Tag Archives: Music

Song of the Day: When Your Mind’s Made UP (performed by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

It’s St. Patrick Day!  Now, I can’t speak for everyone but for me, this is the only holiday that matters.  For one thing, it gives me a convenient excuse to show off some of my Irish Folk Dance moves.  For another, it gives me an excuse to say things like, “I’m just a good Irish girl,” in the closest I can come to an Irish accent.  (Admittedly, that’s not very close.  My own accent tends to be kinda twangy and country.) 

Oh!  And there’s another great thing about St. Patrick’s Day.  It gives me an excuse to wear green and I look really good in green.  Today, I’m green from my eyeshadow to my underwear.

Anyway, with all that mind, it was pretty easy to pick today’s song of the day.  One of my favorite films of 2007 was a wonderfully romantic and charmingly low-key Irish film called Once.  The film’s soundtrack, which I’ve been listening to all day today, is one of my all-time favorites. 

One of my favorite songs on that soundtrack — and my pick for song of the day — is When Your Mind’s Made Up, performed by the film’s stars Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova.  As actors, performers, and as a real-life couple (awwwwwww!)*, Hansard and Irglova have this amazing chemistry and it’s on display in the video posted below.

(By the way, can I be like really, really sappy here without everyone rolling their eyes and getting all “Gaggggggg!” on me?  Sometimes, if I’m feeling really sentimental and silly, I think about how Jeff is like Glen Hansard and I’m like Marketa Irglova.  And then I start singing another song from the movie — the Oscar-winning Falling Slowly.  Or at least I sing a version of it because I have a hard time remembering lyrics.)

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

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*According to Wikipedia, Hansard and Irglova are apparently no longer a couple. 😦

Song the Day: Trip Like I Do (performed by the Crystal Method)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today’s song of the day is the original version of the Crystal Method’s Trip Like I Do.  I love driving to this song even though it’s been responsible for me getting pulled over a few times for speeding.  (Luckily, I’m a girl and I know how to make myself cry.)  This is also the song that, over the past few hours, has inspired me to leave a dozen or so “Oh my god, this is the best…” messages on my friend Evelyn’s voicemail. 

Song of the Day: Under Pressure (performed by David Bowie and Queen)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

So, last night, me and Jeff were at the AMC Valley View to see The Adjustment Bureau (which I’ll be reviewing here either later tonight or tomorrow).  We ended up arriving for the movie a little bit late because, while in route to the theater, we got stuck behind the dumbfug toadsucker who was driving one of those goddamn box-like Smart Cars and, of course, he was so smart that apparently, he couldn’t bring himself to risk going over 30 mph. on a three-lane street.  So, we were stuck behind him like forever and then Jeff and I ended up getting into an argument about whether the driver was a woman (as Jeff claimed) or just some old hippie with long hair (as I claimed).  The driver also had decorated his car with a lot of political bumper stickers — “Obama in ’08,” “Impeach Bush,” “White For Governor,” “Jesus Was A Community Organizer,” “Jesus Was Not A Republican,” “Socialist And Proud,” “Trees Make the Air We Breathe,” and those are just a few of them.

(Personally, I would never put any bumper stickers on my car because, quite frankly, they’re a little bit too permanent for my taste.  I guess I’m too commitment-phobic to turn my car into a propaganda machine.  However, I was once tempted to at least order an “I’m Another Person Not Reading Your Crazy, Left-Wing Blog” bumper sticker and to place it on a life-sized poster of me extending my middle finger which I would have then sent to an ex-boyfriend.)

Anyway, we were stuck behind this guy for-freaking-ever and by the time we finally got around him, since both me and Jeff understand that  it’s actually more dangerous to go under the speed limit than to go over it, neither one of us had any sympathy for any of the political causes that the driver was trying to sell us on.  In fact, that driver came close to turning us into Sarah and Todd Palin.  (Don’t worry, we’re over it now.)  The lesson here, I think, is that if you’re going to turn your car into a moving advertisement for your political beliefs, make sure you can actually know how to drive.

