There’s something magical about the work that a great music supervisor does, finding the perfect song, obscure or well-known, to accompany a scene in a movie or TV show.
This is not a list about those successes. This is, instead, a list spotlighting the songs that need to be retired as needle drops going forward. It’s not that they’re bad songs (many are excellent!) — but they’ve reached the point where they’re no longer welcome in our earbuds while watching our favorite on-screen entertainment. It could be because they’ve just been used too much, or because they’ve come to be associated with negative vibes, or because a certain film or TV show used it so effectively that anyone else attempting to match that is playing a fool’s game. What matters is that we could all use a break from hearing them, no matter the reason.
For the record, this list does not represent not the final word for these songs — there’s always a chance for redemption. On the flip side of things, Consequence reserves the right to add new offenders to this list should they present themselves. As you’ll see below, sometimes it just takes one poor choice to make a song unpalatable for future projects. Tread carefully.
“Fortunate Son”
Original Artist: Creedence Clearwater Revival
The Song: A classic anti-Vietnam War anthem from 1969, with some tasty guitar riffs.
Best Use: So when this list was first proposed, we here at Consequence joked about a blanket entry entitled “Pretty Much Any Song from the Forrest Gump Soundtrack.” This is because the Forrest Gump soundtrack, otherwise known as A Newbie’s Guide to Boomer Music, is packed with song choices that have now begun to feel overplayed. Yet to be honest, “Fortunate Son” does a nice job of setting the stage for Forrest’s (Tom Hanks) first encounter with the jungles of Vietnam and Lieutenant Dan (Gary Sinise), and at that point it wasn’t too overused.
Worst Use: The other blanket entry we joked about was “Pretty Much Any Song from the Suicide Squad (2016) Soundtrack,” and sure enough “Fortunate Son” also is featured there! Every character in Suicide Squad gets their own blunt-force needle drop as an introduction, and this is somehow the choice for Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje). Because he’s… not a fortunate son? Because he is a crocodile man?
Why It Should Be Retired: Whether casting judgment on a non-lucky child or serving as lazy shorthand for “scene set during the Vietnam War,” “Fortunate Son” has done enough tours of duty. It deserves a cushy pension, and veteran benefits.
