100 Songs Project
What is the 100 Songs Project?
The 100 Songs Project takes its inspiration from two things. (1) It is a 100-day writing challenge. A writing challenge is an endeavor by a novice writer to practice the discipline of writing on a daily basis. I have twice engaged in a writing challenge before, first, with a thirty-day writing challenge specifically for poem-plays, and, second, with the Tarot Writing Project. This is something similar, albeit different.
(2) It is taken from AFI’s 100 Years…100 Songs list, a compiled list of what the American Film Institution deemed as 100 of the “best” songs from all American movies. Everyday, I will write a short piece, whether poetic, prosaic, or dramatic, based on one of those songs. For ordering purposes, I will begin at #100 and work my way up to #1. In essence, it is a project on ekphrasis (moving one medium, music, to another, literature).
The title of the piece is the title of the song. On a personal note, I’m very excited about this project. It blends three of my favorite things: writing, music, and film.
Here is the list of songs I’m using taken from their website in reverse order. Italics indicate the film they came from. I will be updating these with links as soon as they’re written:
100 – Old Time Rock and Roll (Risky Business)
99 – Hakuna Matata (Lion King)
97 – Forty-Second Street (42nd Street)
95 – (We’re Off on the) Road to Morocco (Road to Morocco)
94 – Ain’t Too Proud to Beg (The Big Chill)
92 – Long Ago (and Far Away) (Cover Girl)
91 – Let the River Run (Working Girl)
90 – Seems Like Old Times (Annie Hall)
89 – Puttin’ on the Ritz (Young Frankenstein)
88 – Do Re Mi (The Sound of Music)
87 – Buttons and Bows (The Paleface)
86 – (I’ve Had) The Time of My Life (Dirty Dancing)
85 – Come What May (Moulin Rouge!)
84 – Put the Blame on Mame (Gilda)
82 – Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead (The Wizard of Oz)
80 – Springtime for Hitler (The Producers)
79 – Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do) (Arthur)
77 – The Shadows of Your Smile (The Sandpiper)
76 – Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas (Meet Me in St. Louis)
75 – Up Where We Belong (An Officer and a Gentleman)
74 – Rainbow Connection (The Muppet Movie)
73 – Isn’t It Romantic? (Love Me Tonight)
72 – Good Morning (Singin’ in the Rain)
71 – (I’m a) Yankee Doodle Dandy (Yankee Doodle Dandy)
69 – On the Good Ship Lollipop (Bright Eyes)
68 – Streets of Philadelphia (Philadelphia)
67 – Nobody Does It Better (The Spy Who Loved Me)
66 – Suicide is Painless (MASH)
65 – I Will Always Love You (The Bodyguard)
64 – My Favorite Things (The Sound of Music)
63 – Thanks for the Memory (The Big Broadcast of 1938)
62 – Beauty and the Beast (Beauty and the Beast)
60 – It Had to Be You (When Harry Met Sally…)
59 – Tonight (West Side Story)
57 – The Windmills of Your Mind (The Thomas Crown Affair)
56 – Thank Heaven for Little Girls (Gigi)
55 – Flashdance…What a Feeling (Flashdance)
54 – Shall We Dance? (The King and I)
52 – Summertime (Porgy and Bess)
50 – Rock Around the Clock (Blackboard Jungle)
49 – Make ‘Em Laugh (Singin’ in the Rain)
48 – Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be) (The Man Who Knew Too Much)
47 – Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah (Song of the South)
46 – Don’t Rain on My Parade (Funny Girl)
45 – That’s Entertainment (The Band Wagon)
44 – Wind Beneath My Wings (Beaches)
43 – The Way You Look Tonight (Swing Time)
42 – Luck Be a Lady (Guys and Dolls)
41 – New York, New York (On the Town)
40 – Fight the Power (Do the Right Thing)
39 – Days of Wine and Roses (Days of Wine and Roses)
37 – Swinging on a Star (Going My Way)
36 – Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (Mary Poppins)
35 – America (West Side Story)
34 – Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off (Shall We Dance)
32 – I Got Rhythm (An American in Paris)
31 – Theme from New York, New York (New York, New York)
30 – Stormy Weather (Stormy Weather)
29 – Born to Be Wild (Easy Rider)
28 – Some Enchanted Evening (South Pacific)
26 – The Trolley Song (Meet Me in St. Louis)
25 – High Noon (Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darlin’) (High Noon)
24 – Ol’ Man River (Show Boat)
23 – Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid)
22 – Everybody’s Talkin’ (Midnight Cowboy)
21 – Jailhouse Rock (Jailhouse Rock)
20 – Somewhere (West Side Story)
19 – Some Day My Prince Will Come (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs)
17 – I Could Have Danced All Night (My Fair Lady)
16 – Evergreen (A Star is Born)
14 – My Heart Will Go On (Titanic)
12 – Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend (Gentlemen Prefer Blondes)
11 – The Man That Got Away (A Star is Born)
10 – The Sound of Music (The Sound of Music)
9 – Stayin’ Alive (Saturday Night Fever)
8 – The Way We Were (The Way We Were)
7 – When You Wish Upon a Star (Pinocchio)
6 – Mrs. Robinson (The Graduate)
5 – White Christmas (Holiday Inn)
4 – Moon River (Breakfast at Tiffany’s)
3 – Singin’ in the Rain (Singin’ in the Rain)
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brilliant idea! great writer 🙂
Thank you very much Diana! I hope you get to follow the whole 100 day journey. 🙂