5) Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In) – The Big Lebowski
Chances are, even if you haven’t seen The Big Lebowski in its entirety, you’ve seen certain scenes from the Coen Brothers’ classic. And perhaps no scene in the hilarious flick is more classic than the hallucinatory dream sequence in which the Dude becomes the star of his own Jackie Treehorn-directed movie, a bowling-themed porno called Gutterballs.
As the Dude dons bowling shoes selected by Saddam Hussein from a skyward-reaching cabinet, dances down a giant staircase, seduces a German goddess played by Maude Lebowski and glides down a bowling alley between the legs of many beautiful women, Kenny Rogers provides the soundtrack with his hypnotic “Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In).”
It’s an ironic choice, given the Dude’s own musical stylings and the trippy nature of the dream sequence, but there’s no denying how well it plays to the vivid images. The tune is also so irresistably catchy that just writing about has ensured it will be stuck in my head for a good few hours. And tellingly, all the while I’ll be imagining the Dude dancing down that staircase, eyes as wide as saucers.