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A couple weeks ago, I wrote an article listing six songs that weren't specifically written for a movie, but are now forever associated with that film. Now it's time to go full circle. Which songs were written for a certain movie, but have since stood apart from the movie on their own merits? I began the last post by listing a few, and I'll include a couple of those here, along with a few others.

By the way, this doesn't mean you can't still associate them backwards to their origin. Last time, you knew that "Johnny B. Goode" actually came from Chuck Berry first, right? Likewise, the theme of this article means you can listen to these songs on their own, without immediately needing to see the movie. Here they are, in no particular order:

Bob Dylan - "Knockin' on Heaven's Door", Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid

It may seem hard to believe that such a classic song was ever anything else but a hit from one of Dylan's studio albums, but it was in fact written for a little known 1973 movie called Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. The Western, in which Dylan also had a minor role, was directed by Sam Peckinpah. After editing was complete, the movie was taken out of Peckinpah's hands by production company MGM, heavily re-edited, and then released, where it become a box office bomb. I guess if there's a silver lining to the story, it's that Dylan still made out good on the movie's failure.

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The 5 best moms from TV shows

TV and Film moms

We all think our moms is the greatest mom in the world, but what about in the land of fiction? There have been plenty of great examples of moms in both TV shows and movies. Today we examine five of the greatest TV moms. Here they are, in no particular order.

Lucy Ricardo - I Love Lucy

This may seem like a strange one, given all the antics Lucy and co. get up to in the course of the show. However, Lucy clearly loves Little Ricky, he's well-provided for, and he's not affected by what the adults do elsewhere. Besides, every kid needs to have a facepalm moment of when their parent does something silly. It just turns out Little Ricky has more than most kids.

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Songs written for the soundtrack of a movie often become huge hits. I'm thinking about blockbusters like Elton John's "The Circle of Life" from The Lion King, Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On" from Titanic, and "Don't You (Forget About Me)," written for The Breakfast Club. All of these are songs that, although written for a movie, developed a reputation outside of their respective films.

What about the other way around, songs that were popular long before appearing in a movie, but gained a second life as a crucial part of the film? It doesn't always happen, as directors and composers like to use original music, but sometimes it does and make the movie that much better. Here are six classic songs that you cannot help but associate with the popular film they were in:

Chuck Berry - "Johnny B. Goode", Back to the Future

George just kissed Elaine, Marty's family is restored from non-existence, and Biff is out cold (for the moment). Time to go home, right? Not before one more song, of course, celebrating the achievement. Marty's rendition of the classic Chuck Berry hit (or was he playing the original version?) is what I think of whenever I hear "Johnny B. Goode."

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Three must-follow Tumblr blogs

My name’s Crystal, and I’m a Tumblr addict. I love Tumblr because at any given time I can find amazing illustrations, comics, and news items not covered by the mainstream media juxtaposed between gratuitous pictures of food and an adorable video of puppies.

There are tons of Tumblrs out there now, some that I’ve already written about in a post a few weeks back. Here are a few of the blogs I follow and love.

Garfield Minus Garfield

Garfield Minus Garfield

I loved Garfield comics as a kid, although it didn’t do much to foster my love for actual cats (sorry, cat lovers). But I’d all but forgotten about Garfield as I grew up. Garfield Minus Garfield takes old Garfield comic strips and Photoshops the lasagna-obsessed cat — and his thoughts — out of it "in order to reveal the existential angst of a certain young Mr. Jon Arbuckle" (according to the creators). Jon was probably the least interesting character in the strip. Like, less interesting than the spiders Garfield would try to kill. But without the other characters, Jon is the star, and it brings up a question I’ve always wondered: is Jon crazy? Seriously, guys, is he, or can he actually talk to and understand his cat? And if he could talk to and understand his cat, is he crazy anyway? Some of the strips are pretty funny without Garfield, while others are a little sad, but either way, I find it pretty interesting.

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Silver Linings Playbook, Lincoln lead 2013 Oscar nominations

Academy Awards Oscar nominations 2013

Nominations for 2013 Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, were announced today.

The show will be Feb. 24 on ABC at 8:30 p.m. EST. "Family Guy" creator Seth MacFarlane hosts. (Sidenote: don't forget about Tina Fey and Amy Poehler hosting the Golden Globes this Sunday, Jan. 13!)

"Silver Linings Playbook" scored a whopping seven nods; "Lincoln" trailed just behind with six.

"Beast of the Southern Wild" nabbed five nominations, while "Amour," and "Argo" got four each.

Check out the full list after the cut.

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