KNOW HOW TO tell if a TV show or movie is worth your not-so-valuable time? Here's an easy test: Does the soundtrack have Bob Seger on it? If the answer is "Fuck yeah it does!" then be prepared for the best TV show and/or movie of your life! Here's proof!
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"Old Time Rock and Roll"—Tom Cruise's classic moment in 1983's Risky Business: sliding across a hardwood floor in socks and tighty whities to Seger's classic tune! But Seger's song wouldn't be used to its full potential until 1986, when ALF used it in the episode "Looking for Lucky," in which the Tanners' cat goes missing. (Guess who's the prime suspect!) Enter a home-alone ALF, who—à la Cruise—skids into frame to "Old Time Rock and Roll"... using a cucumber as a microphone! "Maybe we should have called first," a surprised Kate says, coming home early and interrupting the scene! "I had the music pretty loud," ALF cracks. "I probably wouldn't have heard the phone!"
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"Night Moves"—The O.C. used Sweet Ol' Seeg's sweet, sweet track twice in its perfect freshman season in 2004—first in "The Proposal" and again in the Valentine's Day fan-favorite "The Heartbreak." Hey, you know who should play Bob Seger in the movie based on Seger's life? Peter Gallagher.
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"Roll Me Away"—Michael Bay's 1998 asteroids-vs.-Bruce Willis drama Armageddon features Seger's "Roll Me Away"—which is fitting, since Seger wrote this song from the point of view of an asteroid being "rolled away" from colliding with Earth! "Gotta keep rollin', gotta keep ridin'," Seger sings. "Keep searchin' 'til I find what's right/And as the sunset faded/I spoke to the faintest, first starlight."
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"Blue Monday"—This song was in Road House (1989). Hey, remember when I said Peter Gallagher should play Bob Seger in Bob Seger: The Movie? Fuck that! Sam Elliott should play Bob Seger!
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"Miami"—Hmm. Which show do you think used "Miami"? If you guessed "Miami Vice," you're both correct and unimaginative. In the episode "Cuba Libre" (1987), Crockett and Tubbs face off against a paramilitary group—but not before takin' some time to chill with Seger's soulful serenade to their beloved city.
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"We've Got Tonight"—Kevin's heartbreaking reunion with his beloved Winnie in The Wonder Years episode "The Accident" (1991) is scored with Seger's devastating "We've Got Tonight." I just watched this scene on YouTube and it made me cry a little bit so shut up and let's move on please.
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"Still the Same," "Night Moves," and "Shame on the Moon"—All of these were used in Knight Rider (in "Knight by a Nose" [1985], "Short Notice" [1983], and "A Nice, Indecent Little Town" [1983], respectively). Hey, know who should play Bob Seger in a movie? David Hassel—eh, never mind.
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"Nine Tonight"—The tagline for the 1980 classic Urban Cowboy? "Hard-hat days and honky-tonk nights"—a phrase that might as well sum up the hard-partying, workingman charms of Mr. Bob Seger himself! Also, John Travolta looks fucking ridiculous in a cowboy hat.
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"Against the Wind"—Remember when Forrest Gump ran across the country? (Reminder: It happened in 1994's Forest Gump.) He did it to Bob Seger's "Against the Wind," and this is probably the laziest soundtrack choice in the history of lazy soundtrack choices. Personally, when I run? I listen to Robyn! Or Joe Cocker's theme song from The Wonder Years, because it makes me run faster so I can try to escape my sadness.
