7. O Brother Where Art Thou – Man of Constant Sorrow
As with the hip hop of 8 Mile, the blue grass music of O Brother will not be to everyone’s liking, but Man of Constant Sorrow is as catchy as they come.
The first rendition, performed in a middle-of-nowhere radio shack is equal-shares compelling, thrilling and hilarious as Clooney, Turturro and Blake Nelson ham it up, but keep it the right side of respectful. The reprise at the end brings the house down within the film and brought an all-but irremovable smile to my face as well.
So distinctive and accomplished is the music of O Brother that a special medley was performed at that year’s Grammys and although the performance of Man of… was low key compared to the on-stage pyrotechnics of a lot of modern music, it grabbed and held the audience’s attention.
It is, very simply, an utterly brilliant song, vivid and enthralling and transporting and part of O Brother Where Art Thou’s ability to evoke a time and a place at once distinctive and yet strangely alien.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZtgZ5fHOuU
