New AFI List (100 Years...100 Songs)

Quasimodo · Post by **Quasimodo** » Tue Jun 22, 2004 10:01 pm

Man, I hate that I missed this show, but I'm glad to see that a song from a movie Disney pretends no longer exists made the list (zip-a-dee-doo-dah).

Jack · Post by **Jack** » Wed Jun 23, 2004 12:04 am

My, oh my, what a mixed up list. I'm sorry, but at least half of those songs I felt were hardly memorable. In addition, some of the highly ranked ones deserved to be lower, and a lot of the lower ranked ones deserved to be higher. Where were all the extremely memorable and catchy Disney songs? Aside from a select few, there were so much more that should've made the list. Where's "A Whole New World," "The Circle of Life," for Pete's sake? And surely "Beauty and the Beast" should be higher than the 60s.

Of course, AFI is mostly about age before beauty, which means allowing similar-sounding, fluffy, vaudville-like peices fill the list simply because they are older. Come on, does "The Trolly Song", with lyrics like "clickety clang goes the trolly", a melody that doesn't stand out from the crowd, and is hardly remembered deserve to be in the 20s? I mean, as an example, look at "Lose Yourself". If you take away WHEN it was made, or any nostalgia tied to other older songs, I consider it to be equal or higher in quality than most of the top 30. But it ranks at 90 something.

And while I never expected these to make the list, it really would've made me smile to see: "Tequilla" from Pee-Wee's Big Adventure and "Twist and Shout" from Ferris Bueller's Day Off!

Paka · Post by **Paka** » Wed Jun 23, 2004 1:24 am

Yup, it happens with any "Best Of" list or ceremony I see on TV - I forget about the pain and boredom from the past and I'm eager to watch the next one. Yet right after it's all over, I wonder why the hell I watched it in the first place.

Same thing with 100 Songs. I wanted to see which Disney songs made it on there, and was halfway impressed, halfway disappointed. I agree with Jack - the AFI is always all too ready to award the old films - and I have a sneaky feeling that many people vote for them out of nostalgia or respect - but not really on the basis of whether they're actually good or not. Geez - I didn't mind seeing Judy Garland on the list a bit, but Barbra Streisand really started getting on my nerves after the fourth time.

Some songs that I'd never heard before were good, but a fair amount were total snooze fests!! Boring, monotone POSs that could lull me to sleep in 2 minutes. There were also a ton of crappy 70s, 80s, and lite rock tunes on the list - I felt like I was listening to my mom's lite rock station, WLTE. *gag*
And I dunno about any of you guys, but I'm really getting sick of AFI awarding the same friggin' five films in the top two/three slots on every list. I could've bet a good wad of money on "As Time Goes By" and "Over the Rainbow" finishing in the top two spots. How many times do we have to see props given to The Wizard of Oz, Gone with the Wind, Casablanca, Citizen Kane, or Singin' in the Rain (yes, the latter has always been highly ranked, too), while everything else gets shafted?

But anyhoo, I'm glad a few contemporary songs made it to the list. "Lose Yourself," even though #93, was a pleasant surprise. I kinda question the rank of "My Heart Will Go On" at #14, but oh well. Heh... and like Quasi, I thought it kind of ironic that "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" made the list, yet Disney would rather pretend that this "non-PC" film doesn't exist.

Of all the Disney songs, though, I miss "Circle of Life" the most. "Hakuna Matata" ranked higher than it - and that was only #99! *fume*

But yeah, here's the list, and the Disney songs ranked thusly -

#99 "Hakuna Matata"
#74 "The Rainbow Connection" (yeah, not exactly Disney, but it's the Muppets, so hey...!)
#62 "Beauty and the Beast"
#47 "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah"
#36 "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious"
#19 "Some Day My Prince Will Come"
#7 "When You Wish Upon a Star"

yoda_four · Post by **yoda_four** » Wed Jun 23, 2004 3:11 am

Glad to see When you Wish Upon a Star pretty high up there!

Where's A Whole New World!!!!!

stitch79 · Post by **stitch79** » Wed Jun 23, 2004 7:42 am

I want to know what in the world they were smoking when they said that the theme from Shaft ranked higher than four of those Disney songs (especially B&B). What is that nonsense?!

DisneyQuack · Post by **DisneyQuack** » Wed Jun 23, 2004 8:38 am

I watched the special last night and really enjoyed it.

Mr. Toad · Post by **Mr. Toad** » Wed Jun 23, 2004 8:46 am

Hey don't knock the theme from Shaft.

I was absolutely thrilled to see Zipedeedoodah, Suicide is Painless and the funniest song ever - Springtime for Hitler on the list.

