Greetings,
Fine! I'm doing an Oscar thing! Everybody happy now?
So here's the deal. I don't like the Oscars too much anymore. In my younger, naive days, I actually trusted that those people were , in fact, awarding the best of the best, because they were the experts. Not so much anymore. I'm old enough to know better now, and I think maybe so is the rest of the world. It seems that the Academy Awards and the winning of one barely holds any weight at all. I mean, if you win, deserved or otherwise, good for you, but don't think it's going to guarantee you work or staying power. I think that has proven time and again. Still...whatever.
Let's be honest with ourselves here. There is but one reason to watch this or any award show anymore. Because those are the nights when being on Twitter is FANTASTIC! Oh, yeah, we had a lot of fun conversations the other night, and I had a good time. THAT was actually more entertaining than the awards show itself, as per usual. Except I didn't get to see Benedict Cumberbatch on Twitter, but I did on the Oscars. So they can have a point for that.
Now I didn't want to do a full on rant and seem bitter, though I feel I have failed at that. So I thought I'd do a top ten Oscar-related list. Again, I could have been mean and done the "top ten times the Academy got it wrong" list, but, first, where would I start? And, second, I feel like being nice for the moment. Actually, I should do this in honor of the win last night for Robert Lopez and his lovely wife, Kristen, who wrote "Let It Go" from Frozen. Why is this important? Well, now Mr.Lopez has gotten himself an EGOT. That means his is the recipient of an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony. That is very impressive, and there are only a precious few are in this group. This song did not make my list, but it is still good, and congrats, you two. You're are an adorbs couple, and you made a great speech. Anywho, let's begin.
#10. "Mona Lisa" from Captain Carey, USA (1950) - I like a song wherein a man realizes that, yeah, women are tough to figure out sometimes, and yet, he sees this as almost a positive thing and doesn't just call her a "B". You know, like so many guys do these days. Also, Nat King Cole. I don't need too much more than that.
#9. "Last Dance" from Thank God It's Friday (1978) - I think the reason that a lot of people hate music from the disco era is because a lot of it seemed over-produced and thrown together too quickly, like they were just capitalizing on a fad. Those people are not completely wrong. However, some musicians did care when it came to the music, and, as this great song shows, they even got rewarded for it sometimes.
#8. "Up Where We Belong" from An Officer and a Gentleman (1982) - Oh, Eighties. You and your many attempts to make us believe that Adult Contemporary/Easy Listening was the greatest genre ever. Well, if they all sounded like this song, I might agree with that.
#7. "Streets of Philadelphia" from Philadelphia (1993) - Okay, don't get mad, but I am not exactly a fan of Bruce Springsteen. I don't know why. He just never appealed to me, and in the last several years, he has become something of America's Bono. Not necessarily a good thing, in my mind. Still, I can't deny that this song is pretty powerful. On the surface, it shouldn't have been so appealing, but, somehow, it was.
#6. "The Way You Look Tonight" from Swing Time (1936) - I shudder to think, sometimes, what a lot of people of a younger generation would define as a love song. THIS, kids, is a love song. It's simple and beautiful and respectable. There is so little music, especially these days, that can make you feel legitimately good and warm and fuzzy in your soul. Good thing we have songs like this.
#5. "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" from Dirty Dancing (1987) - Oh, hello there again, Jennifer Warnes. My goodness, weren't you a good luck charm for so many in this decade. Anyway, I think some songs that are hits and popular at one point can sometimes have little staying power. Just get some back copies of the charts, and you'll probably question why some of these songs were liked at all. This one, however, I still listen to today, and somehow, it is just as good as the first time I heard it.
#4. "Things Have Changed" from Wonder Boys (2000) - I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that some of you might not know this song. Or saw the movie from where it came. That's cool. I understand. But Wonder Boys was a great movie (shot in my area, BTW)and this is a great song. Wait, let me amend that. It's a great song, if you like Bob Dylan. If you DON'T like Bob Dylan, you are NOT going to like this. I mean, it feels like classic Dylan but for a new generation. And, no, I don't know how he did that. I would like to learn, though.
#3. "When You Believe" from The Prince of Egypt (1998) - As I have mentioned, my favorite movie is The Ten Commandments. Also, I love cartoons. And The Prince of Egypt is a combo, so I have to like it. Seriously, though, it is a legit great movie with a very good interpretation of the story. And, then, we get this beautiful song that teamed up Whitney and Mariah, and I don't think I have to say anymore.
#2. "Let the River Run" from Working Girl (1988) - I love Carly Simon, and this is one of my favorite songs of hers. There's something about it that feels so epic, for lack of a better word, and yet, so relatable. I know there are a lot of songs that people play to get themselves motivated to work out, but this song is one that can make a person get motivated to live life. Love it.
#1. "Falling Slowly" from Once (2007) - I won't say a ton about this one, because it already showed up on my "Songs From Movies" Top Ten list. It just feels so pure, like a real songwriter's song, if that makes any sense. It fit the movie and the characters perfectly. So, congratulations, Glen and Marketa. You may have won an Oscar, but, more importantly, you have earned the top spot on my list here. You must be so proud.
So, there is my list of my favorite Oscar winning songs. Good times. I have nothing else to say about the Academy Awards, until nest year, on Twitter. Only that I am so looking forward to seeing what all of this year's winners do as their post-Oscar win crap movie. They all do it. They ALL do it.
Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer
