Category Archives: Songs

COMING UP – WEEK 23 PREVIEW

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Week 23

These are the songs I picked between 28 November and 4 December 2014. I’ll talk about them next time.

Processional & Maria (The Wedding) – Audra McDonald, Jessica Molaskey, Elena Shaddow & Christiane Noll … I know many people hated it (“The Sound Of Music Live”) because; well, basically because these days people find it easier to hate than to praise. 

Everybody Dance * – Gregory Harrison, Rosa Curry, Mary Illes, Sarah Solie Shannon

Second Chance * – Karen Ziemba, Daniel McDonald … Second Chance is considered by many (maybe only me) the most hopeful and poetic song written by Kander and Ebb.   

Strike Up the Band – Brent Barrett

Soon – Brent Barrett, Rebecca Luker

As If We Never Said Goodbye – Patti Lupone … I’m the first one surprise with the inclusion of an Andrew Lloyd Webber song on the list. I’ve seen many of his shows, but never really liked them.

La Candela / Bemba Colora / Quimbara / Yerbero Moderno – Angela Carrasco, Celia Cruz

* Top 10 Contender

WEEK 22 – 21 TO 27 NOVEMBER 2014

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148 FRIDAY 21 NOVEMBER 2014

Shall We Dance? – Gotan Project – Top 10 Contender

Shall We Dance_ (Soundtrack from the Motion Picture)

Just like cricket, ballroom dancing is one of those pastimes that I have never fully understood. I mean, don’t get me wrong, they do seem like fun activities, at least ballroom does. But I don’t see the point of both being taken so seriously, lest being professional disciplines with championships and world cups. However, I’m a sucker for movies where ordinary people get their moment to shine under the spotlight of such pastimes. That is why I’ve liked movies such as 1991’s “Stepping Out”, and 2004’s “Shall We Dance?”. In the former, La Minnelli teaches a group of misfits to tap so they get to excel in a dance recital. In the latter, La Lopez coaches another group of everyday people for a ballroom competition.

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COMING UP – WEEK 22 PREVIEW

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Week 22

These are the songs I picked between 21 and 27 November 2014. I’ll talk about them next time.

Shall We Dance? * – Gotan Project

Pedro Navaja – Rubén Blades

Good Morning * – Gene Kelly, Donald O’Connor, Debbie Reynolds 

Reunion And Finale – Orchestra

I Could Drive a Person Crazy – Christopher Durang, Scott Frankel

So Many People – Vanessa Williams, Norm Lewis

The Sound of Music – Carrie Underwood

* Top 10 Contender

WEEK 21 – 14 TO 20 NOVEMBER 2014

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141 FRIDAY 14 NOVEMBER 2014

The Lady Is A Tramp – Frank Sinatra

The Reprise Collection (Disc 1)

Women are better than men at many things, that became clear to me early on in my life.

My mother was much better at managing our household than my father ever was. My elementary school teachers were all women, and they were great; a young man taught me in the 5th grade, and he was very *meh*. Women’s dominance became more evident when I started university. You see I had chosen a field of studies that had traditionally been dominated by women. At the time, Psychology was a career choice mostly for girls, that may still be the case. Right from the start, I knew that most of those young women were going to be much better in the field than I would ever be. It wasn’t a threat, it was a fact and I was okay with it.

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COMING UP – WEEK 21 PREVIEW

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Week 21

These are the songs I picked between 14 and 20 November 2014. I’ll talk about them next time.

The Lady Is A Tramp – Frank Sinatra … Right from the start I knew that most of those of young women were going to be much better than I would ever be. It wasn’t a threat, it was a fact and I couldn’t care less.

I Want To Be Happy – Ella Fitzgerald

I Will Never Leave You – Emily Skinner, Alice Ripley … Although the original staging may have flopped, it certainly made stars out of Emily Skinner and Alice Ripley, who both received a shared Tony nomination for their role in the show. 

A Wonderful Day Like Today – Cyril Richard, Anthony Newley

Shall We Dance? * – Ben Kingsley, Julie Andrews … Am I the only one who thinks Shall We Dance is a love-letter to one-night stands? 

