Oscar's Musical Moments: Coldplay, Beck and the Best Styx Reference Ever

Besides the ceremony's Broadway-style dance medleys and the trio of Best Original Song performances, the 81st Academy Awards night featured a flock of contemporary songs. Everything from a brand new Beck song to a taste of an up-and-coming British dance band helped soundtrack the night's key moments.

First off, the Oscars dug deep into the Breaking archives to select British dance punks Does It Offend You, Yeah? for a musical bed. To showcase the best in 2008's high-tech animated films, the Academy selected the group's "Attack of the 60 Ft. Lesbian Octopus," which we imagine would make a decent animated film in its own right. The Hives' "Tick Tick Boom" served a similar role, providing a propulsive backbeat for a high-octane action movie montage. A pair of Coldplay songs, including "Viva La Vida," also made a cameo during the ceremony.

But the musical highlight of the night came unexpectedly by way of acceptance speech. Japanese director Kunio Kato, the filmmaker behind Best Animated Short winner La Maison en Petits Cubes, clearly not well versed in the English language, treated the crowd to a tongue-in-cheek reference to Styx, ending his speech with "Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto" to the delight of the Hollywood elite. Catch Kato's acceptance speech in the video above.

To close out the night, Beck's cover of Bob Dylan's "Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat" was played over a split-screen of production credits and a sneak peak at 2009's most-anticipated films. Beck was hand-picked by Dylan himself to cover the track for the upcoming War Child covers comp, which comes out tomorrow.

Related Stories:

• Oscars: "Slumdog" Scores Best Picture and Music Category Sweep, Penn Wins Best Actor
• Bruce Springsteen, Heath Ledger Win Golden Globes; Mickey Rourke Thanks Axl Rose
• Bruce Springsteen's "Wrestler" Video Another Reminder of Oscar Snub

• 
  MUSIC 100 Greatest Debut Albums
• 
  MOVIES 'Star Trek' Is Crazy Good
• 
  TV
• 
  POLITICS No Price Big Banks Can't Fix

Song Stories

“Is It True”

Brenda Lee | 1964

As the British Invasion reached its peak in 1964, Brenda Lee went from Nashville to London to record one of her hardest-rocking hits, her perky vocal backed by a stuttering, squalling guitar. That guitar was played by session musician Jimmy Page, yet to skyrocket to fame with first the Yardbirds and then Led Zeppelin. "She said to me, 'I've come here to make a record with the British sound,'" remembered producer Mickie Most. "She felt she wouldn't get the same sound in Nashville because they're only just catching up on the British beat group sound of about six months ago."

More Song Stories entries »

Twitter