This weeks Friday Five is here and we are talking about one of my favorite genres of music- Broadway musicals!
It was actually kind of tough for me to narrow down my love of show tunes into 5 songs. So, I decided to pick songs from shows I’ve seen on Broadway. That left me 11 musicals to pick from and I feel like my songs show a variety and are from 5 shows I really love.
I don’t know if I would say they are my favorite Broadway songs but they are in the discussion for sure. But here are my picks (in no particular order:
The Beauty Is from Light in the Piazza- musical about a young mentally special needs American girl going to Italy with her Mother and falling in love with an Italian. The musical in Light combines melodic and non-melodic sequences in the same song in a way I’ve never seen before. Also the way they use harmonies and change keys within the songs gives them a uniquely beautiful song.
Stars from Les Miserables- Javert is one of my favorite villains because he isn’t really a villain. He believes in justice which is a noble attribute but he forgets about mercy. In Stars he sings about his beliefs in upholding the law.
As We Stumble Along from Drowsy Chaperon- This show makes fun of musicals and is the funniest Broadway show I’ve ever seen. It was also brilliant the way the story and the jokes came alive in the apartment of the Man in the Chair. This song lampoons the anthem songs of the modern musical and is very funny.
Defying Gravity from Wicked- As we saw from my last entry I love Idina Menzel and I think Stephen Schwartz did a great job with this prequel to Wizard of Oz (no small task considering every other film version has been terrible). Defying Gravity is the most difficult song of the show and shows Idina’s amazing belt skills. It is also the emotional heart of the show where Elphaba has made her decision and there is no going back.
76 Trombones from Music Man- Meredith Wilson’s Music Man will always have a special place in my heart because I saw this musical when I went to New York with my cousin Lisa. She died 4 months after that trip. But even without that it is a story of redemption and how even a con man isn’t a total lost cause. Plus, there are some really catchy music to boot!
So that is my five choices. What would you pick for your favorite songs from Broadway musicals?
Hi guys! It’s Friday which means it is time for the Friday Five! This is a series I’ve been participating in on my youtube channel where you get a topic and then pick 5 songs in said topic. Last week was pick a song from a decade and I chose the 50s and nearly everyone else picked the 90s. So, this week being a grab bag week I decided to add my two cents into my favorite songs from the 90s.
The 90s were of course a very formative time for me as it was the decade I went from 10-19 (doesn’t get more formative age range than that!). And I remember my Mother telling me ‘all the songs sound the same’ and I didn’t really understand what she meant. But now I hear current music and I think ‘that sounds just like….from the 90s’. I think whatever is that formative music era is like that for most people. It shapes how you listen to music the rest of your life.
The 5 songs I picked are also from what are in my opinion perfect albums. Something like REM and their album Automatic for the People is an album I could listen to start to finish and love every song. I feel in the digital Itunes age the value of an album has diminished but I still love finding one especially if it tells a story with all the songs. Coldplay’s Viva la Vida is a great example of a more recent perfect album.
What do you think of my 5 picks and what are your favorite songs from the 90s? What to you is a perfect album?
Hey guys! I hope you all have a fabulous Labor Day Weekend. I’ve been having so much fun with my sister in town for a visit.
Today I posted my first video in the Youtube series- The Friday Five. This was started by youtuber Sara Crawford where each week she picks a theme and you have to pick 5 songs to go with said them. I’ve been wanting to participate but couldn’t quite fit it in. Then I saw today’s theme and just had too.
The theme for the week is Songs from Favorite Movies. The only hard part was narrowing it down to just 5! I could do hundreds.
Anyway, here’s what I came up with. Check it out and let me know what you think and what your picks are. I will try and post this series on the blog and channel each week so it should be a lot of fun.
My friend Camille has recently done a series of posts on her favorite songs. To make it easier she classified them as “song that makes me laugh”, “song that makes me cry” etc. Perhaps I should have followed her example, but I thought I could whittle down my nearly 9,000 ipod songs to a top 20. Boy was I wrong! It was hard! To start off I cut out all religious, classical and Broadway music (that will be for another post!). Next I created a top 50 list- even this was harder than I thought it would be. Finally I narrowed it to a top 15. When push came to shove many songs I LOVE didn’t make the cut.
