This is the first in a potential series of articles and features on music in the movies. The majority of pieces that I have planned are a list of ten songs that fit a certain category: best opening songs, best closing songs, best songs that feature in the movies by a certain director etc. There are also plans for features on certain musicians' contributions to movies and spotlight pieces on certain composers.

With 2009 drawing to a close as I write this, I thought looking back at the best songs to feature in the films of 2009 would be a good place to start. The choices that follow are my favorite uses of songs, not necessarily music in general. Which is why Clint Mansell doesn't receive a mention for his astonishing work on the soundtrack for Moon. More on that another time, though.

I'd be interested to hear your suggestions on this topic and any future pieces to see if I can uncover some hidden gems that I may have overlooked.

Dan Finnerty and the Dan Band: Candy Shop - The Hangover

I really enjoyed The Hangover. Sure, it has its flaws, but there are plenty of positives (Zach Galifianakis and Ken Jeong in particular). The music used in the movie worked well, for the most part, even if a lot of it wasn't to my tastes. It's the cover of 50 Cent's Candy Shop that I most enjoyed. The choice of song and the performance are both amazingly inappropriate for a wedding band, which is what makes it so funny.

Mclusky: Lightsabre Cocksucking Blues - Observe And Report

I wrote about how hearing this song was a huge geek moment for me in my review of Observe And Report. The film was average, but hearing this made the trip to the cinema worth while. Mclusky are amazing and their music should feature in more films.

The Notwist: Consequence - Push

Push is a film that I have mixed feelings about; it's got an interesting enough premise and looks amazing in places. It just seemed to fall flat at times, making it a bit of an uneven watch. However, it did feature Consequence by The Notwist, which is taken from their excellent 2002 album Neon Golden. The song accompanies the scene where Chris Evan's Nick and Camilla Belle's Kira get together in a hotel room whilst Dakota Fanning gets pissed up.

M.I.A.:  Paper Planes - Slumdog Millionaire

It's reported that Danny Boyle was originally considering Jack White to score this movie. Whilst that would have been interesting, it's hard to imagine that it would have surpassed the work put in by A.R Rahman and M.I.A who together created one of the most interesting and perfectly fitting soundtracks of the year. There are a number of musical highlights throughout the movie but M.I.A.'s Paper Planes (that samples Straight To Hell by The Clash) use in the train scene where Jamal and Salim travel across India making money and feeding themselves by any means possible, is my favorite.

David Bowie:  Cat People - Inglorious Basterds

A fine example of Tarantino's excellent ear for music and selecting the perfect song to compliment a scene, David Bowie's Cat People originally featured in the 1982 film of the same name and seems an odd choice of song to feature in a film with a World War II setting. However, it works incredibly well in the scene in which it's featured.

Beastie Boys: Sabotage - Star Trek

Who would have thought that this track would have stood the test of time all the way to the 2200s and would be the young master Kirk's track of choice to accompany his joy ride? Granted, the track hasn't aged noticeably since it was originally released, but that's some longevity!

Jarvis Cocker:- Fantastic Mr Fox  - Fantastic Mr Fox (Petey's song)

All of Wes Anderson's movies feature a number of great songs and Fantastic Mr Fox is no exception, with the likes of The Rolling Stones and Beach Boys it was difficult to pick a highlight. I've gone for this song performed by Jarvis Cocker's character Petey as he entertains Boggis, Bunce and Bean and their team during a break from hunting Mr. Fox.

Kiss: Love Gun - Role Models

I enjoyed Role Models a lot more than I was expecting and would certainly class it as one of the finest comedies released in 2009. This song features in a scene where Seann William Scott's Wheeler educates Bobb'e J Thompson's Ronnie on the finer points of the Kiss manifesto and they realise that they're on the same wavelength.

Jimi Hendrix: All Along The Watchtower - Watchmen

I'm a Bob Dylan fan but can take or leave Hendrix. However, this is a cover that far surpasses the original and it sounded immense at the cinema accompanying Watchmen. Watchmen had an interesting soundtrack and featured three tracks penned by Dylan. But, not only was this the best Dylan penned track featured, it was the best use of a song in the movie.

The Arcade Fire:  Wake Up - Where The Wild Things Are  (trailer)

Okay, I'm cheating a bit on this one, but the use of this song made the trailer for Where The Wild Things Are one of the best of the year (well, for me at least). The song combines an acoustic version recorded, especially for the trailer, by Arcade Fire in their living room and the album version. The song doesn't feature in the film at any point. Instead all the music is provided by Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeah's and it's a cracking soundtrack that's well worth a purchase.

With the best of 2009 addressed, next up is the best music to accompany opening scenes. See you next time...!