"The Heat" Soundtrack Lyrics

"The Heat (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)" – Album Guide to Tracks and Key Scenes

Overview

What does a buddy-cop comedy sound like when the jokes hit as hard as the punches? The Heat answers with jukebox bravado — funk classics, club bangers, guilty-pleasure soft rock — cut like a hype reel and glued together with an under-the-hood score by Michael Andrews. It’s Boston grit with glitter on top.

Paul Feig leans on recognizable hooks to characterize his mismatched pair: Ashburn’s buttoned-up precision gets shoved into Mullins’ chaos to the tune of The Isley Brothers, LCD Soundsystem, Deee-Lite, Air Supply, Jack White, Azealia Banks, Kimbra and more. The music is character work — a mixtape of intimidation, bad decisions, and unexpectedly tender detours on a bar dancefloor. Meanwhile, Andrews’ cueing keeps the story nimble: quick rhythmic figures for surveillance and chases; warm, modest textures for the “we might actually be friends” beats.

Genres & themes in phases: vintage funk & disco — swagger and strut; indie/alt & electro — stakeouts and club mayhem; soft-rock slow jams — the comic heart; rock & AOR — montage propulsion; minimalist score — connective tissue and catharsis.

How It Was Made

The official song compilation landed June 25, 2013 on Lakeshore Records, curated to mirror Feig’s wall-to-wall drops (and highlighted by a new Santigold cut, “Rock This”). Michael Andrews handled the original score, recorded with the Hollywood Studio Symphony; Feig, Andrews, and engineer Bruce Botnick are seen conferring in session photography. The movie’s music supervision stitches licensed tracks (bars, clubs, cars, house parties) with a lean score that never fights the needle-drops for the spotlight.

Tracks & Scenes

“Fight the Power (Part 1 & 2)” (The Isley Brothers)

Where it plays:

Right up top (00:00). Funk horns over opening beats and titles — it’s the movie flexing before the first joke lands.

Why it matters:

Establishes swagger: this is a loud comedy, built to strut.

“Sixteen Saltines” (Jack White)

Where it plays:

Assignment send-off (~00:06). A crunchy needle-drop under the order to ship Ashburn to Boston.

Why it matters:

Telegraphs friction — her tidy life is about to get messy.

“Tick Tick Boom” (The Hives)

Where it plays:

Street pursuit (~00:10) as Mullins chases Rojas. Guitars snap with every cut.

Why it matters:

Gives chase footage punky edges — and Mullins an anthem.

“Werkin’ Girls” (Angel Haze)

Where it plays:

Bar breather (~00:21) after Ashburn nicks car keys. The beat is all posture and side-eye.

Why it matters:

Signals the movie’s modern hip-hop backbone — confidence as a plot device.

“Ti Samo Znaš” (Iljaz Hasani)

Where it plays:

Background at the building where they interview Tatiana (~00:28). A quick, coloristic diegetic cue.

Why it matters:

Texture that marks a shift in locale and stakes.

“More Than a Feeling” (Boston)

Where it plays:

Car scene (~00:37) that ends with Mullins’ mom flipping the bird. It’s their city, their rules.

Why it matters:

Local pride needle-drop — the title is a joke and a promise.

“Daft Punk Is Playing at My House” (LCD Soundsystem)

Where it plays:

First club track (~00:38) as they try to bug the target’s phone. Strobe cuts, tight lenses, clumsy spycraft.

Why it matters:

Turns espionage into dance-floor farce.

“Flashlight (Serafin & Rev Kev Heat Remix)” (Parliament)

Where it plays:

Second club cue (~00:43) while Ashburn and Mullins awkwardly grind near LeSoire.

Why it matters:

Classic funk with a modern flip — exactly the movie’s vibe.

“Left Ey3” (Kreayshawn)

Where it plays:

Factory snoop (~01:01). Percussive swagger under a stealth pass through machinery.

Why it matters:

Keeps the mid-movie momentum taut between gags.

“Sittin’ on a Rainbow” (Mountain) → “Lights” (Journey) → “Groove Is in the Heart” (Deee-Lite)

Where it plays:

The bar blowout (~01:08–01:12). Three shots, overshares, and a neon-lit surrender to the dancefloor as the set spirals from hard-rock riff to soft-rock glow to full psychedelic bounce.

Why it matters:

Best sequence in the film: comic intimacy through songs everyone knows.

“Dance With My Father” (Luther Vandross) → “Every Woman in the World” (Air Supply)

Where it plays:

Same bar stretch (~01:12–01:13). First, slow-dance with two strangers; then Ashburn and Mullins end up swaying together, giggling into friendship.

Why it matters:

Turns a raunchy night into an emotional hinge.

