Where's David Foster When You Need Him?
A new guest has arrived for a luxurious six day, seven night stay. His name is Lyndon and his blog has the intriguing title, Think Inside The Box. In a novel concept, Lyndon was a potential renter who (gasp) ACTUALLY COMMENTED! So before you visit me, do go take a moment to visit him.
How many times have you heard a song on a radio and memories come flooding back of the great film the song was used in?
How many times have you been watching a great film, waiting for the classic scene that features that equally classic song?
I've long had a theory that new and interesting music is on a steady decline. It started somewhere around the inexplicable success of The Smashing Pumpkins and it hasn't let up since.
Case in point, award winning music set to award winning movies. Yes, a good movie theme and a good movie used to go together just like Boogie & Bacall or perhaps more appropriately, Turner & Hooch. There was a point in time when you'd hear a song and instantly you could picture the exact scene the song was playing in the movie without hesitation.
At first I assumed it was my jaded imagination working on overtime. The quality of songs couldn't have declined that much, could they? I've heard about this happening to other people before. It's called "don't get old" syndrome. I know I'm only 28, but maybe, just maybe, I'm inevitably growing out of touch.
But then I did some research and realized I had been right all along and the proof is in the producing. If you still aren't convinced, just check out some highlights, winners in bold, from past Oscar nominees. Not winners mind, you, these were all just GOOD ENOUGH to be considered in line to be the best:
1980
"Fame" from Fame
'Nine to Five" from Nine to Five
"On the Road Again" from Honeysuckle Rose
"Out Here On My Own" from Fame
1981
"Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)" from Arthur
"Endless Love" from Endless Love
"For Your Eyes Only" from For Your Eyes Only
1982
"Eye of the Tiger" from Rocky III
"How Do You Keep the Music Playing?" from Best Friends
"It Might Be You" from Tootsie
"Up Where We Belong" from An Officer and a Gentleman
1983
"Flashdance...What a Feeling" from Flashdance
"Maniac" from Flashdance
1984
"Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" from Against All Odds
"Footloose" from Footloose
"Ghostbusters" from Ghostbusters
"I Just Called to Say I Love You" from The Woman in Red
"Let's Hear It for the Boy" from Footloose
1985
"The Power of Love" from Back to the Future
"Say You, Say Me" from White Nights
"Separate Lives (Love Theme from 'White Nights')" from White Nights
1986
"Glory of Love" from The Karate Kid Part II
"Somewhere Out There" from An American Tail
"Take My Breath Away" from Top Gun
1987
"(I've Had) The Time of My Life" from Dirty Dancing
"Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" from Mannequin
"Shakedown" from Beverly Hills Cop II
1988
"Let the River Run" from Working Girl
"Two Hearts" from Buster
1989
"After All" from Chances Are
"I Love To See You Smile" from Parenthood
"Kiss the Girl" from The Little Mermaid
"Under the Sea" from The Little Mermaid
Again, these were just the nominated songs. Not only are these all good songs, they are also all songs you know. (insert Christopher Walken infliction here)
Notice I didn't even touch anything prior to the eighties. All this WITHOUT any nomination for "Easy Money" from Easy Money, "Man In Motion" from St. Elmo's Fire, "Goonies R' Good Enough" from The Goonies, "Crying" from Hiding Out, "Holiday Road" from National Lampoon's Vacation, Who's Johnny?" from Short Circuit 2, "And When She Danced" from Stealing Home, "Somebody's Baby" from Fast Times At Ridgemont High... I mean really, do I need to go on?!
For a complete list of nominees go here.
Note the 90's marked a new decade, and with it, the slow and steady decline of quality composers writing top notch songs. The nineties marked what I like to call the "Disneyriffic" era of songwriting. In other words, most of the good songs that pulled at your heartstrings were actually written with a lion or a toy in mind.
In 1990 Bon Jovi's "Blaze of Glory" from the movie Young Guns was by far the best, but instead the award went to "Sooner Or Later (I Always Get My Man)" from Dick Tracy.
In 1991, Oops! They did it again! Bryan Adams should have been a shoo in for "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" from Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, but instead he couldn't fight off three beauty's, a beast and a song from Hook. In the end, "Beauty and the Beast" from Beauty and The Beast was the only one left standing.
1992 should have been the year of The Bodyguard, but "A Whole New World" from Aladdin walked away with top honors. Finally, in 1993, the spell seemed to have been broken when "The Day I Fall In Love" from Beethoven's 2nd lost to Bruce Springsteen's "Streets of Philadelphia" from you guessed it, Philadelphia. Yes, Philadelphia was the cream of the crop, minus the cheese.
But damnit if in 1994 Hollywood didn't overwhelm us again, only this time it was in the form of The Lion King. With "Hakuna Matata", "Circle of Life" and the eventual winner, "Can You Feel The Love Tonight?" all vying for top spots, "Look What Love Has Done" from Junior and "Make Up Your Mind" from The Paper didn't stand a chance.
