Another Nomination for Best of . . .

So what is a musical? Musicals are an American art form. they were developed in theater as early as 1866. Originally musicals had four elements: a story that integrated dialogue with music, lyrics, and dancing. The first musical is considered to be The Black Crook which premiered in New York. Broadway and the London stage both became popular by featuring musicals that appealed to a more general audience than did opera. Musicals were typically lighter in tone, more frank and sometimes bawdy. It was composers W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan (a.k.a. Gilbert and Sullivan) who brought widespread popularity to the form with their 1878 hit, The H.M.S. Pinafore. Today's musicals are plays or movies in which music, singing and often dancing play a major part.

This week's selection for the 'Best of the Best' is Gene Kelly's Singin' in the Rain in the film of the same name. The MGM film musical (1952) directed by Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly is one of the most celebrated of all time; ranked #5 on the American Film Institute's 2007 list of Greatest American Films and is AFI's top ranked musical of all time (2006).

The movie focused on an original story set in the late 1920s during the age of the coming of the 'talkies.' The film's title sequence has become movie legend with Gene Kelly (Playing the 20's movie star Don Lockwood) singing and dancing in a downpour, swinging his umbrella around, stomping in puddles and leaping onto a lampost. His on-screen romantic partner was Lina Lamont, played by Jean Hagen. Donald O'Connor played Don Lockwood's friend and sidekick Cosmo Brown. Nineteen year old Debbie Reynolds playrd ingenue dancer and aspiring actress Kathy Selden. The trio (Kelly, O'Connor and Reynolds) later sang the popular song Good Mornin'.

See and listen to part of a 1979 interview by Roddy McDowall at KCET in Los Angeles (7:20 length); Gene Kelly talked about the song and film in a PBS Pledge Drive program. 

Singin' in the Rain did not win an Oscar, but today it would be chosen blindfolded over the 1952 winner of Best Picture: The Greatest Show on Earth. By consensus of movie critics and lovers, Singin in the Rain is the greatest musical ever.

Singin' in the Rain - The song lyrics were by Arthur Freed with music by Nacio Herb Brown (1929). More about the song at Wikipedia: Singin' in the Rain (Song).

Doo-dloo-doo-doo-doo

Doo-dloo-doo-doo-doo-doo 

Doo-dloo-doo-doo-doo-doo 

Doo-dloo-doo-doo-doo-doo...

I'm singing in the rain

Just singing in the rain

What a glorious feelin'

I'm happy again

I'm laughing at clouds

So dark up above

The sun's in my heart

And I'm ready for love

Let the stormy clouds chase

Everyone from the place

Come on with the rain

I've a smile on my face

I walk down the lane

With a happy refrain

Just singin',

Singin' in the rain

Dancin' in the rain

Dee-ah dee-ah dee-ah

I'm happy again!

I'm dancin' and singin' in the rain...

Another Week: Countdown to BIFF

This week's 'bad' candidate for the worst musical number: "When All Is Said and Done' (2008) sung by Pierce Brosnan and Meryl Steep from Mamma Mia. This musical was an adaptation of the 1999 British West End musical and later Broadway stage production (2001) of the same name.

In the movie, Brosnan belted out his part in a number of songs including runners up for this week: S.O.S. (Metaphor for relationship is a maritime distress signal) and Our Last Summer (Ensemble performance by Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgård, Pierce Brosnan & Meryl Streep).

The songs were successful pop tunes from the group ABBA with additional numbers composed by ABBA members Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus. ABBA, a Swedish pop group active from 1972 – 1982, was an internationally popular act who topped the charts again and again in Europe, North America and Australia.

Later this week, we will add a 'best' musical selection. Let us know what your choices are for the best and the worst in musical numbers.

