It’s Oscar season: the big one, the One statue to rule them all. And most of the pre-Oscar hoopla has been over whether or not Seth MacFarlane will behave himself (which is precisely what you bring on yourself when you choose the guy behind “Family Guy” and “Ted,” not that I necessarily think a bit of sarcasm is a bad thing). But once the show starts, there will actually be some awards given out. And two of them will be regarding exclusively music, which is where I come in. Prepare yourself for some predictions.
Best Original Song
There are five nominees for best original song. We can begin by eliminating “Everybody Needs A Best Friend” from “Ted.” The song, which features lyrics by Seth MacFarlane and vocals by Norah Jones, is a sweet song in the Randy Newman “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” tradition. The orchestration is classic big band, a la “Family Guy” main theme and the song is pure fun. MacFarlane will be in the headlines the day after the Oscars, but it won’t be for this award.
We can also most likely eliminate “Suddenly” from “Les Misérables” and “Pi’s Lullaby” from “Life of Pi.” In the case of “Suddenly,” I may be biased. I’ve had the opportunity to see the show live, and the movie just wasn’t quite the same. And when one is making a movie based on one of the best Broadway musicals of all time, new songs aren’t necessary. The musical is a classic as is.
“Pi’s Lullaby” is a good song as well, but the combination of its lyrics being in a foreign language and the almost classical tone of the song make it a bit of an outlier in this year’s set of nominees. Sometimes an outlier is exactly what the academy looks for, but I don’t think that’s the case here.
Now we get to the two I believe are the serious contenders. “Before My Time” by J. Ralph is a beautiful song from the climate change documentary “Chasing Ice.” The song features a haunting piano melody and lilting female vocals that inspire a sense of hope despite the morose feel of the music surrounding it. Its lyrics are wonderful as well, featuring lines such as “I don’t want to die alone/ Way before my time.” When the strings kick in around the middle of the song, they elevate it to even more beautiful heights. This song has a chance.
If “Before My Time” wins, though, it will be a big upset because “Skyfall” by Adele is the huge favorite. And for good reason. The melody drives forward with piano, guitar and strings and Adele’s vocal work is as amazing as it always is. I think it’s the best “Bond” theme song yet, and I’d be surprised if we don’t see another charmingly casual acceptance speech from Adele come Sunday.
Best Original Score
I’ll be more brief here, because this race seems easier to call. Right off the bat, we can eliminate the scores for “Anna Karenina,” “Argo” and “Skyfall.” Dario Marianelli’s score for “Anna Karenina,” though very well written, is a bit too classically oriented and theatrical to win the award, because it sounds more like an orchestral suite than a film score. And while the two scores for “Argo” and “Skyfall” are good, driving and exciting scores, the academy doesn’t really generally go for scores to action movies, opting more for nuance instead of more epic fare.
I believe the runner-up for this award will be John Williams. His score for “Lincoln” was outstanding and one of his best scores in years. He captures the essence of all the characters in the movie, from the quiet dignity of Lincoln to the bluegrass rough charm of a trio of men employed to obtain votes by offering congressmen jobs. If this were another year, Williams would probably be bringing home his sixth Oscar. But this year, there’s an even better score on the ballot.
Mychael Danna’s score for “Life of Pi” is brilliant. It’s brilliant. Danna captures a wide variety of musical styles perfectly, from the festive French feel of “Pondicherry” to the quietly epic “Christ in the Mountains” and the delicate “Back to the World.” He blends outstanding instrumental composition with great vocal work to create a cohesive soundtrack that is simply magnificent.
The Academy Awards often comes with a few surprises in which winners from the Golden Globes lose the Oscar, or vice versa. And I’m certainly not saying my picks here are locks to win their respective awards. Each of the categories has two nominees I think have a shot at winning, but “Skyfall” and the score for “Life of Pi” are clear favorites.
Do you agree with Bain’s picks? Let him know at abain@media.ucla.edu. “B-Sides” runs every Thursday.