#leonard&frank&rose is also important. the only family that actually like each other.

[seagullcharmer]

still feeling unwell abt leonard vanderboom btw. if you even care

[dweemeister]

2017 Movie Odyssey Award for Best Original Song (preliminary)

More than two hundred movies since 2017 began and just after passing six hundred total write-ups on this blog, it’s that time of year again! As all who have been tagged here probably know, I host an Oscar-like ceremony celebrating all the movies of that year’s Movie Odyssey at the year’s end. I contacted most of you beforehand to ask if you could help narrow down the shortlist for the final round of Movie Odyssey Award nominees in this category.

We have 23 songs (up from 17 last year... yikes!) in this preliminary round, separated into two groups -- songs that appear in the same movie have been placed into separate groups; all other songs were randomized. Unlike last year which was a La La Land/Moana/Purple Rain/Saturday Night Fever/The Slipper and the Rose party, this shortlist features more non-musical movies. No movie was shortlisted more than twice this round. With English, Hindi, Japanese, and Spanish involved, it is also the most multilingual field ever over a mixture of musical genres.

INSTRUCTIONS In the group that you have been sorted into, please rank (#1-10) at least five and at most ten of your assigned group’s songs. Please consider (to the best of your ability): your personal preferences (most important), how musically interesting a song is, the lyrics, context within the film (if you’ve seen it), choreography (if applicable), and the song’s cultural impact/life outside the film (if applicable, and also the least important factor). The top five songs in each group advance to the final round -- I may pick one song outside a group’s top five to advance, too. An unspecified number of songs have already advanced to the final. Tabulation details are underneath the cut.

There are some followers I’d like to extend a last invitation to for the prelim (because you’re all longtime followers but are either inactive/never participated before): @babeltwo, @classwarhooligan, @daveyboygoliath, @jayb3, @loveless422, @mopina, @phendranaedge, @saucy-witch, @shadesofhappy, @astorytellertothestars  I would love to have all of you participate in both the prelim and/or final rounds (if you folks don’t reply, apologies as I will tag you again for the final)! Please contact me if you are interested in participating in the prelim! This goes for any follower I have not tagged as well -- please contact me if you are interested in participating for this round and/or the final!

The deadline for preliminary submission is Saturday, December 9 at 11 PM Pacific Time. That’s Sunday, December 10 @ 2 AM Eastern and 7 AM GMT. The final round begins once tabulation is complete, probably the day after.

GROUP A

“Baby, You Knock Me Out”, music by André Previn, lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, It’s Always Fair Weather (1955)

Performed by Cyd Charisse (dubbed by Carol Richards) and chorus

“Blue Gardenia”, music and lyrics by Bob Russell and Lester Lee, arranged by Nelson Riddle, The Blue Gardenia (1953)

Performed by Nat King Cole

"Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine", music and lyrics by Guy Hemric and Jerry Styner, Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine (1965)

Performed by The Supremes

“The First Time It Happens”, music and lyrics by Joe Raposo, The Great Muppet Caper (1981)

Performed by Kermit the Frog (Jim Henson), Miss Piggy (Frank Oz), and chorus

Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song

“For Your Eyes Only”, music by Bill Conti, lyrics by Mick Leeson, For Your Eyes Only (1981)

(slightly nsfw opening credits version) / (sfw audio)

Performed by Sheena Easton

A James Bond song; nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song

“Hi-Lili, Hi-Lo”, music by Bronislau Kaper, lyrics by Helen Deutsch, Lili (1953)

(English version) / (German version)... the song and movie are both popular in Germany

Performed by Leslie Caron and Mel Ferrer

“Jane Kahan Mera Jigar Gaya Ji”, music by O.P. Nayyar, lyrics by Majrooh Sultanpuri, Mr. & Mrs. ’55 (1955, India)

Performed by Johnny Walker (dubbed by Mohammad Rafi) and Yasmin (dubbed by Geeta Dutt)

Lyrics in Hindi

Song ends at 50:11

“Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door”, music and lyrics by Bob Dylan, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973)

(use in context... the full song is not played)

Performed by Bob Dylan

“Once in a While, Talk of the Old Days”, music and lyrics by Tokiko Katô, arranged by Yôko Kanno, Porco Rosso (1992, Japan)

Performed by Tokiko Katô

Lyrics in Japanese

“Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea”, music by Joe Hisaishi, lyrics by Katsuya Kondô and Hayao Miyazaki, Ponyo (2008, Japan)

Performed by Nozomi Ôhashi and Fujioka Fujimaki

Lyrics in Japanese

“Think Pink!”, music by Roger Edens, lyrics by Leonard Gershe, Funny Face (1957)

Performed by Kay Thompson, Virginia Thompson, and chorus

“Zenzenzense”, music and lyrics by Yôjirô Noda, Your Name (2016, Japan)

Performed by RADWIMPS (their music video has nothing to do with the movie, but it’s interesting)

Lyrics in Japanese

Group A participants include: @dansmonarbre, @emilylime5, @fredsbarandgrill, @ideallaedi, @introspectivemeltdown, @leesamuel, @musicmoviesportsguy, @nazur, @simplyangiec, @somequeerdistortion. Four others are also joining you in this group, including myself and my little sister.

