Well, this is something I never could have expected...a controversy! Steve Pond's article stating that my song was ineligible for Oscar consideration has resulted in a few other bloggers offering their takes on the matter. Alex Billington at firstshowing.net posted a great little piece that has generated comments:
http://www.firstshowing.net/2009/10/10/original-song-from-up-in-the-air-disqualified-from-the-oscars/
This is all quite fascinating. Complicating matters in an interesting way, one of the guys at Incontention.com updated his predicted Oscar nominees and now has my song listed as one of 5 likely contenders! It'll be fun watching all this play out, even though I think my chances of a nomination are minimal at best. But like one commenter said, even if I'm nixed from the Oscars, there's always the Golden Globes and the Grammys!
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Friday, October 9, 2009
An amazing day!
I want to remember days like Oct. 8, 2009. Despite heavy rains that wreaked havoc with everything, I woke up to find two new online pieces about my song, including a terrific column by Joe Williams responding to the Pond piece stating that I was disqualified for Oscar contention because my song wasn't "written specifically for the film." Bummer, but also kind of a relief. Robynn wrote something amazing about why this was unfair, and I feel like it deserves to be posted here; I hope she won't mind. So here it is:
My personal opinion is that especially in this day and age in the music business, a rule that the song must be "written for the movie" is ridiculous. First - it is more possible than ever to discover unknown artists with unknown songs that have never been produced or released in the marketplace, and these artists and songs should be given a chance to revel in the original glory of their "first official showing." If they cannot be considered, you keep the whole Oscar concept completely out of reach for the unconnected, uncommissioned musician, which means a huge body of work or potentially exceptional music is immediately disqualified from the running, just because the songwriters aren't already connected in the Hollywood circuit. (And people wonder why there are so few quality Oscar nominated songs each year!) Secondly, it is impossible to draw an accurate line to regulate the requirement that songs be "original" and "written specifically for the motion picture." Any songwriter would tell you that this is a seriously amorphous line. Even songs portending to be specifically written for specific use are most likely developed from at least some pre-existing song fragment, lyrical idea, or song hook or "nugget" if you will -- existing before the specific use (i.e. movie, in this case). Must we then get into what percentage of the song existed before the movie? Or are we talking about the specific moment of completion of the song - i.e. when the song is fully fleshed out and truly "finished" or "finalized"? If so, does this mean that even if the lyrics were only slightly tweaked to "specifically" fit the movie, it would then qualify? Any attempt to police this rule would be ludicrous. So how should we regulate whether a song qualifies as a candidate for an OSCAR and is "original" to the movie? I think the only way to draw a line is to go back to the rule (like ASCAP and BMI's qualifier) basing eligibility on whether the song has ever been published.
That is truly brilliant, and I hope alot of people read it and comment. Especially YOU, Academy rulemakers! The truly pivotal event today was my second rehearsal with the Keysor School kids. We continued practicing my song "Read a Book," and it was just magical. These four kids, probably around 8 or 9 years old, were completely receptive, engaged in the process, and even forthcoming with their own suggestions. Gretchen and I had a marvelous time working with them, and their teacher told us they were all very excited to be part of this. So am I! It was a magical experience for me, and I want to savor every minute. Later in the day, I confirmed with Cliff at the St. Louis International Film Festival that UITA is indeed screening on Nov. 14, and Cliff asked if I'd want to perform a short set at the Tivoli before the movie. Like, wow! Things are sure getting interesting with this adventure!
