eastern vibe and plenty of Bonzo’s drum work.
Songwriting credit to Jimmy Page and Robert Plant with contributions from John Bonham.
“Oh, let the sun beat down upon my face - And stars fill my dream - I’m a traveler of both time and space - To be where I have been.”
#1) “Immigrant Song”
from Led Zeppelin III
featured in School of Rock, Thor: Ragnarok, Shrek the Third, and Soldier
Next time you hear this song, pay close attention to the bass work by John Paul Jones. You’ll see what I mean when I say he’s underrated.
Of the movies it has appeared in, the best use was in School of Rock. That movie is one of the reasons I’m doing a “School Movies” episode next season. Yes, parts of next season are already planned.
This song has a personal connection to me because of a college friend and his band back in my Boston days.
Since the start of this song is so unique and iconic, Tim Gillis (a Boston College friend) had a band that would play the first few chords before kicking into whatever song they were really going to play. If we shouted, “IMMIGRANT SONG!” Tim would play it! We loved it!
Songwriting credit to Jimmy Page and Robert Plant. Credit for etching this song in my musical brain to Tim Gillis and Miles Death Muffin, or whatever they were called at the time.
“We come from the land of the ice and snow - From the midnight sun where the hot springs flow - The hammer of the gods - Will drive our ships to new lands - To fight the horde, sing and cry - Valhalla, I am coming.”
Witness me? I guess?
Okay, so that’s the Top 10 Led Zeppelin songs that have appeared in movies according to Cinema Wellman, but we’re not done yet.
I promised you a “Spoiler Alert” episode, and you shall have it!
I’m about to “ruin” the 1976 music “documentary” that Led Zeppelin financed themselves titled The Song Remains the Same.
Full disclosure, par for the Cinema Wellman course, I despise this movie. I love Led Zeppelin, I love their music, and yet I hate this mess. It has a bomb emoji attached to it in the database that will not be removed.
Of course, I had to watch it again, and I’m about to transcribe my actual notes I scrawled during last night’s screening. Cannabis was involved, but there will be no editing of what was originally written. If that strategy worked for Led Zeppelin in 1976 while making this movie, it works for Cinema Wellman in 2023.
Here we go…a geezer’s live stream of The Song Remains the Same:
*You know we were doomed when we opened with an idiotic gangster sequence - there’s a WEREWOLF in it!? A head is shot off and the blood is technicolor.
*The movie hasn’t started.
*Dove flying - opening credits - NYC - What?!
*Another dove - more gangsters - START PLAYING!!!!
*There’s a bike riding scene - and John Bonham riding a tractor!
*We have Robert Plant (looking EXACTLY like Kate Hudson in Almost Famous) walking through an idyllic field with two small children. It’s actually beautiful, but isn’t this a concert movie? When will it start concerting?
*We have motor cars, John Paul Jones reading to his kids at bedtime, a duck on a pond, Jimmy Page with monster eyes…we have STEW!!! START PLAYING!!!
*Tour begins. If they’re playing Madison Square Garden, why are they landing in Pittsburgh? That’s a brutal limo drive from there.
*It takes this movie a full 12 minutes to start Led Zeppelining!
*I adore the song “No Quarter.” Someone should use that in a movie.
*Then we get John Paul Jones playing the organ in a gothic mansion while a woman gets chased by horses.
*The concert footage is tremendous. The rest of this fluff is terrible. I read that Bonham laughed out loud when he saw Page’s fantasy sequence at a screening.
*Why do we need to see Plant as some kind of explorer during Medieval times? There’s a swordfight! He has a falcon! He has a fucking falcon. This is ponderously pretentious.
*”Dazed and Confused” is 28 MINUTES LONG! Put away the bow, Jimmy!
*I knew there’d be a wizard. Additional Spoiler Alert: the wizard is Jimmy.
*Why was there footage of security roughing up fans? There was also an asshole cop on horseback outside who kept answering “No comment” every time he was asked a question by the filmmakers.
* Great scene features two NYPD cops answering the door in the bowels of the Garden. It’s two kids trying to get in without tickets. They ask the kids why they think they should let them in. After they explain, the cops let them in. One of the cops looks at the camera and shrugs and says, “It’s all fun, right?!” Fantastic! No notes!
*Plant, Page, and Bonham all wore the same outfits for all three nights this show was filmed. They did this for editing continuity. Unfortunately, nobody told John Paul Jones who wore three different outfits and seemed to magically change during songs. One of his outfits looked like drapes with tassels!
*There is SO MUCH Spinal Tap in this movie!
*I’ve listened to “Stairway to Heaven” more times in the last two weeks than I have in the last 20 years. It’s actually an excellent song. So is “Seven Nation Army,” for what it’s worth.
*After the 28-minute version of “Dazed and Confused” comes a 10 and a half minute “Stairway to Heaven” and a 10 and a half minute “Moby Dick!” That’s 35% of the entire movie in three songs.
*”Does anybody remember laughter?” Hysterical.
*I love watching Plant, Page, and Jones walk off the stage during the drum solo of “Moby Dick.” That always makes me smile. They’d actually go backstage. Get a smoke or drink, Plant a lozenge for his throat. Great stuff.
*”Moby Dick” is also intercut with footage of Bonzo racing an awful lot of vehicles.
*”Heartbreaker” is intercut with footage of NYC which is wonderful until they add footage about them being robbed at their hotel. That’s why this movie is two hours and seventeen minutes long. That and the bike ride and the stew and the…
*There are six songs on the album that aren’t in the movie. Yet the album’s length is 2:11 and the movie is 2:17. That’s a lot of time for wizards and unicorns.
*I think I saw a unicorn, but there was some haze in the cinema at the time.
Well, that’s a wrap for “Led Zeppelin Goes to the Movies!” If you’d like to listen to these 10 Zeppelin songs from films, here's the Spotify link:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2tI1gGzNga9zVmhxu9m6ys?si=e062b560a7d74fac
We hope you join us again next week as the month comes to an end and we take a look at the Best & Worst of August’s Screenings right here at Cinema Wellman.
Until then, take care.