“Lonely Town, Lonely Street” (Bill Withers)

Where it plays:

Cool-off montage (~01:27) after the duo split; Ashburn buries herself in files.

Why it matters:

Withers’ grit = solitary resolve. Plot resets; stakes clarify.

“Roller” (April Wine) → “212” (Azealia Banks feat. Lazy Jay)

Where it plays:

Re-team and arm-up (~01:30–01:33). Muscle-car rock into spitfire club rap as they kit up to take down Larkin.

Why it matters:

Pre-finale charge music — old-school adrenaline meets 2010s bravado.

“Come Into My Head” (Kimbra)

Where it plays:

End-credits glide (~01:51 → credits). Sleek electro-pop over photo gags and character codas.

Why it matters:

Breezy exit that keeps the nightclub pulse humming out the door.

Also heard / notable album cuts:

“Stranglehold” (Ted Nugent) slices into early tension; “Rock This” (Santigold) is the compilation’s new track; “Flashlight,” “Groove Is in the Heart,” “More Than a Feeling,” “Daft Punk Is Playing at My House,” “Every Woman in the World,” and “Dance With My Father” anchor the Lakeshore album alongside deeper pulls.

Score cues — Michael Andrews

Where they play:

Between drops: stealth patterns for stakeouts, clipped hits for comedic violence, warmer pads and piano for reconciliation scenes.

Why they matter:

The glue — comic timing support that never shouts over the songs.

Notes & Trivia

• Label & date: The 15-track compilation dropped June 25, 2013 via Lakeshore Records; the film adds several cues not on the album.
• New cut: Santigold’s “Rock This” was recorded for the soundtrack.
• Composer: Michael Andrews scored the film; session photos show Feig and Andrews on the stage with the Hollywood Studio Symphony.
• Bar-scene trilogy: “Groove Is in the Heart,” “Dance With My Father,” and “Every Woman in the World” chart the chaos-to-bonding arc in about three minutes.
• Boston wink: Dropping Boston’s “More Than a Feeling” for a car gag is deliberate — a geographical punchline.

Reception & Quotes

Reviewers tagged the album as a breezy, crowd-pleasing grab-bag — a party-friendly mix that mirrors the movie’s mess-then-mend rhythm.

“A solid party sampler — uneven by design — that plays to Feig’s collage style.” Album review roundups

“The drops do the character work; Andrews’ cues keep the punchlines on time.” Film-music press

Availability: Streaming on the usual platforms; original CD issued by Lakeshore. Not every film cue appears on the album (several club/bar songs and background stingers are film-only).

Interesting Facts

• Soft-rock judo: Air Supply and Luther Vandross in a cop comedy? Weaponized sincerity for a perfect bar bit.
• Club espionage: The club sting is scored like a dance video — jump cuts timed to LCD Soundsystem/Parliament.
• Local color: Using “More Than a Feeling” in Boston is as on-the-nose as it is funny.
• Compilation honesty: The album is eclectic by intent — it mirrors the story’s chaos, not a single genre lane.
• Score stealth: Andrews never overscores; the cues are built to serve punchlines, not compete with them.

Technical Info

• Title: The Heat (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
• Year: 2013
• Type: Feature film soundtrack — various artists + original score
• Composer: Michael Andrews
• Label/album status: Lakeshore Records — 15-track commercial album; additional cues appear only in film
• Selected notable placements: “Fight the Power” — opening titles; “Sixteen Saltines” — transfer setup; “Tick Tick Boom” — street chase; “Daft Punk Is Playing at My House” & “Flashlight (Remix)” — club sting; “Groove Is in the Heart” / “Dance With My Father” / “Every Woman in the World” — bar dance run; “Lonely Town, Lonely Street” — separation montage; “212” — arm-up; “Come Into My Head” — credits

Key Contributors

Questions & Answers

Who composed the score?

Michael Andrews, whose understated cues bridge the big song moments.

What label released the soundtrack?

Lakeshore Records, on June 25, 2013 (CD and digital).

What’s the song during the club sting?

First LCD Soundsystem’s “Daft Punk Is Playing at My House,” then a remixed “Flashlight” by Parliament.

Which songs play during the bar meltdown?

Mountain’s “Sittin’ on a Rainbow,” Journey’s “Lights,” Deee-Lite’s “Groove Is in the Heart,” Luther Vandross’ “Dance With My Father,” and Air Supply’s “Every Woman in the World.”

Is every film cue on the album?

No — the album collects 15 key songs; a number of in-film cues (and portions of scenes) aren’t on the compilation.

Sources: official soundtrack listings & label pages; scene-by-scene placements with timestamps; composer/session documentation; studio trailer for figures; interviews & album notices.

November, 28th 2025