My personal opinion is that especially in this day and age in the music business, a rule that the song must be "written for the movie" is ridiculous. First - it is more possible than ever to discover unknown artists with unknown songs that have never been produced or released in the marketplace, and these artists and songs should be given a chance to revel in the original glory of their "first official showing." If they cannot be considered, you keep the whole Oscar concept completely out of reach for the unconnected, uncommissioned musician, which means a huge body of work or potentially exceptional music is immediately disqualified from the running, just because the songwriters aren't already connected in the Hollywood circuit. (And people wonder why there are so few quality Oscar nominated songs each year!) Secondly, it is impossible to draw an accurate line to regulate the requirement that songs be "original" and "written specifically for the motion picture." Any songwriter would tell you that this is a seriously amorphous line. Even songs portending to be specifically written for specific use are most likely developed from at least some pre-existing song fragment, lyrical idea, or song hook or "nugget" if you will -- existing before the specific use (i.e. movie, in this case). Must we then get into what percentage of the song existed before the movie? Or are we talking about the specific moment of completion of the song - i.e. when the song is fully fleshed out and truly "finished" or "finalized"? If so, does this mean that even if the lyrics were only slightly tweaked to "specifically" fit the movie, it would then qualify? Any attempt to police this rule would be ludicrous. So how should we regulate whether a song qualifies as a candidate for an OSCAR and is "original" to the movie? I think the only way to draw a line is to go back to the rule (like ASCAP and BMI's qualifier) basing eligibility on whether the song has ever been published.
That is truly brilliant, and I hope alot of people read it and comment. Especially YOU, Academy rulemakers! The truly pivotal event today was my second rehearsal with the Keysor School kids. We continued practicing my song "Read a Book," and it was just magical. These four kids, probably around 8 or 9 years old, were completely receptive, engaged in the process, and even forthcoming with their own suggestions. Gretchen and I had a marvelous time working with them, and their teacher told us they were all very excited to be part of this. So am I! It was a magical experience for me, and I want to savor every minute. Later in the day, I confirmed with Cliff at the St. Louis International Film Festival that UITA is indeed screening on Nov. 14, and Cliff asked if I'd want to perform a short set at the Tivoli before the movie. Like, wow! Things are sure getting interesting with this adventure!
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Starting the recording
Well, Up in the Air may not be opening until December now, but that's not gonna stop me from doing stuff! With my song "Read a Book" finally finished to my satisfaction, and good rehearsals with the wonderfully talented Gretchen Hewitt, I was ready for the next phase on this one: recruiting some children to sing on it with me. Who better to join in on a song about the value of books, than some elementary school kids? Went to my old school, Keysor Elementary, in Kirkwood, and contacted the nicest music teacher, a woman named Tracey Sinclair. Gretchen and I met the 4 kids Tracey thought would do the best job, and we rehearsed in a music room downstairs. It was a blast! The kids learned the song fairly quickly, and we're going back on Thursday to refine it. And a couple of them had great input, too. What fun! On Friday, Robynn has me booked into a recording studio for the first time. I'm nervous but excited about it. Sessions for my first recording are officially under way!
Thursday, October 1, 2009
A few updates, including Oct. issue of Sauce
The October issue of Sauce Magazine has a few paragraphs about my song, and our upcoming anniversary show at The Grove Deli. The phone number they list has been disconnected; you can use 651-1694 instead or just call The Grove at
314-962-9078 if you want directions. I was bummed to find out that UP IN THE AIR has been delayed until December. Doggone it! There will be a limited opening on Dec. 4, some more cities the following week and then a wide release at Christmas. It's too long to wait! Other news: Robynn Ragland has officially become my manager; I signed a contract with her yesterday. We are planning our strategy...looks like my first release will be a 6-song mini CD. I'm still riding quite a creative wave. I love this cool new song I wrote called "Think Twice About It," which we will debut at our Oct. 23 show. And I wrote another one yesterday, called "Gateway." Sounds like kind of a psychedelic, yearning love song. Will require a few other instruments to be effective.
314-962-9078 if you want directions. I was bummed to find out that UP IN THE AIR has been delayed until December. Doggone it! There will be a limited opening on Dec. 4, some more cities the following week and then a wide release at Christmas. It's too long to wait! Other news: Robynn Ragland has officially become my manager; I signed a contract with her yesterday. We are planning our strategy...looks like my first release will be a 6-song mini CD. I'm still riding quite a creative wave. I love this cool new song I wrote called "Think Twice About It," which we will debut at our Oct. 23 show. And I wrote another one yesterday, called "Gateway." Sounds like kind of a psychedelic, yearning love song. Will require a few other instruments to be effective.
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