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Does anyone here listen to film scores?

Southern Kross

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[MENTION=18355]anti-villain[/MENTION] I really liked The Last Airbender and King Kong tracks.

Here's a few more great ones if anyone's interested:

 

The Ü™

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I dunno what you guys think, but Alan Silvestri can make the dullest action scenes exciting. Look at the action scenes in Back to the Future, for example, if you take the intensity of the score away, those scenes wouldn't even be considered action scenes. Not slamming one of my favorite movies of all time, of course, just emphasizing how important the score is to that movie.

I've also taken a liking for Steve Jablonsky (I believe a Hans Zimmer protege). His work with Michael Bay is astounding -- listen to The Island and Transformers soundtracks.

Speaking of Zimmer, the only two scores I really liked by him were Sherlock Holmes and Inception. Actually, though, the best Inception track was the trailer music, which wasn't even done by Zimmer.
 

anti-villain

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Ok I figured out how the multi-quote function works now. Very cool.


Yes. Goldsmith, Williams, Poledouris and Herrmann are Gods in this arena.
Modern compositions? Crap. Don't make 'em like they used to.

Yeah... The score used to help tell the story, it was it's own dialogue (leitmotifs, etc...), a subtext. Now, a lot of movie music is just bland, generic background music, which could be cut and pasted behind any number of films with little loss of effect. It just folds as a standalone piece of music. Great film score composers seem to be few and far between these days, IMO. They're out there, we just aren't tripping over them like back in the late 70's and 80's.

[MENTION=18355]anti-villain[/MENTION] I really liked The Last Airbender and King Kong tracks.

Here's a few more great ones if anyone's interested:

I finally had a chance to give all of your clips a proper listen. I liked the Pride and Prejudice pieces, Hunger Games (shocking eh?), and The Two Towers actually surprised me. Maybe it's because I've been watching The Hobbit a lot lately... but I feel like I might need to give the LOTR scores another chance.

I really liked the Philip Glass piece. It has a whimsical, and haunting quality that I love in this kind of music. Thanks for posting it.
 
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Poindexter Arachnid

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Yeah... The score used to help tell the story, it was it's own dialogue (leitmotifs, etc...), a subtext. Now, a lot of movie music is just bland, generic background music, which could be cut and pasted behind any number of films with little loss of effect. It just folds as a standalone piece of music. Great film score composers seem to be few and far between these days, IMO. They're out there, we just aren't tripping over them like back in the late 70's and 80's.

A prime example of this is the upcoming Man of Steel. I listened to snippets from Zimmer's soundtrack.
Nowhere near the level of Williams circa 1978; wasn't expecting it to be, really.

But this was embarrassingly bad. No triumph, no heroism, no soul, no identity. Just minimalist droning.
 

Poindexter Arachnid

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Yeah... The score used to help tell the story, it was it's own dialogue (leitmotifs, etc...), a subtext. Now, a lot of movie music is just bland, generic background music, which could be cut and pasted behind any number of films with little loss of effect. It just folds as a standalone piece of music. Great film score composers seem to be few and far between these days, IMO. They're out there, we just aren't tripping over them like back in the late 70's and 80's.

A prime example of this is the upcoming Man of Steel. I listened to snippets from Zimmer's soundtrack.
Nowhere near the level of Williams circa 1978; wasn't expecting it to be, really.

But this was embarrassingly bad. No triumph, no heroism, no soul, no identity. Just minimalist droning.
 

Totenkindly

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Snippets?

I guess I'll wait for the movie and see. I don't recall any music from the trailers, ironically, but I actually find myself kind of choked up during them and when he takes off and flies, I get chills.

I would hope that this means the movie will be as good as the trailer, but I'm still gun-shy after last year's Prometheus debacle...

And it's Zack Snyder, with help from Nolan and Goyer on story. It could go in either direction.
 

anti-villain

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I dunno what you guys think, but Alan Silvestri can make the dullest action scenes exciting. Look at the action scenes in Back to the Future, for example, if you take the intensity of the score away, those scenes wouldn't even be considered action scenes. Not slamming one of my favorite movies of all time, of course, just emphasizing how important the score is to that movie.

I've also taken a liking for Steve Jablonsky (I believe a Hans Zimmer protege). His work with Michael Bay is astounding -- listen to The Island and Transformers soundtracks.

