I thought I’d take a crack at reviewing the songs nominated
for ‘Original song’ in this year’s Academy Awards. I remember a time when all
Disney had to do was put out an animation and it would instantly win an Oscar.
Songs from movies like Beauty & the Beast, Tarzan, The Lion King and
Aladdin are still fab to listen to even today. That being said, here are my two
cents worth on this year’s nominations.
A lot of folks might not realize it when listening to this song, but the female lead is our very own Black Widow aka Scarlett Johansson. Not letting that affect my opinion, ‘Before My Time’ is a simple song mostly driven by lyrics. The first thing that popped into my mind when I heard this song was Frank Sinatra’s ‘Send in the clowns’. The piano and the violin, only instruments driving the song, give it a somewhat haunting feel. The lyrics are pretty well written and suit the premise of the movie. What accentuates the lyrics is the rawness of Scarlett Johansson’s voice which makes the song believable that it is something that could be sung by any ordinary person. That being said, the song isn’t something that would make people instantaneously sit up and take notice and is forgotten right after you’re done hearing it. It’s quite weak compared to the competition it’s up against.
Another very Frank Sinatra-ish song, Norah Jones does a wonderful job with the singing. The tune is instantly hummable and sort of lingers even after you’re done listening to it. The Academy has a tendency to nominate such songs almost instantaneously. This song in fact sounds very similar to 2001’s ‘If I didn’t have you’ from Monsters Inc. which won the Oscar that year. There really isn’t anything new the song offers to the audience. Seth MacFarlane deserves a clap for the lyrics. However, chances of winning are slim considering he’s hosting the awards show. But then again, knowing the sort of music the Academy jury goes for, anything could happen with this one.
This is definitely the song I’m rooting for. It’s new type of song for the academy, considering everyone typically associates India with Bollywood music.(And we’re all still recovering from ‘Jai Ho’) Bombay Jayashree stands out and there is no better ambassador to showcase the non-Bollywood side of Indian music. The music in the song is very soothing, just as how a lullaby is meant to be. If I had to be critical, I’d say that the song was too short and did not completely showcase Bombay Jayashree’s vocals range. The song is unfortunately too radical a choice for representatives of the American audience. But then, none of us expected Jai Ho to become such a rage. It would be a bit of a personal disappointment if this song loses out. But when you’re up against the combined forces of Adele and James Bond, one needs all the divine intervention they can get. (PS: My mum’s rooting for this one too)
Adele…sigh! What a voice. The song is brilliant in so many ways. The song took one back to the James Bond theme’s that were present in the 60’s when John Barry was running the music for a lot of the successful Bond theme songs. The song is a refreshing change from Madonna, Jack White & Alicia Keys, who sounded nice but just did not give you the feel of a James Bond movie.( Cornell was too ‘rock’ even for Bond) Adele seems to have been born to sing a James Bond theme song. Vocals being deep and soulful, the tempo of the song with the orchestra, grand piano, string section - holding it together, and the slow build up to a chorus in the end and Adele going ‘Skyfaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaall’ for about 12 seconds, is simply brilliant. The entire song clearly feeds off the original theme song, which is ideally suited for the movie where James Bond finally becomes ‘Bond, James Bond’. I’d definitely put this as a fore-runner for the award. John Barry would be proud.
Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) sings in this one. I’m unsure as to why this song gets a nomination. It’s the standard musical one expects from Hollywood. Unless you’re into the Hollywood musical song and dance routine, I don’t think you’d appreciate this. Also, it’s Wolverine singing. Wolverine does not do musicals!!! Jokes apart, Hugh Jackman does a fair job on the singing but like ‘Before my time’ the song is forgotten the moment it’s over. It doesn’t leave the tune in your head, a job done brilliantly by other musical winners such as Chim chim cher-ee from Mary Poppins.
