As voting on the nominees comes to a close at midnight on Nov. 1 (about four hours from the time of this post), another vote is about to start. Expect an announcement early Thursday that Duran Duran will not only appear on
the Nov. 18 telecast, but fans will be allowed to pick which song the act plays.
The new-wave survivors will be appearing on the AMAs nominally to hype upcoming "Red Carpet Massacre," a new album due Nov. 13.
Yet sources close to the awards say fans will get to choose among older Duran Duran cuts to see on the show, including "Notorious" and "Hungry Like the Wolf." The online clicking should begin Thursday, and last until Nov. 14.
In addition to the Duran Duran item, the AMAs are expected to announce the latest in its string of performers.
Sources say R&B singer Chris Brown, Black Eyed Peas maestro will.i.am. and pop act Maroon 5 will be added to the line-up. The performer list already includes Alicia Keys, Avril Lavigne, Celine Dion, Daughtry,Fergie,Rihanna and Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger.
The influence of reality TV on award shows isn't entirely new, as even the Grammys got into the act last year with an ill-thought-out competition to sing with Justin Timberlake. But that was little more than an "American Idol"-rip, and it's high-time award shows start raising the stakes.
Letting the fans pick what song it will hear is a swell start, especially in a year where TV ratings are less-than-desired, and award performances can be diced-and-spliced later for online viewing. A gimmick, perhaps, but one that takes the idea of a "fan's choice" award up a step.
And it's a far less convoluted gimmick than the one recently employed by the MTV VMAs, where artists were stationed in various rooms and only brief snippets of live performances were shown during the telecast. Rather than give fans the show they wanted, it forced them to work for it.
Just two years ago, the Oscar race for best original song was slim pickins.'
Remember? The Academy was unable to find five songs to nominate. Three 6 Mafia performed and won for "It's Hard Out There for a Pimp" from "Hustle & Flow," besting songs from "Crash" (Kathleen "Bird" York's "In the Deep") and Dolly Parton ("Travelin' Thru" from "Transamerica").
This year, the Academy will have the opposite problem. First of all, the music from "Once" sailed into fall as a front-runner (and there's no good reason why it shouldn't win), but strong selections are taking shape.
First, consider Eddie Vedder's efforts in "Into the Wild." As the first solo effort from the Pearl Jam frontman, the
soundtrack isn’t lacking in public awareness, and has been largely
well-received. To help matters, Paramount Vantage is hosting a private weekend performance
of Vedder in Los Angeles, which should further fuel the soundtrack’s
buzz.
And plenty of critics (though not this one) and readers (judging from the results of an informal and unscientific poll conducted on this blog) are fawning over Sondre Lerche's work in "Dan in Real Life." We shall see how much pull his fans have Oscar voters as the days go by.
Earlier in the year, Bob Dylan's "Huck's Town" was a worthy iTunes download from an already-forgotten film ("Lucky You"), and then, of course, Marc Shaiman's two (possibly three) new original songs in "Hairspray."
It certainly feels like Oscar race for best song is picking up a head of steam. And there's still plenty of music from A-list
artists and hotly-anticipated films to come. Here's a quick look at five films with noteworthy songs. Some have the pedigree and/or buzz to win, and others just shouldn't go unnoticed (looking at you, No. 2).
Also, note that Oscar-favorite Shakira is not included below, as she was written about in an earlier post -- it's not a slight, just a chance to write about some other acts.
1. "Grace is Gone." Nine-time Grammy winner Sheryl Crow has an as-yet-unreleased song, "Lullaby for Wyatt," in the upcoming Weinstein Company film. It hasn't leaked yet, but there's a tear-jerker of a trailer to watch on the official Weinstein Web site. The well-reviewed movie is due in limited release Dec. 7. Coupled with early hype for Crow's upcoming February album, a solid opening could push the heartland singer/songwriter into the race.
2. "Nanking." The Sundance award winner, which looks at the Japanese invasion of Nanking, China, during World War II, will open in limited release Dec. 12 before airing later on HBO. The film has an original song from Lou Reed, "Gravity," a slow-burner driven by a guttural guitar riff. Even in the poor-sounding clips circulating the Web, it's a haunting rocker, with Reed's cries of "war" echoing throughout it.
