Chain Chain Chain

Accessorize

I'm Gonna Love You Like Nothing You've Known

With the 82nd Academy Awards just a week away, all this week Vertigo Shtick will be looking back on some of the tunes that have waltzed away with Oscars for Best Original Song over the years. I imagine this retrospective will inspire equal parts nostalgia and "that won an OSCAR?!?!?!?!" incredulity. Enjoy!

Let's start off with a personal favorite of mine, written by a man who is also a personal favorite and performed by a star of whom I have a similarly high opinion. You may or may not remember Warren Beatty's 1990 B-movie Dick Tracy (a comic book movie made about ten years too early), but those for whom Madonna's acting career is defined by her Razzie-nominated turns in Swept Away and Die Another Day ought to Netflix it (well, that or A League of Their Own) for proof that the Material Girl is not totally incapable of acting. In Dick Tracy, Madonna does double duty as both supporting actress (playing femme fatale Breathless Mahoney...hey, it's better than Pussy Galore) and as a singer, providing most of the film's soundtrack of songs written by legendary Broadway genius Stephen Sondheim (Madonna's soundtrack album I'm Breathless featured songs from and inspired by the film). There are a number of standouts, naturally, but the one the Academy chose to honor with the 1990 Oscar for Best Original Song was the slinky, sultry (and oh-so-cleverly titled) "Sooner or Later (I Always Get My Man)."

Sooner Or Later - Madonna

Madonna performed the song at the ceremony on March 25, 1991, and video clips of the performance are still available across the web. It really is an endearing performance to watch, not only because Madonna is surprisingly compelling live, but because the Queen is so obviously nervous as hell: her hands shake nearly the entire number and her voice quivers just slightly as she begins the number. In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, longtime showrunner Bruce Vilanch recalled the star collapsing into his arms the second she'd gotten off stage, shaking and relieved to be finished (he also said he was perhaps the last man in the world who could fully appreciate having Madonna collapse in his arms). After you check out the studio recording, take a peek at the video, and see for yourself what fireworks can come of the world's biggest pop star singing a song by the world's greatest theatrical songwriter.

Under the Hood

CKs

When I'm About to Fall

Shhhh...we'll have to keep quiet at this hour. I think that calls for this little number from Christina Aguilera's latest album (which came out back in 2006!).

Save Me From Myself - Christin...

"Save Me From Myself"

Christina Aguilera

Back to Basics

(RCA, 2006)

Aguilera's album Bionic is one of the more hotly anticipated releases of 2010, having been pushed back to April. If you're thinking that must mean a single ought to be hitting the airwaves right about now, keep your ears open for "Glam," the lead single due this month.

The Wall

And Once We Start The Meter Clicks

How about for the up late crowd we get some Cyndi Lauper in here?

All Through the Night - Cyndi ...

"All Through the Night"

Cyndi Lauper

She's So Unusual

(Epic, 1983)

I actually was introduced to this song on a cd I picked up during my college tour back east. It was an acapella choir from Williams College, called the Ephlats, whose cd I believe I picked up because it looked the swankiest, and it was my introduction to college acapella as well as the reason I hear certain songs differently than most people seem to. I lost that cd several years ago and would so love to have it back.

... But I Think You Do

It's been a while since I gave you a Song for the Day here on Vertigo Shtick, so I'm going to get back into what I plan on being a busy week here with a classic offering inspired by one of my student/friends. If you need more justification, think of it as a commemoration of an iconic early Leonardo DiCaprio film as the new Scorcese picture Shutter Island ends its first weekend at the box office. Or perhaps you're just one of the many unfortunate people who so understands the lyrics that so breezily yet devastatingly make up The Cardigan's great song ofdesperate unrequited love, "LoveFool."

Lovefool (Radio Edit) - The Ca...

"Lovefool"

The Cardigans

First Band on the Moon

(Stockholm, 1996)

Trivia: "LoveFool," the biggest mainstream hit by Swedish band The Cardigans, was both a point of great success and a single that was problematic for the group in other ways. It appeared on their third album, First Band on the Moon, which followed their light-hearted, successful sophomore effort Life, and the success of the single after its inclusion in the soundtrack to Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet led to the band's profile expanding beyond its former mainstays of its home country and Japan, especially in the United States. However, although it led to sales of over 500,000 copies in the US of the band's album, the song was somewhat distinctive on the moody, darker-toned album, and (much like Alanis Morissette after Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie sold tremendous amounts in its first week or two but turned out to be much different than fans had envisioned) their work was never nearly as popular subsequently.

Like Sugar When He Washes Over Me

I'll throw a bone in case any pop lightweights out there are thinking "Ingrid who? Corinne Bailey what now? Isn't there anyone I've ever heard of?" And I'm sure even long-forgotten civilizations on undiscovered islands know of Mariah Carey, and here is my favorite of the few Mariah chart-smashers I can stand in the first place.

Honey - Mariah Carey

"Honey"

Mariah Carey

Butterfly

(Columbia, 1997)

I think Butterfly, which also features the blockbuster ballad "My All," was probably the peak of Mariah's career, at least from a vocal ability perspective, as well as my personal preference (which more often than not doesn't include Mariah Carey one way or the other, but...); the only track since then I've bothered to download was 2007's "We Belong Together."