As will be no surprise to anyone, a majority of the songs are slower and melodic, and many of them are on the melancholy side. This is strange because I am a very happy person. I just love romantic sad songs! I like a number of these songs so much that I have learned how to sing them in my weekly voice lessons. Over half are songs I have loved since high school and every single one of them are tracts I could listen to again and again (and have done so!). I will be curious for both your thoughts on the list and the songs I should have included. What are your favorites? By the way, I didn’t put A Song for You, King of Anything or Gravity on this list because I just posted them, but they are some of my favorites.
Listed in no particular order
1. Over the Rainbow- this one is my favorite song. I love it. I sang it in May and have at least 12 versions in my ipod. I have yet to hear a version I do not love. My favorites are probably a great version by Eva Cassidy and a classic by the Hawaiian singer IZ; however, nobody can top the great Judy Garland.
2. Nightingale- Norah Jones blows me away. I love all of her albums and could have put a number of her songs on the list. I chose this one because I think it is a beautiful lullaby.
3. Dream- Priscilla Ahn’s first album A Good Day was amazing! If you haven’t heard it go out and buy it. I could have picked any song from this album. I love it! Dream is another lullaby that is lovely.
4. Everything- Michael Buble. Everybody knows I love me some Michael Buble. He is still the only artist I have seen live twice. He is a great performer and singer- not to mention terrific songwriter. I think he has surprised a lot of people by branching out of the Great American Songbook and writing his own stuff. I was torn between Haven’t Met You Yet, Home and this one, Everything, but I figured put an upbeat song in there!
5. I’m Yours- Jason Mraz. This song reminds me of Hawaii and summertime. What could be wrong with that?
6. Foolish Games-Jewel. I was obsessed with Jewel in high school. I think I may have listened to Pieces of You and Spirit albums hundreds of times! Foolish Games is a sad song but one of the first ones I learned in voice lessons.
7. Dreams- Cranberries. I also loved the Cranberries in high school- still do. This is such a great song- the only song that ever made yodeling cool!
8. Awake- Josh Groban. Josh Groban will always have a special place for me because of the amazing experience Camille and I had at his concert- we got moved from the highest seats to right by the stage where I touched his fingers! So cool!
9. And So it Goes- Billy Joel. This was a tough call between the Longest Time (love that romantic song) and this sad song. The fact that I sang it as one of my first voice lesson songs put it over the edge.
10. Both Sides Now- Joni Mitchell. She set the bar for all female singers/song writers after her. This is another song I performed in a recital for my voice lessons.
11. Man on the Moon- REM. The first album I remember buying was Automatic for the People by REM. I have loved it ever since, which makes nearly 20 years of enjoying this song.
12. Travelin Soldier- Dixie Chicks. So I don’t like their politics but I love this song. It is pure poetry. You’re probably tired of hearing this but it is another one I have sung in voice lessons.
13. Life is a Highway- I have loved all of Rascal Flatts’ albums. They know how to write catchy hits and this one is their best. No wonder it was the final encore at their concert! (I was tempted to pick God Bless the Open Road but I figure an upbeat song is good!)
14. Unwritten- Natasha Bedingfield. This is probably the only ‘dance’ song I have ever loved. Despite being over-played and the theme song to the Hills I still love it!
15. Let It Be- The Beatles. Many Beatles devotees would probably pick something more edgy from the psychedelic phase or more obscure but I’ve always thought this song was beautiful. This is a version sung by American Idol alum Brooke White.
16. This Side- Nickel Creek- Ok. So I did 16 but I just couldn’t leave Nickel Creek off the list. They are amazing! I must sound like a broken record but I love all of their albums. They are peaceful, calming and full of gorgeous harmonies. If you aren’t a fan check them out! This Side is probably their most popular song and I think you will see why!
Phew! That was tough. I’m already picking apart my list. How is it I didn’t have room for Trouble by Ray LaMontagne, Every Little Thing by the Police, anything by Cold Play, Ingrid Michelson, Sara Bareilles, Carol King, Regina Spektor, Crosby Stills and Nash, and More. How did I not have room for any of the standards like LOVE, World on a String, Real McCoy, You Make Me Feel So Young etc?…I guess I will just have to make another list! I hope you guys enjoy the music.
Rachel's Musings 