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4. Sturgill Simpson: “A Life of Sin”
Martin Scorsese's masterpiece “Killers of the Flower Moon” features many musicians, including Jason Isbell, Pete Yorn, Charlie Musselwhite and Jack White. Country singer Sturgill Simpson, who features a standout song by Waylon Jennings on his 2014 album “Metamodern Sounds in Country Music,” also steals a few scenes as a bootlegger named Henry Grammer.
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5. Jarvis Cocker: “If you don’t fall asleep, you won’t wake up.”
Another notable film this year is Wes Anderson's dizzyingly meta film “Asteroid City,” for which Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker composed this haunting country-tinged ballad that plays over the closing credits. However, this track makes the playlist for its technical aspects. Anderson's delightful 39-minute Roald Dahl adaptation “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar” was nominated for best live-action short film, and Cocker made a brief cameo as a concierge.
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6. The Beatles: “The Ballad of John and Yoko”
One of the nominees in the animated short category featured two very familiar names. “War Is Over! Inspired by the music of John & Yoko” is an 11-minute film with a pacifist message. (It's directed by Pixar alumnus Dave Mullins and executive produced by Sean Ono Lennon.) It's not quite the season for the Christmas classics mentioned in the short's title, so here's some more perennial tunes.
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7. Maya Hawke: “Missing”
'Stranger Things' actress Maya Hawke appeared in several films last year, including 'Asteroid City' and the Oscar-nominated 'Maestro,' in which she played Leonard Bernstein's daughter Jamie. She also found time to record her soon-to-be-released third album, “Chaos Angel,” as a folk singer-songwriter. This recently released lead single is catchy and features humorous dialogue.
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8. Jon Baptiste: “It never went away”
Bandleader and musician Jon Batiste's busy professional life and relationship with his wife Suleika Jaouad are chronicled in the Netflix documentary “American Symphony.” He wrote this sparse, plaintive piano ballad that earned him a nomination for best original song this year.
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9. Bradley Cooper: “Maybe It’s Time”
The following songs are finished at the price of 2 per piece. The 2018 ballad “A Star Is Born” was performed by “Maestro” filmmaker and star Bradley Cooper and written by Isbell. Maybe it's time to do away with the old ways and finally give Cooper an Oscar? Oscar prognosticators don't think it will happen this year, but as a huge fan of his “Star” remake and soundtrack, I certainly hope it happens at some point.