Anyway, by the time we got in the theater, we were still kinda all like “RAWR!” about getting stuck behind that Smart Car but then we saw a trailer that soothed our nerves and calmed us down.  That trailer was for the upcoming Russell Brand film, Arthur. 

Now, don’t get me wrong.  The trailer looks awful and, having seen it, I now understand why so many people apparently can not stand Russell Brand.  (I liked him in Get Him To The Greek.)  Seriously, if not for one redeeming feature, the trailer for Arthur would hace to be the worst trailer since the trailer for Sanctum.

Playing in the background throughout the entire trailer was an old song from David Bowie and Queen, Under Pressure.  As long as we simply ignored Russell Brand and Geraldine James and just listened to the music, the Arthur trailer was not only bearable but actually enjoyable.  If nothing else, this song soothes our souls and brought both Jeff and me back onto the path of relative sanity.

Anyway, with all that in mind, how could I not devote a post to David Bowie and Queen’s Under Pressure?

A Quickie With Lisa Marie: These Boots Are Made For Walkin’ (performed by Nancy Sinatra)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

These Boots Are Made For Walkin’ is one of my favorite songs, one of those that is perfect for making either an entrance or an exit.  There’s probably not a day that passes without this song playing somewhere in the back of my head.

Written by Lee Hazelwood, this song has been recorded by everyone from Jessica Simpson to Megadeth but I prefer the version that made it famous, Nancy Sinatra’s.

Plus, the video for Nancy’s version cracks me up because, if you look real closely, one the dancers has got a run in her hose. *

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*Actually, as I sit here typing this on my lunch break, so do I.

A Quickie With Lisa Marie: Seven Souls (performed by Material and William S. Burroughs)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

It was either 3 or 4 years ago that I first heard this song playing over the end credits of an episode of The Sopranos.  Other than recognizing the iconic and deadpan twang of the late William S. Burroughs, I had absolutely no idea who performed this song or even what the song’s title was.

However, this previous Christmas, I received a copy of The Sopranos: A Family History from my sister Erin and as I was reading through it last night, I came across a reference to the very song.  I discovered that the name of the song was “Seven Souls” and that it was performed by an “experimental” group called Material. 

I then proceeded to do even more extensive, deep-digging research and … well, okay, to be honest, I’m lazy so I just looked it up on Wikipedia.  And according to Wikipedia, Seven Souls was released in 1990 and it features William S. Burroughs reading passages from his book The Western Lands.

Anyway, here it is…”Seven Souls” by Material and William S. Burroughs…

41 Songs But No End Credits

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Academy has released a list of the 41 songs that they have determined are “eligible” for an Oscar nomination next year.  Considering how this year has gone, I shouldn’t be surprised that the songs that I really liked (like “Kick Ass” from Kick Ass and “End Credits” from Harry Brown) have not been deemed eligible.

Anyway, via Awards Daily, here’s the complete list of the eligible songs:

