Part Two: Top Ten Villain Songs

Yesterday, I post my Top Ten Villain Themes based on one of the best and most challenging assignments I've ever had. Today I'm going to post my Top Ten Villain Songs.
 

If you missed yesterday's post, a villain theme is instrumental (maybe with some unintelligible vocal embellishment) and a villain song has versed lyrics.

Things to consider while choosing the top ten, included:

1 - Is the whole piece dedicated to a single character or group, not an event in the story?
2 - Does it tell who the villain is as well as their ambitions and purposes?
3 - Does it match their character(s)?
4 - Do you know who it belongs to in the first few notes? how famous is it?
5 - What Degree of Villainy is felt throughout the piece.
6 - Does it get stuck in your head?
7 - Can it survive without visuals to convey the villain's character/purpose? For songs, are lyrics specific or ambiguous, requiring the illustrated visuals in order to be understood? - See more at: http://srford.blogspot.com/2014/06/top-ten-villain-themes.html#sthash.K5FYzuv1.dpuf

1 - Is the whole piece dedicated to a single character or group, not an event in the story?
2 - Does it tell who the villain is as well as their ambitions and purposes?
3 - Does it match their character(s)?
4 - Do you know who it belongs to in the first few notes? how famous is it?
5 - What Degree of Villainy is felt throughout the piece.
6 - Does it get stuck in your head?
7 - Can it survive without visuals to convey the villain's character/purpose? For songs, are lyrics specific or ambiguous, requiring the illustrated visuals in order to be understood?

Unlike the villain themes I had no reason pick a runner-up villain song; however, there are many honorable mentions that could be made. I guess villain songs just tend to be among the most masterfully composed pieces.

Please remember, the linked videos are connected to YouTube. They are for people who aren't familiar with the songs mentioned, but the songs on them are not owned/copyrighted by the uploader. The music belongs to the composer, lyricist, and the recording/movie companies involved with each production. The videos are use at your own discretion and risk, and they may go away after a while.

Anyway, without further ado, here are my picks for the Top Ten Villain Songs:


#10 - Mother Gothel - "Mother Knows Best" (and its reprise) - Tangled (2010)

Music by Alan Menken. Lyrics by Glenn Slater. Sung by Donna Murphy.
I often wonder how many children lost trust in their mothers after watching Tangled. I mean, come on; the entire song is a mother telling her daughter how much she loves and cares for her when in truth they really aren't mother and daughter and Gothel only wants Rapunzel around as a slave to her will so she can use her powers to keep living forever. Gothel cares absolutely nothing about Rapunzel, she only wants her magical hair to remain undiscovered and unscathed. The overly generous professions of love are used to make the abuse Rapunzel suffers to look like some playful jest. The entire song and its reprise are the story of Mother Gothel's self-serving and manipulative character. Gothel is characterized by her cunning. She uses love, affection and concern to hide her completely selfish designs and to immobilize Rapunzel's adventurous spirit.

#9 - Once-ler - "How Bad Can I Be?" - The Lorax (2012)

Music and Lyrics by John Powell and Cinco Paul. Sung by Ed Helms and Kool Kojak.
When the rock-n-roll song begins the Once-ler is a fresh new businessman who hopes to build a thriving business and is trying to placate his guilty conscience. He has just given in to familial pressures and broken a solemn promise to protect the land and lives around him, and now wants to prove to himself that he's not a bad person. However, as the song progresses the Once-ler becomes lost to his greed, throws away his old promises completely, and turns into a money-obsessed monster. By the end of the song he has literally destroyed the natural world and his own business plan through unrestrained consumption. The song is the story of one man's demise and the drastic damage his villainous greed reaped on the world for generations to come. All he could do to cover his tracks is build the wall around Thneedville to hide his legacy. Then he chooses to live alone for the rest of his life, with no intention of turning things around of his own will, even though the seed to do so is there with him.
 Originally, "How Bad Can I Be?" was going to be a rock opera entitled "Biggering" which spends more time deciphering the Once-ler's actions. It's worth a listen, but I think "How Bad Can I be?" is much more villainous, corrupting, and addictive. It latches onto the inside of your head pretty well.