Lyrics to "When All is Said and Done" (Original version by ABBA 1981); modified / reworked for the musical by Björn Ulvaeus:

Here's to us one more toast and then we'll pay the bill

Deep inside both of us can feel the autumn chill

Birds of passage, you and me

We fly instinctively

When the summer's over and the dark clouds hide the sun

Neither you nor I'm to blame when all is said and done

It's been there in my dreams the scene i see unfold

Who at last flesh and blood to cherish and hold

Jealous fools will suffer yes i know and i confess

once i lost my way when something good had just began

lesson learned its history all is said and done

In our lives we have walked some strange and lonely treks

Slightly worn but dignified and not too old for sex

We're still striving for the sky

No taste for humble pie

Thanks for all your generous love and thanks for all the fun

Neither you nor I'm to blame when all is said and done

It's so strange when you're down and lying on the floor

How you rise, shake your head, get up and ask for more

Clear-headed and open-eyed

With nothing left to try

Standing calmly at the crossroads,no desire to run

There's no hurry any more when all is said and done

Standing calmly at the crossroads,no desire to run

There's no hurry any more when all is said and done

Countdown to BIFF 2013 Continues . . .

Earlier this week, we got started with a candidate for the worst musical number in a movie.

Now it's time to nominate a best musical number. What is the first tune that comes to mind when you think of the best musical you've seen and heard? Our nomination is from West Side Story (1961).

'Tonight" is probably the most famous song from this classic film - - a modern version of Romeo and Juliet. It was inspired by the balcony scene (Earlier this week Jimmy Fallon and Jay Leno did a brilliant spoof of this). 

West Side Story follows star-crossed lovers Maria and Tony as they struggle to be together against all odds. Maria was played by Natalie Wood (Natalia Nikolaevea Zacharenko spoke fluent Russian), a sensational box office draw in movies of the early Sixties. Natalie's singing in West Side Story was dubbed in by Marni Nixon, and Richard Beyner's (Playing Tony) singing voice was dubbed in by Jimmy Bryant (Not to be confused with the session guitarist of the same name). The duet was reprised with a full cast version later in the production.

Remember to send us (email or add a comment here) your nominations for best and the worst musical numbers!

Note: Not all Puerto Rican's or other hispanic and latina persons are dark-skinned, but the casting and painted-on makeup in this classic movie reflects the typical unawareness and inattention of the time.

There are many great songs in West Side Story (Music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim) including America, Gee Officer Krupke, Somewhere, Cool, and the Jet Song.

Lyrics to the Duet version of Tonight:

(Maria)

Only you, you're the only thing I'll see forever

In my eyes in my words and in everything I do

Nothing else but you

Ever

(Tony)

And there's nothing for me but Maria

Every sight that I see is Maria

(Maria)

Tony, Tony

(Tony)

Always you, every thought I'll ever know

Everywhere I go you'll be

(Tony & Maria)

All the world is only you and me

(Maria)

Tonight, tonight

It all began tonight

I saw you and the world went away

Tonight, tonight

There's only you tonight

What you are, what you do, what you say

(Tony)

Today, all day I had the feeling

A miracle would happen

I know now I was right

(Tony & Maria)

For here you are

And what was just a world is a star

Tonight

Tonight, tonight

The world is full of light

With suns and moons all over the place

Tonight, tonight

The world is wild and bright

Going mad

Shooting sparks into space

Today, the world was just an address

A place for me to live in

No better than all right

But here you are

And what was just a world is a star

Tonight

Good night, good night

Sleep well and when you dream

Dream of me

Tonight

Countdown to BIFF 2013 (It's musical again!)

It's the first week of April - - and time to begin thinking about this year's BIFF (Bicknell International Film Festival). So how about a Best and Worst posting each week?

For the Worst, this offering from Lee Marvin comes to mind.

BIFF will bring music to the Wayne Theater this year, lots of music. The working title for this year's theme is Singin' In the Red Rocks: Bad, Bizarre and "B". 

The song "Wanderin' Star" was written in 1951 by Alan J. Lerner (Lyrics) and Frederick Loewe (music) for the stage musical Paint Your Wagon.

