"Any Day Now" Soundtrack Lyrics

"Any Day Now" Soundtrack Description

What this album feels like

• Immediate mood: late-’70s soul and disco lights reflected in a courtroom window. The music moves between club warmth, jukebox comfort, and small score cues that sit with the ache instead of polishing it away.
• Two-part release: a songs soundtrack with period cuts, a new original by Rufus Wainwright, and performances by Alan Cumming; plus a separate original score album by Joey Newman—short, careful cues, made to breathe with the edit.
• Why it sticks: this soundtrack lets the characters sing their interior lives. The needle-drops build the world; the score keeps the pulse honest.

Background & Context

• The film: Travis Fine’s 2012 drama sets a gay couple and a teenager with Down syndrome against a legal system not built for them. Tribeca gave it audience love; the film kept collecting festival awards and stories afterwards.
• The releases: Lakeshore Records issued the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (songs + a taste of the score) and the Original Motion Picture Score as digital albums in December 2012.
• Music brain trust: songs supervised to sit squarely in late-’70s club/soul territory; original score composed by Joey Newman, whose writing leans small—piano, strings, restrained electronics—so dialogue can keep breathing.

Musical Styles & Themes

• Songbook DNA: disco, soul, a touch of soft rock, and a few intimate torch turns. Think floor-filling classics beside bar-quiet covers. The set flips from the radio to Rudy’s stage mic without breaking the spell.
• Score palette: short cues; muted colors. Piano figures, light strings, and modest pulses that feel like city hum at night—never melodrama, always witness.
• Theme logic: the period tracks announce place; Cumming’s performances carry voice; Newman’s cues hold time as it passes—court dates, car rides, long waiting-room silences.

Track Highlights (no full tracklist, just moments)

• “Come to Me” — France Joli — that glitter-ball glide says we still have joy even when the plot tightens. It’s the glow the movie refuses to surrender.
• “Don’t Leave Me This Way” — Thelma Houston — weaponized longing. When this shows up, you can feel the film borrowing dance-floor courage for the hard parts.
• “Miracles” — Jefferson Starship (Marty Balin) — soft-focus tenderness that underlines chosen family. Not ironic, just open-hearted.
• “One Monkey Don’t Stop the Show” — Honey Cone — a sly wink to the couple’s grit; the lyric doubles as a thesis.
• “It Would Be a Shame” — Betty Padgett — deep-cut soul that fits the film’s crate-digger taste; there’s heat and lived-in wisdom in the pocket.
• “I Shall Be Released” — Alan Cumming — the scene is a quiet gut-punch; on album, his delivery is raw silk over a bruise.
• “Love Don’t Live Here Anymore” — Alan Cumming — nightclub torch song, not a hand-me-down. He treats it like a diary entry, not karaoke.
• “Metaphorical Blanket” — Rufus Wainwright — new original, written for the film. Gentle, literate, and exactly the kind of warmth the title promises. Strings arranged to wrap, not to weep.
• Score glimpses: “Losing Marco” + companions — Newman’s cues come in like careful breathing between sentences. No smudge of sentiment—just space for feeling to land.

Plot & Characters (for context)

• Rudy Donatello (Alan Cumming): club singer, improv parent, stubborn romantic. The soundtrack lets him shift from stage bravado to prayerful quiet.
• Paul Fliger (Garret Dillahunt): ADA with a careful life, learning to choose courage over camouflage. His scenes often lean on score more than songs—stillness that says plenty.
• Marco (Isaac Leyva): the center of gravity. When the room finally listens to him, the music gets out of the way on purpose.
• Miss Hannigan? No—Miss Hannigan’s opposite energy: judges, case workers, and a world that prefers tidy boxes. Songs become tiny protests in those spaces.

