Adventureland: 10 Best Songs From The Movie

Music is a major component of Greg Mottola’s 2009 summer indie classic, Adventureland, which is set at a Pennsylvanian theme park. The characters sport Neil Young and Hüsker Dü T-shirts, make each other mixtapes, listen to vinyl records, and discuss one Adventureland employee’s rumored jamming session with legendary NYC punk icon Lou Reed.

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The soundtrack matches the drapes and is suitably packed with ’70s and ’80s legends, from Big Star to David Bowie to The Cure. These poignant love songs anchor the story in its setting: a wistful summer before a big life change.

10 “Here She Comes Now” – The Velvet Underground

“Here She Comes Now” is one of two Velvet Underground songs featured in the movie, both of which play a significant role. This song plays after the cold open as the opening credits roll and its lyrics foreshadow the movie’s events, as a love interest is about to come into protagonist James’ life.

This song also sets the tone of the soundtrack to follow: it’s alternative and a little rough around the edges, yet still gentle and reflective, a lot like the movie’s main characters, James and Em, who may get themselves into trouble, but are, on the whole, thoughtful and sweet.

9 “I’m In Love With A Girl” – Big Star

This dreamy and serene acoustic guitar tune is aptly titled “I’m In Love With A Girl.” James puts the record on while drying off after his and Em’s spontaneous swim, and it’s quite possible he was sending her a not-so-subtle message through the lyrics.

As the song tip-toes along in the background, James asks Em about her family. The audience, and James, discover that her mum recently died and her father has already remarried. For Em, it’s possible that James will be the distraction she needs from the upset in her personal life, and Alex Chilton’s sweetly simple lyrics – “I didn’t know this could happen to me” – exemplify the buoyant feeling of new love.

8 “Don’t Wanna Know If You Are Lonely” – Hüsker Dü

This angsty alt-rock song was Hüsker Dü’s biggest commercial hit and paved the way for the grunge and indie rock behemoths that followed in the ’90s, such as Nirvana and The Pixies. Grant Hart’s agitated vocals blast out of the tape player in Em’s car as she drives James home after his first day working at Adventureland.

Em parks up outside James’ house and they get to know each other a bit more, discussing their plans to go to New York while swigging rum from a bottle. The song’s lyrics, “I’m curious to know exactly how you are,” are a relevant introduction to this scene.

7 “Just Like Heaven” – The Cure

“Just Like Heaven” by The Cure perfectly captures Adventureland‘s nostalgic, end-of-summer vibe. It scores the characters’ three-minute joyride on the bumper cars, a fleeting moment shared between friends and young lovers who will soon go their separate ways.

Robert Smith’s vocals croon “I’m in love with you,” ostensibly articulating James and Em’s feelings towards one another. Yet the song’s poppy, feel-good mood has a hint of melancholy, as if it knows about the falling out that follows shortly after.

6 “Unsatisfied” – The Replacements

The Replacements are Hüsker Dü’s contemporaries from the Twin Cities of Minneapolis St. Paul. Their raspy vocals and shiny guitars score James’ bus ride to New York at the end of the film after saying goodbye to his family and friends.

Rain pours down outside as neon lights flash past the window. Although the song sounds angry and uneasy, it’s an exciting scene, as James stares in awe at his new home outside the bus.

5 “Don’t Dream It’s Over” – Crowded House

“Don’t Dream It’s Over,” with its shimmering guitar riff, underscores one of the sweetest moments in James and Em’s relationship. It plays on the fourth of July, as the Adventureland fireworks display is well underway.

The couple sits on a bench staring at the sky as the tender ballad swirls around them. The “Hey now, hey now” refrain continues as they go to make out in Em’s car, in a major development in their relationship.

4 “Tops” – The Rolling Stones

This sexy tune from the British rock gods is used to introduce Lisa P., the widely admired and alluring park employee who surprises everyone by coming back to work for the summer. Lisa is in some ways the antagonist of the movie: she shares a secret James asked her to keep, causing Em to quit, and she is also the person with whom James goes on a date when he thinks Em isn’t serious about their relationship.

In the scene where Lisa is introduced, the park’s male employees gawp at her as she slow-motion walks into view. The groovy song accompanies her swagger with its creamy guitars and Jagger’s suggestive lyrics, one of the many great uses of Rolling Stones songs in movies.

3 “Pale Blue Eyes” – The Velvet Underground

This gentle and beautiful guitar ballad first plays when Em drives home from a bar while James stares longingly at her. They cross Pittsburgh’s iconic yellow bridge before parking up and sharing their first kiss together. James includes the song on the mixtape he makes Em, which was originally released on The Velvet Underground’s 1969 self-titled record.

“Pale Blue Eyes” reoccurs later in the movie when James puts it on a jukebox after his and Em’s fight. If any song from the movie had to be “their song,” it would undoubtedly be this, as it bookends the first phase of their relationship, before their reconciliation.

2 “Breaking The Law” – Judas Priest

This upbeat burst of classic rock energy plays when James sprints across the theme park with a disgruntled customer in close pursuit. James previously punched the man after he assaulted Joel and called Em a “b*tch.”

The chugging guitars and tight drums cheer James on as he manages to make it to the office, at which point Bill Hader’s character scares off the troublemaker with a baseball bat. It’s an important scene as it shows James’ willingness to stand up for Em, and the driving music matches the upbeat energy of the scene.

1 “Satellite Of Love” – Lou Reed

Lou Reed’s warm and catchy “Satellite of Love” is referenced several times throughout the movie. Connell, the park’s maintenance man who cheats on his wife with Em, brags about jamming this tune with Lou Reed, even though he mispronounces it as “Shed A Light On Love.”

It first plays when Connell drives James over to his mom’s house, during which they share a joint and Connell avoids James’ questions about his non-existent music career. The song perfectly captures the feeling of a lazy, blissful summer filled with love, and it mixes that feeling with a slight unsettledness – appropriate, considering the movie’s more dramatic scenes.

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