There are few directors who are as talented at their use of preexisting music as Quentin Tarantino, and that is especially true with the Pulp Fiction soundtrack. Every single song on the soundtrack is not only terrific in its own right, but within the context of the film, it elevates the music to a transcendental level. In fact, the songs are so famously associated with scenes of the film, that "match the Pulp Fiction song with the scene" might be a fun drinking game if it weren't so damn easy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3TJu9IaBAE With all the brilliant use of music in the film though, one song that often gets overlooked is The Lively Ones' Surf Rider, which plays during the film's finale and end credits. What is interesting about the song is that it mirrors the bipolar nature of Pulp Fiction itself. The film is famous for its unique brand of comedy and drama, mixing scenes of quick and brutal violence with long scenes of dialogue of everyday conversations. The song Surf Rider parallels this dynamic nature in a hypnotizing back-and-forth between guitar and saxophone. When the guitar is the center of attention, its nonchalant pacing perfectly captures the "take it as it comes" attitude so prevalent in the crazy cats who inhabit Pulp Fiction. However, in the middle of the song when the saxophone runs the show, it comes in with such a powerful sleaziness that you can't help but recall some of the more horrific events that interrupted the characters' otherwise c'est la vie lifestyles. Combining this with Tarantino's Leone-esque reinterpretation of the surf rock genre, and you have one of the most revolutionary endings in the history of cinema.
A film fanatic at a very young age, starting with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle movies and gradually moving up to more sophisticated fare, at around the age of ten he became inexplicably obsessed with all things Oscar. With the incredibly trivial power of being able to chronologically name every Best Picture winner from memory, his lifelong goal is to see every Oscar nominated film, in every major category, in the history of the Academy Awards.
