In Contention

Tag: Best Music

  • TECH SUPPORT: Best Original Song

    I guess I’ve been pretty hard on the Best Original Song category this year. It’s not like any given year tends to have a deluge of impressive fodder up for consideration or anything, but on the whole, outside of a concentration of contenders that have a fighting chance at recognition, it just seems to be an uninspired lot of tracks in the mix for 2010.

    Before diving into the fray, some quick reminding. The music branch’s rules are always in flux and over the last couple of years they have shifted, perhaps rightly, into a frame of assessing songs as they are used within the context of a given film. Let’s look at the official language from the Academy’s rules and eligibility literature:

    An original song consists of words and music, both of which are original and written specifically for the motion picture. There must be a clearly audible, intelligible, substantive rendition (not necessarily visually presented) of both lyric and melody, used in the body of the motion picture or as the first music cue in the end credits.

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  • Listen to Tim McGraw and Gwyneth Paltrow’s ‘Me and Tennessee’ from ‘Country Strong’

    Continuing this week with a last push to feature a few more Best Original Song contenders we have the featured track from “Country Strong,” namely the Tim McGraw/Gwyneth Paltrow duet “Me and Tennessee.”

    If you ask me, this is an absolutely killer tune.  So no surprise it was written by Paltrow’s husband, Coldplay frontman Chris Martin.  Even being a country track, one can hear Martin’s influence in the fabric of the song and it just rolls.  I love it.  (And you’ll recall Paltrow’s big country coming out party on the CMAs last month.)

    The film being a musical, one would have expected it to be performed on screen.  The Cher/Diane Warren ballad “You Haven’t Seen the Last of Me” from “Burlesque” is in that kind of position to capitalize on the voting procedure, whereby all contenders are viewed in the context of the given films.  But it’s actually the closing credits cue.  Bummer.

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  • Listen to Carrie Underwood’s ‘There’s a Place for Us’ from ‘The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader’

    We’re trickling closer to Thursday’s Tech Support column on the original song race with what’s available to us.  Today it’s a tune I didn’t even know was in the race until a PR blast hit the ole inbox this afternoon.

    It looks like country star Carrie Underwood is the race with “There’s a Place for Us” from “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader,” putting her in the “Oscar contender” club with fellow American Idol alums Jennifer Hudson (“Love You I Do” from “Dreamgirls”) and Adam Lambert (“Time for Miracles” from “2012”).

    I haven’t seen the film yet.  In fact, I never did get around to the second installment of the franchise after being a pretty big fan of the first one.  But I’m told the song is used over the closing credits rather than in the context of the film itself.

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  • Well put

    Misconceptions about Daft Punk’s musical score: Fans became excited when it was announced that Grammy winning electronica duo Daft Punk would be scoring the film. They received their first taste of the music when the track “End of Line” was played in the hidden room that displayed the new lightcycle at the Flynn’s arcade set-up for San Diego Comic-Con 2009. Immediately fan produced mixes of the track were created and music released by other electronica artists was falsely labeled as new tracks from the Tron Legacy score. A few weeks back another up tempo track Derezzed was released in anticipation of the score’s December 6 release. Yet many fans fail to realize that most of the music Daft Punk has composed for the film is not dance music, but an actual score. It works fine on it’s own, but it’s meant to support and enhance the theatrical film. Daft Punk even incorporated a 90 piece orchestra making for some exciting and truly emotional music cues. If you expect to be dancing along to the Tron Legacy soundtrack you’re gonna be sorely disappointed.

    From Ron Henrique’s Latino Review piece entitled “10 things surrounding ‘TRON Legacy’ that bug me.”

  • Listen to Cee Lo Green’s ‘What Part of Forever’ from ‘The Twilight Saga: Eclipse’

    Can you tell I’m grasping at straws with this category yet?  I’m planning on writing up this year’s Best Original Song category in Thursday’s Tech Support column and I thought I’d squeeze a few more contenders in this week, but there’s not a lot to choose from.