3. "Beowulf." Broadway actor/singer Idina Menzel has an acting role in Disney's "Enchanted," and a credit's song in fantasy "Beowulf" entitled "A Hero Comes Home." The latter was written by superstar producer Glenn Ballard (Celine Dion, Alanis Morissette) with composer Alan Silverstri. Variety's Red Carpet District reminds readers that the pair received a nomination in 2004 for their work on "The Polar Express."
4. "Enchanted." Talk to anyone about the best original song category, and "Enchanted" turns up. The children's fantasy has a host of original songs from Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz. The pair worked together on "Pocahantas" and "The Hunchback of Notre Dame," and if the film becomes a holiday hit, and it likely will, it should easily score a nomination. Since voting on the songs must occur immediately after screening a clip of the film (see rules), the vivid scenes and talent of actress Amy Adams (pictured, with Patrick Dempsey) could make "Enchanted" a favorite, although it's hard to believe anything could come out in front of "Once," a movie that simply could not exist without its songs.
5. "American Gangster." Looking to be a blockbuster this autumn, the film should be well represented come Oscar time too, perhaps even in the song category. It won't be from Jay-Z, whose album of the same name is not featured in the movie, but the work of soul singer Anthony Hamilton is. The singer has a cameo in the film, and his "Do You Feel Me" goes down easy, with its gospel keys and a relaxed groove.
No, the headline is not an overstatement, but it comes with deserved qualifiers.
"Dan in Real Life" is downright charming, a relatively short and subtle romantic comedy that takes a sitcom-like plot line and gives it emotional heft and storytelling surprises. "Dan's" Metacritic score at 65% "generally favorable" alongside Rotten Tomatoes 62% Tomatometer bears out some general positivity.
Directed by Peter Hedges, "Dan" has an easygoing humanity about it that seems like a rarity these days. In using an exaggerated set-up to portray -- by and large -- normal middle-class people dealing with normal adult issues it actually pulls off some winning ensemble moments.
First and foremost, "Dan" illustrates how a newfound love can make one, no matter how old, act like a drama-stuffed teenager, and Steve Carell is perfect in the role of regular-guy comedic lead.
But this isn't a film criticism blog, and LAT's Kenneth Turan already gave the film it's props over here.
So, now, back to the headline I promised wasn't an exaggeration. Is the film really best picture material? Not really, but it's original music, composed by singer/songwriter Sondre Lerche, has something of a shot in the original song race.
Especially if crowds rally around this film, one or two of Lerche's songs get serious airplay, and the studio tracks down influential ears within Oscar's music branch.
To be honest, I have always found the critically-adored artist a bit too precious, and a bit too obvious. His work in "Dan in Real Life" only serves to further illustrate that, and the reason I believe he was the wrong choice to score what was such a smart film.
In fact, the music, in this writer's mind, is the film's only real weakness (although I'm in the minority, as people generally tend to like the kid).
One of the first big showcases for Lerche in the film is the tune "I'll Be Ok." It plays over an early moment of solitary depression for the main character (Carell's "Dan"). With its light piano flourishes and gently tapped guitar notes, the song is perfect coffee shop/dinner-party fodder. It also completely telegraph's the character's emotions rather than giving depth to them.
"Dan in Real Life" succeeds because it sneaks up on the viewer. It's a patiently-paced film dressed with light moments rather than laugh-out-loud ones. A song such as "I'll Be Ok" (listen here) isn't any deeper than its title implies, and too neatly wraps-up the emotion of its characters in a romantic comedy that keeps trying to lay them bare.
Lerche's other main showcase in the film is his new-love anthem "My Hands Are Shaking." It's a pleasant-enough ditty, but also easily forgettable, its sentiments of awkward nervousness are more perceptively handled by Carell and Juilette Binoche when their characters first meet in a bookstore, the film's best scene.
The song is all over the film's Web site, as is the whole soundtrack, so have a listen yourself, and let me know where you stand. Unless like Lerche, you're too twee.
