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  1. What fun idea! It will sure take you awhile! smile Enjoy!
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      CommentAuthorCaliburn
    • CommentTimeAug 14th 2019
    NP: The Monkey King - Christopher Young

    It finally fell on my doormat. It is such a gem.
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      CommentAuthorThor
    • CommentTimeAug 14th 2019
    Filmscoregirl wrote
    What fun idea! It will sure take you awhile! smile Enjoy!


    I do this periodically with my favourite composers -- Williams, Elfman, Goldenthal, Horner, Zimmer, in particular. It's great to follow the evolution of a composer this way.
    I am extremely serious.
  2. Thor wrote
    I do this periodically with my favourite composers -- Williams, Elfman, Goldenthal, Horner, Zimmer, in particular. It's great to follow the evolution of a composer this way.


    Neat! I don't know why I've never thought to listen in this way. Do you find you appreciate each score less though? Since some can sound quite similar when back to back, especially if a composer is asked to replicate a sound or is stuck in a creativity rut. Like Goldsmith's The 13th Warrior and The Mummy both from the same year - love them both dearly, but back to back they sound virtually the same. But I'll have to give it a try sometime! smile
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      CommentAuthorThor
    • CommentTimeAug 16th 2019
    Do you find you appreciate each score less though?


    Not really. It's easy to identify which "period" the composer is in at any given time, but that's part of the charm. Like going through Zimmer's power anthem period; I can't get enough of that.
    I am extremely serious.
  3. It's easy to identify which "period" the composer is in at any given time, but that's part of the charm.


    Cool! Yeah, that makes total sense! smile
  4. NP: The Dark Crystal - Age of Resistance - Daniel Pemberton & Samuel Sim

    There are two volumes available for streaming, and so far I really like it. It's its own thing for sure, but it got its heart in the right place. More importantly, Trevor Jones' original theme has been woven into this and shines through on certain rare, but very welcome moments.
    • CommentAuthorJules
    • CommentTimeAug 31st 2019
    Ralph Kruhm wrote
    NP: The Dark Crystal - Age of Resistance - Daniel Pemberton & Samuel Sim

    There are two volumes available for streaming, and so far I really like it. It's its own thing for sure, but it got its heart in the right place. More importantly, Trevor Jones' original theme has been woven into this and shines through on certain rare, but very welcome moments.


    Really enjoying it, feel like I haven't heard a fantasy score in a while, so although this is a little basic at points it feels fresh because I'm so sick of superhero scores haha
  5. NP: Valhalla (1986) - Ron Goodwin

    I got mail from Denmark. smile This is the lush, melodic romp that I remembered it to be and I am glad to finally add this score to my collection.
    This also marks kind of an end of my collecting film music, in so far, as this was my last remaining Holy Grail. There is in indeed no existing film music left that I would seek to add to my shelf.
    Of course there will probably always be new film music that impresses me enough to get it in physical form but streaming music has raised that bar.

    On a different note: Superman as released by La-La-Land also arrived. I was reluctant to acquire this set, since it is the 4th incarnation of the original recording to enter my collection. (Not to mention the McNeely recording.)
    What can I say? Superman never sounded better! (I believe there was some discussion elsewhere regarding the dynamic range of this new mix. I can't comment to this, since I did not make a back-to-back comparison to the FSM mix. Also I am normally not that concerned by such issues.)

    Volker
    Bach's music is vibrant and inspired.
    • CommentAuthorJoep
    • CommentTimeAug 31st 2019
    Piotr MusiaƂ - Frostpunk

    I adore the strings section on this score a lot.
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      CommentAuthorRalph Kruhm
    • CommentTimeSep 8th 2019 edited
    I've put a somewhat strange spotify playlist together based on what my family has been watching in recent weeks/months or is planning to watch pretty soon.