    Cee-Lo Green’s “What Part of Forever” from “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse” was nominated for a Satellite Award by the International Press Academy last week so I guess giving it some space here makes (a little) sense.  I haven’t seen the film so I can’t speak to its usage therein.  I watched the first two films of the series back-to-back last year and was stunned.  I never want to feel that way again so I avoid them like the plague.

    Also included on the soundtrack were tunes from Muse, Beck and Bat For Lashes and Muse (whose “Eclipse (All Yours)” was also nominated for a Satellite), all eligible (I think).

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  • Eligibility of Burwell’s ‘Grit’ score still up in the air

    Anne Thompson is reporting in her “True Grit” review that Carter Burwell’s score from the film is ineligible for Academy consideration due to elements being based on hymns of the period.  However, this is not official, first and foremost because the score hasn’t even been submitted to the Academy’s music branch yet.

    I’m told there are 22 minutes of original score in the film and that the score submitted to AMPAS will have 29 tracks on it.  There are six hymns on the commercial soundtrack release, but those obviously won’t be included in the submission.

    Also worth pointing out is there are no rules regarding length of original material.  In 2006 “Babel” had about 20 minutes of original score from composer Gustavo Santaolalla and it won the Oscar.

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  • Listen to Owl City’s ‘To the Sky’ from ‘Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole’

    The Warner Bros. screener pack arrived yesterday afternoon and I immediately noticed an original song contender on the sleeve for Zack Snyder’s “Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole.” I hadn’t yet seen the film so I popped it into the player last night to see where and how the track was utilized.

    Owl City’s “To the Sky” is a poppy ditty used mid-way through the film as part of a montage and is then reprised as the first cue on the closing credits.  Even in a slim pickings race like the one we’re seeing unfold this year, I’d say it doesn’t have much of a shot at a nomination, but it’s an eligible contender nevertheless so it deserves a mention here.

    I quite liked the film, by the way.  Snyder’s vision and cinematic sense really stands out, even if his penchant for slow motion begins to grate after a while.  When he saves it for unique dramatic instances, it has a real impact.  But regardless, the animation is gorgeous and I’d have loved to catch it in the theater.

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  • Listen to Avril Lavigne’s ‘Alice’ from ‘Alice in Wonderland’

    It’s slim pickings in the original song category this year. I didn’t even get around to featuring anything last week and diving back in today, I see there’s just not much to choose from.

    So I’ll go with Avril Lavigne’s “Alice” from Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland.” It’s on the furthest outskirts of contenders for a variety of reasons, not least of them being that it’s simply a credits cue and isn’t used in the film, so that won’t really light the branch’s fire in the screening stage of the process.

    Apparently Lavigne approached Disney to contribute to the film. Personally, it drives me (and my ears) nuts. But it’s one of the qualifying tracks in the hunt so it deserves its moment along with the rest.  Have a listen to “Alice” after the jump, and as always, keep up with the Best Original Song category via our dedicated page here.

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  • TECH SUPPORT: Best Original Score — Volume II

    A great score can take a film from memorable to unforgettable.  Whether it be Vangelis’s synthesizer on the beach in “Chariots of Fire,” Nino Rota’s haunting waltz from “The Godfather” or John Williams’s blaring, adventurous march from “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” scores can elevate amazing images to bring the director’s vision to even greater fruition.

    The last time I discussed this category, I noted how it is very hard to predict in advance without having heard the scores.  Synopses and stills give clues in other categories to an extent frequently not seen here.  That said, most contenders have screened, if not opened, now, so we can make safe assumptions.

    But I still think this can be one of the most difficult categories to predict. But in the way of patterns, films that feature noticeable, loud, memorable and often exotic music are usually contenders.  And being in a Best Picture frontrunner never hurts matters, as always.

    This branch certainly has its favorites, and I expect to see past nominees and winners prominent in the race this year.  The composers don’t frequently embrace new nominees.  Usually only one newcomer is welcomed per year.