1995? "Colors of the Wind" from Pocahontas. 1998, "When You Believe" courtesy of The Prince of Egypt. 1999, "You'll Be In My Heart" as a result of the movie, Tarzan.
And then things went from bad, to worse. Starting with the year 2000, not only did the good nominees dwindle, the popularity of the nominees dwindled right along with them. Where it once was hard to pick and choose the winner from all the great nominees, suddenly it seemed they didn't have enough great nomineees to choose from.
2000
"A Fool In Love" from Meet the Parents
"I've Seen It All" from Dancer in the Dark
"A Love Before Time" from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
"My Funny Friend and Me" from The Emperor's New Groove
"Things Have Changed" from Wonder Boys -- Music and Lyric by Bob Dylan
2001
"If I Didn't Have You" from Monsters, Inc.
"May It Be" from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
"There You'll Be" from Pearl Harbor
"Until" from Kate & Leopold
"Vanilla Sky" from Vanilla Sky
2002
"Burn It Blue" from Frida
"Father and Daughter" from The Wild Thornberrys Movie
"The Hands That Built America" from Gangs of New York
"I Move On" from Chicago
"Lose Yourself" from 8 Mile
2003
"Belleville Rendez-vous" from The Triplets of Belleville
"Into the West" from The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
"A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow" from A Mighty Wind
"Scarlet Tide" from Cold Mountain
"You Will Be My Ain True Love" from Cold Mountain
2004
"Accidentally In Love" from Shrek 2
"Al Otro Lado Del Río" from The Motorcycle Diaries
"Believe" from The Polar Express
"Learn To Be Lonely" from The Phantom of the Opera
"Look To Your Path (Vois Sur Ton Chemin)" from The Chorus (Les Choristes)
Go ahead. Hum a few bars of "Until" from Kate & Leopold for me. Tell me all about the first time you heard "A Fool In Love" in Meet the Parents. Reenact the scene where they made magic in The Chorus. The only things, as far as I can tell, that haven't changed about the nominees are that cartoons and Randy Newman are down, but not out.
Which brings us to the pathetic lot they call this year's whopping three nominees. Believe it or not, there's not even a Disney or Newman tune among them.
"In The Deep" from Crash, "It's Hard Out Here For A Pimp" from Hustle & Flow and "Travelin' Thru" from TransAmerica.
Movie watchers, this is apparently, the best of the best. If things don't get better soon something tells me I will NOT be humming the same tune again this time next year.
How many times have you heard a song on a radio and memories come flooding back of the great film the song was used in?
How many times have you been watching a great film, waiting for the classic scene that features that equally classic song?
I've long had a theory that new and interesting music is on a steady decline. It started somewhere around the inexplicable success of The Smashing Pumpkins and it hasn't let up since.
Case in point, award winning music set to award winning movies. Yes, a good movie theme and a good movie used to go together just like Boogie & Bacall or perhaps more appropriately, Turner & Hooch. There was a point in time when you'd hear a song and instantly you could picture the exact scene the song was playing in the movie without hesitation.
At first I assumed it was my jaded imagination working on overtime. The quality of songs couldn't have declined that much, could they? I've heard about this happening to other people before. It's called "don't get old" syndrome. I know I'm only 28, but maybe, just maybe, I'm inevitably growing out of touch.
But then I did some research and realized I had been right all along and the proof is in the producing. If you still aren't convinced, just check out some highlights, winners in bold, from past Oscar nominees. Not winners mind, you, these were all just GOOD ENOUGH to be considered in line to be the best:
1980
"Fame" from Fame
'Nine to Five" from Nine to Five
"On the Road Again" from Honeysuckle Rose
"Out Here On My Own" from Fame
1981
"Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)" from Arthur
"Endless Love" from Endless Love
"For Your Eyes Only" from For Your Eyes Only
1982
"Eye of the Tiger" from Rocky III
"How Do You Keep the Music Playing?" from Best Friends
"It Might Be You" from Tootsie
"Up Where We Belong" from An Officer and a Gentleman
1983
"Flashdance...What a Feeling" from Flashdance
"Maniac" from Flashdance
1984
"Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" from Against All Odds
"Footloose" from Footloose
"Ghostbusters" from Ghostbusters
"I Just Called to Say I Love You" from The Woman in Red
"Let's Hear It for the Boy" from Footloose
1985
"The Power of Love" from Back to the Future
"Say You, Say Me" from White Nights
"Separate Lives (Love Theme from 'White Nights')" from White Nights
1986
"Glory of Love" from The Karate Kid Part II
"Somewhere Out There" from An American Tail
"Take My Breath Away" from Top Gun
1987
"(I've Had) The Time of My Life" from Dirty Dancing
"Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" from Mannequin
"Shakedown" from Beverly Hills Cop II
1988
"Let the River Run" from Working Girl
"Two Hearts" from Buster
1989
"After All" from Chances Are
"I Love To See You Smile" from Parenthood
"Kiss the Girl" from The Little Mermaid
"Under the Sea" from The Little Mermaid
Again, these were just the nominated songs. Not only are these all good songs, they are also all songs you know. (insert Christopher Walken infliction here)
Notice I didn't even touch anything prior to the eighties. All this WITHOUT any nomination for "Easy Money" from Easy Money, "Man In Motion" from St. Elmo's Fire, "Goonies R' Good Enough" from The Goonies, "Crying" from Hiding Out, "Holiday Road" from National Lampoon's Vacation, Who's Johnny?" from Short Circuit 2, "And When She Danced" from Stealing Home, "Somebody's Baby" from Fast Times At Ridgemont High... I mean really, do I need to go on?!
