Comments on: Somewhere over the rainbow...

Somewhere over the rainbow...

ChrisTN — Thu, 24 Jun 2004 10:55:00 -0800

The American Film Institute (a.k.a. "The Listmakers Who Just Won't Quit") have announced their ~~long-awaited~~ ~~ground-breaking~~ top 100 movie songs of all time.

By: ChrisTN

ChrisTN — Thu, 24 Jun 2004 10:55:51 -0800

My ears are bleedings just to realize that Celine Dion made it as high as #14. God help us all.

By: jonmc

jonmc — Thu, 24 Jun 2004 11:04:41 -0800

What, nothing from this? Pheh.

By: shotsy

shotsy — Thu, 24 Jun 2004 11:06:28 -0800

Seems a pretty typical and dull AFI list. I was glad to see "Make 'em Laugh" on there though. That is a wonderful song. I agree re: Celine, and was a bit miffed at two Bette Midler songs. Obligatory songs missing: Jon Brion's song from Punch Drunk Love Take your pick from one of Quentin Tarantino's movies

By: corpse

corpse — Thu, 24 Jun 2004 11:07:49 -0800

I despise the AFI. My notable ommissions: In Dreams - Blue Velvet Blue Velvet - Blue Velvet In Heaven - Eraserhead Bohemian Rhapsody - Wayne's World Wig In A Box - Hedwig and the Angry Inch Llorando (Crying) - Mulholland Drive More Than This - Lost in Translation If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out - Harold and Maude Damn It Feels Good to Be a Gangsta - Office Space Eye of the Tiger - Rocky When Doves Cry - Purple Rain Don't You (Forget About Me) - The Breakfast Club Caught In the Middle With You - Resevoir Dogs Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) - Kill Bill Misirlou - Pulp Fiction These Days - The Royal Tennanbaums In Your Eyes - Say Anything Man of Constant Sorrow - O' Brother Where Art Thou Pressure Drop - The Harder They Come Time Warp - Rocky Horror Picture Show Mean Green Mother from Outerspace - Little Shop of Horrors Dueling Banjos - Deliverance Rock and Roll High School - Rock and Roll High School

By: Quartermass

Quartermass — Thu, 24 Jun 2004 11:16:38 -0800

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

By: GhostintheMachine

GhostintheMachine — Thu, 24 Jun 2004 11:21:17 -0800

I was disappointed they didn't include instrumentals. Surely the Pink Panther and Star Wars themes (among others) deserved mention. Interesting to see the preliminary list of 400, and see (by omission) what wasn't even considered.

By: XQUZYPHYR

XQUZYPHYR — Thu, 24 Jun 2004 11:28:14 -0800

14. My Heart Will Go On - TITANIC Thank you, I can stop right there. Is there some special rule with the AFI that every one of these lists has to have one complete "what the fuck?" somewhere near the top? Like when they decided "Forrest Gump" was one of the 100 best films ever made? Or that "Something About Mary" deserved to make the top 20 funniest? Couldn't they just run an ad for the studio that bribed them in that space instead or something? That the Titanic Song can beat out "Shaft" - or for that matter prevent "Dueling Banjos," "Jesse James," "Little Green Bag" or the theme from "Chariots of Fire" from even making the list- is appaling.

By: ALongDecember

ALongDecember — Thu, 24 Jun 2004 11:35:47 -0800

Chariots of Fire is British... AFI only lists American films. (see criteria at bottom of page.)

By: sixpack

sixpack — Thu, 24 Jun 2004 11:41:41 -0800

I nominate Corpse to the Mefi 100. Excellent list! AFI should've limited its list to songs that are actually performed on-screen (as opposed to soundtrack, a la "Mrs. Robinson").

By: kirkaracha

kirkaracha — Thu, 24 Jun 2004 11:47:40 -0800

The list was made by geezers. Most of this list could've been made 30 years ago. (Although the few post-1970s selections are pretty lame.) And where are the themes from Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark? And "Rhapsody in Blue" is the perfect intro song in Manhattan. The criteria says to consider "music and lyrics featured in an American film that set a tone or mood, define character, advance plot[,] and/or express the film's themes." In other words, the songs aren't necessarily good songs, they're appropriate to the movies they're in. Their top 3 is hard to argue with, but given the criteria I'd put "Up Where We Belong," "Theme from Shaft," and "Old Time Rock and Roll" much higher. "Theme from New York, New York" is famous as a Frank Sinatra signature song, but I bet most people don't even know it's from a movie. And of course the Gene Wilder/Peter Boyle "Puttin' on the Ritz" should be in the Top 10.

By: SoftRain

SoftRain — Thu, 24 Jun 2004 11:51:55 -0800

So much Streisand. Ugh. How could Evergreen, from her Star Is Born remake, beat out The Man That Got Away, from Judy Garland's Star Is Born remake? I know they're all mainstream-happy, (they didn't put Blue Velvet on their greatest films list, but Forrest Gump made the cut, for instance - they really don't seem to like David Lynch - didn't he make Eraserhead or something with their grant money?), which is why most of Corpse's songs wouldn't be on their list, but I can't understand why "Man of Constant Sorrow" isn't there.

By: dhoyt

dhoyt — Thu, 24 Jun 2004 11:53:17 -0800

Favorite recent use of music in a film: "Just Like Honey" (Jesus & Mary Chain) from Lost in Translation *lump forms in throat*

By: Miles Long

Miles Long — Thu, 24 Jun 2004 12:06:48 -0800

re "what the fuck?!" type selections: They're always there. There has to be some controversy, otherwise people wouldn't discuss it. The worst thing in marketing is to be ignored.

By: jennyb

jennyb — Thu, 24 Jun 2004 12:27:48 -0800

Too much from Moulin Rouge. Am I the only person who truly, madly, deeply hates that movie?

By: Holden

Holden — Thu, 24 Jun 2004 13:42:08 -0800

Thanks, Corpse. Truly, the AFI's lameness is unmasked by the exclusion of Dueling Banjos. And Time Warp is one of the best movie songs ever. I was singing it to my 7-year-old son at bedtime last night.

By: ChrisTN

ChrisTN — Thu, 24 Jun 2004 13:51:43 -0800

Too much from Moulin Rouge. Am I the only person who truly, madly, deeply hates that movie? Yes...but then, my inner screaming flaming show tune queen comes roaring out at questions like this, so don't mind me.

By: smackfu

smackfu — Thu, 24 Jun 2004 14:20:50 -0800

There was one song from Moulin Rouge, and it was #85. That's too much?

By: jennyb

jennyb — Thu, 24 Jun 2004 15:01:46 -0800

Yes. I would argue that one song from that movie at #85 was too much. And then they juxtaposed Nicole Kidman in Moulin Rouge with Marilyn Monroe in Gentleman Prefer Blonds for "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend". And then I blacked out.

By: DevilsAdvocate

DevilsAdvocate — Thu, 24 Jun 2004 21:42:55 -0800

I watched the broadcast, and I was impressed by one thing. At one point an AFI executive came on screen and said that the whole point of the list was to get people talking about it--"If you don't agree with us, then discuss it!" Which of course is the point of all such lists, but most don't admit it so frankly. "Puttin' on the Ritz" was the other song which was recognized for two different movies.

By: obloquy

obloquy — Fri, 25 Jun 2004 00:14:58 -0800

Could AFI not find enough room on the internet to include the names of the PERFORMERS or COMPOSERS of these songs? Not even on the dogdamned PDFs? Pardon, but that just right cheeses me off.