I get crazy at Oscar time. The need to see as many of the movies on the Oscars list is overwhelming ... and this year I've done especially well. In the past week alone, I've seen Junebug, Transamerica, Goodnight & Good Luck, and Netflix just delivered Hustle & Flow to my mailbox. But let's not talk about the films ... let's talk about the MUSIC!
The song that's the star this year in my book was not nominated for best song ... and it's been around awhile, so it's nothing new ... but I heard it for the first time during the credits for Junebug (I think it plays at both the beginning and end of the film). It's called "Harmour Love" and is sung by Syreeta and the man who wrote it (who was apparently her husband for a short while), Stevie Wonder. It took me awhile to figure out who it was by, because the song credits were too small to read on my small TV, so I surfed around on the web for it ... and soon enough, I was purchasing "The Essential Syreeta" on Amazon.
Don't get me wrong, the nominated songs, "In the Deep" (Crash), "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" (Hustle & Flow) and "Travelin' Thru" (Transamerica) are all more than deserving ... but this year's prize, in my humble opinion, goes to "Harmour Love" (Junebug).
What is the problem with the Academy? Only 3 songs nominated and they give the award to thte one piece that isn't identifiable as music! When there's a melody and/or some lyrics give me a call.
I'm sorry Paul - but just because you don't understand the lyrics or the style does not make it "not music". I think it's great that the genre of hip-hop has moved more mainstream and is getting this kind of attention.
You sound like the parents of the 50's and 60's complaining about Elvis and the Beatles and I think you'll be hard pressed to say that they were not musicians.
The song from Hustle & Flow was hands-down the most appropriate choice to win the Oscar. It was fully integrated into the film and represented everything that made the film great. See the movie if you haven't already, it's fantastic. Oscar made the right choice ... even if the live performance left a great deal to be desired.
The live performance of "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" was not that great. In fact, I said that I would "eat my foot" if it won. Well, it did. Good for the Oscars on making a bold choice. Not so good for my foot...
Kudos for the Academy's choice but, if you choose it, let the real song be heard! It doesn't take a brain sugeon to note that replacement lyrics such as "so many witches jumpin' ship" is a travesty as well as an an insult to the hip hop community, and the artistry of Three 6 Mafia. If the Academy had decided to alter thew B& W "Good Night and Good Luck" by adding color, there would have been an outcry.
And don't tell me that the song had to be cleaned up for TV. That's what bleeps are for.
And another thing....could Itzhak Perlman have looked any more bored?
I thought Three 6's performance was horrible. Whether it was the Oscars, the Grammys, the MTV awards, or a high school talent show, it was terrible by any stretch of the imagination. The lyrics are ridiculous, and the female singer's voice makes my ears bleed. Just because the song may have been fully integrated with the film does not make it Oscar worthy. In fact, I didn't think any of the songs were worthy of such an honor.
I will say, however, that I applaud the Academy for expanding its view of what "music" is and including Three 6 Mafia in the list of nominees. I just don't think they should have won the award. Although they were probably the most excited recipients of that award the Academy has ever seen...
In regard to the lyrics being cleaned up, I read in the paper yesterday that the Academy decided to allow the word "bitches" but that Three 6 decided on their own to change it to "witches" because the show was airing in primetime and kids were watching. So if switching the lyric is an insult, at least the insult came from within.