I’ve been in a dry spell lately, movie-wise. Haven’t seen anything in the theater or on DVD since Tropic Thunder a few weeks ago. And as a result, this blog has been dedicated almost entirely to the Song of the Day (with the occasional aside on the presidential race).
To remedy that and show a little love to my true passion — movies — I’m introducing an occasional series on ‘Great Scenes’ in cinema.
Of all the unlikely pairings you can imagine, a few years ago Jack White and Loretta Lynn might have been near the top of the list. But White’s turn in Cold Mountain and some of the tracks on The White Stripes’ Get Behind Me Satan made it pretty clear that he has a real affection for country music.
He teamed up with the coal miner’s daughter on her Grammy-winning album Van Lear Rose, producing all the tracks, playing on many of them and singing co-lead on this one. He also inspired her to pick up a pen and write her own songs, something she’d never done before on a full album, with tremendous results.
Elvis Costello has done a lot of duets in his time. He’s been around so long now, and worked in so many different genres, that there’s really not a thing he hasn’t done in the music business.
His stellar album The Delivery Man, a concept album about a love triangle in the deep south, contains three duets: two with Emmylou Harris (who must appear as a backup/second singer on far more songs than she sings on her own) and this one with Lucinda Williams.
This was the first song that came to mind when I thought about doing a week of duets. To me, it’s the quintessential meeting of two artists who elevate each other’s game in a way that nobody could have predicted.
Today begins another theme week. Through this Friday, I will spotlight songs that feature duets. Only ground rule is that the performances have to be exceptions to the artists’ usual lineup. In other words, Indigo Girls don’t count because they are a duo by design. Same goes for Beatles songs where John Lennon and Paul McCartney trade verses.
To kick things off, I’ve chosen a funny song from the movie Walk Hard that parodies early Johnny Cash/June Carter duets and is awash in lewd double entendre (“In my dreams you’re blowing me… some kisses”).