When the movie of the musical was made in 1969, Lee Marvin was cast as prospector Ben Rumson. Marvin rejected the idea of miming to another or better singer's voice and sang all of his songs in the film. Orchestrated and arranged by Nelson Riddle, the soundtrack recording of Wanderin' Star was something of a success. In 1970 in Ireland and the United Kingdom, Lee Marvin's version was number one for three weeks (Beating out a recording of "Let It Be" by a little-known group (NOT), The Beatles). Fitting for BIFF: Wanderin' Star was so bad, it was good!

Watch later this week for a Best entry. Join in and send us your own ideas for Best and the Worst song from a musical. Add a comment here or email larrjoh@gmail.com

Lyrics to the Lerner and Loewe tune:

I was born under a wanderin' star.

I was born under a wanderin' star.

Wheels are made for rollin', mules are made to pack.

I've never seen a site that didn't look better lookin' back.

I was born under a wanderin' star.

Mud can make you prisoner and the plains can bake you dry.

Snow can burn your eyes but only people make you cry.

Home is made for comin' from, for dreams of goin' to.

Which with any luck will never come true.

I was born under a wanderin' star.

I was born under a wanderin' star.

Do I know where hell is, hell is in hell-o.

Heaven is good-bye forever it's time for me to go.

I was born under a wanderin' star, a wanderin', wanderin' star.

Mud can make you prisoner and the plains can bake you dry.

Snow can burn your eyes but only people make you cry.

Home is made for comin' from, for dreams of goin' to.

Which with any luck will never come true.

I was born under a wanderin' star.

I was born under a wanderin' star.

When I get to heaven tie me to a tree.

Or I'll begin to roam and soon you'll know where I will be.

I was born under a wanderin' star.

A wanderin', wanderin' star.

Number One for the BIFF Musical Countdown?

BIFF is fast approaching. It's the final week! What is your top choice for 'end of the world' music? With today's addition, we have featured two dozen chosen tunes. It could be End Times by the Eels, Earth Dies Screaming by Tom Waits, maybe Seconds or Until the End of the World both by U2, or 3 Minutes to Midnight by Midnight Oil. But time is running out . . .

This week's choice is one that many think of at a time like this - - the end of the World? It starts with an earthquake, birds and snakes, an aeroplane and "Lenny Bruce is not afraid." And it only gets better as Michael Stipe continues winding through a whirlwind of images, from Lester Bangs to a flurry of furies while feeling just fine.

What music list about the end of the world could not include this song? It’s a happy little ditty that makes everything seem okay. This song also may be the premiere example of overcrowded lyrics. It's the End of the World as We Know It (1987) by R.E.M., a Georgia-based rock group. Can you sing the song in its entirety? Michael Stipe’s cheeky enthusiasm and Peter Buck's carefree guitar-jangle make you feel fine. Perhaps you could do what Chris Farley and David Spade did in Tommy Boy and just make-up the words? Depends on how excited you are about the end of the world.

That's great, it starts with an earthquake, 

birds and snakes, an aeroplane

and Lenny Bruce is not afraid. 

Eye of a hurricane, listen to yourself churn,

World serves its own needs, 

regardless of your own needs. 

Feed it up a knock,

speed, grunt, no strength

no ladder starts to clatter with fear, fight, down, height. 

Wire in a fire, 

representing seven games in a government for hire
and a combat site. 

Left her, wasn't coming in a hurry with the furies

breathing down your neck. 

Team by team reporters baffled, trump, tethered crop. 

Look at that low plane! Fine then. 

Uh oh, overflow, population,

common group, but it'll do. 

Save yourself, serve yourself. 

World serves its own needs, listen to your heart bleed. 

Tell me with the rapture and the reverent in the right, right. 

You vitriolic, patriotic, slam, fight, bright light, 

feeling, pretty psyched.

It's the end of the world as we know it

It's the end of the world as we know it

It's the end of the world as we know it
and I feel fine

Six o'clock, TV hour. 

Don't get caught in foreign towers.
Slash and burn, return, listen to yourself churn. 

Locking in, uniforming,and book burning, blood letting. 

Every motive escalate. 

Automotive incinerate light a candle, light a motive. 