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  • Listen to Pharrell’s ‘Despicable Me’ from ‘Despicable Me’

    This track is probably a bit of a long shot in this year’s race for Best Original Song, but, well, it’s awesome.

    Hip-hop artist Pharrell Williams (who goes by simply “Pharrell”) contributed the original tracks to Universal’s summer animated effort “Despicable Me.” They give the film a smooth, rhythmic vibe and go a long way toward the film’s overall personality, too.  In that sense, they really should be considered some of the best song contributions to a film this year.

    The title track, “Despicable Me,” plays over an opening sequence that introduces the audience to the central character, villain-turned-softy Gru.  It’s a key sequence given what we see unfold, as it establishes Gru as diabolical in a quick series of devilish moments with the character.  I imagine when voters are sitting there watching the songs in context, going through clip after clip, this one could stick out as particularly humorous.

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  • Listen to Cher’s ‘You Haven’t Seen the Last of Me’ from ‘Burlesque’

    Cher and the Academy Awards made for an interesting mix over 20 years ago when she took home a Best Actress Oscar for “Moonstruck.” Though it was probably her threads that grabbed more headlines the next day.

    This year, the singer is back in the awards mix, though for her vocal talents (which have never been recognized by the Academy, interestingly enough — though I’m not sure there have been many opportunities).  Cher is part of the ensemble of Steven Antin’s musical “Burlesque” and belts out the power ballad “You Haven’t Seen the Last of Me” at a key moment in the context of the film.  Cha-ching.

    Not only that, the song was also written by Dianne Warren, who has been nominated for six Academy Awards (going all the way back to “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now” from “Mannequin”).  And she has yet to win.

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  • Listen to Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi’s ‘I See the Light’ from ‘Tangled’

    Disney always does well in the Best Original Song category and this year should be no different.  We’ve already covered Randy Newman’s latest entry from the “Toy Story” franchise but today we showcase one of the many tracks from the upcoming film “Tangled.”

    When I wrote up the film last month I noted that the strongest play at a nomination would have to be “I See the Light,” and I still feel the same.  In classic Disney form, the film fits a certain parameter, coming toward the end of the second act just as our heroes (voiced by Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi, who also sing the song) begin to connect romantically.

    It’s a lovely tune, well-used.  But it’s obviously worth noting the presence of Alan Menken on this film.  The 18-time nominee (and eight-time winner) was last recognized in 2007 for three songs from “Enchanted” and he’ll get at least one nod, maybe a couple, for “Tangled.”

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  • Listen to Dido and A.R. Rahman’s ‘If I Rise’ from ‘127 Hours’

    Two years ago composer A.R. Rahman managed to sweep the music categories at the Academy Awards.  One of only two nominations “Slumdog Millionaire” didn’t translate into an Oscar was original song “O…Saya” — because the film’s other key track, “Jai Ho,” won instead.

    This year Rahman is back in the mix with the vibrant score for Danny Boyle’s “127 Hours,” and specifically, the original song “If I Rise.”  Dido provides the vocals on the song, which plays sporadically at key moments during the film’s climax and finally plays in full over the closing credits.

    At the end of the day, this could be a formidable contender in the race for Best Original Song.  It’s well-placed in the film and that will go over well when voters sit down and watch all of the contenders in context.  At the very least, that’s enough for the track seriously threaten a nomination.

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  • Listen to Randy Newman’s ‘We Belong Together’ from ‘Toy Story 3’

    Randy Newman has been a fixture of the Pixar brand since day one.  He composed the score for 1995’s “Toy Story” and supplied the original songs, “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” becoming the theme of the franchise.  After receiving 15 nominations without a win, he finally took home his Oscar in 2002 for the original song “If I Didn’t Have You” from “Monsters, Inc.”

    This year, Newman is back in the thick of the discussion as he has offered up a new original tune for “Toy Story 3,” namely, “We Belong Together.”  The song plays over the closing credits (though I could have sworn I remembered it in the context of the narrative), so that could make it tough.  But I have a hunch it’ll be fine.