I think the AFI has done a great job with their rankings up until now. But this list is really quite terrible. Their aim seems to have been take 100 songs from great or well known movies and forget about whether or not the song was actually any good or not.

I was really quite unispired watching it last night. With prior lists I found myself writing down movie after movie noting that I had to rent or buy it. Nothing much struck me last night except how bad a bunch of the performances were - especially the ones by the actors themselves. I think New York, New York was a perfect example. I am used to the Sinatra version, Lisa Minelli's butchering astounded me. Other bad performances were turned it by Audrey Hepburn(at #4 of all things), Marylin Monroe, Bing Crosby(although he certainly did a good job with White Christmas). At least Judy Garland and Julie Andrews could sing.

AwallaceUNC · Post by **AwallaceUNC** » Wed Jun 23, 2004 9:07 am

I couldn't possibly list all the examples of tragic choices made by the AFI last night. I'm with Paka... why do I keep watching these things? They should have based it on how the music and the movie worked together. Simply being a good song or a good movie isn't enough- the song should add to the film and make a memorable moment in the film... there are 100 of those moments, the ones you look forward to from the start of the movie, but only a few were on this list.

-Aaron

Mr. Toad · Post by **Mr. Toad** » Wed Jun 23, 2004 10:14 am

Aaron - I know why I keep watching these things. Up until now they have been very entertaining and very well thought out lists. That streak certainly ended last night though. I am in one hundred percent though the quality of the music and the quality of the performance certainly weren't factors in choosing the music. Seemed to have far more to do with the quality of the film - which is why Casablance and the Wizard of Oz ended up on top. I guess they didnt understand the criteria they should use or them intentionally chose the wrong criteria.

It could also be they have run out of relevant topics and they are just milking a dead horse(Ahhhh mixed metaphors - love em.)

AwallaceUNC · Post by **AwallaceUNC** » Wed Jun 23, 2004 10:38 am

Wizard of Oz deserved every nod it got and more, imo.

-Aaron

Disneykid · Post by **Disneykid** » Wed Jun 23, 2004 1:18 pm

Amen to that, Aaron. I got very sick of Babs taking up 78% of the freaking list. The only songs I liked from her that were on the list were "Don't Rain on My Parade" and "Evergreen." The rest sounded alike and were dull. And where the heck was "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes"?! That song defines Disney for me, possibly more than even "When You Wish Upon A Star." If AFI liked "When You Wish..." more, that's fine, but that doesn't mean it needed to replace "A Dream is a Wish". I also felt "All that Jazz" needed to be ranked up A LOT higher than the 90's. Oh, and "You're the One That I Want" from Grease as well as "Circle of Life" should've been shoe-ins for this, yet they were absent. As for the top three, they may not be my exact picks (except for "Over the Rainbow"), but I felt they deserved those slots. Three excellent classic songs from three excellent classic films. I just wish there was more Disney and less Babs on the list, though...

bmadigan · Post by **bmadigan** » Wed Jun 23, 2004 2:13 pm

Paka wrote:#99 "Hakuna Matata"
#74 "The Rainbow Connection" (yeah, not exactly Disney, but it's the Muppets, so hey...!)
#62 "Beauty and the Beast"
#47 "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah"
#36 "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious"
#19 "Some Day My Prince Will Come"
#7 "When You Wish Upon a Star"

Where is "Chim Chim Cheree"? That won an oscar for pete's sake.

Son of the Morning · Post by **Son of the Morning** » Wed Jun 23, 2004 3:14 pm

I actually posted this in my journal:

Besides 'Day-O' from Beetlejuice and the eerie 'sandman' song from Blue Velvet:

So, the <a href="http://www.afi.com">American Film Institute</a> released their list of the top 100 songs/musical moments in movies tonight with a three-hour special on CBS. Generally, the list wasn't too horrible (though the overabundance of Barbara Streisand made me want to vomit), but there were still a couple of my very favorite music-based movie moments that were left out, so I figured I'd list them.

<lj-cut text="My Favorites That Were Left Out">

'Llorando (Crying)' from David Lynch's <a href="http://imdb.com/title/tt0166924/">Mulholland Drive</a>

<img src="http://perso.wanadoo.fr/pandora.box/Ima ... orando.jpg">

This is by far my favorite moment in any David Lynch movie ever. The emotion is palpable as the absurdity of the situation is brushed aside momentarily, and the effect is crushing.

=======================================================

'The Time Warp' from <a href="http://imdb.com/title/tt0073629/">The Rocky Horror Picture Show</a>

<img src="http://www.lerocky.com/images/timewarp4.jpg">

I was honestly surprised that they left this out, but it seems that the official list left out humorous songs in general (besides 'Springtime for Hitler'). Come on... this is a fucking classic.

