From Skinny Puppy in The Doom Generation, to The Donnas in Jawbreaker, these are the band cameos that got us pressing rewind on the VHS player
What was it with the nineties and band cameos? It seems like every American teen movie (and Buffy the Vampire Slayer) had to have a scene (usually at the end of year prom) where some curtain-haired, baggy-shirted band of boys put a riff to that final romantic clincher. To be fair, these were the days before YouTube adverts and social media PR stunts, so a shameless plug was best served through a VHS tape. Anyway, to celebrate this much-loved bygone era, we’ve rounded up ten eternal teen movies, with an added dose of unexpected cameo.
THE MIGHTY MIGHTY BOSSTONES IN CLUELESS
Everyone’s favourite high school classic Clueless is much better known for it’s iconic fashion moments than it’s music, but right after Brittany Murphy’s character Tai Faser tumbles down the stairs at a frat party, Ska band the Mighty Mighty Bosstones show up to perform “Where’d You Go” and Cher describes them as "kickin'" in an internal monologue. We wouldn’t go as far as calling them “kickin’”, but it’s a fun scene none the less.
SKINNY PUPPY IN THE DOOM GENERATION
In a cameo that’s far from musical, industrial 80s trio Skinny Puppy appear as homophobic ‘gang of goons’ in Gregg Araki’s 1995 cult classic The Doom Generation. The scene mainly consists of Amy Blue (Rose McGowan) shouting “Motherfucker!” while Skinny Puppy throw punches at their car in a drive-in.
LETTERS TO CLEO IN 10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU
Gil Junger’s 1999 rom com 10 Things I hate About You gets better and better with age. Not only is Heath Ledger undeniably beautiful as bad boy Patrick, but it’s also got an addictive (although occasionally cheesy) soundtrack, from Joan Jett’s “Bad Reputation” to Letters to Cleo’s uber-pop cover of “I Want You to Want Me” the latter of who appear in film right at the end after Patrick hires them to perform at a school dance.
We’ve all wanted to dive inside the TV screen at one point in our lives and that’s exactly what happens in this iconic hallucination scene from 1995's Empire Records when Mark (Ethan Embry) gets asked by costumed shock rock band Gwar to get inside the small screen. "Hey Mark!" they say, "You love Gwar! Why don't you join the band?" He then watches himself play guitar with them, before promptly getting eaten alive by a huge green clawed monster. Trippy.
Blink and you’ll miss Blink 182 in this humiliating (and pretty gross) scene from the Weitz brother’s directorial debut American Pie. In it, the band appear as a few of many teenagers who view Jim’s (Jason Biggs) sexual mishap which was caught on webcam and shared. Think embarrassing viral video before viral videos were a thing.
L7 IN SERIAL MOM
John Waters’ brilliantly dark comedy Serial Mom isn’t necessarily a teen movie, but there are teenagers in it so we think it counts. Grrrl punk heroes L7 are incredible under the guise of rock band “Camel Lips”. Also, John Waters co-wrote the track they play, titled “Gas Chamber” (below), especially for the film.
Rose McGowan, highschool cliques and murder – what more would you want from a nineties teen movie? Cali rebel girls The Donnas also make an appearance during a prom scene (of course), where they sing “Rock n Roll Machine” like 1999’s answer to the Runaways. They're not the only unexpected cameo either; king of the Goths Marilyn Manson also shows up in a blue suit and moustache as Courtney’s (Rose McGowan) cringe-worthy one night stand.
Remember The Offspring? In this 1999 teen horror, the California four piece opens the film with a pop punk version of the Ramones’ “I Wanna Be Sedated” during a high school dance. And if you haven't seen it, the film itself is about some stoner’s hand that becomes possessed and goes on a killing spree (yes, really).
Alice Cooper’s appearance in cult comedy Wayne’s World is more of an artist cameo than a band cameo, but it’s too good to ignore. In it, Wayne and Garth go backstage after an Alice Cooper concert to meet their idol. The eyelinered shock rocker plays a deadpan version of himself, and gives main characters Wayne and Garth a lesson on the history of Milwaukee.
PRIMUS IN BILL & TED'S BOGUS JOURNEY
The second in Bill & Ted’s surreal slacker franchise is full to the brim with questionable band cameos, from Faith No More to the future guitarist of Linkin Park. Our personal favourite, however, is the addition of a guitar-shredding Primus right at the end when they perform at the San Dimas Battle of the Bands.