For a complete list of nominees go here.
Note the 90's marked a new decade, and with it, the slow and steady decline of quality composers writing top notch songs. The nineties marked what I like to call the "Disneyriffic" era of songwriting. In other words, most of the good songs that pulled at your heartstrings were actually written with a lion or a toy in mind.
In 1990 Bon Jovi's "Blaze of Glory" from the movie Young Guns was by far the best, but instead the award went to "Sooner Or Later (I Always Get My Man)" from Dick Tracy.
In 1991, Oops! They did it again! Bryan Adams should have been a shoo in for "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" from Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, but instead he couldn't fight off three beauty's, a beast and a song from Hook. In the end, "Beauty and the Beast" from Beauty and The Beast was the only one left standing.
1992 should have been the year of The Bodyguard, but "A Whole New World" from Aladdin walked away with top honors. Finally, in 1993, the spell seemed to have been broken when "The Day I Fall In Love" from Beethoven's 2nd lost to Bruce Springsteen's "Streets of Philadelphia" from you guessed it, Philadelphia. Yes, Philadelphia was the cream of the crop, minus the cheese.
But damnit if in 1994 Hollywood didn't overwhelm us again, only this time it was in the form of The Lion King. With "Hakuna Matata", "Circle of Life" and the eventual winner, "Can You Feel The Love Tonight?" all vying for top spots, "Look What Love Has Done" from Junior and "Make Up Your Mind" from The Paper didn't stand a chance.
1995? "Colors of the Wind" from Pocahontas. 1998, "When You Believe" courtesy of The Prince of Egypt. 1999, "You'll Be In My Heart" as a result of the movie, Tarzan.
And then things went from bad, to worse. Starting with the year 2000, not only did the good nominees dwindle, the popularity of the nominees dwindled right along with them. Where it once was hard to pick and choose the winner from all the great nominees, suddenly it seemed they didn't have enough great nomineees to choose from.
2000
"A Fool In Love" from Meet the Parents
"I've Seen It All" from Dancer in the Dark
"A Love Before Time" from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
"My Funny Friend and Me" from The Emperor's New Groove
"Things Have Changed" from Wonder Boys -- Music and Lyric by Bob Dylan
2001
"If I Didn't Have You" from Monsters, Inc.
"May It Be" from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
"There You'll Be" from Pearl Harbor
"Until" from Kate & Leopold
"Vanilla Sky" from Vanilla Sky
2002
"Burn It Blue" from Frida
"Father and Daughter" from The Wild Thornberrys Movie
"The Hands That Built America" from Gangs of New York
"I Move On" from Chicago
"Lose Yourself" from 8 Mile
2003
"Belleville Rendez-vous" from The Triplets of Belleville
"Into the West" from The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
"A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow" from A Mighty Wind
"Scarlet Tide" from Cold Mountain
"You Will Be My Ain True Love" from Cold Mountain
2004
"Accidentally In Love" from Shrek 2
"Al Otro Lado Del Río" from The Motorcycle Diaries
"Believe" from The Polar Express
"Learn To Be Lonely" from The Phantom of the Opera
"Look To Your Path (Vois Sur Ton Chemin)" from The Chorus (Les Choristes)
Go ahead. Hum a few bars of "Until" from Kate & Leopold for me. Tell me all about the first time you heard "A Fool In Love" in Meet the Parents. Reenact the scene where they made magic in The Chorus. The only things, as far as I can tell, that haven't changed about the nominees are that cartoons and Randy Newman are down, but not out.
Which brings us to the pathetic lot they call this year's whopping three nominees. Believe it or not, there's not even a Disney or Newman tune among them.
"In The Deep" from Crash, "It's Hard Out Here For A Pimp" from Hustle & Flow and "Travelin' Thru" from TransAmerica.
Movie watchers, this is apparently, the best of the best. If things don't get better soon something tells me I will NOT be humming the same tune again this time next year.
<< Home