To commemorate this weekend’s opening of the Martin Scorsese directed Rolling Stones concert film Shine a Light, the following is my totally personal list of the ten best musical moments in his work. The only rule imposed in order to narrow the field was that the music could not have been written specifically for the film. So Peter Gabriel’s score for Last Temptation of Christ, Liza Minnelli’s performance of “New York, New York”, and Bernard Herrmann’s haunting jazz inflected saxophone from Taxi Driver were not considered.

10. The Color of Money — “Werewolves of London”, performed by Warren Zevon

No matter how long Tom Cruise’s career lasts, there will be many who remember him best dancing in his underwear to Bob Seger in Risky Business. I’ll forever think of him at his most extrovertedly narcissistic as he preens/shoots nine-ball to Warren Zevon’s brilliant song. Cruise’s hair has never been more perfect.

9. Casino — “Satisfaction”, performed by Devo

Casino’s two-act structure works because almost every scene during the first half of the film, when Ace and the mob are living the high-life in Vegas, is answered in the second half when it all falls apart. During his second half, Scorsese employs Devo’s angular remake of the classic Rolling Stones song. Never before has the band’s artistic stance of de-evolution been used to such poetic ends.

8. The Last Waltz — “Old Time Religion”, performed by 3/5 of the Band

Halfway through Scorsese’s masterful concert film/band biography there is a moment where Rick Danko, Robbie Robertson, and Richard Manuel perform this traditional tune in a candid moment, with the camera and each other as the only audience. The “story” of the film traces how the members of the group can no longer continue the “damned impossible way of life” of a touring musician, but this intimate performance shows how much they still love not just their music but all music. Many consider it a throwaway moment, but I’ve always felt it was the heart of the film.

7. Goodfellas — “And Then He Kissed Me”, performed by the Crystals

Everybody remembers the tracking shot, the decent into the bowels of the Copacabana as Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) impressesKaren (Lorraine Bracco) on their real first date. Scorsese’s technical mastery is accentuated by the breathless joy of the song that plays underneath it. The image suggests the duo are descending into hell together, but the music reminds us that at that moment they both feel young and immortal.

6. Who’s That Knocking at My Door — “Jenny Take a Ride”, performed by Mitch Ryder

The opening credit sequence for Scorsese’s first feature consists of a street fight between two gangs. The fight does not begin until one of the combatants kisses his crucifix necklace. The sloppy, realistic violence is scored to Mitch Ryder’s rollicking rave-up. Although the sequence owes an obvious debt to Kenneth Anger, particularly Scorpio Rising, the themes and stylistic signatures are still associated with Scorsese.

5. Raging Bull — Cavalleria Rusticana: Intermezzo

The most beautiful credit sequence in all of Scorsese’s work, and one of the most striking in the history of film, the slow motion footage of Jake La Motta (Robert De Niro) alone in the ring dancing and punching at nobody, summarizes the film with startling clarity. Here is a brutal man shot with breathtaking beauty, a beauty that the mournful score augments. In two minutes, this sequence sums up the artistic goal of the entire film.

4. Goodfellas — “Sunshine of Your Love”, by Cream

Rarely does Scorsese use a song ironically, but this is one of those times. As the camera slowly pushes in on Jimmy (Robert De Niro), the foreboding opening of Cream’s rock classic signifies his decision to whack everybody who has helped him pull of the Lufthansa heist. A voiceover in the next scene gives the audience proof, but anyone attuned to Scorsese will know it just from the music. In this perfect shot, there is no sunshine and there is no love.

3. Mean Streets — “Be My Baby”, performed by the Ronettes

The film opens with Charlie (Harvey Keitel) awoken from sleep by the dread of guilt. He gets up and faces himself in the mirror. When he returns to bed, as his head hits the pillow, Scorsese cuts in closer to him three times, ending on extreme close-up of his face — all to the opening drumbeats of the Phil Spector-produced girl-group classic. As if this weren’t personal enough for Scorsese, the song continues as he cuts to the image of a projector being turned on.

2. Life Lessons from New York Stories — “A Whiter Shade of Pale”, by Procol Harum

The song provides an emotional surge throughout the 45- minute masterpiece Scorsese contributed to New York Stories, but the marriage of image to music reaches its emotional zenith when artist Lionel (a never better Nick Nolte) picks up his assistant/muse Paulette (Rosanna Arquette) at the airport. The camera gives us Lionel’s view of the people coming off the plane when suddenly the screen goes black. As the line “and her face at first just ghostly” can be heard, Scorsese opens an iris on Paulette moving in slow motion through the airport. We see her exactly as Lionel does, as an object of obsession, not as a real person. The use of the song again in the final shot — as he is picking up another young girl he will use and discard — brings the point home, making the use of it in the airport all the more haunting with subsequent viewings.

1. Mean Streets — “Jumpin’ Jack Flash”, by the Rolling Stones

Scorsese introduces the character of Johnny Boy (Robert De Niro) in Mean Streets by having him blow up a mailbox, but the first time we get to see him for any length of time is when he enters the group’s favorite bar and Charlie (Harvey Keitel sees him. Charlie believes that saving Johnny Boy will allow him to atone for his sins, but as Johnny Boy walks through the bar — in slow-motion, bathed in red light, playing up the fact that two beautiful girls are on his arm — the audience understands how futile Charlie’s efforts will be. This sequence has it all: rock music, Catholic guilt, De Niro, slow-motion, lots of red, and Keitel — and that’s why it tops my list of the ten best musical moments in all of Martin Scorsese’s work.