Jackie DeShannon "Always Together"

One of the things I loved most about the Coen Brothers' Blood Simple was the repeated use of The Four Tops' "It's The Same Old Song".  Each time it cranked up it made that particular scene just a little bit more memorable.  I'm convinced that had I watched the US VHS version which, due to rights issues, used Neil Diamond's "I'm A Believer" in its place, I wouldn't have loved the film quite as much despite liking both the song and Diamond's version of it.  Likewise, Blue Valentine was greatly elevated through using Penny and The Quarters' eerily soulful "You and Me" as Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams' characters' our tune to the point where it is now synonymous with the film in my mind.  If, as was the case with Blood Simple, the film-makers of Blue Valentine had been unable to license "You and Me" for the DVD release, however, I reckon they should have tried to license Jackie DeShannon's "Always Together".  It has everything you need for an our tune: it's romantic, catchy and you can dance real close in the kitchen to it. It would've been perfect in Blue Valentine!

Today that one song sound-tracked my entire 45 minute commute home from work and the more it played and the more the sky grew pinky orange, the more convinced I became that it was the perfect romantic pop song and that its underplayed, jingling "Sitting on the Dock of the Bay" guitars would always be worth more to me than just about any guitar solo ever.