    This is the buildup:

    The Boys (Christopher Lennertz)
    The Dark Crystal - Age of Resistance (Daniel Pemberton & Samuel Sim)
    Black Mirror - Nosedive (Max Richter)
    Black Mirror - Be Right Back (Vince Pope)
    Black Mirror - White Bear (Jon Opstad)
    Black Mirror - White Christmas (Jon Opstad)
    Black Mirror - Hated in the Nation (Martin Phipps)
    Black Mirror - San Junipero (Clint Mansell)
    Black Mirror - Men Against Fire (Ben Salisbury & Geoff Barrow)
    Jane The Virgin - Theme (?)
    The Newsroom - Theme (Thomas Newman)
    Chernobyl (Hildur Guonadottir)
    Good Omens (David Arnold)
    Versailles - Theme (M83)
    Avengers - Endgame (Alan Silvestri)
    The Hunger Games - Parts 1-4 (James Newton Howard)
    Downton Abbey (John Lunn)
    The Expanse - Seasons 1-3 (Clinton Shorter)
    The Night Manager (Victor Rayes)

    If you're interested: Watchlist

    I'm planning to update it every fewe weeks or so based on new stuff being watched.
    I'm already waiting for Carnival Row (Nathan Barr), which will be added on release.
  6. A couple new game scores - I finished a first listen of Derivier's GREEDFALL and am nearly done with Wintory's ERICA. They were both let-downs for me. GREEDFALL had a couple cues I thought were pretty good, but most of it went by without much notice on my part. ERICA's first cue is outstanding, but the rest of it has been creepy and unsettling and while I'm sure it's great in the game, it's not at all the kind of thing I enjoy listening to on its own.
  7. I just finished listening to AVATAR. It's been quite a while since I gave the whole album a listen. It was nice to go back to. Hard to believe it's been almost 10 years since this film and score were released. "Jake's First Flight" has my favorite musical moment from the score -- the cascading brass that starts at 2:13 and culminates in that big orchestral thematic statement is just fantastic.
  8. christopher wrote
    I just finished listening to AVATAR. [...] It was nice to go back to.

    I also intend to fully revisit everything shortly before the sequels come out. I'll wait til then to maximise the effect. Personally, I loved the movie and can't wait to get back into that world.
  9. Ralph Kruhm wrote
    christopher wrote
    I just finished listening to AVATAR. [...] It was nice to go back to.

    I also intend to fully revisit everything shortly before the sequels come out. I'll wait til then to maximise the effect. Personally, I loved the movie and can't wait to get back into that world.


    That could be a good experience. Unless the sequel score is nothing like the original. Then it might make me like the new film less...

    Did you listen to what Chance Thomas composed to try to get hired on Avatar 2?

    NP: COPERNICUS' STAR (Korzeniowski)
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      CommentAuthorSteven
    • CommentTimeSep 13th 2019
    Farewell To The King Basil Poledouris

    When scores (or anything for that matter) get described as soulless, this is the sort of thing that exists on the other end of the spectrum. It's the antidote to the endless trash that gets written: the ostinatos, the pulsating blips, the droning. The functional film scores that are more the result of executives trying to appeal to a target audience. Think Henry Jackman's Winter Soldier score. It's truly one of the worst scores ever written.

    ... I'm ranting (to the three people left on the forum).
    I should just enjoy it.

    Basil Poledouris wrote great film music. I've been on a Poledouris high for a few days now, and it reminds me why I love film music.
  10. I need to get that score. I've heard so many people rave about it. I've heard some of the tracks and liked them a lot. I recently decided I need to check out more of Poledouris's work. I've still never heard Starship Troopers or Robocop or Flesh+Blood, or Cherry 2000, or Amerika, or...
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      CommentAuthorAtham
    • CommentTimeSep 14th 2019
    Steven wrote
    Farewell To The King Basil Poledouris


    ... I'm ranting (to the three people left on the forum).
    I should just enjoy it.


    ....Um, four people left on the forum. wink

    I just happened to listen to Farewell to the King yesterday. Fantastic music!
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      CommentAuthorThor
    • CommentTimeSep 14th 2019 edited
    Yes, it absolutely is. But I also appreciate a score like WINTER SOLDIER, especially in context. Not sure why one needs to put down one score to say how great another is, when they have nothing to do with each other.

