My next Oscar-snubbed song was the least egregious oversight the Academy made of this film.
Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing is unquestionably the finest film of 1989 (and a front-runner for best of the 80s), yet it failed to land a nomination for Best Picture or Best Director. Lee did earn a screenwriting nomination, and Danny Aiello was deservedly nominated for his supporting turn as Sal Frangione.
This list of Oscar snubs contains two kinds of songs — those that are paired, memorably and forever, with the films in which they appear; and those that have been so big for so long that I didn’t even know they originally showed up in a movie.
Today’s Song of the Day is an example of the latter.
For those just joining the party, I am counting down ten songs inexplicably snubbed by the Oscars.
This list was inspired by the overlooked ‘Don’t You Forget About Me,’ and today I’m featuring another iconic track from another iconic John Hughes film.
If you think the Academy had something against John Hughes, you’re probably right. Not one of the man’s films was ever nominated for an Oscar. These films were beloved upon release and are even more beloved now, but apparently they weren’t “Academy material.”
A week ago, when I finished counting down the songs I most associate with movies, I was surprised to learn that Simple Minds’ ‘Don’t You Forget About Me’ was actually written for The Breakfast Club.
Given that fact, what’s even more shocking is that the song wasn’t nominated for an Academy Award. How on earth did that happen?
I could wax poetic about the greatness of Carly Simon’s No Secrets, one of the best albums of my birth year, 1972.
But I just had the great idea to do a top five or top ten of the best albums from that year (that I know) followed by a list of albums from that year that I don’t know but should. I can sing Simon’s praises then.
Meet Me In Montauk 