#8 - Oogie Boogie - "Oogie Boogie Song" - The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

Music and lyrics by Danny Elfman. Performed by Ken Page and Ed Ivory.
This song is just addictive. The jazzy tune and more spoken than sung lyrics really bring this gambling bogeyman to life. The entire song is about gambling over lives and killing and eating Santa Claus in a casino-themed torture chamber. Can it get more villainous than that? He's trying to destroy the spirit of Christmas for crying out loud!

#7 - Judge Claude Frollo - "Hellfire" - The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)

Music and lyrics by Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz. Sung by Tony Jay.
This song is intended to be the antithesis to Quasimodo's "Heaven's Light." Whereas Quasi sings of how radiant and good Esmeralda is, Judge Frollo sings of her being a siren, a witch, and a viper. This song digs into a dark piece of Christian history (the often genocidal war against the gypsies (the "heathen")) as well as the lustful cravings of an old man. (Ew!) Anyway, Frollo, who never understands that his vantages and beliefs are often at odds with the will of God and the church, begins by praying for the lust he feels to be taken away; but as the song goes on, his prayer corrodes into an ultimatum as he begins to place all the blame on the Devil's power: "Choose me or your pyre!" He vows to burn down Paris just so he can find Esmeralda, and burn her along with every gypsy he can find if she refuses to marry him. What's worse is that Frollo sees himself as God's justice, quoting scripture repeatedly as if to make his very evil acts into a holy duty.
As far as the music goes, tell me it isn't chilling and addictive. I dare you. ;)

#6 - Scar - "Be Prepared" - The Lion King (1994)

Music by Tim Rice. Lyrics by Michael Jackson. Sung by Jeremy Irons with Whoopi Goldberg, Cheech Marin and Jim Cummings.
First off, this song was sung by Jeremy Irons. That alone makes it awesome. But then you consider that Scar, a type of seditious Hitler, whips a vast pack of hyenas into the Third Reich in less than four minutes and you know you've found a villain song gem. He even insults them the whole time and they still jump on his bandwagon of kingship. I love the way the song begins with Scar talking quietly to himself about the potential following he's found in the hyenas, as well as the way the song builds as Scar gains confidence and the hyenas become more enveloped in his scheme. The music for this song has that chanting type of build that carries the growing enthusiasm of Scar and the hyenas for the plan they are about to unleash

#5 -  Ursula - "Poor Unfortunate Souls" - The Little Mermaid (1988)

Music by Alan Menken. Lyrics by Howard Ashman. Sung by Pat Carroll.
For a cast off sea witch to become a mischievous diva, you know it's going to take something good, and kudos to Menken and Ashman for creating just the thing. Throughout the course of the showtune, Ursula spells out a story of repentance and warmth, a desire to serve, while whispering the exact opposite in brief lines to her "poopsies" Flotsam and Jetsam. She, like Gothel, also plays on Ariel's feelings by talking about how helpless she is, except that, unlike Gothel, Ursula is trying to jeer Ariel into action. Sometimes this song is better without the visuals, because seeing an octopus-witch make sexually suggestive motions is a bit scarring; but if you think about it, how else is she going to win Ariel's voice without giving her another way to gain Prince Erik's attention? The basic tone of this song is, "I'm going to screw you over so badly you won't even know what's happening until you're a trophy on my wall." That's pretty bad... you've got to admit it.

