History Main / AMFMCharacterization

** Eddie Munson is a full blown metal head, having tapes of Iron Maiden and Metallica. His greatest Crowning Moment of Awesome involves him playing "Master of Puppets" - which, having released shortly before Season Four started (March 3, 1986; the season takes place between March 16 and March 29) means he is playing that by the ear.

** Jonathan Byers is a fan of The Clash, Joy Division and The Smiths: all bands that are far from Top 40 and not common for Hawkins; showcasing how he stands out.

* [[CuteGhostGirl Evelyn]] from ''Podcast/LessIsMorgue'' is a ''huge'' fan of Nickelback, as well as a number of other "corny" late-nineties/early-2000s bands. Initially, it just seems like a goofy joke, but as time goes on, it becomes a symbol of Evelyn's willingness to love what she loves, regardless of what other people think.

** ''Film/StarTrek2009''. In the Creator/JJAbrams reboot, our first encounter with a young James T. Kirk is him hanging up on his step-father in favor of blasting the Music/BeastieBoys' "Sabotage" (a song that InUniverse is a hundred-plus years old) over the radio, establishing his disregard for authority (and a certain degree of love for GoodOldWays, even if they clash with Federation standards) even before the character says a single word. The detail about "Sabotage" being so old it's considered "classic" (and Kirk loving it) gets a CallBack gag on ''Film/StarTrekBeyond''.

* The family in ''Film/FunnyGames'' listens to opera music in their car which establishes them as being cultured and upper class as they drive to their lakeside vacation home. The villain duo listens to Death Metal.

** ''Film/CaptainMarvel'' shows in a flashback Carol Danvers wearing a Music/GunsNRoses T-shirt, making it clear she was always a maverick (and not always an EmotionlessGirl). Nick Fury singing The Marvelettes also indicates slightly old-fashioned manners.

* ''Film/FunnyGames'': Early on in the movie, the targeted family is listening to classical music on the way to their vacation home. The killers are listening to incoherent screeching that marginally qualifies as music.

** Then, he actually [[MagicMusic weaponises it]], with the aid of a {{Magitek}} structure that functions as "an amp the size of the Empire State." It's sufficiently powerful that, properly used, a litany of songs chosen almost exclusively to annoy the shit out of the ArcVillain can stabilise the planet. Featured music includes "Duel of the Fates", the [[Film/Ghostbusters1984 Ghostbusters theme]], [[Music/BonJovi "You Give Love A Bad Name"]], [[{{Music/REM}} "It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)"]], [[{{Music/Queen}} "Another One Bites The Dust"]], and at the end, a touch of ''Music/TheBlackEyedPeas''.

*** After Tony Stark's birthday party is ruined by an Iron Man suit-wearing James Rhodes, Tony requests for the DJ to play Music/{{Queen}}'s "Another One Bites the Dust" as a way to show he doesn't take Rhodes' threat even remotely seriously.

* In ''Literature/AmericanPsycho'', Patrick Bateman tends to listen to what was regarded as generic and cheesy 1980's pop music while dismissing anything more experimental (some of the artists he likes have since become popular or well-regarded again, though). This is used to show what a shallow and banal person he is; he just goes along with whatever he thinks is popular in order to fit in, rather than developing his own unique tastes. In the film adaptation, he plays Music/PhilCollins' "Sussudio" (''"one of my personal favorites"'') of all things while having sex with two prostitutes.

** A few examples: PrettyFlyForAWhiteGuy Jesse Pinkman likes club-banger hip-hop. PsychopathicManchild Todd has a fondness for cheesy yacht rock, underscoring how [[DissonantSerenity eerily calm and chipper]] he is while committing heinous acts. Smart-but-eccentric Gale Boetticher can be spotted singing along to Italian jazz and show tunes (memorably, he also has a karaoke video of himself singing "Major Tom").

** Park is a fan of NewWave and PunkRock bands such as The Smiths, Joy Division and XTC, showing his alternative side and his disconnect from his peers in suburban Omaha.

* In the ''Series/MiamiVice'' pilot, Tubbs looks through Crockett's music collection and finds Music/GeorgeJones, Music/JimmyBuffett, Dickey Betts, and Music/WaylonJennings.

* ''VideoGame/BrutalLegend'': The proagonist, Eddie Riggs, is a huge fan of classic hard rock and heavy metal music, and expresses disdain for the modern state of music.

** ''Film/Transformers2007''. Bumblebee, the first Transformer our protagonist meets, actually has no real voice capabilities and instead does all of his vocalizations through playing songs on his stereo.

* ''Film/{{Transformers}}''. Bumblebee, the first Transformer our protagonist meets, actually has no real voice capabilities and instead does all of his vocalizations through playing songs on his stereo.
* ''Film/{{Bumblebee}}'' explores how Bumblebee came to love earth music and make use of this trope so much. The human protagonist, Charlie Watson, is introduced waking up and playing Music/TheSmiths' "Bigmouth Strikes Again" and rocking out to it, which immediately establishes her as both an angsty rocker chick. Bumblebee learns earth music from her, and while he uses a variety of songs to communicate, he seems to favour upbeat songs personally.

* Film/{{Deadpool|2016}}'s quirky and less-than-serious nature is indicated by his soundtrack, at times brought on-screen by request: he listens to Music/SaltNPepa waiting to ambush a convoy, asks for Music/DollyParton during a fight montage... but still knows to request something more badass, such as Music/{{DMX}} for a PowerWalk and Music/{{ACDC}} for a parachuting deployment.

* In Film/EverybodyWantsSome, Wiloughby brings the rest of the team into the living room to listen to "Fearless" by Music/PinkFloyd with him - not only do the music and lyrics suit his EruditeStoner personality, but the song itself was released almost 10 years before the movie's 1980 setting, {{foreshadowing}} that the character is [[spoiler: [[OlderThanTheyLook older than he looks.]]]]

* In Film/EverybodyWantsSome, Wiloughby brings the rest of the team into the living room to listen to "Fearlessly" by Music/PinkFloyd - not only do the music and lyrics suit his EruditeStoner personality, but the song itself was released almost 10 years before the movie's 1980 setting, {{foreshadowing}} that the character is [[spoiler: [[OlderThanTheyLook older than he looks]]]]

* Hilariously subverted in the opening of ''Film/OfficeSpace'', where a character listens to bad-ass rap music on his way to work, but then is shown to get nervous about a harmless ([[HypocriticalHumor black]]) street vendor [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKlDBi0cyIA approaching his car]].

* "Hold On" also makes an appearance in ''Film/HaroldAndKumarGoToWhiteCastle'' on a tape in a truck belonging to a group of supposed "extreme" sports enthusiasts signifying that they're all talk.

** Eddie Munson is a full blown metal head, having tapes of Iron Maiden and Metallica. His greatest CrowningMomentOfAwesome involves him playing "Master of Puppets" - which, having released shortly before Season Four started (March 3, 1986; the season takes place between March 16 and March 29) means he is playing that by the ear.

** Eddie Munson is a full blown metal head, having tapes of Iron Maiden and Metallica.

** Even Benny Hammond, a middle aged diner owner and minor character who only appears in season 1, episode 1, gets some musical characterization: While the series is set in the 80s and most characters listen to contemporary music of the era, Benny is apparently still big on Music/JeffersonAirplane.