GROUP B

“Ben”, music by Walter Scharf, lyrics by Don Black, Ben (1972)

Performed by Michael Jackson

Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song

“Bonjour, Paris!”, music and lyrics by Roger Edens and Leonard Gershe, Funny Face (1957)

Performed by Fred Astaire, Audrey Hepburn, and Kay Thompson

“Hey, a Movie!”, music and lyrics by Joe Raposo, The Great Muppet Caper (1981)

Performed by Kermit the Frog (Jim Henson), Fozzie Bear (Frank Oz), Gonzo (Dave Goelz), Sweetums (Richard Hunt), Charles Grodin, and chorus

“I Got Lucky”, music and lyrics by Dolores Fuller, Fred Wise, and Ben Weisman, Kid Galahad (1962)

Performed by Elvis Presley

“I’m Old Fashioned”, music by Jerome Kern, lyrics by Johnny Mercer, You Were Never Lovelier (1942)

Performed by Rita Hayworth (dubbed by Nan Wynn) and Fred Astaire

“My Neighbor Totoro”, music by Joe Hisaishi, lyrics by Hayao Miyazaki, My Neighbor Totoro (1988, Japan)

Performed by Azumi Inoue

Lyrics in Japanese

“Remember Me (Recuérdame)”, music and lyrics by Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Coco (2017)

English: (first use) / (lullaby) / (end credits)

Spanish: (first use) / (lullaby) / (end credits)

Various performers - I personally prefer the Spanish performances

“Sparkle”, music and lyrics by Yôjirô Noda, Your Name (2016, Japan)

Performed by RADWIMPS

Lyrics in Japanese

“Thanks a Lot, but No Thanks”, music by André Previn, lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, It’s Always Fair Weather (1955)

Performed by Dolores Gray

Song begins at 1:33 in the video. For minimal context, watch it all.

“Udhar Tum Haseen Ho”, music by O.P. Nayyar, lyrics by Majrooh Sultanpuri, Mr. & Mrs. ’55 (1955, India)

Performed by Guru Dutt (dubbed by Mohammad Rafi) and Madhubala (dubbed by Geeta Dutt)

Lyrics in Hindi

Song ends at 1:47:51; the scene ends a few seconds later

“Would You”, music by Nacio Herb Brown, lyrics by Arthur Freed, San Francisco (1936)

Performed by Jeanette MacDonald

This song is most famous for its use in Singin’ in the Rain (1952)

Group B participants include: @addaellis, @cokwong, @dog-of-ulthar, @halfwaythruthedark, @maximiliani, @plus-low-overthrow, @stephdgray, @umgeschrieben, @underblackwings, and @yellanimal. Three others are joining you in this group, including myself and my little sister.

I am happy to answer any questions about a song’s use in context, or any other questions for that matter.

Happy listening! And thank you for your participation and support whenever you started following me. You will all be tagged again for the final round, regardless of whether you participated in this final round or not. If voting turnout is bad in one group as opposed to the other, I may call upon members from the more active group to participate in both groups. You can submit your votes any way you wish - articulate as much or as little as you want about your picks, too! -- by replying to this post, reblogging and replying, sending a PM or inbox message. Those who know my personal email can also send me their votes there.

Thanks again, everyone!

For reference: 2014 edition, 2015 edition, 2016 edition

TABULATION Two tabulation methods will be used this year - one will have actual bearing on the results; the other is experimental and may be used in 2018.

The former is a points-based, ranked choice method which has been used since the first time I asked friends, followers, and family to help out. Here is last year’s example. A respondent’s first choice receives 10 points, the second choice receives 9, the third choice receives 8, etc. The winner is the song that ends up with the most total points. This will be used for the preliminary and final rounds this year.

Tiebreakers for above: 1) total points earned; 2) total #1 votes; 3) placement on my ballot; 4) placement on @monkeysmadeofcheese’s ballot; 5) tie declared

The following method may be used in 2018 and will be conducted this year for experimental purposes only. It uses the instant-runoff voting (IRV) method (the Academy Awards uses this method to choose a Best Picture winner, visually represented here). It’s a bit confusing (and it’s probably best if you see the visual example), but here’s how it works:

All #1 picks from all voters are tabulated. A song needs more than half of all aggregate votes to win (fifty percent of all votes plus one).

If there is no winner after the first count (as is most likely... if there are thirty respondents, sixteen #1 votes are needed to win in the first count), the song with the fewest #1 votes is thrown out. We look at the The last-placed song’s ballots are then given to the remaining nominees according to the voters' #2 choice.

The process repeats, eliminating nominees and giving votes to the highest-ranked, non-eliminated song on each ballot. It is possible after several rounds of counting that respondents who did not entirely fill in their ballots will have wasted their votes at the end of the process (if a person voted the second-to-last place song as their #1, filled in no more slots, and the count has exceeded two rounds, they have no say in which song ultimately is the winner).

A song wins when it reaches more than fifty percent of their #1 and re-distributed votes.

Tiebreakers for experimental method: 1) first song to receive fifty percent of all votes +1; 2) total points earned; 3) total #1 votes; 4) placement on my ballot; 5) placement on @monkeysmadeofcheese​’s ballot ; 6) tie declared