SF Chapter 199: Songs II
The next day, Dani was sitting on the couch in his brother's living room, eating popcorn.
"Hey, it's starting in a moment," Charlie remarked, turning up the volume on the TV.
Besides the two of them, Prudence, Berta, Lisa, Jake, and Alan were also sitting there, waiting to watch.
Before it started, Alan asked, "So this is one of the songs you guys worked on together?"
"Yeah, it was before I had to shoot that horror movie of Dani's," Charlie confirmed.
"It's only coming out now because of how long the crew needed to make the video," Dani pointed out. "Charlie and I had already finished the lyrics and the music. We worked really hard!"
Lisa didn't comment. Since Charlie had his own agent, and a couple working together could cause trouble, they decided that each of them would continue working separately.
Besides, now that she had joined Daniel's team, she had a lot more work to do.
Then an animated video featuring cartoon waffles began playing. A moment later, a little kid appeared, dancing along with the music.
♫♪ Baby Shark, doo-doo, doo-doo, doo-doo
Baby Shark, doo-doo, doo-doo, doo-doo
Baby Shark, doo-doo, doo-doo, doo-doo
Baby Shark ♫♪
♫♪ Mommy Shark, doo-doo, doo-doo, doo-doo
Mommy Shark, doo-doo, doo-doo, doo-doo
Mommy Shark, doo-doo, doo-doo, doo-doo
Mommy Shark ♫♪
The video and audio followed the same simple meter.
"They did a great job with the video," Dani laughed.
"And with Baby Monkey and Baby Car, we did it the same way..." Charlie continued. "...plus the songs I did alone, the Charlie Waffles CD is already ready to be released!"
"Only classics," Dani nodded. "'Kiss My Owie,' 'Rush to Flush,' and of course, 'Don't Shake the Baby.'"
"Charlie Waffles?" Lisa stared at her fiancé, deciding to figure out the other part later - the questionable song titles.
"My idea," Charlie smirked. "Kids love waffles."
"That's true," Jake agreed. "But this song sucks," he gave his true opinion.
"Jake!" Alan admonished him.
But Charlie agreed with his nephew. "Of course they suck. They're kids' songs."
"That's all the work you two did?" Lisa was still astonished.
"I worked on the melody," Charlie defended himself. "Dani wrote it."
"It looks like that homework you remember you have to do one minute before you have to turn it in..." Prudence pointed out.
Dani made a face. "Et tu, Prudence?"
Prudence just gave him a kiss on the cheek, while Lisa continued looking at the two brothers.
Charlie stared at her too, then turned to his youngest brother, raising an eyebrow.
Dani shrugged. "Lisa would be the problem. Prudence wouldn't have any problem with it," he said almost cryptically.
"We did another song, Lisa," Charlie finally confessed. "There's just a slight problem..."
"Which is?" The blonde crossed her arms, already expecting something to be wrong.
"I think it's better if you hear it." Charlie gestured with his hand.
He got up and headed toward the piano, with everyone following him.
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Charlie started playing the piano, and a slow melody began.
"Are you sure it's okay for Jake to hear it?" Alan asked, making a face.
"Don't worry, bro, the lyrics are age-appropriate." Dani said, and started to sing.
♫♪I'ma care for you
I'ma care for you, you, you, you ♫♪
Then, the piano melody became more sensual.
♫♪You make it look like it's magic (oh, yeah)
'Cause I see nobody, nobody but you, you, you
I'm never confused, hey, hey
And I'm so used to being used ♫♪
Dani sang, raising his voice to a higher pitch,
♫♪ So I love when you call unexpected
'Cause I hate when the moment's expected
So I'ma care for you, you, you
I'ma care for you, you, you, you, yeah ♫♪
♫♪'Cause, girl, you're perfect
You're always worth it
And you deserve it
The way you work it
'Cause, girl, you earned it, yeah
Girl, you earned it, yeah ♫♪
♫♪You know our love would be tragic (oh, yeah)
So you don't pay it, don't pay it no mind, mind, mind
We live with no lies, hey, hey
You're my favorite kind of night ♫♪
♫♪... ♫♪
The adults were glaring at the duo.
Clueless as to why everyone else - besides Prudence - was glaring at his two uncles, Jake remarked, "Wow, I think this one is cool. I like it."
"If you like it now, kid, wait a few more years. You're gonna love it even more," Charlie smirked.
"Charlie!" Alan snapped at his brother.
"Come on, bro," Dani chimed in. "He doesn't need to do the deed. Just watching the show is more than worth it!"
Now Alan snapped at his other brother. "Daniel!"
"They're geniuses," Berta remarked, amused. "They made songs for making kids happy, and another one for making kids."
Jake thought about it for a moment before blurting out, "Oh, you're talking about sex, right?"
Everyone got silent until Alan gestured toward the hallway. "Jake, go to your room!"
"Fine!"
He walked off, grumbling under his breath.
"You two made a song for a strip club?" Alan asked in disbelief.
"Don't be ridiculous, Alan. What a narrow-minded view!" Dani replied, offended.
"It's not just for strip clubs! It's also for cabarets, burlesque shows, penthouse parties, yacht parties... any place where a girl wants to take her clothes off!"
Lisa shot him a glare, but she conceded. "Despite the reasons behind it, I think the song is very good."
Dani suddenly exclaimed, "Oh, oh, oh!"
"I just got a brilliant idea!" he remarked.
Dani explained excitedly, "I remembered that Natalie Portman is going to play a stripper in her next movie - Closer. From what she said during our interview."
"I could talk to her, then talk to the movie's producers to see if they're interested in our song!"
"That..." Lisa muttered. "That's actually a great idea!"
Berta was already walking away. "What I've learned is that God looks out for the horny and the lazy, and these two are both. With perfect scores!"
"I wouldn't be surprised if those two won an Oscar for this," she said wryly.
Little did she know she had predicted the future.
"Okay, my work is done here," Dani said. He said goodbye to everyone, and he and Prudence headed back to his house.
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Later that night, Charlie was lying in bed, reading a book, when Lisa called out to him.
"Charlie!"
"What?" He looked toward the bathroom, and his fiancée appeared in the doorway.
Lisa was wearing very sexy lingerie. "I got inspired by that song you and your brother made," she said seductively.
"Ohh," Charlie smirked.
He was smart enough not to joke about whether she meant the kids' songs or the sexy one.
Charlie soon came to appreciate just how inspired Earned It had made Lisa feel.
[Charlie and Dani commentary]
The two brothers were sitting on the porch, grinning like idiots.
"I have to say, that song was more than worth making," Charlie remarked, clinking his beer bottle against the one Dani was holding.
"Yeah." Dani wore the same smirk as his brother. "We made a masterpiece!"
"All thanks to our days in Vegas!"
He had also experienced firsthand just how inspiring the song could be.
But even Charlie would have felt a mix of brotherly pride, genuine admiration, and deep envy if he knew his younger brother had managed to inspire three girls... at the same time.
[Commentary end]
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Author's Note: "Earned It" by The Weeknd was nominated for Best Original Song at the 2016 Oscars for Fifty Shades of Grey. And unlike Fifty Shades - which is basically soft porn - Closer received critical recognition, including Natalie Portman's nomination for Best Supporting Actress (she lost).
So it's kind of expected that they would win the Oscar
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