365 FRIDAY 26 JUNE 2015 (-1)
Some Other Time – Brian Stokes Mitchell
And then there was just one left. Here we are, the 365th song, the last song on the list.
You were not mistaken if you read last week’s entry and thought that was the end of the series. I’m just using this last song to bid adieu and thank the dozens of people who followed me for the previous few months.
Continue reading358 FRIDAY 19 JUNE 2015 (-8)
Seasons of Love – Rent Original Broadway Cast
![Rent (1996 Original Broadway Cast) [Cast Recording]](https://365songsblogdotcom.files.wordpress.com/2015/11/rent-1996-original-broadway-cast-cast-recording.jpg?w=150)
Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes; well, more like five hundred fifteen thousand five hundred and twenty minutes. That is the number of minutes that have gone by since I started this project almost a year ago. As I prepared for the last entries on the list, I wanted to start the last week with this song.
It’s been a fascinating year. Nothing overly exciting has happened, but it’s been quite eventful nonetheless. The fact that I was able to commit for a year and a half to not only creating the list but to doing write-ups about each song is a feat itself.
351 FRIDAY 12 JUNE 2015 (-15)
A Musical – Brad Oscar, Brian d’Arcy James, Ensemble
A Musical, a love letter to the genre, is full of references from popular musicals. When the song came out, I saw a headline on a website claiming something like: “You’ll never guess the references to other musicals this song has,” or something along those lines. I can’t remember the site, but it was probably the Huffington Post. They love those “dare-you”-attention-grabbing headlines. I took their dare. I listened to the song and had no trouble finding all the references. It wasn’t hard at all. In a way, I felt like those geeks who love “Star Wars/Trek” and know every single detail of the franchises; I realised that I may have more in common with them than I ever thought. Don’t get me wrong; that won’t stop me from still making fun of them.
344 FRIDAY 5 JUNE 2015 (-22)
Private Idaho – The B-52’s
Private Idaho belongs to a group of songs that I went ahead and fetched from iTunes because they represent an era. This time, the early 1980s.
As I became a young man, the mission was to be cool. To achieve that, some steps had to be taken. First, I had to lose weight. Chub and cool were never used in the same sentence in those days. Actually, neither it’s the case today. Anyway, I lost like 15 kilos, started to wear nice clothes designed for thin people, karate became my sport, and Marlboros 100 was the choice when it came to smoking. Talk about being cool, eh? I was the ‘cat’s meow’. Then again, I ask you, could a guy who still describes himself as the ‘cat’s meow’ in 2015 be cool at all? I’d say no. Neither in 2015 nor in 1981, for that matter.
337 FRIDAY 29 MAY 2015
Just Once – James Ingram
This entry seems to come out of the left field. I never thought I would include a track in this style. However, I was cyber shopping in iTunes one evening, trying to see if I could recognise any song from the past, when Just Once jumped at me. It just brought such good memories of a time when I was leaving my childhood and I was entering my young adult years.
Additionally, at 16, and I’m about to toot my own horn, I was able to hit the same notes that James Ingram did on the song. At this age, I was already showing signs of disregard for any form of pop music and Just Once was one of the few I knew. Whenever people talked about new music, I was clueless for the most part. So, I created a little routine for those instances.
330 FRIDAY 22 MAY 2015
Prologue: Ragtime – 1998 Ragtime Cast
E.L. Doctorow’s 1975 masterpiece, “Ragtime”, got its musical treatment in the late 1990s. It seemed appropriate to close the 20th century with an extraordinary story that flawlessly mixed historical figures with fictional characters.
I was blown away by Doctorow’s prose when I first read the novel. It fascinated me how easily he intertwined actual historical figures like Emma Goldman, Harry Houdini and Henry Ford with fictional characters. After finishing the book, I stayed in a haze. I just couldn’t shake off the stories; they stayed with me for a long time.
323 FRIDAY 15 MAY 2015
NYC – Alicia Morton, Audra McDonald, Victor Garber, Andrea McArdle
You would think this is a song I would have placed on the list sooner. The thing is that I have five or six versions of this song in my iTunes Library. I’ve settled for this one from the 1999 TV movie because it features Victor Garber, an actor who is so easy to watch, and Audra McDonald – I haven’t included enough of her on the list.
In an earlier entry, I wrote about how despite Annie being a very popular show since the 1970s, it was only in 2011 that I discovered the musical. I always thought it was a kid’s show, but I was surprised to find out how smart it was.
316 FRIDAY 8 MAY 2015 (-50) – THE LAST 50 SONGS
King Kong March – Moscow Symphony Orchestra
I always saw my maternal grandparents as individual beings. They were just “Abuela” and “Abuelo”. I never saw them as a couple. They were so different that I’ve always wondered what brought them together.
My grandfather Domingo was a peculiar fellow, to say the least. There are stories of him that, to this day, my mother and aunt can still marvel at when they reminisce. If the guy felt low on iron, he’d put iron nails on a glass of water, let them soak overnight, and drink the water the following day. He’d argue that getting his iron dosage was a practical way. Were there any pesky ghosts or apparitions disturbing your peace at home? Not a problem. As a self-taught scholar of spiritualism and founding member of “La Sociedad Espiritista de Maracaibo”, he could organise a séance at short notice to get all paranormal activity under control at your home.
309 FRIDAY 1 MAY 2015
Hello, Hello – Liza Minnelli
God bless Liza! The woman has had her ups and downs for most of her career. The press well documented her struggles with drug addiction and alcohol dependency. However, no doubt La Minnelli got her mother’s performing genes. Just like Judy Garland did in her day, Liza has always managed to leave her demons behind every now and then just to give her audience some amazing live performances. Case in point, “Liza’s At the Palace”.
302 FRIDAY 24 APRIL 2015
The Dance Sequence (It’s De-Lovely/Anything Goes/There’s Nothing Like Swimming/I’ve Got You Under My Skin/Get Out of Town/I’ve Got My Eyes on You/You’re the Top) – Orchestra
This isn’t the first time I have included a cut from this gorgeous soundtrack. Mostly like with “The Grotto” (See Week 09 – 57. Friday 22 August 2014), The Dance Sequence is a medley of Cole Porter’s songs used in the 1982 film “Evil Under the Sun.” The Agatha Christie mystery featured many stars, including Peter Ustinov, Maggie Smith, Roddy McDowell and Diana Rigg. The fabulous piece is used to show a montage of the whereabouts of all the characters when a glamorous star is murdered on the beach. A particular Porter song is used throughout the film as a character’s theme. At this moment, all the tunes come together to frame the movie sequence. The superb arrangement comes courtesy of John Lanchberry, the only arranger I’ve given credit on this list.
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