What if there was a Best Previously Written Song category?

[Jeff Beachnau]

Buzzfeed recently posted a topic about why the Oscars should have a Best Old Song category:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/perpetua/why...y-for-best-use

Whenever I do Best Song for my own personal awards I include both original and previously written songs.

So, if you could have a category for songs that weren't written specifically for the film, what would they be? Use whatever rules you want, if it's a musical (Les Miserables, Harispray, Chicago, etc) or if it's a song that was released the same year the movie was released, whatever and was just included in the film, whatever.

Sorry, there are some years where I have trouble choosing only 5, and there are others I can barely come up with 1.

2000
This was a good year with some obvious choices that I'm sure will be on everyone's list.
"Tiny Dancer" - Almost Famous
"Hip to Be Square" - American Psycho
"Baby I Love Your Way" - High Fidelity
"Let's Get it On" - High Fidelity
"Mercy Street" - Waking the Dead

2001
This was an extremely awesome year for songs, (I could probably have 5 nominations for Moulin Rouge).
"Minstrel Boy" - Black Hawk Down
"All By Myself" - Bridget Jones's Diary
"Your Song" - Moulin Rouge
"Crying (Llorando)" - Mulholland Drive
"Hey Jude" - The Royal Tenenbaums

2002
This was a dull year for me
"Killing Me Softly With His Song" - About a Boy
"Mein Herz Brennt" - Lilya 4 Ever

2003
"Heaven is a Place on Earth" - American Wedding
"Bang Bang" - Kill Bill Vol 1
"Jump (For Your Love)" - Love Actually
"Don't Stop Believing" - Monster
"Edge of Seventeen" - The School of Rock

2004
I could probably use all Life Aquatic songs for this
"The Blower's Daughter" - Closer
"Delicate" - Dear Frankie
"Hallelujah" - The Edukators
"Hold On" - Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle
"Changes" - Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

2005
Another not 5 year
"Sugar Baby Love" - Brekfast on Pluto
"Samskeyti" - Mysterious Skin
"Aquarius/Let the Sun Shine In" - The 40 Year Old Virgin

2006
another not 5
"I'm Shipping Up to Boston" - The Departed
"Super Freak" - Little Miss Sunshine
"Every Woman in the World" - Slither
"Bambino" - OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies

2007
"Someday" - The Bridge to Terabithia
"You're the Voice" - Hot Rod
"Everybody Knows" - King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters
"These Eyes" - Superbad
"I am the Walrus" - Across the Universe

2008
People say this is a bad year for movies, and, well, it's a bad year for songs.
"It Only Takes a Moment" - Wall-E obviously

2009
"Cat People" - Inglourious Basterds
"Daddy Won't You Please Come Home" - Sita Sings the Blues
"Somebody to Love" - A Serious Man
"The One and Only" - Moon
"The Times They are a Changin" - Watchmen

2010
another not 5
"Total Eclipse of the Heart" - Diary of a Wimpy Kid
"Intergalactic" - Diary of a Wimpy Kid
"Let's Get it Started" - Hot Tub Time Machine
"The Safety Dance" - Hot Tub Time Machine

2011
"Hold On" - Bridesmaids
"Nightcall" - Drive
"A Real Hero" - Drive
"Under Your Spell" - Drive
"Take Me Home Tonight" - Take Me Home Tonight

2012
Not ready yet

[Salladeel]

Yeah, I often think about this, and often try to consolidate my impulse to reward these kinds of achievements with a "Best Adapted/Song Score" category in my own awards... which broadens the category into acknowledging multiple songs, re-appropriation/composition of pre-existing music, etc. These would be my nominees for the last two years:

2011:
Drive (Chromatics, "A Real Hero"...)
House of Pleasures (Moody Blues, Lee Moses...)
Melancholia (Wagner)
The Tree of Life (Zbigniew Preisner, John Tavener...)
We Need to Talk about Kevin (Washington Phillips, Buddy Holly...)

2010:
Blue Valentine (Grizzly Bear)
I Am Love (John Adams)
Shutter Island (everything under the sun, but esp. "This Bitter Earth / On the Nature of Daylight"...)
Somewhere (Phoenix, Gwen Stefani, Foo Fighters, Amerie...)
The Temptation of St. Tony (Townes Van Zandt, Odetta...)

[Donezo]

The first thing that comes to my mind from this year is probably "Firework" in Rust & Bone.

[BTN]

Best original song or best used song. I think that would be good.

