I'll Never Remember You This Way

Just a light blog post this time with a few of my latest musings. I've been singing songs from the soundtrack of "A Star is Born" non stop lately and think it might be the first album/tape/CD I'd buy, if I had the technology to play it, in about 15 years! I'm not kidding! After spending every spare dollar on music, (and recording off the radio all I could), for most of my youth, I haven't been interested enough in music for the past two decades to really purchase any of it. But recently I've been making compilations in my head. Some I'm sure are not original. But who knows? Maybe I'll inspire someone to create them. Like, wouldn't it be great to make an album of all the great songs made by people who are actors PLAYING musicians in movies? This compilation was inspired by the recent version of "A Star is Born," although I might include Barbara Streisand's song from her version of the movie, "Evergreen," and if you actually watch that movie, there are a some spectacular lyrics to her songs. I have to say her voice makes those songs a bit better than they actually are, but the lyrics alone, without tune, I find a lot more powerful.

I was warned as a child of thirteen
Not to act too strong
Try to look like you belong but don't push girl
Save your time and trouble
Don't misbehave
I was raised in a "no you don't world"
Overrun with rules
Memorize your lines and move as directed
That's an age old story
Everybody knows that's a worn out song
But you and I are changing that tune
We're learning new rhythms from the woman
I said the woman in the moon
Little sister, little brother
Keep on pushin'
Don't believe a word about
Things you heard about
Askin' too much too soon

'cause they can hold back the tide
But they can never hold the woman in the moon
I believe there's a best of both worlds
Mixing old and new
Recognizing change is seldom expected
As I long suspected
They believed that strange was a word for wrong
Well not in my song
'cause you, you and I are changing that tune
We're learning new rhythms from that woman in the moon
Little sister, little brother
Keep on pushin'
Don't believe a word about
Things you heard about
Askin' too much too soon
'cause they can hold back the tide
But they can never hold the woman
I said the woman in the moon

But then, is she a musician acting, an actor musicianing, or what? I'm not gonna make that call. Not qualified.

But back to the OTHER version of the movie, the latest one, that has about 5 songs I'd put on my album, we all know "Shallow," and people fell silent and left theatres all over the world sloppy with tears after "I'll Never Love Again," but my personal favourite from the movie is what I will force you to watch and listen to now: "I'll Always Remember Us This Way."

I love that! But then again, you can't beat the lyrics to the Bradley Cooper song we never get to hear all the way through. It's called "Maybe It's Time." And just soak up these lyrics!

Maybe it's time to let the old ways die
Maybe it's time to let the old ways die
It takes a lot to change a man
Hell, it takes a lot to try
Maybe it's time to let the old ways die

Nobody knows what awaits for the dead
Nobody knows what awaits for the dead
Some folks just believe in the things they've heard
And the things they read
Nobody knows what awaits for the dead

I'm glad I can't go back to where I came from
I'm glad those days are gone, gone for good
But if I could take spirits from my past and bring' 'em here
You know I would, you know I would

Nobody speaks to God these days
Nobody speaks to God these days
I'd like to think he's looking down and laughing at our ways
Nobody speaks to God these days

When I was a child they tried to fool me
Said the…

When I was a child they tried to fool me
Said the worldly man was lost and that the hell was real
Well, I've seen hell in Reno
And this world's one big ol' Catherine wheel
Spinnin' still

Maybe it's time to let the old ways die
Maybe it's time to let the old ways die
It takes a lot to change your plans
Hella drain to change your mind
Maybe it's time to let the old ways die
Oh, maybe it's time to let the old ways die

God is looking down and laughing at our ways. Yeah while he gets a big ball of clay ready to start all over again. That's brilliant! A Catherine wheel, I've heard, is a torture device for breaking the victim's bones one at a time very painfully. Well, like the word, "torture" would imply. And I can't tell you how many times I've doubted Hell and thought that this is it and Heaven must be death, our euthanasia.

Another good one, or in keeping with our genre, "good 'un" would be "Fallin' and Flyin'" from the soundtrack of  "Crazy Heart." It IS funny how fallin' feels like flyin' for a little while. I reckon old Trump will underconstubulate shortly!

I'd include a few from the "Rocky Horror Picture Show" like Tim Curry singing "Sweet Transvestite," and, of course, "Time Warp." It's astounding!

I'm going to exclude Prince and "Purple Rain" cuz it would just clog up the album. There are WAY too many! And Prince was NO actor! He cheated. So did David Bowie in all his singing parts. They were excellent, of course, but what'd you expect?

Probably Kate Winslet "What if?" from the "Christmas Carol" soundtrack. She's got the best rack, the best sense of humour, the best voice, it's just not fair to the rest of womankind!

Definitely the highlight of the unpopular movie, "The Cable Guy" was Jim Carrey singing the Jefferson Airplane!

Maybe one from Joaquin and Reese as Johnny and June Carter Cash...

Nick Cage? Okay, maybe not. But honourable mention for impersonating Elvis in "Wild at Heart."

I think I'd pretty much reserve the entire B side for Jaimie Foxx doing all his Ray Charles songs! Loved Ray Charles and loved JF in that movie! Nuff said. Moving on...

Maybe Hugh Laurie, (House), singing "Minnie the Moocher," or something like that. He's GOOD!

Definitely Bruce Willis if not for his singing at least for his harp playin'!

"Man of Constant Sorrow" by the Soggy Bottom Boys is a must!

You know who else is good? Cedric Diggery! Okay, most of you losers know him from his Twilight fame, but I'm so sick of vampire crap! This guy's voice though! He's like an old guy with the blues in a young man's body! Check HIM out! Plays about 100 instruments too!

Kevin Spacey can sing almost as well as he can do impressions. If you haven't seen him do either, you're missing out! I'd just lob him requests from my catalogue of faves and see which one he does the best. Then I'd put it on the album.

I'm gonna put Jack Black in here and I'm sure that won't surprise you but it won't be for a song he sings. It'll be for his NON-singing performance of Katrina and the Waves' "Walking on Sunshine." That was from the movie, "High Fidelity." Also catch his rendition of Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get it On" in that same flick.

I think I put a Susan Sarandon (don't forget she was in Rocky Horror too) song on the album but I'm sure this is now a double album.

But okay, you've lasted this long, how about one out of left field? Someone you'd never expect. Someone you've probably heard of, (oh I think so), but would grab the mike out of his hand if he got on the stage for a relative's birthday Karaoke party. Oh yeah, brace yourselves. Jackie Chan was educated at the Peking (that's modern day Beijing) Opera School, and has released TWENTY successful albums! The things you learn when you live in China for a while!

No, I was just kidding. He's the last person I'd put on this list. Can't carry a tune in a bucket.

Ancient Chinese secret! And imagine how many times he's been Kung Fu chopped in the vocal chords! RESPECT!

I am sure I've forgotten a few so I'll leave space at the bottom of this post. But it's quite a list, no? Please comment if you feel I need to add to it.