Wilhelm Award Nominations (October 2006)

Some awards announce all their nominees at some predetermined date not long before the actual winners are announced. Here at Dontmindme.com we do things a little differently. At random times throughout the year we announce nominations for various categories of awards. This is one of those times.

If you'd like to learn more about the Wilhelms, visit the Wilhelm Awards Page. There you can find out the explanation behind the name, listen to the actual Wilhelm scream, and learn about previous winners and nominees. But for now, on with the nominations.

Best Song Cover: I like the Bee Gees. Sure, their music tends to the cheesy, but I happen to enjoy cheese. As much as the Bee Gees have an extensive catalogue of songs, there are a few tracks that one will hear frequently, mostly ones that were on the Saturday Night Fever sound track. Of course, with an extensive catalogue there are a lot of weaker songs in the mix. One of these, "Inside and Out", was completely forgettable as a Bee Gees song. But as a cover song, it has been done brilliantly by Feist.
If you aren't familiar with Feist, she's perhaps better known as Leslie Feist, member of such bands as By Divine Right and Broken Social Scene. Her version of "Inside and Out" still feels like a Bee Gees song, but modern and catchy, not a 1970s relic. If you haven't heard it, you should definitely give it a listen. I think you'll agree that it deserves to contend for the Wilhelm for Best Song Cover.

Best Guitar Solo: Let me make one thing clear. I was never much of a fan of Soundgarden or Rage Against the Machine. It follows that I wouldn't be a likely candidate to like Audioslave, the frankenband made up of former members of both. I don't own any albums by any of the above. But the song "Be Yourself" by Audioslave features quite possibly the single catchiest guitar solo recorded since Jimi Hendrix. Heavy on the wah-wah pedal, it starts at the 2:40 mark and goes for about 30 seconds. I would challenge everyone to refrain from breaking into air guitar during the solo, but this is a challenge that few would meet. "Be Yourself" by Audioslave is a strong contender for Best Guitar Solo.

Best Generic Food Product: When you think corn flakes, do you think edible but weak flakes that aren't exactly tasty? Do you picture the inexplicably poultry-branded box from Kellogg's? I used to, but not any more. Not since I happened to buy a box of Our Compliments Corn Flakes. These Sobey's brand corn flakes are better than the Kellogg variety at every turn. The flakes are thicker and heavier, which allows them to have a more recognizable corn taste, which is the whole reason to eat corn flakes in the first place. What's more, they cost a fair amount less than the brand name flakes. As generic food products go, they're just about perfect. Our Compliments Corn Flakes will be hard to beat for the Wilhelm for Best Generic Food Product.