"you're the voice" from hot rod is hilarious.

[Bremen]

The first thing that comes to my mind from this year is probably "Firework" in Rust & Bone.

The Katy Perry song is in Rust and Bone?

[forizzer69]

I think "The Girl From North Country" would take it easily this year. (From Silver Linings Playbook). For other years, I don't really know, but I know Drive would fill my lineup for last year, or come close to it.

[Bremen]

I think "The Girl From North Country" would take it easily this year. (From Silver Linings Playbook). For other years, I don't really know, but I know Drive would fill my lineup for last year, or come close to it.

All of this.

[BTN]

I just thought of "16 reasons" from mulholland drive to go along with Llorando.

[Eduardo Zuckerberg]

I just thought of "16 reasons" from mulholland drive to go along with Llorando.

Don't forget "I've Told Ev'ry Star".

[Artimus]

Why on earth would you mix an artistic creation category (Best Song) with a directorial choice category (Best Song Usage)? That's like nominating locations for Best Cinematography.

[Scarmi]

Obviously this wouldn't work as a real category at all, but it's kind of fun to think about. For this year, I think I'd go with:

Jo Stafford, "You Belong to Me", The Deep Blue Sea
Doctor L, "Let My Baby Ride", Holy Motors
The Surfs, "Tu serás mi baby", Tabu
A-Ha, "I've Been Losing You", Oslo, August 31st
The Buggles, "Video Killed the Radio Star", Take This Waltz

[Thomas]

Don't forget "I've Told Ev'ry Star".

Wasn't that original?

[Scarmi]

Wasn't that original?

The version Lynch used was a pop hit in the early 60s, but apparently it's originally from a 1930s Kern-Hammerstein Broadway musical, lol.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mdcvrZYE4Q

[Ben7]

I think "The Girl From North Country" would take it easily this year. (From Silver Linings Playbook). For other years, I don't really know, but I know Drive would fill my lineup for last year, or come close to it.

The only thing is, I think Dylan would probably have his name withdrawn from the competition.

[Artimus]

The Young Persons Guide to the Orchestra in Moonrise would win this hands down for me. That or Cuckoo.

[Aldo]

I've thought about this. A category like this in the Oscars would be really satisfying for us cinephiles but a MESS in terms of elegibility, recipients of the award and well, running time of the show. I actually once published here a list I made of the 50 greatest songs in film, 2000-2010. Around half of them were non-original. I just care about the song being determining in the scene it is featured in.

Anyway, just for fun I keep a Revival category in my lists (wtf) and this are my winners and runnerups:

2012
holy motors: let my baby ride
tabu: cosi come viene (not quite sure about if it is this song)

2011
chico y rita: sabor a mí
pina: lillies of the valley

2010
blue valentine: you always hurt the one you love
aquele querido mês de agosto: som de cristal

2009
(500) days of summer: you make my dreams
du levande: jag har hört om en stad ovan molnen

2008
la graine et le mulet: guafnohou allama el ghaza
rachel getting married: unknown legend

2007
i'm not there: ballad of a thin man
control: transmission

2006
volver: volver
inland empire: the loco-motion

2005
breakfast on pluto: sand
dear frankie: the great white horse

2004
la mala eduación: quizás, quizás, quizás
harry potter and the prisoner of azkaban: double trouble

2003
japón: anillo de compromis/en la penca de un maguey
kill bill vol.1: woo hoo

2002
chicago: cell block tango or
hable con ella: cucurrucucú paloma or
mies vailla menneisyyttä: muistatko mon repos'n

2001
mulholland dr.: llorando
hedwig and the angry inch: the origin of love

2001
beau travail: the rhythm of the night
o brother where art thou?: man of constant sorrow

[Aldo]

and that would be favourite use of pre-existing music in this century.

[Atonenent.]

"I Dreamed a Dream", "Ony My Own" and "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables" would probably all make it this year

[VSW]

The first thing that comes to my mind from this year is probably "Firework" in Rust & Bone.

That immediately came to my mind as well.

People who haven't seen the film should abstain from commenting on that. Never thought I'd see the day where a song by Katy Perry could have as much impact or be used as well as it was used in the film.

[Bremen]

That immediately came to my mind as well.

People who haven't seen the film should abstain from commenting on that. Never thought I'd see the day where a song by Katy Perry could have as much impact or be used as well as it was used in the film.

Well, all credit to the filmmakers then if they managed to make that song work.