Speaking of Zimmer, the only two scores I really liked by him were Sherlock Holmes and Inception. Actually, though, the best Inception track was the trailer music, which wasn't even done by Zimmer.

I agree... Predator, Back To The Future, and The Mummy Returns are all awesome action scores by Silvestri. My First Bus Ride from The Mummy Returns is intense, it just doesn't let up.

I own Inception, it was a bit of an impulse buy. I was ordering a few other CDs, the movie was still fresh in my mind, and it was cheap. I've barely listened to it though.


One other composer that no one has mentioned yet is Danny Elfman. I never got into much of his music, but his work with Tim Burton is really popular.
 

Poindexter Arachnid

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Snippets?

I guess I'll wait for the movie and see. I don't recall any music from the trailers, ironically, but I actually find myself kind of choked up during them and when he takes off and flies, I get chills.

I would hope that this means the movie will be as good as the trailer, but I'm still gun-shy after last year's Prometheus debacle...

And it's Zack Snyder, with help from Nolan and Goyer on story. It could go in either direction.

60 seconds for each track, yes. It's on YouTube somewhere (too lazy to look it up).

I don't know--still kind of skeptical on MoS.
The original Superman is one of my all-time favorites.

I will remain optimistic, either way.

Analysts have said that this and Pacific Rim are the movies to beat this summer.

P.S.: Prometheus still sucks.
 

anti-villain

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A prime example of this is the upcoming Man of Steel. I listened to snippets from Zimmer's soundtrack.
Nowhere near the level of Williams circa 1978; wasn't expecting it to be, really.

But this was embarrassingly bad. No triumph, no heroism, no soul, no identity. Just minimalist droning.

I just listened to it, and I feel the same way. Sounds just like most of his other stuff to me. Not only the style, but it has that same processed, sterile sound to it.
 

The Ü™

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I agree... Predator, Back To The Future, and The Mummy Returns are all awesome action scores by Silvestri. My First Bus Ride from The Mummy Returns is intense, it just doesn't let up.

I own Inception, it was a bit of an impulse buy. I was ordering a few other CDs, the movie was still fresh in my mind, and it was cheap. I've barely listened to it though.


One other composer that no one has mentioned yet is Danny Elfman. I never got into much of his music, but his work with Tim Burton is really popular.

I like Elfman, and I think that he and Burton are a far more desirable consistent collaboration than Burton and Johnny Depp, who lost his quirky edge probably after Sleepy Hollow. And I tend to like Elfman better when he uses brass. Lately, he's overused electronic instruments, which are effective sometimes (like in Mars Attacks and Spider-Man), but other times, we get a mess like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

A prime example of this is the upcoming Man of Steel. I listened to snippets from Zimmer's soundtrack.
Nowhere near the level of Williams circa 1978; wasn't expecting it to be, really.

But this was embarrassingly bad. No triumph, no heroism, no soul, no identity. Just minimalist droning.

Sounds like the Nolan Batman soundtrack. But at least Batman Begins didn't piss all over a franchise's past with its reboot the way Man of Steel is going to. At least the Batman series genuinely needed a reboot (though I would've loved to see Joel Schumacher get more creative control over the cancelled fifth Batman movie in the Burton/Schumacher continuity -- this is the guy who directed The Lost Boys and Flatliners -- much of what happened with Batman & Robin was because of the studio), and I suppose after Superman III and IV, that series could've used a reboot, but Superman Returns was a very solid addition to the continuity. Superman was a franchise that fell down and then picked itself up, and now they're rebooting it for absolutely no reason.
 

anti-villain

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What's everyone using to listen to their music? A stereo setup? iPod dock? Headphones? Earbuds?

I got some reference headphones a couple years ago, one of my most prized possessions. They are big, look a bit funny, and aren't anything I would leave the house wearing...but I had not heard music, until I got these. Film scores especially.
 

Southern Kross

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I finally had a chance to give all of your clips a proper listen. I liked the Pride and Prejudice pieces, Hunger Games (shocking eh?), and The Two Towers actually surprised me. Maybe it's because I've been watching The Hobbit a lot lately... but I feel like I might need to give the LOTR scores another chance.

