Exceptional soundtracks can make good movies great. They can also take on a life of their own, becoming a greater highlight than their respective films. In this series, I’m selecting some of my favorite soundtrack songs. While quite a few are well-known recordings, I’m also including a few that have flown under the radar over the years.

There are two general types of movie soundtrack songs — one type falls into the background and plays a supporting role to the film, the other type pushes its way to the foreground and plays a central role. The latter are few and far between, and in the case of Wayne’s World, “Bohemian Rhapsody” is one of them. We all have the car scene as an indelible movie memory — for better or worse. The acting and singing accentuate what is so unusual about this Queen anthem.

Like many an opera, “Bohemian Rhapsody” runs the gamut of human emotion — as demonstrated by Freddie Mercury’s monumental vocal delivery and the band’s accompanying harmonies and instrumentation. Anger. Sadness. Fear. Gaiety. The list goes on. The trick’s on us. It’s not a song about bohemians after all. It’s a song about humanity. That’s why I love it.

“Mama, life had just begun. But now I've gone and thrown it all away.”