[Closed] Now Playing XLIX

I am (pretty) sure you will like it more than me then! I still need more listens before I can tell for sure but right now it is in the good but not great category. I prefer the first one by a significant distance. I don't love the first though, but I do think it is one of his best scores this century, I love Alice's Theme though. Still, nice to hear Alice's Theme used so often throughout the score.

Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit - Naoki Sato

Not a major Sato score, but still a nice one even if it drags in the middle with not much of interest happening and is a bit generic. Clearly a RCP-type score but channeled through his own voice and sensibilities. Even if this isn't one of his best, it is still better and feels fresher than most RCP scores and it's also one of the better scores I have heard so far this year - it makes my top 20.

I think so too. It's been a while since I played this. Should revisit.

^That score has become obscenely expensive. Here's hope for a re-release by one of the speciality labels.

NP: Babel (2007) - Gustavo Santaolalla

The 17 minutes FYC album.
This is nice, meditative music that carries well over this short duration.

I don't see though how this could win the Academy Award over "Pan's Labyrinth".

Volker

NP: Pan's Labyrinth (2006) - Javier Navarrete

Melodious, lyrical, melancholic. Wonderful.

NP: COSMOS: A SPACETIME ODYSSEY (Alan Silvestri)

It's about a gazilion minutes too long, but there's a smokin' good 70-minute album waiting somewhere inbetween this 3CD set.

It's a good show, but I can't really stand Neil Degrasse-Tyson's persona. If you've seen some of his other shows (like that talk show thing...STAR TALK?), he seems incredibly self-absorbed.

Crikey. We agree. One of the most overrated public scientists. People admire him as though he's this wise sage, but he's not. When on panels with other scientists (most of which are far above his level), he resorts to, in many cases, simply raising his voice and flailing his arms about to get attention. He also enjoys being a pedant, which just comes off as dickish. As a dick myself, I can see through his 'smart scientist man' facade. I can't stand him. He's an oaf.

He ain't no Sagan, that's for sure.

I like Degrasse-Tyson hosting the show. It's the only thing I know by him. He emulates that Carl-Sagan-Sense-of-Wonder feel perfectly. I love that. I hate those "The cosmos is dangerous and we are all gonna die" type of astronomy show. The show was produced by Brannon Braga and it does have a bit of a Star Trek feel about it. So it works for me.
Also I am not competed to decide who is the better astronomer. When it comes to sympathy - I can't stand Steven Hawking. Which isn't of any significance.

Still, the cosmos is dangerous and we are all going to die. Deal with it.

Yup. Well, things seem to have shifted again. Back in the 00s or late 90s there were shows of that kind. I remember one of these was hosted by Sam Neill. Another one was a German production.

Total snoozefest, the score.

Danny Elfman - Alice through the looking glass

Nice! Clean and tidy recording and crisp mixing. The theme from the first, which is lovely and infectiously melodic anyway, gets more work and renditions. The choral work is amazing too. Much much better than the borefest that was goosebumbs (was it supposed to give the listener the exact opposite of the title anyway? How come Tim Burton isn't directing btw? And who's this guy doing the directing on this one? thanks

Some asshole.

Also, it's another competent, quirky Elfman score - but I can all but guarantee I won't listen to it again (I didn't even get that far into the album truth be told). There's nothing new on offer. He's done this sort of thing countless times. The theme's great, but the rest is... I hate to say it... auto-pilot.

I loved his Avengers score because he was forced to write something more conventional. Usually this is the worst thing for a composer, but Elfman writes incredible conventional music.