Gunpowder Milkshake has officially premiered on Netflix with its star-studded cast featuring Karen Gillan, Chloe Coleman, Lena Headey, Angela Bassett, Michelle Yeoh, Carla Gugino, and Paul Giamatti. Three generations of women fight back against those who could take everything from them in the mother of all action movies.
I interviewed the film’s director and co-writer, Navot Papushado, about the soundtrack for the movie. He was very hands-on with his approach to the music in the film, and he and I talked about it all, so be sure to check it out!
In this piece for my “Super Soundtrack” series, I will be breaking down the music featured in Gunpowder Milkshake. Some of these songs might seem like they wouldn’t go together on paper, but they work together so cohesively when they play over the action sequences.
“You’ll Never Know” by Bobby Darin
This is the first song that plays in the movie. It begins playing at the start of the first diner scene as we see the outside of the restaurant. Written by Harry Warren with lyrics by Mack Gordon, the song is actually based on a poem that was written by Dorothy Fern Norris. Alice Faye’s version of the song from Hello, Frisco, Hello won the Oscar for Best Original Song in 1943. In addition to Faye, Frank Sinatra and Dick Haymes also recorded their versions of the song that same year.
“Something On Your Mind” by Karen Dalton
This Karen Dalton song starts to play as Scarlet is seen leaving the diner. Later on, in a scene just a few minutes later, an echoing reverberating version of the song plays again during a flashback scene. Karen Dalton released the song as the opening track on her 1971 album, In My Own Time.
“French Disko” by Stereolab
After the parking deck fight, “French Disko” can be heard. Stereolab released the song as a double-A-side single along with another song of theirs titled “Jenny Ondioline” in 1993.
“Piece Of My Heart” by Big Brother & The Holding Company featuring Janis Joplin
Arguably the biggest needle drop in the entire film, “Piece Of My Heart” soundtracks the epic library battle scene. As director Navot Papushado told me in our interview, having a Janis Joplin song featured in the movie was a big deal to him. It was only fitting that such a big scene in the movie had an equally fitting song to suit it. A lot of people might not know that this song was originally released by Erma Franklin in 1967 before Big Brother & The Holding Company and Janis Joplin covered the song the following year. Their version of the song went on to be a hit on a larger scale with several artists releasing their own covers in the last few decades.
“It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue” by The Animals
During a big shoot-em-up scene, The Animals’ “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue” is playing. Not to be outdone by the library battle that precedes it, this scene takes us to a familiar location with much higher stakes this time around. The Animals covered the song originally written and released by Bob Dylan in 1965, and they are one of many artists to cover it.
“Goddess On A Hiway” by Mercury Rev
The final song in the movie is Mercury Rev’s “Goddess on a Hiway.” Navot Papushado said this song was in mind way back when he was writing the script for the movie, going as far to say this song “was a guide while shooting.” It continues to play on through the start of the end credits. Mercury Rev originally released this song in 1998 as the lead single from their fourth album, Deserter’s Songs.
Gunpowder Milkshake is now streaming on Netflix.
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