A $105.00 cable bill in Los Angeles doesn't always guarantee you the Sundance Channel, so this writer won't be tuning into that station's broadcast of "Runnin' Down A Dream," a documentary on Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers from "Last Picture Show" director Peter Bogdanovich.
The 238-minute film proposes to look at three-decades at one of rock's best no-frills, no-flash bands, and could, possibly, from the opinions of people we trust, be worthy of an Emmy.
If you get Sundance, set your DVR, as the film is only available at a major big box retailer that won't be plugged here, so Netflix/Blockbuster users will be out of luck, at least for the time being.
Here's a trailer, but scroll down for the Sundance link.
The above teaser paints the two-part film as a pretty standard interview/live shot rock 'n' roll documentary, but the Sundance Channel Web site has a more revealing clip.
The shot breaks down the evolution of "The Waiting," taking the listener through its life-cycle in a brief four minutes, letting the viewer witness its growth from one riff to a full-blown song inspiring the likes of Eddie Vedder.
With 2007 entering its stretch run, the deluge of year-end lists and Grammy predictions are about to get in full swing. We are already in on the action, with Ann Powers running down some of the most important albums of the year here, and Gold Derby guide Tom O'Neil calling on his Grammy experts from some well-informed predictions.
Perhaps it's a little early for the former. The World Series isn't even over yet, and there's still some big-name releases on the horizon. Granted, none will likely have the cultural impact that Powers outlines, but there are still some anticipated critical darlings in the near future.
1. Alicia Keys, "As I Am." Due in stores Nov. 13, "As I Am" has already spawned a top-10 single in "No One." Keys may over-sing a little bit in the tune, but once the vocals are paired with a surprisingly minimal piano groove the result is a rather striking single. Hopefully, it foretells an album that's just as sharp, but with John Mayer guesting, that's likely wishful thinking.
2. Jay-Z, "American Gangster." A splendid example of marketing synergy, Jay-Z pulls a Prince/"Batman" to record an album for his Universal-distributed label inspired by the Universal-distributed movie of the same name. But advance word has the superstar moving away from the self-boasting that marred last year's "Kingdom Come," and supposedly crafting a grittier album that sees him returning to form. Out Nov. 6, although it just leaked.
3. Mary J. Blige, "Growing Pains." Yet another heavy-hitting R&B album due by year's end, and one that's managed to maintain an air of secrecy around it. Listen to a little bit of the disco-inspired first single "Just Fine" here, a song produced by the team behind Rihanna's "Umbrella" (Blige recently told MTV.com that the hit was almost hers). The follow-up to her critical and commercial smash "The Breakthrough" has been the subject of a release date shuffle (Nov. 27 or Dec. 11?), which is reason for skepticism, but the artist has a history of being more consistently good than not.
4. Buck 65, "Situation." The latest from indie rapper Buck 65 sees him fine-tuning his folksy hip-hop, and crafting an album with enough commercial appeal that he may finally break out of an underground status. This album is streaming on his MySpace page, and check the "Dragnet"-inspired beats of "Spread 'Em" or the retro-effects and hand-clap of "Way Back When." The album is officially released on Oct. 30.
5. Lupe Fiasco (pictured), "The Cool." The sophomore effort from the Kanye West-protege won't be released until Dec. 18, but sample some of it on his MySpace page. The eerie space effects of cautionary title track already make for one of the year's finest singles. Things get even darker on "Dumb It Down," where the Chicago rapper tosses in a references to "Toy Story" and "Star Trek" amid a colorful, essay-like attack on hip-hop marketing.
Former and perhaps future pop star Britney Spears keeps turning to MTV for her comebacks. But if her MTV VMA performance was an unqualified disaster, her latest bid to swap her tabloid covers for music stardom is admittedly a step up. As of yesterday, MTV.com began streaming "Blackout," which is due in stores Oct. 30, moved up one week -- curiously --- due to Internet leaks (whew -- good thing it's streaming).
One of the higher-ups here just declared it Spears' best album, and I confess, I didn't know that was even a category that existed.
But as far as dance-pop goes, one could do worse, at least from the initial listens to the album.
