Despite being maligned and mocked, ska music always had a safe space at the movies. From Bond to Bueller, if filmmakers needed a music bed for a goofy chase scene, an out-of-control kid’s party, or a makeover montage, an upbeat ska track was the perfect fit. Here are 10 of the best ska songs used in movies.

Less Than Jake (featuring Kel Mitchell) “We’re All Dudes” from “Good Burger” (1997)

Nickelodeon and third-wave ska had a symbiotic relationship in the ‘90s, something about the fast-paced horns and uptempo backbeat really hit with the 2-17-year-old demographic. Ska-punkers Less Than Jake backing Ed’s surfer dude vocals during a fast food-making montage is a ‘90s kids culture time capsule. Gender Studies majors might have better observations about the inclusiveness of the lyrics “I’m a dude/He’s a dude/She’s a dude/We’re all dudes, hey,” but those think pieces might have to wait until “Good Burger 2” is released later this year.

Desmond Dekker “007 (Shanty Town)” from Vivarium (2020)

This creepy sci-fi horror snuck under the radar, but struck a chord when its release coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. Jesse Eisenberg and Imogen Poots star as a couple who find themselves alone in an empty, inescapable neighborhood and get mysterious deliveries to their door, including a rapidly aging child. Desmond Dekker’s spectacular 1967 song “007 (Shanty Town)” plays as they dance in their car’s headlights in a final celebration before their nasty little foundling ruins everything and they succumb to their tragic fate.

Dance Hall Crashers “Lady Luck” from “Meet The Deedles” (1998)

“Meet the Deedles” never seemed to exist outside of print ads in superhero comics.  Judging by the ad, it’s about two fun-loving but troublemaking surfers, one of which is Paul Walker, go on a wacky adventure and may or may not have blue waves for hair. Since the Dance Hall Crashers never got enough respect, perhaps due to movies like this, so enjoy their song as Deedle 1 and Deedle 2 fly a parasail from a rear-projected close-up into a Jetski Cop while speaking entirely in lines recorded weeks after shooting.

The Mighty Mighty Bosstones “Someday I Suppose” and “Where Did You Go?” from “Clueless” (1995)

Just before “Let’s Face It” went platinum and long before Dicky Barrett turned into an anti-vaccine nutjob, the Bosstones had the spotlight shown on them with two songs featured at a pivotal party scene in ‘Clueless.” Alicia Silverstone is on a date with a sitcom version of a gay person as she observes her stepbrother, played by the cyborg known as Paul Rudd, being nice to Brittany Murphy, who we’re meant to think is the most disgusting human being alive for not having a fashion sense of a Delia’s catalog. This act of kindness causes Silverstone to be attracted to him, long before “But you’re my stepbrother!” became a popular genre of pornography.

Isaac Green and the Skalars “Don’t Count” from “Bang” (1995)

There are three items of note in this Post-“Pulp Fiction” indie crime drama: It is the film debut of Lucy Liu, it was written and directed by Ash Baron-Cohen (as in Borat’s cousin), and it features an all-ska soundtrack. It doesn’t work. in this story of a downtrodden Asian-American woman stealing a motorcycle cop’s bike, uniform, and badge as she interacts with ill-defined Los Angeles racial caricatures. The premise is great, but this execution comes off like a British boarding school kid playing with Homies figures. Luckily, Isaac Green and the Skalar’s “Don’t Count” plays over the credits and it captures the mood and sums up the journey of the character of “The Girl” (sheesh!).

Rancid with Stubborn All-Stars “I Wanna Riot” from “Beavis and Butthead Do America” (1996)

What was it about comedy duos making their big-screen debuts that necessitated a ska song? When the animated fartknockers hit the road to replace their stolen TV, they eventually end up on a bus with the original 2-tone army: nuns. Compared to the rest of the movie, the sequence isn’t that notable aside from being scored by Rancid’s “I Wanna Riot.” This new version of the song revisits their ska-punk roots by scooping up the keyboard and horn section of New York’s scrappy supergroup, “The Stubborn All-Stars.”

Reel Big Fish “Beer” from “BASEketball” (1998)

Reel Big Fish and a raunchy comedy starring the “South Park” guys–two tastes that obviously go together. Despite being musically solid, Reel Big Fish cemented the image of the goofy, bowling shirt-clad, bouncy ska band in the public eye. Who better for the in-game entertainment for a made-up sport? The jokes aged like egg salad, but with “South Park” in its 26th season and RBF still touring, there was some magic in this cinematic equivalent of Cheddar Cheese Baked Pretzel Combos.

The English Beat “Save it for Later” from “Kingpin” (1996)

The English Beat provided the backdrop for Ferris Bueller running through backyards and as a zombie ska band on Scooby-Doo, but music supervisors must keep the song “Save It For Later” permanently on their desktop in a folder marked “Montage Music.” Most recently it appeared in “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” but it’s a perfect fit for this slapstick sequence of a sleazy Woody Harrelson trying to fit into Amish society. Sorry Ferris, but your entitled ass leaping through the neighborhood doesn’t compare to bovine jizz jokes.

Toots and the Maytals “Sweet And Dandy” from “The Harder They Come” (1972)

Forget ska songs appearing on soundtrack albums, this hallmark of Jamaican cinema tops every list of the best movie soundtracks. Reggae superstar Jimmy Cliff as an impoverished farm boy who comes to the city to be a singer and encounters a creepy preacher, a greedy record producer, corrupt cops, and drug dealers in league with the corrupt cops. Basically a Western with better music. The production spanned the era of the big band dance ska as it transitioned to the vocal-driven genre of rocksteady to the foundations of reggae. As he visits a studio where Toots and the Maytals are recording, proving that ska isn’t just suburban kids with big sideburns.

Honorable Mention: Goldfinger (1996-2004) Too Many To Name

Kenny Loggins is known as “The King Of The Movie Soundtrack,” but there was hardly a silly teen comedy during the turn of the millennium that didn’t have one or more Goldfinger songs. If they didn’t divide their attention by also appearing in numerous video games, Goldfinger would wear the crown.

Funicello & Fishbone “Jamaica Ska” from ‘Back to the Beach” (1987)

Despite being a parody of the long-forgotten 1960s beach party movie genre, this movie about Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon as adults being unable to relate to their kids was permanently on basic cable. In a throwback within a throwback, Funicello, backed by Fishbone, dives into a musical number teaching these ‘80s kids how to do the ska. And after her college bribery scandal, the joke of Lori Laughlin and friend saying that Jamaica Ska is a required course at their college hits much differently.