The first rule of ‘Fight Club’ was actually "Must have amazing soundtrack." And if you ask just about anyone to name the song that cranks during the closing credits, they’ll blurt out with violent glee, "'Where Is My Mind,' of course!" Indeed, the classic 1988 Pixies tune made that final scene, which plays out like the modern-day cinematic version of Nero fiddling as Rome burns to the ground.

Due to the recent spate of Pixies news, we've been thinking a lot about the 'Fight Club' climax. Although the band has announced the departure of bassist-singer Kim Deal, they're soldiering on without her, promoting a new single, 'Bagboy,' and prepping for a global tour. It raises the question of whether Deal is replaceable, and that got us thinking about 'Fight Club,' and whether another song might be subbed in for 'Where Is My Mind?' Below are five possible alternatives -- songs we think director David Fincher could have gotten away with. Let us know in the comments whether you think they work as well.

  • 5

    Rage Against the Machine - ‘Wake Up’

    Another one of our favorite closing-credits tunes, Rage Against the Machine’s ‘Wake Up’ barrels in and starts blaring at the end of another classic flick, 1999’s ‘The Matrix.’ It’s sort of Led Zeppelin’s ‘Kashmir’ versus a really angry screaming grandmother (aka Zack de la Rocha), and it would fit perfectly at the end of ‘Fight Club,’ what with the whole dystopian-themed thing going on.

  • 4

    Foo Fighters - ‘The Last Song’

    A song called ‘The Last Song’ by a band as awesome as the Foo Fighters used as the last song in an awesome movie like ‘Fight Club?' Sign us the hell up! But it’s not just a convenient title -- this one's all about hating someone so much that you have to write a song about how you'll never dedicate another song to them. Ouch. Not bad a bad one to play while the world’s ending, no?

  • 3

    Bad Religion - ‘Atomic Garden’

    Bad Religion is one of those Cali punk bands that will keep on playing until they’re, like, 90. Singer Greg Graffin, who also happens to be a geology professor, and guitarist Brett Gurewitz, who founded highly successful Epitaph Records, create distinctive songs only they could possibly write. Gurewitz penned this awesome little tongue-in-cheek, horny-for-the-apocalypse number for 1992’s ‘Generator.’ Not as much of a slow burn as the Pixies tune in question, but the right subject matter.

  • 2

    Joey Ramone - ‘What a Wonderful World’

    We here at Diffuser enjoy a bit of wry wit from time to time, and Joey Ramone’s cover of Louis Armstrong’s ‘What a Wonderful World’ would have worked perfectly at the end of ‘Fight Club,’ because well, the exact opposite is happening in the scene. Take the Queens edge in Ramone’s voice and splice it with the unintended sarcasm of the sunny-day lyrics, and you get gold.

  • 1

    Soundgarden - ‘Black Hole Sun’

    One of the greatest songs of the ‘90s, Soundgarden’s ‘Black Hole Sun’ has the weird chords, bizarro MTV video (complete with the melty-face people) and sheer sonic magnitude to make it the perfect replacement for the Pixies. And we’d suggest that it immediately start playing softly in the beginning of ‘Fight Club’’s final scene and have the first chorus hit when all hell breaks loose outside the building’s window. If someone were to weave this all together on YouTube for us, we might shed a single, solitary tear ... of blood.

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