Come What May ... and ... I See The Light

People often seem surprised when finding out that actors and actresses can "carry a tune" but I'm never surprised by that!  I believe most everyone can sing decently, and with a little coaching and work, most people can sing very well.  It IS, however, a surprise when actors and actresses sing a song that becomes a huge favorite for me.  There are, thus far, only two such songs that "make the grade" for me.

Come What May (from Moulin Rouge)

 ... by Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman

I See The Light (from Tangled)

 ... by Zachary Levi and Mandy Moore

To be fair, Mandy Moore is a singer turned actress turned singer, so she is in a different category, but the other three are clearly actors and an actress, but they all sing very well.  Nicole Kidman's voice is not very strong, but it is just as beautiful as she has been in most of her movies.  And the boys?  Ewan and Zachary?  They can seriously carry their own!  I saw Zachary perform on the Oscars and he sounded great!  And Ewan has done some Broadway stuff so you know he's good.

Come What May has a "we can overcome anything" sort of feeling to it, which is needed in any really strong relationship.  There are times when you almost have to shout your love and commitment and the slow build to that climax in this song is one of the best I have ever heard, movie-related or not!

I See The Light is perfect for a Disney movie, but as a stand alone song about perspectives being changed and new light being shed on how you see another person, it is even more amazing!  A duet, with minimal background sound, makes each note more important.  The harmony between tenor and alto parts is so beautiful that I literally cried the first time I heard the song (with my oldest daughter, in the movie theater).

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A Thousand Years

Sigh.

I was hoping to never have ANY tie-in on this blog to those vampire / werewolf movies ... but this song is just too beautiful and poetic to NOT do a post on it!

A Thousand Years ... by Christina Perri

Of course her success with the song Jar Of Hearts, put Christina Perri in a position to write a song for these movies.  Her voice is haunting and her delivery of the words she writes is perfectly suited to a vampire movie.  This is an eerie song that carries a message of love which works equally well for the undead as it does for anyone (like me) who believes in eternal marriage.

And my wife is a fan of those books and movies, so they can't be ALL that bad!  :)

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Beautiful Inside

This song was part of the soundtrack for a "mockumentary" on boy bands.  While the movie was entertaining in its oddity, the music from the film was actually very well done.  That said, none of the tracks were as ready to stand alone as this one.

Beautiful Inside ... by Sons of Provo

Obviously the group "Sons of Provo" doesn't really exist, but they did perform this simple, yet powerful song.  In the movie, the lead singer of this song is an "add-on" member of the group, so he is singing about his feelings of not belonging in the group.  But the true message of the song applies to ANYONE who feels "left behind," or "ignored ... and every word is wrong."

I know it's cheesy but we are all beautiful inside.

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Movies

After a few weeks I'll start having specific themes for certain days of the week, but for now I'll just be sharing a song each day that is relevant for that day.

Today's song is:

Movies ... By Alien Ant Farm

Been watching LOTS of movies lately (it has to be around 20 in the last month) so the song title is appropriate, but I just love the song!  It has a very catchy guitar riff and I'm always a sucker for a silent pause in a loud song.  It just makes the noise that much more noticeable and fun.  This video is really fun in how it pays homage to some ground-breaking films (and even has a cameo by Pat Morita!)

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