    The song is standard Newman/Pixar fare.  There’s certainly no reinvention of the wheel going on here and the song is incredibly simplistic (as it would be in a film largely aimed at children).  But I don’t imagine all of that will really count against the track.  If nominated, it will be Newman’s 20th invitation to the dance.

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  • Listen to Jónsi’s ‘Sticks & Stones’ from ‘How to Train Your Dragon’

    As we did last year, we’re going to bring you as many of the Best Original Song contenders as we can this season in these “listen to” posts.  I’m going to aim for two or three per week, all leading up to the Best Original Song Tech Support column on December 9.  By then, we should have a clearer idea of the category.

    We kick things off with “Sticks & Stones,” a closing credits track from DreamWorks Animation’s “How to Train Your Dragon” by Sigur Rós front man Jónsi Birgisson.  As we know, the Academy’s music branch views the original song contenders in the context of the films these days, so tunes that play over the closing credits have their work cut out for them.

    Sometimes, if the credits are part of the story (i.e. “WALL-E” or “Waiting for Superman”), a song will have a fighting chance.  That will be tough for Jónsi’s track, which just plays over a traditional credit roll (albeit accompanied by handsome storybook sketches of the film’s winged serpents).

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  • Website for Daft Punk’s ‘TRON Legacy’ soundtrack launched

    Is it really worth getting excited at the possibility of the Academy’s music branch being progressive enough to make room for Daft Punk in this year’s list of Best Original Score nominees?  Ever since the French electronica duo was announced as the composers on “TRON Legacy,” excitement has been through the roof.

    This is the most problematic branch of the Academy for reasons illuminated year after year.  And despite letting a few new (if traditionalist) names into the Oscar fold over the last few years, the branch remains fiercely insular.  And you don’t get more outside the box than Daft Punk.

    Nevertheless, the score sounds like it could be one of the highlights of a production that has long been rumored to be quite troubled.  And an official site has launched with a taste of what the boys have to offer.

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  • Rachel Portman’s ‘Never Let Me Go’ score available

    I’m heading out to catch my flight for Telluride in a bit, but I wanted to turn your attention to this before I take off.  Rachel Portman hasn’t been in Oscar’s good graces for 10 years now, but she has a hell of an opportunity this year with a beautiful score for Mark Romanek’s “Never Let Me Go.” The album hits stores September 14, but Portman’s compositions were made available on iTunes Monday.  Beautiful, haunting melodies.  A real home run of emotion.  I imagine she’ll be back in the hunt this year.

  • TECH SUPPORT: Best Original Score — Volume I

    I am marveled by the accomplishments of all the crafts artists who elevate our films, but this is particularly the case with respect to music composers. Composing equals genius as far as I am concerned.These musicians  join the film at the end, when usually only the director, editor and perhaps the sound mixers are still working.  But capturing the mood and feel of a film that has been created in your absence must be extraordinarily difficult.And  I do not need to count the ways in which a brilliant score can make a good film truly unforgettable.

    The category of Best Original Score is one of the hardest to predict in my opinion, even shortly before the nominations are announced. So what sort of music is rewarded by this branch? Certainly being noticeable in the film helps. Loud music and/or music which plays for lengthy parts of the film with minimal dialogue can do well, too. Being an animated film or a Best Picture contender hardly hurts either.

    For years, we could count on John Williams to take a spot among the nominees. But given that Williams is only composing for Steven Spielberg these days, his name has been absent from the nominees for five straight years now. (I suspect we’ll see him finally move past Alfred Newman on the all-time list next year.)

    Nevertheless, while the branch is not quite as insular as it was in the earlier part of last decade, it remains a fairly exclusive club. Seldom do composers get first trips to the Kodak – usually only one a year. In fact, of the past 11 years, only three have seen two new nominees, and only one has seen three.

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