Step down, step down, watch your heel crush, crushed, uh-oh, 

This means no fear cavalier. 

Renegade steer clear! 

A tournament, a tournament, a tournament of lies. 

Offer me solutions, offer me alternatives
and I decline

[Chorus]

It's the end of the world as we know it

It's the end of the world as we know it

It's the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine

I feel fine

[Repeat Chorus]

The other night I dreamt of knives,

continental drift divide.

Mountains sit in a line, Leonard Bernstein.
Leonid Brezhnev, Lenny Bruce and Lester Bangs. 

Birthday party, cheesecake, jelly bean, boom! 
Symbiotic, patriotic, slam book neck, right? Right

[Chorus]

It's the end of the world as we know it

It's the end of the world as we know it

It's the end of the world as we know it 

And I feel fine 

[Repeat Chorus: x3]

Number Two

The musical countdown continues, and this week's tune of doom goes back a dozen years to the year 2000: Idoeteque by Radiohead.

This song track from Radiohead's album, Kid A, is seen as a departure for the band, as the song driven by electronic beats. Some think this is an apocalyptic song, a song about destruction brought by the hand of man (who's in the bunker) or nature (ice age coming) - - the end of the world! Lyric lines come off as thought capsules from assorted victims - - collective voices from all walks of life, persons in a state of panic with the hypothetical questions posed. ‘What would you do?’ 'Keep a cool head?'

Who's in a bunker?

Who's in a bunker?

Women and children first

And children first

And children

I'll laugh until my head comes off

I swallow till I burst

Until I burst

Until I . .

Who's in a bunker?

Who's in a bunker?

I've seen too much

You haven't seen enough

You haven't seen

I'll laugh until my head comes off

Women and children first

The children first

The children . .

Here I'm allowed, 

Everything all of the time

Here I'm allowed, 

Everything all of the time

Ice age coming

Ice age coming

Let me hear both sides

Let me hear both sides

Let me hear both . .

Ice age coming

Ice age coming

Throw it on the fire

Throw it on the fire

Throw it on the..

We're not scaremongering

This is really happening, happening

We're not scaremongering

This is really happening, happening

Mobiles working

Mobiles chirping

Take the money and run

Take the money and run

Take the money . .

Here I'm allowed, 

Everything all of the time

Here I'm allowed, 

Everything all of the time

Here I'm allowed, 

Everything all of the time

Here I'm allowed, 

Everything all of the time

Be fathers to the children

Be fathers to the children

Be fathers to the children

Be fathers to the children

Be fathers to the children

Be fathers to the children

Be fathers to the children

Be fathers to the children

Number Three!

Written by Jim Morrison 'The End' (1967) was originally about his breakup with a girlfriend, but over time it evolved into nearly 12-minute track that was finally recorded live in the studio with no overdubbing. The song by L.A. band, The Doors, is best known in popular culture as being used in the 1979 Francis Ford Coppola film 'Apocalypse Now' during the opening sequence, as well as the movie's famous scene portraying the killing of a figure. "This is the end" is repeated throughout the track, thus depicting a doomsday mood.

This is the end, beautiful friend

This is the end, my only friend

The end of our elaborate plans

The end of everything that stands

The end

No safety or surprise

The end

I'll never look into your eyes again

Can you picture what will be

So limitless and free

Desperately in need of some stranger's hand

In a desperate land

Lost in a Roman wilderness of pain

And all the children are insane

All the children are insane

Waiting for the summer rain

Ride the snake

Ride the snake

To the lake

The ancient lake, baby

The snake is long

Seven miles

Ride the snake

He's old

And his skin is cold

Come on, baby, take a chance with us

Come on, baby, take a chance with us

Come on, baby, take a chance with us

Meet me at the back of the blue bus

Meet me at the back of the blue bus

Do not be ride on the blue bus
Do not be ride
Come on babe
Ride

This is the end, beautiful friend

This is the end, my only friend

The end

It hurts to set you free

But you'll never follow me

The end of laughter and soft lies

The end of nights we tried to die

This is the end