I've got almost all the prep done for the Oscar Sunday show. It's all planned out, which versions of all the songs, now it's just a matter of getting the movies from Netflix and ripping the songs from them.
It's going to be a pretty good show I think, both for edumacational merit and for entertainment value. Because the songs that win Oscars tend to be good. Pure pop; I usually play a mix of pop and jazz, and this show will be all pop. All good songs though, with a few notable exceptions. I can't decide which song will be the worst: "Gigi" or "Love is a Many Splendored Thing."
Well, that's not totally honest. "Love is a Many Splendored Thing" is a truly, deeply bad song. It's definitely the worst, and may be a contender for worst song I've ever played on my show. I'm just super bummed about "Gigi" because I had gotten it confused with "Mimi," the Maurice Chevalier song from Love Me Tonight. I think my confusion came about because Maurice Chevalier is also in Gigi. Even though I knew they weren't the same song, and every time I thought about it consciously I'd remember no, that isn't the song. Still everytime I saw "Gigi" on my flowsheet, in my mind I'd hear Chevalier singing "My left shoe's on my right foot, my right shoe's on my left..." and I'd feel happy.
So when I got on Youtube and heard the actual song "Gigi" it was a major disappointment. If the song has any rhythm I can't hear it over Louis Jourdan shouting the lyrics, Broadway-actor-forced-to-sing style. And the song is six and a half minutes long, with no obvious place to cut. In a lot of movie songs, especially the early ones, they sing the song, then they do a dance number, then they sing all or part of the song again. So it's easy to cut an 8 or 10 minute song down to a manageable length. Not "Gigi."
I think what I'm going to do is use the instrumental version that plays under the opening credits, and talk over it. I was trying to avoid doing that, using any the winning songs for talkset background music I mean. But I think it will work better than playing the vocal version. And this way I'll have time to play a fun little song at the beginning of the show called "Hollywood Party." It didn't win any awards, but it is from a movie (surprisingly enough, called Hollywood Party) and it's kind of the perfect song for the Oscars.
i thought i remembered liking "gigi", but it must be a different song from the movie - something with a melody. i went out and listened to gigi on youtube and you're right.
nevertheless, "love is a many splendored thing" is so bad that i think "gigi" may actually be the better song.
Maybe "I Remember It Well"? That's a good song, sung by Maurice Chevalier who was a good singer. Too bad it didn't win the Oscar! I'd be happy to play it.
I should say, sung by Maurice Chevalier and Hermione Gingold. Don't want to leave her out!
or maybe you were thinking of "Thank Heaven for Little Girls," I forgot that was also in Gigi.
Okay now I will stop commenting over and over.
"thank heaven for little girls" is the only one that's ringing a bell, so it's probably that one.
"I remember it well" is a duet between an older couple, singing about their first date:
We met at nine--
We met at eight.
I was on time--
You were late.
Ah yes! I remember it well.
It's really sweet.
total side note: have you ever seen the movie "Funny Bones"? Leslie Caron is in it. it's pretty awesome.