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Song of the Day #500: ‘Twist and Shout’ – The Beatles

Here I am at my 500th Song of the Day. Haven’t missed a single day for nearly a year and a half. I admit there are times when I wonder if I can keep this going for very much longer but then I stop and think about dozens of songs and artists I haven’t been able to cover yet and I realize that the SOTD series will certainly never die for lack of material. If it dies, it will be because I give up. And I don’t give up easy.

I considered finding some meaningful song to position in this spot to mark the occasion, but I couldn’t come up with anything. And because I was featuring Beatles cover songs this weekend, I figured their most famous one is certainly worthy of the spot.

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The Blind Side

The Blind Side depicts one of those true stories about which people say “if this were made into a movie, nobody would believe it.” Inner city orphan Michael Oher was taken off the streets by a rich Memphis couple and introduced to academics and football, showing such talent at the latter that he was heavily recruited by the country’s top colleges. This year he was drafted in the first round by the Baltimore Ravens and has started every game at tackle.

You’d think this is the sort of thing that simply requires a director to point the camera at the actors, let them tell the story and stay out of the way. But that underestimates what a nice job writer/director John Lee Hancock has done (he’s developed a knack for spinning fine films out of real life sports fairy tales, having previously directed Dennis Quaid in The Rookie).

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Song of the Day #499: ‘You Really Got a Hold On Me’ – The Beatles

The Beatles are so well known for the songs they wrote than it’s easy to dismiss their early cover work. On three of their first four albums, covers make up about half of the track lists, with the Fab Four trying their hand at everything from rock to country to show tunes.

A few of those covers are so successful that they’ve become Beatles classics in their own right. ‘Baby It’s You,’ ‘Dizzy Miss Lizzy’ and ‘Devil in Her Heart’ are three that jump to mind. Today and tomorrow I’ll highlight the two that really rise to the top.

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Song of the Day #498: ‘Single Ladies’ – Beyonce

Taylor, I’m really happy for you, and I’mma let you finish, but Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time. Of all time!

Kanye’s asshead move at the VMA’s aside, I have to admit he has a point. ‘Single Ladies’ is indeed a fine video. And song. But mostly video.

There’s a lot to admire in this video but I’ll go the nerd route first and call attention to the cinematography — the way the camera swoops and zooms around the dancers as if its the fourth member of the group. Fabulous lighting and (lack of) art direction as well.

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Fantastic Mr. Fox

I’m intrigued by the critical reception to Wes Anderson’s adaptation of Roald Dahl’s children’s novel, Fantastic Mr. Fox. It currently sits at 92% on the Rotten Tomatoes scale, with 100% of the ‘Cream of the Crop’ critics reviewing it positively. It is by far the best-reviewed film of Anderson’s career.

I don’t disagree with those critics — on the contrary, I love the film — but I wonder why it’s this film and not, say, Rushmore or The Royal Tenenbaums that has garnered such praise. Is it because of a built-in forgiveness toward quality animated films or children’s films that elevates any of them that are different and better than the norm?

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