8 Movies and Shows That Played Journey’s Separate Ways (Worlds Apart) Song

Let’s face it, Journey was one of the most prominent bands of the 80s that they top almost all of today’s hit playlist, the biggest one being Don’t Stop Believing (1981).

But as for one of our personal favorites, Separate Ways (Worlds Apart), it peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 charts and spent four weeks as the first on the Top Tracks chart.

8 Movies and TV Shows that Played Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)

As for the movies that played Separate Ways (Worlds Apart), there were a ton. The reason for this is simply because it’s a powerful song that draws a lot of emotion. It’s also very catchy! So here they are. Enjoy!

1. The Simpsons

During season 16, episode 2, All’s Fair in Oven War, Homer had the family’s kitchen remodeled for Marge. She added some dishes to it, which got great reviews, and she was invited by Ned Flanders to enter the Ovenfresh Bakeoff. Although she quickly realized the competition was a lot harder than it looked.

The Separate Ways (Worlds Apart) song played in Homer’s car as a cultural reference before he asked himself to turn it down. The episode won great reviews from numerous critics.

2. The 2017 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

Recorded live on April 7th, 2017 in Cleveland, OH, The 2017 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony honored six new inductees, including ELO, Joan Baez, Journey, Pearl Jam, Tupac Shakur and Yes. Separate Ways (Worlds Apart) was played by Journey.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was established in 1983 in Cleveland, OH and is dedicated to recording the history of some of the best known and most influential bands, produced and musicians as well as other that have in some way greatly influenced the rock and roll industry.

3. TRON: Legacy (2010)

This song was awesome enough to be the opener of Tron: Legacy (2010) as Sam Flynn entered his father’s abandoned arcade. Pretty good opening song for a tech movie we might add. It also played in the background when Daft Punk entered Flynn’s Arcade in a similar manner at the beginning of the official music video “Derezzed.”

4. Yes Man (2008)

The song is best known in Yes Man for playing after Carl (Jim Carrey) escapes from the hospital in a white hospital gown on his nurse friend’s crotch rocket to confess his love for Allison (Zooey Deschanel). The song was meant to symbolize his transition from a No Man to a Yes Man. Fun fact: the song also plays on Carl’s ringtone, mostly when his friends were calling him to hang out (whom he neglected at the beginning of the movie).

5. Cold Case (2004)

In episode 20 of season 1, Greed, the team reopened a 1980’s case of a wealthy corporate stockbroker who set up a Ponzi scheme, which left many of its colleagues broke when it crashed. He was then murdered in an apparent carjacking. The song played when the four friends had to go their separate ways in 1980.

6. The O. C. (2004)

The O.C. TV series is about the troubled but close-knit young group of people living in the wealthy, upper-class neighborhood of Newport Beach, Orange County, CA. In In episode 21 of season 1, The Goodbye Girl, Anna was leaving, Theresa was staying and Seth thought he was the reason why Anna was planning on returning to Pittsburgh.

Ryan also knows he’s why Theresa was staying, but there wasn’t much either of them could do. Caleb was the Rivera’s Man of the Year.

The Separate Song (Worlds Apart) played in the while the two friends were in the car driving down the highway. One of them apparently didn’t like the song while the other almost yelled at him, “Do not insult Journey”.

7. Mystery Science Theater 3000

Abbreviated as MST3K, this cult comedy television series is about experimenting on the human mind when Joel Robinson (Joel Hodgson) was shot into space and forced to watch bad movies. Meanwhile, mad scientist Dr. Clayton Forrester (Trace Beaulieau) and his crony Frank (Frank Conniff) monitor his mind as they encounter various adventures. In episode 20 of season 9, Space Mutiny, Mike and the robots learned the 80s were worse than they thought as they endured the sci-fi movie Space Mutiny (1988).

8. Beavis and Butthead (1993)

In this animated MTV series about two teenage heavy-metal fans who did idiotic things because they’re bored, they thought everything was either “cool” or “sucks”. In episode 16 of season 3, Buff ’N’ Stuff, the pair were so thin they were forced to stay after gym for a personal workout with Coach Buzzcut.

While watching the music video, Beavis and Butthead were commenting on the music video, saying it was “horrible” and “this guy (Steve Perry) sucks”.

About Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)

The song was first written and composed in 1982 during the Escape tour. Just after two weeks of writing the song, they included it in their concerts, including Day on the Green and another at Chicago’s Rosemont Horizon. Both Jonathan Cain and Steve Perry had worked on the song backstage where Steve was working on the bass and he on the guitar, putting together the melody that night and the lyrics the following day. Here’s what Cain commented about the song:

“We wanted to write something rhythmic and still have a strong and haunting melody. We needed a main rhythm to run through the synthesizer and Steve Smith designed that kind of drum beat to let everything breathe. It’s really a throwback to all of our roots and the Motown sound. Steve [Perry] has always listened to a lot of Motown records, songs with a strong chorus approach. Songs that were real urgent sounding, but still had rhythm and melody.”

The Music Video

If you love Journey, you probably love the song and well, hate the music video. We agree they did a pretty poor job as a result of many controversies before its release. Steve Perry, the lead singer and writer of Separate Ways (Worlds Apart) really did not want a choreographed video, saying “We’re performers, we’re entertainers, but we’re not actors…and we were not a very photogenic band.”

Nevertheless, the video has millions of views and thousands of likes, so their overall popularity did make up for a poorly made video.

What Do You Think?

We’d love to hear what you think about the song and the music video! Please let us know in the comments below.