Every so often a scene gets paired with a song that, for better or worse, ends up making it that much more memorable, and we’re balancing out last week’s epically bad needle drop with one of the better ones. AND - it’s a literal needle drop because it’s from 1997’s Boogie Nights, which takes place during the height of the porn industry of the 1970s.
One of a crazy ensemble cast of characters in this acclaimed Paul Thomas Anderson deep cut, 90’s It-Girl Heather Graham plays Brandy, an adult film actress on wheels nicknamed Rollergirl.
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One night at a club in Reseda, she “discovers” Eddie Adams (Mark Wahlberg) and his large and legendary cock in the club kitchen where he works and introduces him to prolific porn filmmaker Jack Horner (Burt Reynolds). Jack wants Eddie in his films and tells Rollergirl to have sex with Eddie on his couch as a kind of audition, but first Rollergirl needs to set the mood.
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And set it she does, by putting on an LP of the most perfect theme song for the skating starlet, Melanie’s folky pop song “Brand New Key". Before the lyrics even begin, Heather has already whipped off her one-piece and climbs on Mark fully nude.
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It’s not just perfect because it’s a period-appropriate banger with a girl singing about roller skates while Heather refuses to take off hers. It’s also because the singer is just as bold and overt as the boobs, butt, and 70s bush-baring Heather, trying to entice the guy she likes by insisting he should try his “key” in her “skates”.
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This moment, the character, the song, and the actress’s beautiful body are a match made in heaven. And by heaven, we mean Hollywood.
Catch Up With Previous Editions of Songs in the Key of Nudity
—When American Psycho Made Phil Collins Sexy