Second song "Piece Of Me" is the best offering, even if Spears seems to want a medal for being a mom in the opening verse.
But it succeeds because Spears appears -- albeit momentarily -- to recognize the public train wreck that her life has become, referring to herself as "shameless." Who knew she had a self-referential pop song up her sleeve? And the minimalist beats and cleverly spliced synthesizer riffs won't do anyone wrong on the dance floor.
But after that, "Blackout" is little more than a sexual come-on. "Freakshow" rides a carnival-like synth and "Tron"-inspired blips with catchy-enough hand-clips, yet the tune may as well bare the name Kelis or Fergie or any number of pop tarts with money to spare for some A-grade producers.
And that's, ultimately, the problem here. "Piece Of Me" hints at an album in which Spears may start to find drama in her own public pitfalls. Instead, she's more interested in telling the world that men still want to sleep with her and women are still jealous of her. Get in line, Spears, as there are plenty o' pop stars mining similar territory, and few of them -- for better or worse -- have her non-stop parade of public theatrics to pull from.
"Get Naked (I Got a Plan)" sounds like Spears has been paying close attention to the work Timbaland gave her former pal Justin Timberlake, with its retro electronics and back-and-forth grunts. "Radar" also mines vintage sounds, with some Soft Cell-inspired synths, a pleasant-enough club diversion. But one doesn't get too far before Spears is whispering or sighing in the listener's ear, coming off as something between a singer and a phone sex operator.
It's as if the four years between Spears albums never happened. Is it good enough to make the public forget about the VMA disaster? Probably not, as Spears performs like she's been living in a bubble and is still the queen of pop.
A song such as "Ooh Ooh Baby" is one of the album's stronger moments, riffing of off of Gary Glitter's "Rock'n'Roll (Part 2)" to create a surefire cheer-leading anthem. But it's the same routine she's given us before, and now, with every poorly choreographed dance move, unsightly dress and child custody hearing playing out in full media attention, it's time she steal a little more from Timberlake. Besides his beats -- his ability to laugh at himself.
TheCountry Music Assn. Awards are only a couple weeks away (Nov. 7). Tickets are still available for those willing to make the trip to Nashville. A pair of reserved seats at the Sommet Center can be yours for $817.01. With face value at $382.50, you're only paying about $52 in service charges, which, admittedly, isn't so bad.
Alison Krauss, Kellie Pickler and Jason Aldean were added to the list of performers yesterday. They join the likes of Big & Rich, Brooks & Dunn, Kenny Chesney and the Eagles, among others. Yes, the Eagles, you read that right. But those wondering what the SoCal rockers are doing at a country award show, take heart. According to the CMA database, the Eagles have scored two CMA nominations -- one in 1976 and one in 1977. So, you see, it makes perfect sense to bring back band with such an illustrious country history.
But back to the awards. Over the next couple weeks, leading up the show, major categories will broken down here.
First up is Male Vocalist of the Year. The nominees include Kenny Chesney, Brad Paisley, George Strait, Josh Turner and Keith Urban (pictured). Including this year's tallies, those artists have a total of 147 nominations among them.
Strait is clearly the veteran/legend among the crew, racking up a whopping 70 nods. He hasn't won since 2005 (Musical Event of the year: "Good News, Bad News"), and this could be his year. He's coming off an induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame, and his album, "It Just Comes Natural," spawned the hit "Give it Away." He's the safe choice, and a solid bet here, but the rival Academy of Country Music Awards already lavished a few trophies on him, and the CMAs may opt for a riskier choice.
The award could have been Chesney's for the taking. His "Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates" was one of the more anticipated albums of the fall. It's still bringing in solid sales, having now moved more than 670,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. But it failed to be the critical breakthrough, especially with all the pre-release hype of the album showing a more graceful, mature Chesney. It was, ultimately, a slight let-down, and I'm betting that swung the momentum away from him.
Turner's "Your Man" was steeped in tradition, but not a stand-out, and Paisley's "5th Gear" brought a much-needed jolt of humor to country. But the winner here will be Aussie Urban, whose "Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing" packed the most grit. It was his most commercial effort, and it accomplished that without sacrificing the guitars. He won the award last year, has a greatest hits package on the horizon, and supposedly won his battle with alcohol abuse. "Love, Pain" also had a bit more groove than the other albums in the category, and he's still country's best male star at the moment.