“Alice” from “Alice in Wonderland”
“Forever One Love” from “Black Tulip”
“Freedom Song” from “Black Tulip”
“Bound to You” from “Burlesque”
“Welcome to Burlesque” from “Burlesque”
“You Haven’t Seen the Last of Me” from “Burlesque”
“There’s a Place for Us” from “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader”
“Coming Home” from “Country Strong”
“Me and Tennessee” from “Country Strong”
“Despicable Me” from “Despicable Me”
“Prettiest Girls” from “Despicable Me”
“Dear Laughing Doubters” from “Dinner for Schmucks”
“Better Days” from “Eat Pray Love”
“If You Run” from “Going the Distance”
“Darkness before the Dawn” from “Holy Rollers”
“Sticks & Stones” from “How to Train Your Dragon”
“Le Gris” from “Idiots and Angels”
“Chanson Illusionist” from “The Illusionist”
“Never Say Never” from “The Karate Kid”
“To the Sky” from “Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole”
“What If” from “Letters to Juliet”
“Life during Wartime” from “Life during Wartime”
“Made in Dagenham” from “Made in Dagenham”
“Little One” from “Mother and Child”
“Be the One” from “The Next Three Days”
“If I Rise” from “127 Hours”
“When You See Forever” from “The Perfect Game”
“I Remain” from “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time”
“Dream Big” from “Pure Country 2: The Gift”
“How I Love You” from “Ramona and Beezus”
“Darling I Do” from “Shrek Forever After”
“Noka Oi” from “Six Days in Paradise”
“This Is a Low” from “Tamara Drewe”
“I See the Light” from “Tangled”
“Rise” from “3 Billion and Counting”
“We Belong Together” from “Toy Story 3″
“Eclipse: All Yours” from “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse”
“Nothing” from “Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married Too”
“A Better Life” from “Unbeaten”
“Shine” from “Waiting for ‘Superman’”
“The Reasons Why” from “Wretches & Jabberers”

I saw Burlesque with my friend Evelyn earlier tonight (hi, Evelyn!) and even though the movie was pretty silly, we ended up singing our own version of “Bound to You” for three hours afterward. 

I also thought that “Better Days” from Eat Pray Love and “Dear Laughing Doubters” from Dinner For Schmucks were both perfect examples of good songs written for rather disappointing movies.

Still, I’m sad to see that “Pimps Don’t Cry” won’t be getting a chance to bring The Other Guys some Oscar glory.

A Quickie With Lisa Marie: The Host of Seraphim (performed by Dead Can Dance)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Hi, out there!

Okay, for those of you who haven’t been following along, on Monday, Arleigh posted an entry about Frank Darabont firing the Walking Dead’s writing staff and how this might indicate that Darabont is planning on being the show’s sole writer.

So, of course, me being the little contrarian that I am, I had to stick my big Italian nose into it all and comment about how much I hate The Shawshank Redemption and about how Stephen King is an insecure whore.  And this, of course, led to all of the boys fighting over whether or not The Mist had a good ending.

(I’m joking a little here — it’s actually been a pretty interesting discussion.)

Anyway, I’ve already taken my side in the argument, which is that The Mist had a terrible ending but that terrible ending was scored with a really good and haunting song.

And here that song is : The Host of Seraphim by Dead Can Dance.

A Quickie With Lisa Marie: Hey Boy Hey Girl (performed by the Chemical Brothers)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Some day, I’m going to make and publish a list that will entitled “Top Ten Songs To Dance To While Wasted.”  Until I get around to that, I’ll just take a few minutes to highlight the song that would probably come in at number 3 — Hey Boy Hey Girl by the Chemical Brothers.

I really wanted to put up the music video that features the kids in the museum and the skeletons having sex in the public restroom.  However, every version of that to be found on YouTube comes with one of those really annoying “embedding disabled by request” tags.  Bleh on that.

So, I’m including two videos.  The first one is simply the song as it appears on 1999’s Surrender.  The second is a clip of the Chemical Brothers doing the song live at Glastonbury in 2007.  Personally, I love the 2nd clip.  If you ever get a chance to see the Chemical Brothers live, you must take it as surely as you must breathe oxygen to live.

A Quickie With Lisa Marie: Buio Omega (performed by Goblin)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

One of my favorite movies of all time is Joe D’Amato’s haunting 1979 romance Beyond The Darkness.  Not only is it one of the best Italian films ever (and the best film ever directed by D’Amato) but I think it’s also one of the best films ever made.

One reason the film is so effective is because of its soundtrack, which was composed and performed by  (who else?) Goblin.  The music will be familiar to any Italian horror fan, largely because it was reused by about a thousand other movies that came out in the years after Beyond The Darkness.  (Director Bruno Mattei, in particular, was fond of it.)