The 10 best musical moments in Edgar Wright movies, from Shaun to Soho

Of all the groovy ear worms in Hot Fuzz, Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, and Baby Driver, which are the best?

By Vikram Murthi | October 29, 2021 | 11:00am

Film Features Edgar Wright

The 10 best musical moments in Edgar Wright movies, from Shaun to Soho

From left: Baby Driver (Screenshot), The World’s End (Screenshot), Last Night In Soho (Photo: Focus Features), Shaun Of The Dead (Screenshot), Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World (Screenshot) Graphic: The A.V. Club

There’s an argument to be made that Edgar Wright has been doing stealth musicals his entire career. His Cornetto trilogy—Shaun Of The Dead, Hot Fuzz, and The World’s End—feature Simon Pegg and Nick Frost battling hordes of zombies, brainwashed countryfolk, and robots, but many of their fight scenes are choreographed to music that’s seemingly hand-picked from Wright’s record collection. On the other hand, two of his other features, Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World and Baby Driver, feature lengthy musical sequences that might as well be literal song-and-dance numbers. While the characters in Scott Pilgrim move through the insular Toronto indie rock scene, Baby Driver takes the concept of “a soundtrack” to its logical conclusion by editing almost all of its action in time with a highly curated mixtape.

A true-blue music obsessive, Wright lends each of his films their own mood by instilling them with songs that reflect or comment upon their environments. His latest film, Last Night In Soho, is no different: Wright transports us to 1960s London by luxuriating in the glamor, clothes, and, yes, music of the setting, except that the nostalgia trip quickly curdles into something darker. Just in time for Last Night In Soho’s Halloween release, The A.V. Club has ranked the 10 best musical moments of Wright’s feature film career. Disagree with our picks? Sound off with our mixtape ranking in the comments.

10. “Village Green Preservation Society”

There’s an argument to be made that Edgar Wright has been doing stealth musicals his entire career. His Cornetto trilogy—, , and —feature Simon Pegg and Nick Frost battling hordes of zombies, brainwashed countryfolk, and robots, but many of their fight scenes are choreographed to music that’s seemingly hand-picked from Wright’s record collection. On the other hand, two of his other features, and , feature lengthy musical sequences that might as well be literal song-and-dance numbers. While the characters in Scott Pilgrim move through the insular Toronto indie rock scene, Baby Driver takes the concept of “a soundtrack” to its logical conclusion by editing almost all of its action in time with a highly curated mixtape.A true-blue music obsessive, Wright lends each of his films their own mood by instilling them with songs that reflect or comment upon their environments. His latest film, , is no different: Wright transports us to 1960s London by luxuriating in the glamor, clothes, and, yes, music of the setting, except that the nostalgia trip quickly curdles into something darker. Just in time for Last Night In Soho’s Halloween release, The A.V. Club has ranked the 10 best musical moments of Wright’s feature film career. Disagree with our picks? Sound off with our mixtape ranking in the comments.

10. “Village Green Preservation Society,” Hot Fuzz

“Village Green Preservation Society,” the title track off The Kinks’ eponymous landmark album, is a cheeky ode to “the good ol’ days” of British culture, including traditional cuisine, draught beer, and yes, village greens. Songwriter Ray Davies swears the song is merely nostalgic rather than explicitly right-wing, but either way, it’s a perfect track to soundtrack the introduction of the rural Sandford of Hot Fuzz. As Sgt. Nicholas Angel (Simon Pegg) runs through the town to the song’s bouncy, plunking guitar, the locals cheerfully greet him one by one, the relocated policeman looking on in confusion. He’ll later discover a conspiracy within the town elites to murder anyone who threatens their village’s image, lest they lose the coveted Village Of The Year prize, taking the Kinks’ message of traditionalism to unfortunate extremes.

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9. “White Lines,” Shaun Of The Dead

Few things are more fun than having a few too many with a buddy and launching into an impromptu duet. Ed (Nick Frost) takes Shaun (Simon Pegg) out to their local watering hole after Liz (Kate Ashfield) dumps the latter earlier that day. As the two leave the pub, they burst out into a goofy rendition of Melle Mel’s “White Lines,” and they’re so committed to the routine that they fail to recognize the supernatural threat growing around them. Even locking eyes with a member of the undead doesn’t kill their vibe: Rather than run (again, they’re too pissed to realize he’s a zombie), they initiate a call-and-response where they vocalize the bass line and he groans back. He should say, ‘Bass!’” Shaun grumbles. “Or ‘Freeze,’” Ed responds. It leaves no doubt as to where the two’s priorities lie, even at the onset of the proverbial zombie apocalypse.

8. “Never, Never Gonna Give You Up,” Baby Driver

Like any expertly curated mixtape, Baby Driver’s soundtrack balances songs with different moods and tones: propulsive bangers, meditative instrumentals, and swoon-worthy ballads. Barry White’s love song “Never, Never Gonna Give You Up” makes a late appearance in the film when Baby (Ansel Elgort) goes to pick up his soulmate Debora (Lily James) from the diner where she works. Unfortunately, a vengeful Buddy (Jon Hamm) is lying in wait, ready to exact revenge against his former crewmate for the death of his own girlfriend. Suddenly, Barry White’s sultry vocals and Gene Page’s groovy arrangements adopt a menacing tone as the lyrics reflect Baby’s love for Debora and Buddy’s desire to snuff them out. The moment when Hamm swipes one of Baby’s ear buds and sings along to the track is an ominous highlight.

