Countdown to Oscar Night: Music

Original Song
"Mighty River" - Mudbound
"Mystery of Love" - Call Me By Your Name
"Remember Me" - Coco
"Stand Up for Something" - Marshall
"This is Me" - The Greatest Showman

Please, please Academy don't screw up this opportunity like you guys did last year (having John Legend sing the songs from La La Land... still upsets me). Let me direct the segment for you: Open with a circus themed, Broadway-esque production of "This is Me". At the close, the performers part leaving only Andra Day and Common to belt out the sweltering "Stand Up for Something". Ms. Mary J. Blige comes on stage to join them in the final chorus which melds perfectly into her "Mighty River". Throughout her performance subtle dancers perform choreography that recalls the muddy, 1940s Mississippi sharecropped fields. At the conclusion, the camera pans to Sufjan Stevens who is standing holding his guitar and flanked by Anthony Gonzalez and Luis Angel Gomez Jaramillo (the English and Spanish voice actors for Miguel from Coco). Mr. Stevens will slowly wind the audience down with his "Mystery of Love" and then he can play while the little Miguel's each get a verse of "Remember Me" (one in English and one in Spanish of course). All three sing the final bars together as the whole crowd stands up and claps for 3 minutes straight as tears stream down their faces!!! 

I'd like my Oscar producers check to be mailed to Amnesty International because this actually happening would be all the payment I need.  Also, all of these songs are stellar. Go to youtube now!

My Ballot
"Remember Me" - Coco
"Mystery of Love" - Call Me By Your Name
"Mighty River" - Mudbound
"This is Me" - The Greatest Showman
"Stand Up for Something" - Marshall

My Pick to Win
"Remember Me" - Coco

Shamefully Snubbed
"PBNJ" - Patti Cake$  (seriously!)


Original Score
Dunkirk
Phantom Thread
The Shape of Water
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Eventually I think the Academy will grant John Williams with another Oscar as an exclamation point and to solidify his position as the greatest cinematic musician of all time. I just don't think it will be this year. I honestly don't remember the score in Three Billboards, and Dunkirk was just ticking..... endless ticking.... That makes this a two horse race between Alexandre Desplat's The Shape of Water and Jonny Greenwood's (of Radiohead!) Phantom Thread. I think Desplat will receive his second Oscar because del Toro's monster movie is a Best Picture frontrunner, and Daniel Day-Lewis' swan song just isn't getting the buzz. This is a shame though because the score of Phantom Thread is like an extra character (and is really the only score of the year I felt worthy of mentioning for an award). Here's hoping for an upset!

My Ballot
Phantom Thread
The Shape of Water
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Dunkirk
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

My Pick to Win
The Shape of Water

Shamefully Snubbed
Wonder Woman