[Spoiler alert: This intro gives away some details about the ending of This Is the End.] After an hour and a half of apocalypse shenanigans, certain members of the six-person This Is the End main cast find themselves chilling in heaven, where their wildest dreams are at their fingertips. What do they do with this power? Summon the Backstreet Boys for a fully choreographed dance party, of course. It was awesome and random and, especially, awesomely random. It made us think of other similar band cameos: Oingo Boingo playing a Rodney Dangerfield college party, Smash Mouth celebrating the end of a rat race, Madonna as a bar-band singer, and more. Here are ten of our favorites. Please cameo in our comment section to tell us your faves.
Artist: Madonna
Movie: Vision Quest, 1985
Scene: Matthew Modine plays a high-school wrestler who’s trying to drop a lot of weight while also falling for an older woman (Linda Fiorentino). This takes him to a local bar. Madonna is the charismatic lead singer of the bar’s band.
Artist: Oingo Boingo
Movie: Back to School, 1986
Scene: Rodney Dangerfield goes back to school. As rich men are wont to do, he supersizes his dorm and throws a huge party. Oingo Boingo plays at the party, making them in this very specific way the Snoop Dogg of their day.
Artist: Digital Underground (featuring 2pac)
Movie: Nothing But Trouble, 1991
Scene: If you’ve never seen Nothing But Trouble, it should be noted that it is the craziest, weirdest freaking movie ever. Dan Aykroyd is a 106-year-old creepy judge who basically takes Chevy Chase captive after he’s arrested for driving through a stop sign. Digital Underground is also arrested but is able to convince the judge to let them go with the help of their funky rhymes and very literal prop work. This was the unlikely start to 2pac’s solid film career.
Artist: Primus
Movie: Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey, 1991
Scene: Robot Bill and Ted travel from the future to kill non-robot Bill and Ted and ruin their Battle of the Bands performance. The band that plays before robot B&T go on is none other than Primus. They’re totally excellent.
Artist: Ween
Movie: It’s Pat, 1994
Scene: After an appearance on the TV show America’s Creepiest People, the very androgynous Pat draws the attention of the band Ween, who ask her to play tuba at one of their shows. It’s all very disconcerting.
Artist: Sugar Ray
Movie: Father’s Day, 1997
Scene: Robin Williams and Billy Crystal are both told they are the father of a son, so they set out to find said son and determine who the real dad is. One problem: The son is on the road, following a touring Sugar Ray. With the help of Mark McGrath, they find him at a particularly rocking Sugar Ray concert. Oddly enough, this film predated Sugar Ray’s breakout single “Fly” by a month.
Artist: Blink-182
Movie: American Pie, 1999
Scene: After setting up a webcam to watch Nadia (Shannon Elizabeth) change in his room, Jim (Jason Biggs) runs over to try to have sex with her (classic Pie). His quixotic sprint is scored by Blink-182. In a surprisingly meta moment, a minute later that same band is seen stopping practice for a moment to watch Jim’s failed attempt at seduction. (The clip is NSFW.)
Artist: Smash Mouth
Movie: Rat Race, 2001
Scene: After rat-racing all across the country with the hope of winning $2 million, the rat-racers find themselves at a charity concert starring Smash Mouth. The band’s good vibes convince them all to donate their money.
Artist: Morris Day and the Time
Movie: Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, 2001
Scene: Early in the movie, Jay and Silent Bob rave about the “greatest band in the world” — Morris Day and the Time (well, Jay raves; Bob just nods). So later when the happy ending comes and the movie based on them premieres, Morris Day is there to help them celebrate. Jay and Bob end up dancing along with the Time, in a manner very similar to that in This Is the End.
Artist: Old 97s
Movie: The Break-Up, 2007
Scene: Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn attempt to break up for two acts of this movie. Aniston makes one last stab at salvation by inviting him to see his favorite band, the Old 97s. Vaughn doesn’t show up (that jerk!). While Aniston has a really sad moment, holding two beers and looking around, the Old 97s get some pretty sweet performance footage.