Go Back Home – Brandon Victor Dixon, Cody Ryan Wise

It’s Not Where You Start – Tommy Tune

* Top 10 Contender

WEEK 20 – 07 TO 13 NOVEMBER 2014

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134 FRIDAY 7 NOVEMBER 2014

Loving You – Judy Kuhn & Ryan Silverman

Passion ((2013 New York Cast Recording))

So, last week I left you with a cliff-hanger. I’m afraid Fosca is not dead yet.

She has already manipulated Giorgio into writing a letter where he claims he wishes he could forget her. Now she tells him what her love for him is all about.

Loving You is the song that unmasks Fosca as a conniving, manipulative, self-centred old twat who only cares about herself and uses her frail condition as a weapon to get what she wants. She may not have the strength of a wife-beater, but she certainly uses the same excuses an abuser would use to justify his actions. “Loving you is why I do the things I do. Loving you is not in my control.” In her little world, putting the blame on others is a valid reason to inflict pain and anguish on the people around her.

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COMING UP – WEEK 20 PREVIEW

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Week 20

These are the songs I picked between 07 and 13 November 2014. I’ll talk about them next time.

Loving You – Judy Kuhn & Ryan Silverman … I believe Sondheim, who has said he didn’t fall in love until he was 60, understood Fosca. At the end, he allows her to briefly see what love really is before she dies.

Haben Sie Gehört Das Deutsche Band? – Brad Oscar

I Wanna Be a Producer – Matthew Broderick, Ensemble

Our Love Is Here To Stay – Michael Feinstein … Ira poignantly penned the lyrics after George’s death, making it perhaps the ultimate song about fraternal love. 

Journey On – Peter Friedman, Mark Jacoby, Marin Mazzie … Father is touched by the sight of people arriving to the new country and salutes their courage, “You’re a brave man whoever you are; coming so far, expecting so much”

What A Game – Mark Jacoby, Alex Strange

The Coffee Song – Frank Sinatra

WEEK 19 – 31 OCTOBER TO 06 NOVEMBER 2014

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127 FRIDAY 31 OCTOBER 2014

They All Laughed – Ensamble

Nice Work If You Can Get It (Original Broadway Soundtrack)

Here I am sitting in front of a blank screen trying to explain why I included They All Laughed, simply because I like it. Do I need to type paragraph after paragraph trying to intellectualise the reason why I chose this song? I think not. It is a fun song, I like it, period.

They All Laughed has been recorded by the likes of Chet Baker, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, and more recently Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga. However, I picked this version from the musical “Nice Work If You Can Get It” because the show’s cast sings it after the bows. I wondered how many people in the company were laughed at when they said one day they’d be on a Broadway show. I’m sure every night every actor and dancer in the company were giving the finger to the many naysayers who laughed at their dreams of being on Broadway. Who’s got the last laugh now bitches?

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COMING UP – WEEK 19 PREVIEW

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Week 19

These are the songs I picked between 31 October and 06 November 2014. I’ll talk about them next time.

They All Laughed  – Nice Work If Yo Can Get It Ensemble

Tonight You Belong To Me  – Emily Ritz, Lyle Ritz … I guess, in reality it is a song about the all types of love that sooner or later walk away from our lives.

Folies Bergeres  – Chita Rivera, Saundra Santiago, & Company

Overture – No, No, Nanette – Orchestra … The Overture of “No, No, Nanette” includes two favourites of mine which will eventually make it to the list, “Tea For Two” and “I Want To Be Happy”. 

Amapola – Orchestra

Pavane – Regina Carter … Forget about Carrie, Samantha and Miranda, it is Charlotte who gave “Sex And The City” its heart. 

I Wish I Could Forget You – Donna Murphy & Jere Shea

WEEK 18 – 24 OCTOBER TO 30 OCTOBER 2014

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120 FRIDAY 24 OCTOBER 2014

Mounting Monty – Orchestra

Mildred Pierce (Music from the HBO Miniseries)

I had an instant connection with this piece of music. Time stood still the first time I heard it, I was transported to 1974 and I relived the moment when I saw colour TV for the first time. It was a baseball game, the Atlanta Braves playing against Los Angeles Dodgers. The same game where Hank Aaron hit the 715th home run of his career, which broke the record set by Babe Ruth in the 1930s.

At the time, I didn’t realise the historic significance of the event, and although I was watching colour on a TV for the first time, I couldn’t see colour. Hank Aaron had just done an amazing feat, and that was all I saw, I never noticed his skin colour.

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