This caught my eye:

"No popular songs (besides in general, including any song title in a spec script is perceived as being a sign of an amateur)"

I guess I'm in trouble with the first line of my co-written script (well, the first line after indicating an EXT shot):

Over opening credits we HEAR Donna Summer’s “Bad Girls,” or a song like it.

Doesn't "or a song like it" get me off the amateur hook, or do you recommend, as you seem to, to not mention any song title ever? I ask because in the very first scene of our script one of our two female protagonists is going to a singing audition—and when she gets there she hears another audition in progress.

So how should I handle this or rewrite this (if you don't mind me asking)? Should it simply be: "Over opening credits we HEAR a disco song"? One would think that being specific with particular song better gets across the mood, whereas "a disco song" seems lame precisely because of its lack of specificity. Sure, it's presumptuous of me to assume the rights to "Bad Girls" could be had, but it seems to me that mentioning a specific song works better at getting across to the reader the type of a song we'd like to hear (whereas "a disco song" is too vague).

Thanks for reading this.