Tag Archives: Happy

Mar 28 2014
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GrabBag – “Happy” Covers, and the Onion Takes On Divergent

 

It’s Friday, folks, and you know what that means… GrabBag!!!

  • I know I have a bad habit of posting a lot of “Let It Go” covers here. Well to change things up a bit, here’s a couple versions of Pharrell Williams’ “Happy,” which very nearly stole the Oscar win out from under the Disney anthem. Up first we have Stewie and other Family Guy characters…
  • And then there’s this absolutely stunning looped-trombone version you just have to hear to believe…
  • On the subject of marketing, ever notice how so many ads for large corporations look just the same? Yeah you’re not the only one.
  • This is cool: a collection of audition clips for some very recognizable actors and roles. (The “before they were famous” part is a bit of a stretch, though. Plenty of these actors were famous before the auditions in this video.)
  • Graph TV lets you chart the ratings (critical, not viewership) of any TV show you want, episode-by-episode. Try it out on your favorite show! It’s fun to see trends throughout a series’ entire run.
  • And finally, the Onion’s ever-poignant (read: hilarious) film reviewer set’s his sights on the new film Divergent.

That’s all for this week. Have a great weekend, and tune in next Friday for another GrabBag!

 

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Feb 13 2014
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All 4 Song Nominees to Perform at the Oscars

It has just been confirmed: Karen O will perform her Oscar nominated “The Moon Song” from Her at this years awards. She marks the final piece of the puzzle, after recent announcements that her fellow nominees – U2 (“Ordinary Love” from Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom), Pharrell Williams (“Happy” from Despicable Me 2), and Idina Menzel (“Let It Go” from Frozen) – will all perform live at the show.

(Scroll down for embedded videos of all 4 songs.)

In recent years, The Oscars have been a bit wishy-washy when it comes to performing the songs during the ceremony. This year will mark the first time all the song nominees have been performed live at the show since 2011.

Of course it helps that the worst, most embarrassing nominee was disqualified. And there are only four remaining to eat into the runtime. And those four are all excellent songs by popular performers.

“Let It Go” is still the prohibitive frontrunner, but it’s win is by no means as assured as it seemed a few months, or even weeks, ago. U2 picked up the Golden Globe, and they have the power of Bono and expert campaigner Harvey Weinstein behind them. Meanwhile, Pharrell Williams just picked up a handful of Grammys and has been campaigning super hard. “Happy” is practically everywhere these days.

Even Karen O has a few angles on the race: Voters could easily opt to show the movie some love in this category where competition might be stiffer elsewhere. As frontwoman for the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s, she carries the full weight of the quirky/indie/hipster demographic. And if the more obvious choices split the vote, “The Moon Song” could easily slip in.

Still, “Let It Go” is the most likely. Not only is it actually the best of the nominees, it’s the kind of song the category was meant for: integral to both the film’s story and overall theme. Not to mention, it marks a triumphant return to form for Disney.

Here, for your listening pleasure, are all the songs…

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