Quentin Tarantino is an audio alchemist. Once he adds vision to a sound, a song is changed forever.

First it was the ear-slicing scene for Stealer's Wheel's previously innocuous Stuck In The Middle With You in Reservoir Dogs. Now, in his fourth movie, Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) is spattered with the blood of Uma Thurman, and once again he has avoided the obvious, preferring the slinkier Nancy Sinatra version to Cher's chart hit.

Camp, sexy, weird and wired, Kill Bill is full of surprises, from Japanese garage rockers The 5.6.7.8's to the rap commentary of Wu Tang Clan's RZA. By comparison, chick flick Love Actually is predictable in its mutual back-scratching choice of Girls Aloud, Sugababes, Dido, Norah Jones and Texas. With Richard Curtis romantic movies, each track is a sleek marketing tool; with Tarantino, each song can stop you in your tracks.

Updated: 09:02 Thursday, November 27, 2003