7. “Black Sheep,” Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World

In Scott Pilgrim, the title character’s ex-girlfriend, Envy (Brie Larson), fronts a hip band called The Clash At Demonhead. They’re clearly modeled on Canadian indie-rock group Metric, with Larson aping the look and vocal stylings of lead singer Emily Haines. From the minute she takes the stage, the actor does a phenomenal job of communicating the performatively sultry confidence of the girl next door trying to play rock star. The film only features a minute of the song (hear the full version ), but it’s enough to sell the group as a force of nature, particularly to the wannabe garage punks of Sex Bob-Omb—even if the onscreen band has been conceived as a caricature of the real article.

6. “Loaded,” The World’s End

“That’s what we’re gonna do. We’re gonna have a good time. We’re gonna have a party!” Peter Fonda delivered those iconic words in Roger Corman’s The Wild Angels, but they’re likely better known as the chill-inducing introduction to Primal Scream’s acid house classic “Loaded,” a groovy tribute to getting high and having fun on the dance floor. The song takes on a sinister new edge over the opening credits of The World’s End, because it captures the self-destructive mindset of fortysomething alcoholic Gary King (Simon Pegg). The credits montage showcases his estranged boyhood pals, all of whom have comfortably settled into adult life. But Gary is about to reenter their lives and change them forever. Because he wants to, well, get loaded and reconnect with his drinking buddies, all of whom are much better off without him.

5. “Land of 1000 Dances,” Last Night In Soho

Anya Taylor-Joy has had a few “movie star” moments over the course of her short career, but Last Night In Soho is the first movie to deliver a full string of them, one after the other. The best are the musical sequences. While the film’s big early dance number will receive plenty of acclaim, the moment that really steals the show is the one that arrives mid-film, after Taylor-Joy’s Sandie—the glamorous wannabe ’60s singer who lives in the dreams of young Eloise (Thomasin McKenzie)—has lost her innocence. Set to the Walker Brothers’ “Land Of 1000 Dances,” the scene finds Sandie passed around by men in a club as she desperately drinks the night away, changing her name whenever she’s prompted. The song literally references many popular dance routines, metaphorically commenting upon Sandy’s dances with danger, but it also subtly hints at how quickly time slips away while you futilely wait for something greater to come along. As the scene turns twisted and surreal, it becomes harder and harder to believe in that possibility of deliverance.

4. Sex Bob-Omb vs. Katayanagi Twins, Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World

Scott Pilgrim’s musical bona fides are numerous. Longtime Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich composed the score, Beck devised the music for our hero’s band Sex Bob-Omb, and other Canadian indie rockers (including members of Sloan and Broken Social Scene) contributed their talents to the music of the fictional Toronto bands seen throughout. The film’s best music sequence, however, involves Japanese experimental pop artist Cornelius, who created the music of the Katayanagi Twins, an electronic duo whose two members happened to both date Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), the love interest of Scott Pilgrim. Sex Bob-Omb and the Katayanagi Twins face off in the Battle Of The Bands, which doubles for a battle for Ramona’s heart, and the walls of their respective noise eventually take on dueling avatars (a gorilla versus twin snakes). It’s assaultive and triumphant.

3. “20 Seconds To Comply,” The World’s End

The most accomplished fight scene in Wright’s career juggles multiple different skirmishes across a confined space as Gary King’s crew takes on a swarm of androids in a hometown pub. Andy (Nick Frost) takes out his stewing resentment on every robot that crosses his path, Steven (Paddy Considine) and Sam (Rosamund Pike) keep each other safe, Peter (Eddie Marsan) hides from the brawl, and Gary just wants to finish his pint but keeps getting pulled into battle. It’s perfectly chaotic, and Wright deserves credit for keeping the sequence thrilling and spatially coherent—but also for setting it to Silver Bullet’s “20 Seconds To Comply,” a 1989 hip-hop classic whose aggressive style proved influential across multiple U.K. music scenes. The rapper’s hyper-fast delivery and the song’s breakbeat production prove the perfect soundtrack to Gary becoming his own version of the Drunken Master.

2. “Bellbottoms,” Baby Driver

No matter how great the song, there’s an unabashed dorkiness to loudly “rocking out” alone in your car. You might think you look cool, but if anyone was to catch a glimpse of you, the embarrassment would be overwhelming. Baby Driver channels this idea into its opening scene, in which Baby (Ansel Elgort) goes all out listening to “Bellbottoms” by The Jon Spencer Blue Explosion, furiously singing along and miming every instrument. The difference between him and a working stiff in traffic is that he’s waiting for a robbery crew to exit a bank so he can whisk them away from the cops. As soon as Baby takes off, Wright imbues the car chase with clever humor and a frenetic energy that engages the entire frame, with every move Baby makes edited in time to Jon Spencer’s bluesy track. In short, it kicks the movie off with a bang.

1. “Don’t Stop Me Now,” Shaun Of The Dead

Anyone who watched Spaced, Edgar Wright’s cult sitcom, already knew he was interested in bravado musical sequences. But this Shaun Of The Dead scene was the first time that international audiences caught wind of his abilities. Just as Shaun (Simon Pegg) and his misfit pals realize that their beloved bar, the Winchester, has been surrounded by the undead, they also discover that they forgot to account for the pub’s beloved bartender, John, who wants to feast on them. Suddenly, the jukebox randomly starts playing Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now” and everyone springs into action, beating John with pool cues to the beat of the song, and later, switching the fuses on and off in time. It’s a fun sequence that neither skimps on the violence or the chaos. Plus, it features one of Wright’s very best wordplay gags: “Kill the Queen.” “What?” “The jukebox!”