Greetings my farraginous friends and welcome to the 17th installment of Farraginous Fridays!
This week I’m looking at film theme songs. The catch being that the song titles have to match the film titles! Trickier than you’d think. Let the film-fest…. BEGIN!
Farraginous Friday #17 – Name that movie (SPOTIFY)
Farraginous Friday #17 – Name that movie (YOUTUBE)
Liza Minnelli‘s grand performance for the title track of Bob Fosse’s tragi-musical classic Cabaret, seems the perfect way to kick off this week’s jolly mix. Pipped to the post by The Godfather, Cabaret nearly won Best Film at the 1972 Oscars. She certainly knows how to belt out a tune and put in a wonderful performance as struggling singer Sally Bowles.
Stand By Me was a 1986 Stephen King adaptation about boyhood memories and this much-covered song from Ben E. King was it’s wonderfully apt theme song.
Now Xanadu is not a particularly good film but this catchy Electric Light Orchestra & Olivia Newton-John tune is anything but a rotten tomato. Newton-John also stars in the film alongside dance-musical legend Gene Kelly (keep an eye out for him a little later in the playlist).
A bit of a guilty pleasure next with Ray Parker, Jr.‘s Ghostbusters. I remember hiding my moves on a school disco dance floor as this classic pumped out through the stereo; I think children did before me and probably still do. Taken from the 1984 film of the same name (obviously).
The Psychelic Furs
The much referred to Singin’ In The Rain is next where Gene Kelly pulls a blinder vocal and dancing-wise. The video is a must see. As is the use of it in a rather disturbing scene from Stanley Kubrick’s Clockwork Orange.
Er… speaking of guilty pleasures this line-dancing foot stomper from 1980′s 9 To 5 is probably what Dolly Parton is best known for (bar a couple of much-loved physical assets). I can’t apologise enough.
Anything with Harry Dean Stanton in is worth watching which is possibly why The Psychedelic Furs‘ Pretty In Pink has made it on to this week’s list. HDS + cult British band = winner!
Ok, I’m sick of apologising! This is a BRILLIANT song! Limahl is up next with his theme song for the 1984 children’s classic, Never Ending Story. Made in Germany, this film was (at the time) the most expensive film ever to be produced outside of the US!
Will Smith
The only thing that annoys me about Will Smith‘s Men In Black is him constantly referring to “MIBs”. One can only assume that the galaxy-defending job of these ‘Men in Blacks’ is more important than basic grammar. The only song where women cheerily sing about men who “won’t let you remember“.
Finishing up the playlist this week is Kenny Loggins with his theme song for Herbert Ross’ Footloose. Kevin Bacon is positively quite simply sizzling as the one kid with one chance in this 1984 musical. The song was Oscar nominated and spent 3 weeks at number one in the US chart. Bonus points for anyone who posts pictures/videos of them imitating Bacon’s famous solo routine.
That’s all for this week folks and I hope you’ve enjoyed the camp-fest that was, this week’s Farraginous Fridays playlist.
Do leave your suggestions below as I’m sure many of you have many of your own ideas of what you’d like to include on a movie themed (exact titles, remember) playlist!
Please do continue to tell your friend’s about Farraginous Fridays. Send them along to the Facebook group here – http://groups.to/farraginousfridays or just invite them straight to the blog at http://farraginousfridays.com.
Until next time…
Love
Farraginous Francis x
