Category Archives: road trip

Faves: Musical Movie Scenes

Song Lyric of the Day:

It’s tricky to rock a rhyme, to rock a rhyme that’s right on time / It’s Tricky

Wow, it’s been longer than I realized since I put together one of these lists. So here I am. If you read this blog even occasionally, you know how much I love my music. To that end, I thought I’d share some of my favorite movie scenes set to music. These are the scenes I inevitably think of whenever I hear the songs associated with them. I will say there are some glaring omissions (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off‘s “Twist and Shout,” to name one) thanks to some strict copyright enforcement. Party poopers. Anyhoo, here are some of my faves. That I legally found online. OK, legally that I know of.

“Puttin’ on the Ritz” – performed by Gene Wilder and Peter Boyle, Young Frankenstein

If there’s any scene in this classic comedy — which I’ve pretty much memorized I’ve watched it so much — that epitomizes its warped sense of humor, this is it. And to think Mel Brooks didn’t think Gene Wilder’s idea would work. Good thing he caved, though, since the movie is richer for it.
“Build Me Up Buttercup” – The Foundations, There’s Something About Mary
I love the silliness of the cast lip-synching to “Build Me Up Buttercup” as the end credits roll. Not only is it memorable in that it’s a catchy song, but for me it really embodies the heart of what is, despite the zaniness and gross-out jokes, a really funny movie with a genuine sweetness to it. Added bonus: Even the smallest bit players get their moment to shine.
“It’s Tricky” – Run-DMC, Road Trip
Take one seriously skinny, tall, gawky white kid and have him attempt a step dance with an African-American fraternity (set at UT Knoxville, no less), and what do you get? DJ Qualls’ hilarious quasi-Irish dancing in Road Trip.
“Canzonetta sull’aria” – Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro, The Shawshank Redemption
One of the most beautiful, simple, and heartbreaking scenes I’ve ever seen in any movie, ever. Red’s narration that even though he didn’t know what those Italian women were singing, he “… like(d) to think they were singing about something so beautiful, it can’t be expressed in words, and makes your heart ache because of it.” Which sums up the scene perfectly.
“Don’t Stop Me Now” – Queen, Shaun of the Dead
One of my all-time favorite bands plus my favorite romzomcom equals awesomeness. A pool-cue beating keeping time with the music makes for a fun moment right before the perfect storm of zombie shotgun killings to come.
“Paradise City” – Guns N’ Roses, Can’t Hardly Wait
Of all the associations I have with movie scenes set to music, this is the one that makes me laugh the hardest. I blame it on Charlie Korsmo’s awesome leap back onstage after passing out when two girls flash him. Of course, he may also be the reason Loveburger never did get around to performing.
What are some of your favorite musical movie scenes?

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Filed under movies, music, road trip, video

How Pattie Got Her Snooze Back

Song Lyric of the Day:

Goes from zero to 60 in three point five / Baby you got the keys / Now shut up and drive / (Drive, drive, drive)

Rihanna / “Shut Up and Drive

10:56PM.
Well, somehow I made it through last week. Mostly because I mainlined gallons of delicious, caffeine-laded soda (“pop” to my extended family in Iowa and South Dakota). But, really, driving 2,328 miles round-trip through five states and back takes a while to recover from. And that time estimate of 15 hours? Wayyyyy off. By a few hours. So what was last week like?

First Meal of the Day: Dinner
Since Rich and I didn’t get home until 3AM Monday morning (thank God Papa Doug rode home with us and helped with some of the driving), we took Monday as our fifth and last day of bereavement leave to sleep in. And did we ever sleep in — we woke up for the day at 2:30PM. My awesome parents, sister, and brother-in-law were gracious enough to keep Snoops and Caleb one night longer than we’d anticipated, and for that we can’t thank them enough. Not having to worry about waking up early to feed and walk them allowed us to get the sleep we desperately needed. As it is, it was all we could do to muster the energy to go and pick our kids up. Both dogs pretty much crapped out as soon as we got them home. Snoops spent the previous six days chasing cats around my parents’ house, while Caleb exhausted himself playing with his cousins, particularly his horse collar-wearing Mastiff cousin, Moose, his new BFF.


A Phantom Menace

I had an ENT appointment to try and get to the bottom of the aggravating, ever-present, seemingly phantom congestion I still feel in
my left nostril. Hard to believe, but after my painful sinus surgery last year, I honestly believed I’d be breathing easy. Silly me. The good news is that, as my doctor put it, everything is fine mechanically. So that day I accidentally smacked my still-recuperating nose and that extra-hard nose bump Caleb gave me not long after didn’t undo or break anything. The bad news? Seems some of my allergies might be back. I’m now using a new nasal spray to see if it finally clears up the congestion. It’s only the thirtieth or so nasal spray I’ve used in my life, so surely this will be the magic one, right? Fingers crossed!

Workin’ for a Livin’
I got through the work week. Somehow.

Superdragin’ the Day After
Rich and I caught the Friday night Superdrag show at Barley’s Taproom & Pizzeria. I, of course, felt like the proverbial old woman since the show started at 10PM, also known as The Time Pattie Gets Into Her Jammies. As it is, the opening act, Mic Harrison and the High Score (pretty cool band), didn’t take the stage until about 10:30PM. By the time Superdrag hit the stage, it was almost 11:45PM. Rich and I were energetic enough throughout most of the show, but by the time it ended at about 1:40AM, we were both so pooped we could barely clap. Sure, we got hom
e at 2AM, but it was totally worth it. Not only did we enjoy a great show (although I wished they’d performed “Baby Goes to 11”), but we got to say hi to John Davis, the group’s lead singer and a friend of ours from high school.

Another Weekend Down the Drain
After sufficiently recuperating from the Superdrag concert, Rich and I tackled myriad home improvement and organizational tasks. It was tiring, but it felt good to restore a bit of order to the house after having been away. Our new entertainment center (in black-brown) is assembled and full of DVDs and our guest bathroom now has a new toilet, giving us a grand total of four brand-new toilets throughout the house. Now we just need new tubs and show
ers. And a couple thousand dollars with which to buy them.

Booking It
I managed to work on my book a bit more. Yay me. Third chapter, here I come.

***

That’s about all I can think of tonight. Hopefully I can continue catching up on my TV shows this week so I can write a bit about the fall season so far. Although I did manage to (barely) watch most of Viva Laughlin‘s (already gone from CBS.com) premiere the other night. I couldn’t stop watching. It was one of those “I know something horrible is going to happen so I absolutely cannot dare to look away now and should make popcorn to munch on while I watch” compulsions. Which is why I wasn’t remotely surprised to read it got canceled today, making it the season’s first major casualty. Here’s hoping producer and guest star Hugh Jackman takes some consolation in the fact that he’s the hottest mutant to ever grace the big screen. Be strong, Hugh. Be strong.

Before I go, let me say thanks to those of you who’ve left comments, emailed, and passed your condolences along in person. The support really means a lot.

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Filed under home improvement, knoxville, road trip, traveling