The best soundtrack released this year was Columbia Records' "Once."
The film played out like a live-action mix tape, with the songs changing in shape and intensity as the reel progressed. The music was effortlessly used to reflect the changes in on-screen relationship between Marketa Irglova and Glen Hansard. At times hesitating and innocent, the acoustic-driven tunes held the difficult task of illustrating such emotions, and they succeeded.
Therefore, it's hard for me to seriously take any music awards that failed to nominate "Once," but that's exactly what happened with the American Music Awards. The albums competing for favorite soundtrack are "Dreamgirls,""Hairspray" and "High School Musical 2."
Granted, "High School Musical 2" has a seemingly magic formula behind it. Millions in Disney-fueled marketing + kids love it + It already sold a ton.
In fact, "HSM2" has already topped 1 million copies in sales, according to Nielsen SoundScan, while "Hairspray" should be coming up on the 700,000 copy mark in the coming weeks.
But unless ABC's Web site is going to be bombarded by votes from the tween set -- or Disney's street team -- it will come up short. The album's sales are propelled by parents, and I'm guessing they're not so passionate about it winning anything, and the kids they're buying it for aren't the demographic that's interested in the AMAs right now -- not unless the AMAs are taking out ads at Hannah Montana concerts, but even then it's doubtful. Besides, John Travolta has a larger, more energized fan-base thanClayAiken Zac Efron.
As for "Dreamgirls," isn't that old news? The soundtrack will be almost a year old by the time the AMAs air on Nov. 17. "Dreamgirls" took home three trophies at the Golden Globes, but its three Oscar-nominated songs were bested by the power of Al Gore. That seemed to kill any of thunder "Dreamgirls" had. It's nomination here seems more like a ploy to get one of the film's stars to perform on the show.
That leaves "Hairspray." But that still doesn't answer the more important question.
The World Soundtrack Awards, held this weekend in Ghent, Belgium, honored English composerClint Mansell for his work on Darren Aronofsky's 2006 film "The Fountain."
Mansell won for best original soundtrack and also took home a people's choice award.
Alexandre Desplat won the prize for film composer of the year for his work on "The Queen" and "The Painted Veil."
I'll cop to not yet having seen "The Fountain," but the soundtrack stands alone. Released late last year by Nonesuch, the work saw Mansell working with the adventurous instrumentalists the Kronos Quartet and atmospheric rock act Mogwai, melding classical strains with slight electronics. If you haven't heard it, or missed the film, sample the epic and eerie string build of "Death Is the Road to Awe" on Mansell's Myspace page.
Winning the award for best original song was "You Know My Name" from Bond film "Casino Royale," written by Chris Cornell and David Arnold. A complete list of winners is available here.
It's been a good year for music movies, with "Control," "Across the Universe" and "Once."
It might end on a high-note as well, with "Honeydripper" opening Dec. 28. The new John Sayles film cuts to 1950s Alabama, where a club is on the verge of shutting, and rock'n'roll is just being born -- the moment where rock'n'roll the myth is about to become rock'n'roll the business.
The film contains a slew of original music done in the early electric blues style, with Sayles even getting a pair of writing credits. Much of compositions were written by jazz musician Billy Novick and film composer MasonDaring ("SunshineState," "AWalkOntheMoon"), and are showcases for young guitar stud GaryClark, Jr. We'll have more on the music as it's made available, but for now, the film's decidedly simple and straightforward Web site is rightly putting the emphasis on the tunes.
There's a Pandora station for the film, and there's also a video Jukebox on Panjea to highlight the type of music one may have heard in a 1950s club. A word of warning: This weekend, many of the video clips seemed to be temporarily unavailable. But worth reading is Sayles' statement on why he made the film. Let's hope the record label behind the upcoming Chess film treats the early stages of rock'n'roll with such reverence.
But if you don't want to click off, here's the trailer:
the Nov. 18 telecast, but fans will be allowed to pick which song the act plays. 
