In recent years it has been proven that musicians winning an Oscar – typically the most prestigious award in the film world – is not such an outrageous concept. Nine Inch Nails/How To Destroy Angels linchpin Trent Reznor blew the door wide open, when his acclaimed score with Atticus Ross for The Social Network took home the much coveted little golden man in 2011.
However, after last year’s debacle, where the ‘Best Original Song’ category only contained two nominees, the Academy Awards have decided to beef up the award for this year’s Oscars ceremony, with 75 contenders being revealed as eligible to score a nomination, reports Cinema Blend.
While the list does contain predictable entries, such as Adele’s crack at a Bond theme in ‘Skyfall’, there are some adventurous contenders picked by the Academy who are often maligned for being out of touch with modern movie-goers.
A likely candidate to bag the trophy is the highly respected Neil Finn, with his contribution to The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, the first entry in Peter Jackson’s new Lord Of The Rings trilogy.
The kiwi treasure’s epic tune ‘Song Of The Lonely Mountain’ would fit right in around a Middle Earth campfire and if Finn were to bag(gins) the win, it would make it back-to-back wins for New Zealand songwriters, with Bret Mckenzie picking up the gong last year for his tender ballad ‘Man Or Muppet’ from The Muppets.
Yet that could be considered playing it considering some of the more outlandish tracks that are eligible.
One such track is Rick Ross’ addition to Quentin Tarantino’s upcoming homage to the Spaghetti Western, Django Unchained, one of four nominated from the film in the category.
A typical affair from the Teflon Don, the track ‘100 Black Coffins’ is a hip-hop monster filled with violent bravado – much like a Tarantino film – with a Wild West motif running throughout with reverb drenched guitars, eerie whistles, and ominous bell chimes.A likely candidate to bag the Oscar is the highly respected Neil Finn, with his contribution to The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, the first entry in Peter Jackson’s new Lord Of The Rings trilogy.
Yet, this somehow manages to not be the most tongue-in-cheek addition to the list of potential nominees, with the Black Keys and RZA collaboration ‘Baddest Man Alive’ injecting a B-grade sense of humour into the list. Appearing in RZA’s love letter to the kung-fu genre, The Man With The Iron Fists, the track is over the top, ridiculous, and a whole lot of fun – just like the film itself.
With the Black Keys’ recent mainstream breakthrough and RZA’s impressive pedigree it’s not too surprising this has nabbed a mention, however it would be pretty startling if this were to take home the Oscar.
Other notable nominees include Arcade Fire’s ‘Abraham’s Daughter’, which appeared in tween sensation The Hunger Games, Karen O’s ‘Strangle Love’ from Tim Burton’s latest film Frankenweenie, and a collaboration between The Bootleggers and Emmylou Harris for ensemble cast gangster flick Lawless (which Nick Cave wrote the screenplay for, as well as the score with long-term collaborator and fellow Bad Seed, Warren Ellis).
As the official Academy Award entrant details specify, to be eligible for the Oscar, “a song must consist of words and music, both of which are original and written specifically for the film.” Adding that: “A clearly audible, intelligible, substantive rendition of both lyric and melody must be used in the body of the film,” which hopefully will disqualify the shirtless Matthew McConaughey’s mumbling “Ladies Of Tampa” (from Magic Mike) from eligibility.
As for who will actually be nominated from this large list of potential candidates, it’s anyone’s guess as the Academy is notorious for unpopular decisions. Landmines such as Owl City’s ‘When Can I See You Again?’ (from Disney’s Wreck-It Ralph) and Keith Urban’s ‘For You’ (from Act Of Valour) are scattered throughout the list, however despite this it’s still great to see the Academy actually taking this category seriously this year.
2013 Annual Academy Awards For Best Original Song shortlist
“For You” from “Act of Valor”
“Metaphorical Blanket” from “Any Day Now”
“Let It Rain” from “Being Flynn”
“Learn Me Right” from “Brave”
“Touch the Sky” from “Brave”
“Airport” from “Brooklyn Brothers Beat the Best”
“Come on Girl” from “Brooklyn Brothers Beat the Best”
“Someday” from “Brooklyn Brothers Beat the Best”
“Protect the King” from “Brooklyn Castle”
“California Solo” from “California Solo”
“Casa De Mi Padre” from “Casa De Mi Padre”
“Del Cielo” from “Casa De Mi Padre”
“Yo No Se” from “Casa De Mi Padre”
“No Other Plans” from “Celeste and Jesse Forever”
“Before My Time” from “Chasing Ice”
“By the Light of the Moon” from “Crossroad”
“The Sambola! International Dance Craze” from “Damsels in Distress”
“When You Comin’ Home” from “Darling Companion”
“Death by China” from “Death by China”
“Delhi Safari” from “Delhi Safari”
“Ancora Qui” from “Django Unchained”
“Freedom” from “Django Unchained”
“100 Black Coffins” from “Django Unchained”
“Who Did That to You?” from “Django Unchained”
“How Bad Can I Be?” from “Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax”
“Let It Grow” from “Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax”
“Thneedville” from “Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax”
“Ain’t No Train” from “Downtown Express” “You Don’t Have to Be a Star” from “Fame High”
“Jose’s Martyrdom” from “For Greater Glory: The True Story of Cristiada”
“Strange Love” from “Frankenweenie”
“Voodoo” from “Halloween Party”
“Luna Nascosta” from “Hidden Moon”
“Song of the Lonely Mountain” from “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”
“Abraham’s Daughter” from “The Hunger Games”
“Master of the Seas” from “Ice Age Continental Drift”
“We Are” from “Ice Age Continental Drift”
“Looking for a Sign” from “Jeff, Who Lives at Home”
“From Here to the Moon and Back” from “Joyful Noise”
“He’s Everything” from “Joyful Noise”
“I’m Yours” from “Joyful Noise”
“Wide Awake” from “Katy Perry: Part of Me”
“Cosmonaut” from “Lawless”
“Beaten Up and Broken Down” from “Least among Saints”
“Suddenly” from “Les Misérables”
“Pi’s Lullaby” from “Life of Pi”
“When I Grow Up” from “Losing Control”
“Love Always Comes as a Surprise” from “Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted”
“Ladies of Tampa” from “Magic Mike”
“The Baddest Man Alive” from “The Man with the Iron Fists”
“This Gift” from “The Odd Life of Timothy Green”
“Still Alive” from “Paul Williams Still Alive”
“Dotted Line” from “People Like Us”
“Snake Eyes” from “Promised Land”
“Razors.Out” from “The Raid: Redemption”
“I’m Not Leaving” from “Re:Generation”
“Still Dream” from “Rise of the Guardians”
“Undercover Love” from “Rock of Ages”
“Big Machine” from “Safety Not Guaranteed”
“I Be Here” from “Saint Dracula”
“I Have Secrets” from “Saint Dracula”
“Skyfall” from “Skyfall”
“Breath of Life” from “Snow White and the Huntsman”
“Gone” from “Snow White and the Huntsman”
“One Wing” from “Sparkle”
“Not Running Anymore” from “Stand Up Guys”
“Feel Love” from “Struck by Lightning”
“Everybody Needs a Best Friend” from “Ted”
“Never Had” from “10 Years”
“Dull Tool” from “This Is 40”
“She Won’t Let Go” from “Until They Are Home”
“Kiss Me Goodbye” from “Virginia”
“Anything Made of Paper” from “West of Memphis”
“Hashishet Albi” from “Where Do We Go Now?”
“When Can I See You Again?” from “Wreck-It Ralph”
