OSCAR - The Year's Best Songs 2007

Hands down my favorite movie this year was the underappreciated musical HAIRSPRAY. In a year filled with an over abundance of downer films it stood out as a reminder that fun, silliness and joy could still be found at the local megaplex. In fact most of my top picks this year tended to be heavy on the musical side (Once, La Vie En Rose, I'm Not There and Enchanted) Here's a sampling of some of the best songs to grace the screen in 2007...

HAIRSPRAY - "Good Morning Baltimore"


Perverts, rats and garbage are just a few of the wonderful things to wake up to everyday in sunny Baltimore. Congrats to first time director Adam Shankman and super-composer Marc Shaiman for helping to shoot Baltimore's tourist industry through the roof. It's tragic that Oscar rules kept this film from getting any nods, but hopefully its devoted fans will make it a cult classic in decades to come.

ONCE - "Falling Slowly"

Boy meets girl. They make a record and guy buys girl a piano. That's the plot to Once in a nutshell. Its greatness is in its simplicity, and I for one can't wait to see them preform Falling Slowly on Oscar night and take home the award.

Le Vie En Rose

Marion Cotillard is Edith Piaf, and hopefully she'll be rewarded for her show stopping performance with a little golden man come Oscar night. What's truly rewarding is that Le Vie En Rose has given us the resurgence of Piaf's music. What is old is new again, and knowing here tragic story only makes the achievement of her short life that much more sweet.