Day 26 - Keeping the Faith
Billy Joel
1983
Disclaimer: All perspectives, opinions, and memories in this entry are mine and mine alone. Some content is rugged, raw, and - sometimes - NSFW, but it's all authentic and included with purpose.
Why It’s On The List:
Why It’s On The List:
Short and sweet: this is one of those songs that probably wouldn’t have been on my list at age 30 and certainly wouldn’t have been there at 20. This song maybe best represents why I did a Top 40 list to begin with - to show how we can grow and evolve and how tastes change over time.
“Say goodbye to the oldies but goodies. Because the good ol’ days weren’t always good and tomorrow isn’t as bad as it seems” is a line I get at 40 that you just can’t fully grasp before then.
Listen to "Keeping the Faith" here:
Favorite Line:
“Say goodbye to the oldies but goodies. Because the good ol’ days weren’t always good and tomorrow isn’t as bad as it seems” is a line I get at 40 that you just can’t fully grasp before then.
Listen to "Keeping the Faith" here:
Favorite Line:
If you didn’t guess...
“I thought I was the Duke of Earl
“I thought I was the Duke of Earl
When I made it with the red-haired girl
In a Chevroleeeeeeet”
...then you don’t know me at all. While We're Here:
Not connected to this song at all but (A) I wanted to get my favorite songs used in TV shows in somewhere and couldn't find a place to make it fit anywhere else and (B) I didn't have anything else to go with this song. So we here are.
I love when a TV show can deepen or further a moment with a song. I'm intrigued by that process as well because it's more than the script writing at that point. The editing for these kind of moments is a true work of art as well.
Here are my favorite TV moments using music:
5. King of the Hill - no clue why I love this scene but it's somehow the perfect song paired with the perfect moment. Luanne's boyfriend, Buckley, has passed away and she is struggling to move on. Buckley's Angel visits her for a sweet moment of closure. I have appreciated when sitcoms, even animated, can have quiet, tender beats.
4. Mad Men - Such an epic scene that could have as easily be found in a Tennessee Williams stage play as an episode of Mad Men. Don and Peggy always had such a dynamic relationship - great acting kept it from ever swerving towards romantic - and in this scene they are really all each other has. Lonely, tired, and we get a peak behind the curtain to their creative process. Pitch perfect.
3. Sports Night - This show was probably 5-10 years ahead of its time (It was actually because of Sports Night's failure that led Aaron Sorkin to go do West Wing next). This clip doesn't even include the song moment but was the best I could find. Quick context: Casey loves Dana but Dana is in a relationship with Gordon. Casey has been hooking up with Sally to get over Dana and throughout the entire episode Casey can't find his favorite shirt that he left at Sally's. In this scene, Casey is confronting Gordon about being good to Dana and treating her well and we were all like "What is Casey talking about / what does he know??" And then Casey drops the hammer on Gordon when he says, "You're wearing my shirt." BOOM. In the next scene, Crimson and Clover plays as Casey and Dana talk and you can see Casey dying because he hates to see the woman he loves getting cheated on and there isn't a damn thing he can do about it. Heart shattering in the most beautiful way possible.
2. Scrubs - Zach Braff was the king of scoring music to his show, Scrubs. You would hear a perfectly placed track on the show and then a year or two later, the song would be a massive hit. He was always ahead of the pack on finding great songs to create memorable moments on the show. This song and this clip on its own might seem a little odd or even goofy but it was such a payoff to such a build up. Main characters JD (Braff) and Elliot had been on-again-off-again for a while. They finally reconnected only to have Elliot's ex-boyfriend, Sean, re-enter the picture. This entire episode was about choices and had a bunch of plot-lines come together while the band, Polyphonic Spree, came to the hospital to perform their song "Light and Day." This clip starts with Sean asking JD if anything happened between JD and Elliot while Sean was gone. It was gut-wrenching in the moment to watch JD chose what was best for a friend over what he wanted. Still gets me to this day.
1. And then there's How I Met Your Mother. No chance to pick just one of their many awesomely scored scenes, so here are my favorites:
***Proceed with Caution - lots of spoilers if you've never seen the show***
Let Your Heart Hold Fast - The night Robin and Barney get engaged. The night Ted's new skyscraper opens. The night Ted has never felt more alone in his life.