If I were the jury, objectively, I would give the award to Adele for 'Skyfall'. But then. it's the Oscars. I can't trust them after Slumdog Millionaire ( No offence Mr. Boyle, but we made similar movies before in Bollywood, but no nominations)
Before My Time (Chasing Ice)
A lot of folks might not realize it when listening to this song, but the female lead is our very own Black Widow aka Scarlett Johansson. Not letting that affect my opinion, ‘Before My Time’ is a simple song mostly driven by lyrics. The first thing that popped into my mind when I heard this song was Frank Sinatra’s ‘Send in the clowns’. The piano and the violin, only instruments driving the song, give it a somewhat haunting feel. The lyrics are pretty well written and suit the premise of the movie. What accentuates the lyrics is the rawness of Scarlett Johansson’s voice which makes the song believable that it is something that could be sung by any ordinary person. That being said, the song isn’t something that would make people instantaneously sit up and take notice and is forgotten right after you’re done hearing it. It’s quite weak compared to the competition it’s up against.
Everybody Needs a Best Friend (Ted)
Another very Frank Sinatra-ish song, Norah Jones does a wonderful job with the singing. The tune is instantly hummable and sort of lingers even after you’re done listening to it. The Academy has a tendency to nominate such songs almost instantaneously. This song in fact sounds very similar to 2001’s ‘If I didn’t have you’ from Monsters Inc. which won the Oscar that year. There really isn’t anything new the song offers to the audience. Seth MacFarlane deserves a clap for the lyrics. However, chances of winning are slim considering he’s hosting the awards show. But then again, knowing the sort of music the Academy jury goes for, anything could happen with this one.
Pi’s Lullaby (Life of Pi)
This is definitely the song I’m rooting for. It’s new type of song for the academy, considering everyone typically associates India with Bollywood music.(And we’re all still recovering from ‘Jai Ho’) Bombay Jayashree stands out and there is no better ambassador to showcase the non-Bollywood side of Indian music. The music in the song is very soothing, just as how a lullaby is meant to be. If I had to be critical, I’d say that the song was too short and did not completely showcase Bombay Jayashree’s vocals range. The song is unfortunately too radical a choice for representatives of the American audience. But then, none of us expected Jai Ho to become such a rage. It would be a bit of a personal disappointment if this song loses out. But when you’re up against the combined forces of Adele and James Bond, one needs all the divine intervention they can get. (PS: My mum’s rooting for this one too)
Skyfall (Skyfall)
Adele…sigh! What a voice. The song is brilliant in so many ways. The song took one back to the James Bond theme’s that were present in the 60’s when John Barry was running the music for a lot of the successful Bond theme songs. The song is a refreshing change from Madonna, Jack White & Alicia Keys, who sounded nice but just did not give you the feel of a James Bond movie.( Cornell was too ‘rock’ even for Bond) Adele seems to have been born to sing a James Bond theme song. Vocals being deep and soulful, the tempo of the song with the orchestra, grand piano, string section - holding it together, and the slow build up to a chorus in the end and Adele going ‘Skyfaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaall’ for about 12 seconds, is simply brilliant. The entire song clearly feeds off the original theme song, which is ideally suited for the movie where James Bond finally becomes ‘Bond, James Bond’. I’d definitely put this as a fore-runner for the award. John Barry would be proud.
Suddenly (Les Miserables)
Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) sings in this one. I’m unsure as to why this song gets a nomination. It’s the standard musical one expects from Hollywood. Unless you’re into the Hollywood musical song and dance routine, I don’t think you’d appreciate this. Also, it’s Wolverine singing. Wolverine does not do musicals!!! Jokes apart, Hugh Jackman does a fair job on the singing but like ‘Before my time’ the song is forgotten the moment it’s over. It doesn’t leave the tune in your head, a job done brilliantly by other musical winners such as Chim chim cher-ee from Mary Poppins.
If I were the jury, objectively, I would give the award to Adele for 'Skyfall'. But then. it's the Oscars. I can't trust them after Slumdog Millionaire ( No offence Mr. Boyle, but we made similar movies before in Bollywood, but no nominations)
Wow! Nice job Nikhil. A lot of it went above my head except the Bombay Jayshree part, or should we now say Mumbai Jayshree. And saw that your 'MOM' finds mention in all your writings. My sis must be one proud mother. Keep it up.
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