http://www.smh.com.au/news/entertainment/music/getting-in-tune-with- oscar/2008/12/10/1228584927310.html
Todd Martens December 11, 2008 Easy pickings ... three songs from Enchanted were nominated in the 2008 Academy Awards. FINDING music worthy of an original song nomination wasn't much of a challenge in the past two years. As evidence, three selections from Enchanted were nominated in 2008 and three from Dreamgirls in 2007. But in June, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences altered the rules, allowing only two songs per film to be nominated, thereby ensuring that voters will have to dig - at least a little. And that might be harder than it sounds. This year hasn't produced an Eddie Vedder-penned soundtrack (Into The Wild) or a bevy of light pop tunes from singer-songwriter Sondre Lerche (Dan In Real Life). That's not to say some front-runners haven't emerged. Here is a look at some of 2008's notable film songs. THE FAVOURITE Bruce Springsteen's The Wrestler. Already a critical sensation in the US (it opens in Australia on January 15), Darren Aronofsky's The Wrestler scored, perhaps, the ultimate music coup. There is no doubting Springsteen's appeal to academy voters - he won for Streets Of Philadelphia in 1993. With The Wrestler, Springsteen contrasts plaintive guitar strumming with prideful, street-tough lyrics. It's full of simple but evocative imagery - one-legged dogs and broken bones illustrate the survival tale. THE POP STAR Mariah Carey's Right To Dream. In need of a guitarist for Right To Dream, Carey aimed high, going straight to country legend Willie Nelson. Written for Tennessee, in which Carey plays an aspiring singer, Right To Dream is restrained elegance, with some light, finger-picked guitar flourishes and a dash of late-night soul. "I was humming different melodies while I was on the set and stuff," Carey says. "I was just thinking that Willie Nelson would be somebody fabulous to collaborate with. I reached out to him, and we met after one of his concerts." THE ONE WITH BUZZ M.I.A. and A. R. Rahman's O Saya. Early in Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire (opening on Boxing Day), O Saya sets the tone, its kinetic rhythms giving way to a more traditional Eastern chant - a chant that soon becomes digitally enhanced. Random urban noises become part of the music, and electronic effects skitter around the beats. When the vocals from M.I.A. arrive, she sings soft and fast - the sound of someone on the run, but not wanting to attract too much attention. "A.R. was the most amazing producer," M.I.A. says of the collaboration. "He works with 100-people orchestras, and his sound is huge. Then on the other end of the room was me, making music on [a laptop], just playing Danny really gritty, badly recorded MP3s." THE CROWD PLEASER Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman's Down To Earth. The spacey sound effects of this Wall-E cut were lifted directly from Newman's score. That was director Andrew Stanton's directive, Newman says. "Andrew was interested in having me bring some of the music I had used in the movie to Peter, so it wouldn't appear to just be a left turn," he says. But the futuristic sheen that underlies the cut received a wallop of warmth from Gabriel's vocals, as well as the grand, gospel finale, courtesy of South Africa's Soweto Gospel Choir. It's largely a pair of keyboards that comprise the instrumentals, but the textures are deep enough for an orchestra. It's all a bit out of this world. Los Angeles Times
