The Needle and the Lens: Pop Goes to the Movies from Rock 'n' Roll to Synthwave, by Nate Patrin, is a fascinating history of songs used in film (as compared to being written for film or a film score).

For someone who loves both music and film this is absolutely the best of both worlds, or perhaps the best of where the two worlds come together. Patrin offers, for each film/song pairing, wonderful background to each and the rational for the chosen song being the most representative. You learn to appreciate his insight early in the book when it isn't Born to be Wild but The Pusher as the song for Easy Rider (I guess you could step a chapter back and say the same thing about The Graduate as well). And his explanation makes perfect sense. So this isn't about the most popular song from these films but the song that is used to help propel the narrative without actually being about the film's plot.

Speaking of The Graduate, I was initially annoyed by his constant reference to S&G's song The Sound of Silence as The Sounds of Silence. But I pulled out some of my old records and sure enough, it was, on a couple of early albums, The Sounds of Silence. I don't know why I had never noticed that before.

As much as I enjoyed each chapter, I think I had just as much fun with the "Outro" chapter, a list of twenty-four more pairings with just a paragraph addressing each one. This really gives the reader a chance to practice some of what we had just read. For the film and song pairs I knew, it was fun to think through how the song was more than just "a song from the film."

Finally, as someone who loves reading about music and film, the references section is extensive and full of things I want to read and watch.

Highly recommended for those who love music and/or film. This offers the reader new ways to think about the music we hear in film as well as more ways to understand some of the subtexts in our favorite films.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley. ( )