This year's Oscar shortlists, part 2

This year's Oscar nominations will be soon upon us. In most categories, the voters are free to vote for any eligible film they choose but there are a few categories that, for various reasons, merit special treatment. For these categories, shortlists were created, which were announced on December 17. Among them are the music categories. Like we did last year, I will play for you all the eligible songs and scores that are available on Youtube. I will also mention which films made it to the other shortlists. I will present the lists in order of likelihood (in my opinion) for the film to proceed to a nomination. Then, on January 22, you will know whether I was right or not. Let's go!

Troye Sivan and Jónsi

Yesterday, we spoke of the possibility of Mary Poppins Returns having two songs in the final five but I chose to go with the Dolly Parton song for the fifth place. So, we begin today's list with that song, which has a big possibility of landing in the top 5. Unlike The Place Where Lost Things Go, Trip a Little Light Fantastic is an upbeat group song, a loud and insistently upbeat ode to looking at the bright side of things, in the same vein as Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious but definitely not as good. Like The Place Where Lost Things Go, it is also written by Marc Shaiman (five Oscar nominations, no wins) and Scott Wittman. It is performed by Emily Blunt, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Tarik Frimpong, Pixie Davies, Joel Dawson, Nathanael Saleh, and Leeries. Here it is:

To be honest, I find both possible nominees from Mary Poppins Returns rather underwhelming. Their increased chances of making the top 5 are mostly because of the high visibility of the mother-film, Marc Shaiman's good standing with the Academy and the fact that there exist voting members who are nostalgic of the old musical. Also, Diane Warren's song for RGB is quite generic - and if it wasn't for Warren's reputation and Jennifer Hudson's impressive vocals, the song wouldn't be so high on the list. In fact, I would rather than any of the four songs that I will be now presenting make it in the final five. Starting with a favorite of mine; this is what happens when two gay and talented artists team up to write and perform a song for a gay-themed film: a good song like Revelation happens. The film in question is Boy Erased and the two artists (both extensively profiled in this blog) are Troye Sivan and the heart and soul of Sigur Rós, Jónsi. The song subverts the devotional sounds of Christian rock to create an anthem for those who feel dispossessed by religious doctrine. Singing about liberation (and its lack of hellish consequences) with the same kind of hushed and sacred tone that should be instantly familiar to anyone raised on the likes of Lifehouse and Jars of Clay, Sivan aims his message of freedom and encouragement at the people who most need to hear it, while Jónsi ensures that some ethereal Sigur Rós vibes simmer under the surface. This is Revelation:

When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings, written for the Coen brothers' western anthology, Ballad of Buster Scruggs, by David Rawlings and Gillian Welch and performed by Willie Watson and Tim Blake Nelson would appear to be the unlikeliest song on the shortlist. Yet, the song is a perfect, harmonica-inflected encapsulation of the Coen brothers' cockeyed worldview: It's funny but not mocking, silly, but not satirical, resigned to death, but not all that sentimental about it. Appearing in The Ballad of Buster Scruggs as a wonderful grace note at the end of the anthology's first story, the song manages to feel like both a winking joke about the old West and also a genuine relic from it.

Now that Jonny Greenwood has firmly established himself as one of the most exciting film composers in the world today, his Radiohead bandmate Thom Yorke is trying to follow suit. So far, so great. The haunting and eccentric score that Yorke composed for Luca Guadagnino's Suspiria remake is a recurring highlight in the movie and makes us optimistic that Yorke and Guadagnino might forge a musical collaboration as strong as the one between Greenwood and Paul Thomas Anderson.

The plaintively beautiful Suspirium plays over the opening credits and sets the tone for the psychological evisceration to come. Running atop a lilting piano melody, and set to incisive lyrics that cut to the heart of Guadagnino's remake, the song is as fragile and tortured as the movie for which it was written, and it only grows more unnerving once a solo flute starts dancing above the closing sections. Here it is:

The last song for today is We Won't Move, an effective showcase for emerging British singer-songwriter Arlissa Ruppert, as well as a galvanizing protest anthem for the climax (and credits) of a movie that more than earns this degree of stoic resolve, The Hate U Give. The song is earnest from its first note to its last and builds rather beautifully as Arlissa plaintive voice starts to echo and reverberate like a full chorus is behind her. This is it:

As far as Best Score is concerned, here are the five runners-up to the five favorites that we presented last time:

Terence Blanchard's score for Spike Lee's BlacKkKlansman has a small chance to make it to the final five. This is Blood and Soil:

In John Krasinski's successful thriller, A Quiet Place, Marco Beltrami's score is important, since dialogue is scarce. Here's a sample:

Alex Garland's Annihilation is a science fiction horror film that was very well reviewed but did so-so at the box-office. Ben Salisbury & Geoff Barrow wrote the film's score:

We have already heard a song from the Coen brothers' Ballad of Buster Scruggs but the film's score by Carter Burwell is also in the shortlist:

Finally for today, a blockbuster: Avengers: Infinity War was the year's most successful film, alongside Black Panther. Alan Silvestri's score is also part of the awards' conversation:

Two more shortlists for today: first, the Visual Effects shortlist. Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, First Man, Ready Player One, and Mary Poppins Returns are the favorites for the final five. If any of these fail to make it, then Solo: A Star Wars Story, Welcome to Marwen, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Ant-Man and the Wasp, and Christopher Robin are waiting in the wings.

Finally, in the Makeup & Hairstyling shortlist the favorites are Vice, Black Panther, and the Swedish film Border. They are followed by Mary Queen of Scots, Suspiria, Bohemian Rhapsody, and Stan and Ollie.

The final part of this story will be presented at the weekend. See you then!