=======================================================

'Wise Up' from <a href="http://imdb.com/title/tt0175880/">Magno ... 

<img src="http://www.the-horse.net/magnolia1.jpg">

Downright heartbreaking in the context of the movie, and the presentation is absolutely incredible... just see this damned movie.

=======================================================

'Always Look on the Bright Side of Life' from Monty Python's <a href="http://imdb.com/title/tt0079470/">Life of Brian</a>

<img src="http://home.no.net/krfilm/vaar2001/brian.jpg">

Well, I was hoping...

=======================================================

'The Circle of Life' from Disney's <a href="http://imdb.com/title/tt0110357/">The Lion King</a>

<img src="http://perso.wanadoo.fr/anael.allaire/L ... age006.gif">

'Hakuna Matata?' You've got to be kidding me. This song is played over one of the most visually impressive animated sequences of all time, and is absolutely powerful in its own right.

=======================================================

'Love Me Tender' from David Lynch's <a href="http://imdb.com/title/tt0100935/">Wild at Heart</a>

<img src="http://www.eastofedenleathers.com/wildheart.jpg">

This should really be considered a guilty pleasure: It's pure sentiment and the all-powerful "AWWWWWW" factor.

=======================================================

'Stuck in the Middle With You' from <a href="http://imdb.com/title/tt0105236/">Reservoir Dogs</a>

<img src="http://www.tabula-rasa.com.au/reviews/p ... _razor.jpg">

How this could be left off the list simply baffles me.

=======================================================

Mr. Toad · Post by **Mr. Toad** » Wed Jun 23, 2004 3:14 pm

Quasimodo wrote:Man, I hate that I missed this show, but I'm glad to see that a song from a movie Disney pretends no longer exists made the list (zip-a-dee-doo-dah).

Which brings up a good point. I missed this. How did they handle clips from the movie? Were there any?

Mr. Toad · Post by **Mr. Toad** » Wed Jun 23, 2004 3:16 pm

Jack wrote:Of course, AFI is mostly about age before beauty, which means allowing similar-sounding, fluffy, vaudville-like peices fill the list simply because they are older. Come on, does "The Trolly Song", with lyrics like "clickety clang goes the trolly", a melody that doesn't stand out from the crowd, and is hardly remembered deserve to be in the 20s? I mean, as an example, look at "Lose Yourself".

I agree completely. I had never heard the song before and my only reaction was that it was a completely weak piece of music. Could not even believe it was worthy of considerations. There were many others like that.

Son of the Morning · Post by **Son of the Morning** » Wed Jun 23, 2004 3:20 pm

JimmyJackJunior wrote:
Quasimodo wrote:Man, I hate that I missed this show, but I'm glad to see that a song from a movie Disney pretends no longer exists made the list (zip-a-dee-doo-dah).
Which brings up a good point. I missed this. How did they handle clips from the movie? Were there any?

Actually, they did show clips: Uncle Remus singing the song.

AwallaceUNC · Post by **AwallaceUNC** » Wed Jun 23, 2004 4:35 pm

Yeah, but nothing more than you'd find on a Disney Sing-A-Long tape.

-Aaron

Kram Nebuer · Post by **Kram Nebuer** » Wed Jun 23, 2004 10:09 pm

Where is "Dakota" from the One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band?!?!?!?!

lol, jk!

But really, where's "Feed the Birds" and "Colors of the Wind" and "Go the Distance" (which seems to be the only part of Hercules that Disney is proud of)?

I'm glad that at least there are Disney song's on the list. I hate these list thingies anyway b/c the general public who are there to appreciate the list never know who the heck half the people/things are anyhow. We watched A&E's top 100 most influential people of the millenium (or century or something) in social studies class in 7th grade. I remember Disney was 66 or 62 and Johannes Gutenberg was either number one or somewhere in the top 5, but my teacher fast forwarded through some parts because we didn't know them anyway.

Lol, back to the topic, is there a complete list anywhere online?

Disneykid · Post by **Disneykid** » Thu Jun 24, 2004 12:24 pm

Yup, right here: http://www.afi.com/tvevents/100years/songs.aspx

Uncle Remus · Post by **Uncle Remus** » Fri Jul 09, 2004 7:28 am

i'm glad that most of my favorite Disney songs were on that list (Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah for instance). i dont understand why some of you dont like Lose Yourself by Eminem. i thought it was a good song to be on the top 100. whats even more surprising is that it won an Oscar in 2003 for best song. i thought that was an amazing achievement. besides i was sort of annoyed with all the awards Chicago was winning that i was hoping it wouldnt win Best Song.

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