The Essentials: Fictional Bands from the Action World
Action movies and music are two things that go together like spaghetti and meatballs. There are so many amazing soundtracks out there that I’m not even gonna list them here. What I’ll do, instead, is to plop down a few of my favorite fictional bands from movies going back to the early 80’s. While compiling this list I discovered there were way more than I ever imagined. And to think this all started because I was listening to the Over the Top soundtrack on repeat this afternoon…
Green Room: The Ain’t Rights
Playing for a room full of racist assholes isn’t easy. It’s made even more difficult when you witness something that you’re not supposed to see and end up running for your lives. Anton Yelchin tragically died shortly after filming the movie so this movie gets a special mention for being his last and being a kickass film.
The Crow: Hangman’s Joke
Eric Draven’s band never had a chance to make it big. He ended up dead on Devil’s Night and returned just long enough to off the guys who performed the evil deed and then followed his beloved to the afterlife. You might remember their almost-hit ‘Can’t rain all the time’. He played a mean guitar and lived in a city with a pretty popular metal scene.
Star Wars: Figrin D’an and the Modal Nodes
I don’t know why we know who these guys are except for the fact that Star Wars nerds mark out to the extreme for extended universes only to see them get eliminated by Disney. They jam out a little at the Mos Eisley Cantina before Obi-Wan sliced that one guy’s arm off and ruined the party for everyone. I’m sure D’an had some crazy backstory that I’ll never see but they have earned their spot on this list just for getting their names listed among that vast Wookie-pedia.
Streets of Fire: Ellen Aim and the Attackers
This is probably my favorite band among all the fictional bands from action movies. I know, those are high praises but any band that is led by the unbelievable Diane Lane gets two thumbs up from me. Two of the songs from Streets of Fire still get views from me on YouTube and if you haven’t yet seen the film I implore you to watch it now.
Miami Connection: Dragon Sound
Dragon Sound has to be Orlando’s best house band. Yes, that’s right. Even though the movie has Miami in the title, most of the action takes place in Orlando, Florida. I’ll let that slide, though, because they end up fighting a bunch of ninjas and the movie jumps back and forth between cool, groovy sound and ninja action. Two of my favorite things!
The Fifth Element: Diva Plavalaguna
Luc Besson has made some solid action movies over the years and The Fifth Element may be his most well liked. Yeah, he rips off John Carpenter from time to time but, to be honest, who hasn’t? The party featuring the very alien Diva Plavalaguna gets ruined by the super evil Gary Oldman but not before she belts out some remarkable operatic tunes.
Airheads: The Lone Rangers
Brendan Fraser and Company hold a radio station hostage with a fake gun in order to get their song played on air. The movie is loaded with amazing comedians from the 80’s and 90’s and I’m only including it on this list because of the shootout that happens and the fact that The Lone Rangers end up playing a live show in prison ala Johnny Cash.
Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey: The Wyld Stallyns
While they weren’t getting into shootouts like John McClane, they did face off against the Grim Reaper and eventually built a pair of robots who would essentially save the universe from and group of evil dudes. They also grew some wickedly long facial hair and rocked out so hard that the entire world turned into a bunch of peace-loving guys like George Carlin.
Roadhouse: Cody
Musician Jeff Healey plays the lead singer and guitarist of the house band at the Double Deuce. While Patrick Swayze was out ripping people’s throats out and plowing hot blonde chicks Jeff was making some bluesy goodness in the surprisingly packed bar. Healey was an acclaimed singer/songwriter who had legitimately been blind and playing guitar since the age of 3.
From Dusk till Dawn: Tito & the Tarantula
Before George Clooney was a crybaby Hollywoodite he actually made a few good movies. From Dusk till Dawn sees him and his brother Quentin Tarantino (who got the good looks there?) fighting vampires in a dirty old bar called the Titty Twister. Before the shit hits the fan, and actually during it for a while, Tito and the Tarantula play some pretty excellent songs about cockroaches and drinking. All the chaotic vampire murder leads to them playing instruments made out of human corpses…which is something I don’t think I’ve ever said before.
Honorable Mention:
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension: Hong Kong Cavaliers
I gotta be totally honest here: I’ve never seen this movie. I know… shame on me, but The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension looks exactly like the type of movie that I would like. For that reason and the fact that it stars the awesome Peter Weller, it makes the list as an honorable mention.