Production & Behind the Scenes

• Composer brief: keep it simple, keep it human. Joey Newman’s approach avoids orchestral speeches; he writes close to the mic, building cues that can sit under conversation and still carry weight.
• Music supervision: period cuts were chosen to feel like rooms more than references—dance floor (“Come to Me”), community radio, bar ballads, and jukebox B-sides that sound like the era without turning the film into a playlist brag.
• How the albums split the load: the soundtrack album foregrounds songs (plus two score cues); the score release gathers Newman’s instrumentals in one place for a quieter, 19-minute arc.
• Craft circle: editor Tom Cross and cinematographer Rachel Morrison give the music room to breathe—held shots and patient cuts; needle-drops land on gestures, not just scene changes.
• Label & rollout: Lakeshore Records handled both releases—digital-first in December 2012, with later physical availability in some territories.

Quotes

“Travis wanted the music to be simple, intimate, and honest.” — a score note from the release campaign

“Three songs by Cumming aren’t stunts; they’re story.” — a soundtrack blurb, said with conviction

“Period cuts, present-tense pain.” — a fan line that stuck with me

Critic & Fan Reactions

• Critical pulse (music-specific): reviewers nodded at how the soundtrack grounds the film in its 1979 world without leaning on the obvious hits. The score got praise for discretion—felt more than noticed.
• Awards orbit (film): audience awards at Tribeca and elsewhere kept the conversation going; word-of-mouth carried the music, too.
• Fan takeaway: if you found this movie on streaming years later, there’s a good chance a Rufus Wainwright lyric or Cumming’s “Released” is how it stayed with you.

Technical Info

• Name: Any Day Now (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) — songs; Any Day Now (Original Motion Picture Score) — score
• Type: movie
• Year: 2012
• Label: Lakeshore Records
• Release date (digital): December 11, 2012 (soundtrack and score)
• Key contributors: Joey Newman (composer); PJ Bloom (music supervisor); performances by Alan Cumming; new original by Rufus Wainwright
• Notable songs in set: “Come to Me,” “Don’t Leave Me This Way,” “Miracles,” “One Monkey Don’t Stop the Show,” “I Shall Be Released,” “Love Don’t Live Here Anymore,” “Metaphorical Blanket”
• Score runtime: ~19 minutes (digital release)
• Genre tags: Soul/Disco/Soft Rock (songs); Minimalist/Drama (score)

FAQ

Is this a “various artists” album or a score?

Both exist. The songs soundtrack curates period tracks and performances (plus two score cues); the separate score album collects Joey Newman’s instrumentals.

What’s the new original song?

“Metaphorical Blanket,” written and performed by Rufus Wainwright for the film—arranged to hold, not to grandstand.

Does Alan Cumming actually sing on the album?

Yes. He performs multiple tracks, including “I Shall Be Released” and a club-torch take that’s pure character.

Who supervised the music?

PJ Bloom. The choices tilt toward crate-dug soul/disco and intimate covers—less karaoke, more character.

When did the albums come out?

Digital releases hit in December 2012 via Lakeshore Records; the score and the songs albums arrived together.

How the music plays against picture

1. Club to kitchen table: disco warmth collapses into small guitars and hush, mirroring Rudy’s double life—performer, caregiver.
2. Roads and waiting rooms: score takes over—piano and quiet strings tracking time and hope without pushing sentiment.
3. Courtrooms: silence matters; songs only return when the frame widens back to lives being lived.
4. Final gestures: performance becomes elegy; a lyric you’ve heard before suddenly means something new.

Cast Pointers

Main ensemble

• Alan Cumming — Rudy Donatello
• Garret Dillahunt — Paul Fliger
• Isaac Leyva — Marco
• Frances Fisher — Judge Meyerson
• Gregg Henry — Lambert
• Jamie Anne Allman — Marianna DeLeon

Additional Info

• Editor’s rhythm: Tom Cross cuts in a way that lets songs land as scenes, not just background. You feel the downbeat hit the doorframe.
• Cinematography note: Rachel Morrison’s light finds texture in small rooms—exactly the kind of spaces where soul records always sounded best.
• Tiny discography quirk: the songs album includes two score pieces; the dedicated score release is short by design, like a suite stitched from the film’s quietest rooms.
• A listening tip: play Cumming’s “I Shall Be Released” right after Wainwright’s “Metaphorical Blanket.” It reads like a conversation across the same night.

September, 24th 2025