The one that really struck me was the Philip Glass piece. Amazing. It's has a whimsical, yet haunting quality that I love in this kind of music. Thanks for posting it.
Glad you liked them. "Morning Passages" is a rather lovely piece - and it reflects the tone of the film well.

You should give LOTR another go - it's worth it. Maybe you will still dislike some aspects but I doubt it will be a total write-off. I can suggest some good tracks if you want. :)
 

anti-villain

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You should give LOTR another go - it's worth it. Maybe you will still dislike some aspects but I doubt it will be a total write-off. I can suggest some good tracks if you want. :)

Sure! If you don't mind. I'll give them a listen.

Sorry I'm taking so long posting those additional clips. I've picked a bunch, and am trying to narrow them down to just a few selections. Choosing just a few is turning out to be a bit difficult though. :biggrin:
 
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Antiquated concept in my mind, jamming a glut of "professionals" onto one page to recite rushed music that will require visual support. I prefer synth-based soundtracks because I feel like there's more to explore, artists who immerse themselves, creating instruments, assuming total control from start to finish while discretely shifting fashion to the backseat. These tend to be thrillers.
 

Southern Kross

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Here is just a random sampling of some of my favourites.
Those were great. The 3:10 to Yuma one in particular!

Antiquated concept in my mind, jamming a glut of "professionals" onto one page to recite rushed music that will require visual support. I prefer synth-based soundtracks because I feel like there's more to explore, artists who immerse themselves, creating instruments, assuming total control from start to finish while discretely shifting fashion to the backseat. These tend to be thrillers.
I was thinking we hadn't paid enough attention to soundtracks with synth elements. Films like Heat, TRON:Legacy, and The Dark Knight.

anti-villain said:
Sure! If you don't mind. I'll give them a listen.
OK well, here's just a few of the good ones (it's so hard to choose!). I'll try to give bit of range:

 

anti-villain

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Those were great. The 3:10 to Yuma one in particular!


I was thinking we hadn't paid enough attention to soundtracks with synth elements. Films like Heat, TRON:Legacy, and The Dark Knight.


OK well, here's just a few of the good ones (it's so hard to choose!). I'll try to give bit of range:


I liked them actually. I think it's because I haven't seen the movies in ages, so even though I still remember the scenes where these pieces played, I can dissociate the score from the movie a bit easier. Do you typically enjoy fantasy scores?

Hopefully I don't end up liking the LOTR scores TOO much. I'm a sucker for expanded editions, and those things are expensive! Gah. Thanks a lot! :wink:
 

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Antiquated concept in my mind, jamming a glut of "professionals" onto one page to recite rushed music that will require visual support. I prefer synth-based soundtracks because I feel like there's more to explore, artists who immerse themselves, creating instruments, assuming total control from start to finish while discretely shifting fashion to the backseat. These tend to be thrillers.

I'm not sure what you mean by [jamming a glut of "professionals" onto one page], and I don't see how the writing process of synthesized music would be any less "rushed". All music is written under a time constraint. And as far as requiring visual support, yes, the composer is writing the music for the movie, and if they do it well, the music, as was said earlier in this thread, triumphs as a standalone piece as well.

To me, synth-based music sounds cold, sterile and lifeless, with little depth, or nuance to it. I hear it as 1's and 0's. Whereas an orchestra has an organic, lush, and warm timbre. There's a natural, earthy resonance that only woodwinds, strings, brass, and percussion possess, which can't be emulated or replaced. Some of my favourite scores employ the use of synthesizers, but they are always balanced with the use of an orchestra as well. I can appreciate Tron Legacy, but it drains me quickly, and I wasn't able to connect with The Social Network (no pun intended). There's no accounting for taste I guess! ;)
 

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It depends. I watched Lars and the Real Girl last night on Netflix and I was struck for some reason by the instrumental piece at the end. A lot of film scores are annoying or forgettable, though, which is probably why I pointedly realized that I was enjoying some music thrown in at the credits.

I love soundtracks, though. Some soundtracks are instrumental as well, you know, like David Lynch had Angelo Badalamenti do a lot of instrumentals for his film and tv.

Laura's Theme is my ring tone on my cell phone right now.

The Great Gatsby (2013) actually has a fantastic soundtrack, but Jay Zs music dominated too much of the actual film, overshadowing far superior pieces by far superior artists that you can listen to separately, in full, on the soundtrack (or on-line).
 
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