#4 - Lock, Shock & Barrel - "Kidnap the Sandy Claws" - The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

Music and lyrics by Danny Elfman. Sung by Paul Reubens, Catherine O'Hara and Danny Elfman.
This song had to be the top. It just had to be. It's so morbid! Have you ever noticed how scary demonic children/childlike things are? Children are naturally associated with cuddling, innocence and trust; and I think that's why this song ranks so high on the list. Lock, Shock and Barrel are little, morbid monsters. In many way this song is more frightening than "Oogie Boogie's Song" because of the specifically enumerated things they want to do to Santa Claus. Even though they say they're terrified of the bogeyman and want to please him at all times, they surely seem more lethal. The torture and murder plans they debate for Sandy Claws are nothing short of deranged and the music of the song sends shivers up and down your spine.

#3 - The Landlord - "This is My Garden" - The Garden (1995)

Music and lyrics by Michael McLean and Bryce Neubert.
The Garden is a Christian parable concerning the human family and the need for Jesus Christ's sacrifice and resurrection. The world is compared to a garden; a ram in at thicket, a barren tree, an unsprouted seed and a millstone represent different types of people; a gardener represents the prophets of God; a snake represents the devil's demons and mortal servants; a landlord represents the devil himself; and a "man with many names" represents Jesus Christ. Basically. It's actually a very interesting composition to think about. Anyway, in "This is My Garden" the landlord finds the gardener working on his land unwanted. What follows is a battle of wills between the landlord (demanding that the gardener depart and leave the garden, which he claims to love, to its corrupted and hellish destiny) and the gardener (crying out that the landlord can never claim to love the garden because of the way he treats it, and stating that he could never leave while the garden is in such a state). The fact comes down to a single point: the gardener can never fix up the garden on his own because the garden is so far out of control and it continues to get worse and worse with each passing to day thanks to the animals in the landlord's service. The basic note is that the landlord has won and the whole garden will belong to him forever because the true owner (the man with many names) will never come home to stop him. Its a very intense bid for power, authority and a will to dominate and destroy, which sums up the Devil's campaigns very well, I think.

#2 - Hexxus - "Toxic Love" - Ferngully: The Last Rainforest (1992)

Music and lyrics by Thomas Dolby. Sung by Tim Curry.
Even though Ferngully is one of the most rubbish shows I ever saw as a child, I will never forget the love affair Hexxus, essentially the God of Pollution, has with his art. And as I get older and I understand elements of Tim Curry's performance ever more, this villain song becomes even more perfect. Hexxus is a monster that requires pollution in order to grow and thrive. It's the sweetest candy he can imagine, and he wishes to swim in it endlessly like some humans wish to swim in a pool of chocolate or jello. He loves the destruction he reaps so much that it becomes the greatest pleasure to him. The destruction of life is the entire purpose for his existence and so he gets nothing but pleasure from it--its borderline sadism with a heaping side of fetishism, which is about as creepy and villainous as you can get. And that laugh at the end... yeah, that's a pretty good maniacal laugh.


And finally we reach the decisive moment. Which villain song will take its place at #1? That would be...


#1 - Erik (The Phantom) - "The Phantom of the Opera" - The Phantom of the Opera (1986)

Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Lyrics by Charles Hart. Additional lyrics by Richard Stilgoe and Mike Batt. First sung on Broadway by Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman; sung in 2004 film by Gerard Butler and Emmy Rossum.
Though his name is never used in the musical production, Erik's theme is instantly distinguished by the very first chord. One of the few villain themes that also serves as the theme for an entire production, "The Phantom of the Opera" is dark and aggressive, but it is also hypnotic and seductive, haunting and hopeful. It perfectly captures the tortured soul of the Phantom and his overpowering presence. It includes his mannerisms and personal cravings, but doesn't neglect to reveal his love of and dedication to Christine nor his desire for her to succeed in her career while remaining at his side forever. Because it answers all of the criteria questions wonderfully, is so famous and so exquisitely captures the Phantom's entire character, I am glad to call this the Number One Villain Song.

Those are my Top Ten Villain Songs. What do you think? What are your top ten? Comment below or email me.

(Again special thanks to all those composers, lyricists and vocalist who bring villains to life in a way that sticks in your mind unforgettably. And also a special thanks to the YouTubers who shared these soundtracks on their channels so that I had examples I could link too.)