Today begins my traditional six-week focus on the previous year’s best movies. In a couple of weeks, I’ll name my personal picks for the top Oscar categories and count down my favorite movies of the year.
But first, I’ll spend two weeks honoring some of my favorite musical moments in the films of 2024. I stayed away from actual musicals, though four of my selections (including today’s) come from movies about musicians.
The week of January 19, 1985, saw Madonna atop the Billboard Hot 100 with ‘Like a Virgin.’
At #2 that week was the one hit single by General Hospital‘s Jack Wagner, ‘All I Need.’ Wagner’s tune, the title track from his debut album, stayed at #2 for two weeks, kept from the top spot by Madonna.
Throwing back to the week of January 18, 1975, gives us the very first appearance of Barry Manilow on the blog. His ‘Mandy’ topped the Hot 100 that week, becoming the first #1 of his career.
Manilow would top the chart two more times over the ensuing two years, and he added another eight top 10 hits, the last one coming in 1980. He belonged to the 70s.
My final entry from the year-end Billboard Hot 100 is yet another country bro in a week of nothing but. This one is Luke Combs’ song from the movie Twisters, ‘Ain’t No Love in Oklahoma.’
My preferred song from the Twisters soundtrack is Miranda Lambert’s ‘I Ain’t in Kansas Anymore,’ but as we’ve seen over the past couple of weeks, country hits are currently solely the purview of the men (and Beyoncé).
Taylor Swift’s second Tortured Poets Department single, ‘I Can Do It With a Broken Heart,’ sits at #35 on the year-end Hot 100.
And then we’re back to country, and specifically the country/hip-hop blend I referenced yesterday. The 36th slot belongs to Jessie Murph and Jelly Roll with ‘Wild Ones.’ This year was the first time I heard of Jelly Roll, but apparently he’s released 10 studio albums since 2012. Murph has been recording since 2021 but released her debut album last year.
Meet Me In Montauk 