History Main / BadToTheBone

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JZ9djZa180 "Bodies"]] by Music/DrowningPool, with its chorus of "Let the bodies hit the floor!", often crops up when a scene is about to get violent. Wrestling/{{WWE}}'s ''ECW on [=SciFi=]'' had this as their theme song for an entire year, until the untimely deaths of Wrestling/ChrisBenoit and his wife and son forced them to [[TooSoon switch to something that didn't feature the word "bodies" on it]].
** Even the short-lived ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}}'' comic published by Creator/{{Image|Comics}} used it for its opening scene with Bruce Irvin singing it as all the other fighters lie defeated at Kazuya's feet. He was more-or-less amused.

** Spoofed in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS5E6MargeOnTheLam Marge on the Lam]]" in which Marge and her feminist neighbor go on a rebellious spree down the highway in a stolen Ford Thunderbird (obvious ''Film/ThelmaAndLouise'' parody) and the neighbor goes to put in a tape of this song but mistakenly puts on Lesley Gore's "Sunshine, Lollipops & Rainbows" instead. (Made doubly funny later on when Chief Wiggum and Homer make the same mistake, but end up enjoying the Lesley Gore song.)

* "Dueling Banjos" will often play to imply hillbillies or male rape, a ShoutOut to ''Film/{{Deliverance}}'' (If you're a GenreSavvy character in a film or show and you start hearing those banjos, [[OhCrap it's time to start worrying]].) Though it's also used in a more lighthearted tone when there's a tit-for-tat contest between two characters. The most appropriate use may have been the drywall taping contest between Tim and Al on ''Series/HomeImprovement'', in which they used dispensers actually known as "banjos".

* Music/{{Snap}}'s "The Power" used for characters [[MundaneUtility using a superpower in a generally non-serious way]].

* After its use in ''Film/MightyMorphinPowerRangersaTheMovie'', Music/TheRedHotChiliPeppers' cover of "Higher Ground" became linked with high-intensity action, and it's been used several times since. It was even used on ''Series/TheFreshPrinceOfBelAir'' before that.

Similar in spirit to OminousLatinChanting or StandardSnippet, but using modern songs. Compare SuspiciouslyAproposMusic.

* "Who Let The Dogs Out" by the Baha Men ''will'' be used in any children's movie featuring talking dogs, and it ''will'' be used in a scene where the aforementioned canines escape from a [[PoundsAreAnimalPrisons pet pound]]/locked room/generally do something cool that involves knocking down something or someone.

** And "Sharp Dressed Man," whenever a [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin male character gets dressed up sharply]] (or, if its a comedy, [[SubvertedTrope not so sharply]]).

* An [[TheEighties '80s]] HairMetal tune of some sort is popular whenever a HelloNurse character shows up, and almost obligatory if she's a performer in a strip club. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kw_Lf-JhdSU "Rock You Like a Hurricane"]] by Music/{{Scorpions}}, Music/DefLeppard's "Pour Some Sugar On Me" and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNo4jGKvDzY "Here I Go Again"]] by Music/{{Whitesnake}} seem to be common. Warrant's "Cherry Pie" is often used instead if it's a rural setting.

*** [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome You mean, Al heroically reclaiming his beloved bathroom after Peggy took it away from him.]]

* Otto plays [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPhPbTbjYM0 "Breaking the Law"]] by Music/JudasPriest while releasing the boy students from the school bus in the "Girls Just Want to Have Sums" episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''.

* "In the Hall of the Mountain King" by ''Edvard Grieg'' is similarly loved, mostly for its slow-build up to an absolutely bombastic finish.

* In a similar case to ''The Heavy,'' the song "High" by ''Young Rising Sons'' has been used in countless commercials (for Hulu, Pepsi, a special Snapchat story, the list goes on and on) that have a fun and carefree nature, and is getting close to 1 million views on Website/YouTube, yet has received pretty much zero-to-none airplay on radio.

* ''Film/KillBill'' introduced Western audiences to Japanese musician Tohei's ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjUi-P4gm6k&ab_channel=ThatOneGuy Battle Without Honor or Humanity]]'' as [[Main/LadyOfWar O-Ren Ishii]] and [[{{Main/Mooks}} the Crazy 88]] [[Main/PowerWalk do a slow-motion strut]] into the House of the Blue Leaves before the climactic showdown at the end of Volume I. Ever since, the song has been used to indicate that the [[Main/EvilIsCool Badass Bad Guys]] have arrived, or to underscore how utterly un-badass a character appears.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JZ9djZa180 "Bodies"]] by Music/DrowningPool, with its chorus of "Let the bodies hit the floor!", often crops up when a scene is about to get violent. Wrestling/{{WWE}}'s ''ECW on [=SciFi=]'' had this as their theme song for an entire year, until the untimely deaths of Wrestling/ChrisBenoit and his wife and son forced them to [[TooSoon switch to something more politically correct]].

** Occurs in the remake of ''Film/TheParentTrap'', when one of the girls challenges the other at cards.

* Music by Music/TheRollingStones, especially "Gimme Shelter" from ''Music/LetItBleed'' in Creator/MartinScorsese films.

* "White Rabbit" from ''Music/SurrealisticPillow'' by Music/JeffersonAirplane whenever someone is under the influence of a mind-altering substance and/or hallucinating. Alternatives include "Incense and Peppermints" by Music/StrawberryAlarmClock and "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" by Music/IronButterfly from ''Music/InAGaddaDaVida''.
* "Who Let The Dogs Out" by the Bahamen ''will'' be used in any children's movie featuring talking dogs, and it ''will'' be used in a scene where the aforementioned canines escape from a [[PoundsAreAnimalPrisons pet pound]]/locked room/generally do something cool that involves knocking down something or someone.

** Similarly, Beethoven's ''Ode to Joy'', which is used multiple times in ''A Clockwork Orange'', has become fashionable as SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic for epic action scenes.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fq3QmtV8vT0 "Down with the Sickness"]] by Music/{{Disturbed}} is also popular as fight music (''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' [[TheSimpsonsDidIt Did It]]). Amusingly subverted in ''Film/DawnOfTheDead2004'', which uses [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBOpk33VlSg a lounge cover]] by Music/RichardCheese... [[spoiler:and then {{double subver|sion}}ted in TheStinger, which uses the original version [[KillEmAll as the survivors get overrun by zombies]]]].

* ''Series/TheBennyHillShow'''s "Yakety Sax" as well, with an added comedic effect. [[RuleOfFunny Bonus points if the film is sped up during the duration of the song]].

* ''Series/TheBennyHillShow'''s "Yakety Sax" as well, with an added comedic effect. Bonus points if the film is sped up during the duration of the song.

* Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's Worth" usually plays as background to protests, but the intro to ''Film/LordOfWar'' made good use of the lyrics, "There's a man with a gun over there", "There's battle lines being drawn/Nobody's right if everybody's wrong", "Singing songs and carrying signs/Mostly say, hooray for our side", etc.

** "For What It's Worth"!

** Similarly, Beethoven's ''Ode to Joy'', which is used multiple times in ''A Clockwork Orange'', has become fashionable as CrowningMusicOfAwesome for epic action scenes.

* "Right Here, Right Now" By Music/FatboySlim has also been used in actions movies for CrowningMomentOfAwesome.

* Music/TwistedSister's "We're Not Gonna Take It" has become semi-obligatory for acts of rebellion (usually of [[CoolPeopleRebelAgainstAuthority the juvenile variety]]). At least justified in ''RockOfAges'', where the "good guys" are all diehard fans of '80s pop/rock music.

** The entire soundtrack of ''Film/{{Highlander}}''.