The Funeral - This was the episode when we learned WHERE Ted and the mother would finally meet. This is fantastic staging, editing, and build-up.
Simple Song - The episode where we saw the mother's face for the first time!!! As the scene was building, Sum and I were screaming at the television. And as the camera lingered on each character's face, we were shouting "OMG WE ARE GOING TO SEE HER!!!" It was a fantastic payoff.
La Vie en Rose - The mother's version of the classic as every character has hit rock bottom. Haunting.
Eternal Flame - Cheesy song, cheesy scene with Robin literally floating away at the end. And yet I ugly cry every time I see it. Ted had to let go of Robin. After 9 years he finally let go.
...then you don’t know me at all. While We're Here:
Not connected to this song at all but (A) I wanted to get my favorite songs used in TV shows in somewhere and couldn't find a place to make it fit anywhere else and (B) I didn't have anything else to go with this song. So we here are.
I love when a TV show can deepen or further a moment with a song. I'm intrigued by that process as well because it's more than the script writing at that point. The editing for these kind of moments is a true work of art as well.
Here are my favorite TV moments using music:
5. King of the Hill - no clue why I love this scene but it's somehow the perfect song paired with the perfect moment. Luanne's boyfriend, Buckley, has passed away and she is struggling to move on. Buckley's Angel visits her for a sweet moment of closure. I have appreciated when sitcoms, even animated, can have quiet, tender beats.
4. Mad Men - Such an epic scene that could have as easily be found in a Tennessee Williams stage play as an episode of Mad Men. Don and Peggy always had such a dynamic relationship - great acting kept it from ever swerving towards romantic - and in this scene they are really all each other has. Lonely, tired, and we get a peak behind the curtain to their creative process. Pitch perfect.
3. Sports Night - This show was probably 5-10 years ahead of its time (It was actually because of Sports Night's failure that led Aaron Sorkin to go do West Wing next). This clip doesn't even include the song moment but was the best I could find. Quick context: Casey loves Dana but Dana is in a relationship with Gordon. Casey has been hooking up with Sally to get over Dana and throughout the entire episode Casey can't find his favorite shirt that he left at Sally's. In this scene, Casey is confronting Gordon about being good to Dana and treating her well and we were all like "What is Casey talking about / what does he know??" And then Casey drops the hammer on Gordon when he says, "You're wearing my shirt." BOOM. In the next scene, Crimson and Clover plays as Casey and Dana talk and you can see Casey dying because he hates to see the woman he loves getting cheated on and there isn't a damn thing he can do about it. Heart shattering in the most beautiful way possible.
2. Scrubs - Zach Braff was the king of scoring music to his show, Scrubs. You would hear a perfectly placed track on the show and then a year or two later, the song would be a massive hit. He was always ahead of the pack on finding great songs to create memorable moments on the show. This song and this clip on its own might seem a little odd or even goofy but it was such a payoff to such a build up. Main characters JD (Braff) and Elliot had been on-again-off-again for a while. They finally reconnected only to have Elliot's ex-boyfriend, Sean, re-enter the picture. This entire episode was about choices and had a bunch of plot-lines come together while the band, Polyphonic Spree, came to the hospital to perform their song "Light and Day." This clip starts with Sean asking JD if anything happened between JD and Elliot while Sean was gone. It was gut-wrenching in the moment to watch JD chose what was best for a friend over what he wanted. Still gets me to this day.
1. And then there's How I Met Your Mother. No chance to pick just one of their many awesomely scored scenes, so here are my favorites:
***Proceed with Caution - lots of spoilers if you've never seen the show***
Let Your Heart Hold Fast - The night Robin and Barney get engaged. The night Ted's new skyscraper opens. The night Ted has never felt more alone in his life.
The Funeral - This was the episode when we learned WHERE Ted and the mother would finally meet. This is fantastic staging, editing, and build-up.
Simple Song - The episode where we saw the mother's face for the first time!!! As the scene was building, Sum and I were screaming at the television. And as the camera lingered on each character's face, we were shouting "OMG WE ARE GOING TO SEE HER!!!" It was a fantastic payoff.
La Vie en Rose - The mother's version of the classic as every character has hit rock bottom. Haunting.
Eternal Flame - Cheesy song, cheesy scene with Robin literally floating away at the end. And yet I ugly cry every time I see it. Ted had to let go of Robin. After 9 years he finally let go.
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