Category: Soundtracks

Midweek Break with Zooey Deschanel and Winnie the Pooh

Happy Wednesday!

The latest adaptation of A.A. Milne’s Winnie the Pooh hits theaters July 15. The timeless animated feature is very much a throwback to earlier versions of the Hundred Acre Woods and its lovable inhabitants. There are also some unique touches. Disney released a clip yesterday of Zooey Deschanel singing “So Long,” a new track that will end the movie.

Watch it below and be prepared to smile.

I am in no way the intended demographic for Winnie the Pooh, but this short feature makes me so excited for this movie. Who’s with me?

These are the unforgettable movie songs?

Every Top Ten list is subjective. It is a fact we know all too well but that still doesn’t stop us from arguing what are the greatest movies, songs, bands etc. of all-time. Which brings me to Spinner’s list of the 77 greatest movie songs. I agree with the majority of the songs featured on the list – not necessarily the order. I just don’t get what makes these songs “unforgettable.” (An EW.com blog post breaks down that very word here.)

My main complaint is that the earliest song selected is “Moon River” from 1961’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Apparently before 1961 there was no such thing as an “unforgettable movie song.”

My personal Top Ten list of “the greatest movie songs” first includes staples such as Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On” (Titanic 1995), Simple Minds’ “Don’t You Forget About Me” (The Breakfast Club, 1985), and Simon and Garfunkel’s “Mrs. Robinson” (The Graduate, 1967).

Then there are other favorites such as “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love Baby” from Bringing Up Baby:

“How Little We Know” from To Have and Have Not:

And easily my number one is “Que Sera Sera” from 1956 version of The Man Who Knew Too Much. More so than “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love Baby” or “How Little We Know,” this song is used brilliantly by Hitchcock during the film’s climactic sequence. Plus, it has a Doris Day performance and you can’t beat that. No wonder it won the Oscar for Best Original Song in 1956.

For me, these three songs define “unforgettable movie song”, long before Celine ever even belted a note.

Soundtrack Fix: Whip It

I just came from a preview screening of Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut, Whip It. I have to say, I was beyond satisfied with this movie and I hope Barrymore directs more in the future. One of my favorite aspects of the movie (and there were many – a review will be posted shortly, I promise) was the soundtrack. I absolutely loved the music used in the film.

Here is a sampling of the some of favorite songs featured in Whip It.

1. “Pot Kettle Black” – Tilly and the Wall

2. “Sheena Is a Punk Rocker” – The Ramones
3. “What’s the Attitude” – Cut Chemist
4. “Bang on” – The Breeders
5. “Dead Sound” – The Raveonettes

6. Blue Turning Grey – Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
7. Your Arms Around Me – Jens Lekman
8. Learnalilgivinanlovin – Gotye
9. Boys Wanna Be Her – Peaches

10. Jolene – Dolly Parton
11. Caught Up in You – .38 Special
12. Never My Love – Har Mar Superstar feat. Adam Green
13. Black Gloves – Goose
14. Crown of Age – The Ettes

15. High Times – Landon Pigg, Turbo Fruits
16. Unattainable – Little Joy
17. Lollipop [Squeak E. Clean & Desert Eagles Remix] – The Chordettes
18. Doing It Right – The Go! Team
19. Breeze – Apollo Sunshine

The Whip It soundtrack is pretty fantastic; I could listen to Peaches all day. Be sure to check it out when it is released on Tuesday, Sept. 27. I know I cannot wait to get my hands on a copy.

The AFI’s 25 Greatest Film Scores


There is nothing I love more in this world than movie lists. At this point in my movie watching obsession I have only completed one. And let me tell you, that was no easy chore. It took me a little more than a year because most video stores (i.e. blockbuster) do not carry anything pre-1960’s -1970’s. Apparently kids today don’t appreciate Hitchcock, Cary Grant, Citizen Kane, or Chaplin as much. But enough ranting (and I could rant for a while) because the American Film Institute, on September 23, announced its most recent list….

The 25 Greatest Film Scores!!!!

Not that I would go out of my way to watch a movie just because the music is great, cool, or just weird, but having lists to highlight obsessively and endlessly makes me feel like I’m actually accomplishing something as I watch more and more movies.

And the complete list is:

1. Star Wars (1977); John Williams
2. Gone with the Wind (1939); Max Steiner
3. Lawrence of Arabia (1962); Maurice Jarre
4. Psycho (1960); Bernard Herrmann
5. The Godfather (1972); Nino Rota
6. Jaws (1975); John Williams
7. Laura (1944); David Raskin
8. The Magnificent Seven (1960); Elmer Bernstein
9. Chinatown (1975); Jerry Goldsmith
10. High Noon (1952); Dimitri Tiomkin
11. The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938); Erich Wolfgang Korngold
12. Vertigo (1958); Bernard Herrmann
13. King Kong (1933); Max Steiner
14. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982); John Williams
15. Out of Africa (1985); John Barry
16. Sunset Boulevard (1950); Franz Waxman
17. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962); Elmer Bernstein
18. Planet of the Apes (1968); Jerry Goldsmith
19. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951); Alex North
20. The Pink Panther (1964); Henry Mancini
21. Ben-Hur (1959); Miklos Rozsa
22. On the Waterfront (1954); Leonard Bernstein
23. The Mission (1986); Ennio Morricone
24. On Golden Pond (1981); David Grusin
25. How the West Was Won (1962); Alfred Newman

This list reads like a whose who of Hollywood elite composers. John Williams, Elmer Berstein, Henry Mancini, Bernard Hermann, Leonard Bernstein, Max Steiner etc. making it perfectly clear how essential good music is to any classic film.

What is your favorite? Sound off below.