Songs that feel like Joker (2019)
A lonely, unraveling outsider is crushed by a indifferent city until his pain curdles into theatrical, liberating chaos.
- Smile (From United Artists Film "Modern Times") by Jimmy Durante: A gentle standard about hiding sorrow behind a grin, echoing the tagline's forced happy face.
- White Room by Cream: Psychedelic, brooding blues-rock that matches the film's sense of isolation and a mind slipping loose.
- "Heroes" by David Bowie: Late-70s Berlin art-rock about desperate, defiant grandeur against a bleak backdrop.
- Radio Ga Ga by Queen: Early-80s pop-theatre that nods to the era's TV and media glare.
- Atmosphere by Joy Division: Funereal post-punk gloom that captures the weight of a hollow, grey existence.
- Mad World by Tears for Fears: Early-80s synth melancholy about feeling out of place in a numb world.
- Hurt by Johnny Cash: A raw, broken confessional that matches Arthur's fragility and self-destruction.
- Pyramid Song by Radiohead: Sinking, dreamlike strings and piano echo the film's slow psychological descent.
- Where Is My Mind? by Pixies: Jangling, unhinged alt-rock about losing your grip and stepping into the void.