In honor of Sergio Leone’s birthday, today’s song of the day is the main theme from Leone’s best-known film, The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.
Ennio Morricone’s score is as much of a character in this film as the ones played by Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach, and Lee Van Cleef. It perfectly sets the moods, telling us that we’re about to see something that is truly epic. The opening notes, which have so often been parodied but which have never lost their power, truly capture the feel of Sergio Leone’s mythical vision of the old west.
In honor of National Science Fiction Day, today’s song of the day comes from the film that sent James Bond into space!
Released in 1979, Moonrakermay not get as much respect as some of the Bond films but I’ve always liked it. The theme song was the third and final Bond song to be performed by Shirley Bassey. The song was originally written for Frank Sinatra but he turned it down. Johnny Mathis then agreed to perform the song but he backed out at the last minute. Shirley Bassey came in to record the song just weeks before the film was due to premiere.
Because this is a 70s film, there were two versions of this song, the original and the disco. Because I’m the one writing this post, we’re going with the disco version.
Where are you, why do you hide Where is that moonlight trail that leads to your side? Just like the moonraker goes in search of his dream of gold I search for love, for someone to have and hold
I’ve seen your smile in a thousand dreams Felt your touch, and it always seems You love me, you love me
Where are you, when will we meet? Take my unfinished life and make it complete Just like the moonraker knows His dream will come true someday I know that you are only a kiss away
I’ve seen your smile in a thousand dreams Felt your touch, and it always seems You love me, you love me
Today’s song of the day was the second James Bond theme song to receive an Oscar nomination, Carly Simon’s Nobody Does It Better. It’s a song that I’m picking for today because, in 2025, nobody is going to do it better than the crew here at the Shattered Lens!
Add to that, it’s just a really good song and a great way to start of the New Year. This is one of the few songs that I can sing, though not as well as Carly Simon. Still, there was one summer night when I totally slayed this song during karaoke night at Grandpa Tony’s. The audience was full of drunk yankees who were in Dallas for some sort of pharmaceutical convention and they loved me!
Here is Carly Simon performing today’s song of the day.
Nobody does it better
Makes me feel sad for the rest
Nobody does it half as good as you
Baby, you’re the best
I wasn’t lookin’ but somehow you found me
I tried to hide from your love light
But like heaven above me
The spy who loved me
Is keepin’ all my secrets safe tonight
And nobody does it better
Though sometimes I wish someone could
Nobody does it quite the way you do
Why’d you have to be so good?
The way that you hold me
Whenever you hold me
There’s some kind of magic inside you
That keeps me from runnin’
But just keep it comin’
How’d you learn to do the things you do?
And nobody does it better
Makes me feel sad for the rest
Nobody does it half as good as you
Baby, baby
Darlin’, you’re the best
Baby, you’re the best
Baby, you’re the best
Sweet baby, you’re the best
Darlin’, you’re the best
Darlin’, you’re the best
Sweet baby, you’re the best
Baby, you’re the best
Sweet baby
The much-missed Gary Loggins always shared this song on Thanksgiving, on both this site and his own personal site. I’m happy to honor his memory by continuing that tradition.
Today’s song of the day is in tribute to Jonathan Saul Kane, who died earlier this month at the age of 55. This British DJ was also known as Depth Charge and The Octagon Man and he is one of the many people who have been credited, over the years, as being the inventor of both trip hop and big beat. Along with founding several key independent record labels, Kane was also sampling Kung Fu movies before it was cool. In fact, as one of the founders Made In Hong Kong, Kane played a key role in introducing Hong Kong action to the west.
As for today’s song of the day, Under The Eye Of The Electric Storm was first released in 1991.
Thanks to the one and only John Carpenter, the version of this sweet little song that The Chordettes recorded in the 1950s will be forever associated with the Night He Came Home. Sadly, none of the Chordettes are with us anymore and I haven’t been able to find any interviews about how they felt about their song of teenage love being used in Halloween.
I’d like to think they would have appreciated it. Michael Myers may not have had hair like Liberace but he did have a mask that looked a lot like William Shatner.
Through the Shattered Lens 