    "I love pizza, but I hate sardines. I don't understand why people eat sardines. But yeah, pizza....great stuff!"
    I am extremely serious.
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      CommentAuthorSteven
    • CommentTimeSep 14th 2019 edited
    Thor wrote
    Yes, it absolutely is. But I also appreciate a score like WINTER SOLDIER, especially in context. Not sure why one needs to put down one score to say how great another is, when they have nothing to do with each other.

    "I love pizza, but I hate sardines. I don't understand why people eat sardines. But yeah, pizza....great stuff!"


    What's wrong with that? If I love pizza but it had sardines on it, that's a perfectly reasonable thing to say. dizzy It's not a fallacy to compare something that sucks to something that doesn't as long as there's a point. I mention Winter Soldier because of its heartless, soulless approach to film scoring, which is the exact opposite to Farewell To The King or indeed most things Poledouris wrote.

    It's called contrasting and comparing ya' nincompoop.

    And yes, Winter Soldier is a shit score. You're welcome to like crap like that, all power to you. But it's still a shit score.
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      CommentAuthorThor
    • CommentTimeSep 14th 2019 edited
    Nah. You could just have said how great FAREWELL TO THE KING is (and I would agree), and kept it at that. Dragging WINTER SOLDIER into it, just seems like fairly obvious, random bait.
    I am extremely serious.
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      CommentAuthorAidabaida
    • CommentTimeSep 15th 2019 edited
    the more time I spend away from the film score world, the more I realize just how ridiculously insulated and musically conservative these boards are. I used to try to stop enjoying music I liked in order to fall in line with those I thought wiser than I, so that I could somehow find pride in the fantasy of having "good taste". But I find it hard to care about that nonsense now; catch me absolutely jamming it to Henry Jackman; and whether it's "heartless and soulless" i'm not pretending that distorted kazoo doesn't slap, baby.
    Bach's music is heartless and robotic.
  11. Thor wrote
    "I love pizza, but I hate sardines. I don't understand why people eat sardines. But yeah, pizza....great stuff!"


    It's more like, you love pizza but hate sardines. Occasionally you used to come across a pizza with sardines on it, but that's okay, you don't have to eat that one, there's plenty of delicious pizzas still being made. But gradually, over time, more and more pizza joints are starting to put sardines on every single pizza they make. You're starting to have to go further out of your way to find pizzas without sardines. And some of your favorite places are really struggling or have closed down entirely for failing to succumb to the sardine craze.
  12. There are no rules in music. Listen to what you like and tell us about it! smile

    Yesterday evening on German TV:

    Across the Stars
    Anne Sophie Mutter and The Royal Philharmonics conducted by David Newman on Königsplatz, Munich: A feast! My personal highlight was "The Witches of Eastwick". What I didn't like was, that they cut most of the applause, so that one cue followed the other hard and relentlessly. That I found a bit tiring. The performances of soloist and orchestra were stellar. Conservative Herbert von Karajan must rotate in his grave to hear his former protegé perform Hollywood film music.

    The Last Night of the Proms
    I used to be a big fan of this event. Yesterday night I found it almost boring and uninspired. I don't know why. There was nothing wrong with the performances. Maybe "Rule Britannia" has lost its innocence in times of Brexit.

    Volker
    Bach's music is vibrant and inspired.
    • CommentAuthorJules
    • CommentTimeSep 15th 2019
    Steven wrote
    Thor wrote
    Yes, it absolutely is. But I also appreciate a score like WINTER SOLDIER, especially in context. Not sure why one needs to put down one score to say how great another is, when they have nothing to do with each other.

    "I love pizza, but I hate sardines. I don't understand why people eat sardines. But yeah, pizza....great stuff!"


    What's wrong with that? If I love pizza but it had sardines on it, that's a perfectly reasonable thing to say. dizzy It's not a fallacy to compare something that sucks to something that doesn't as long as there's a point. I mention Winter Soldier because of its heartless, soulless approach to film scoring, which is the exact opposite to Farewell To The King or indeed most things Poledouris wrote.

    It's called contrasting and comparing ya' nincompoop.

    And yes, Winter Soldier is a shit score. You're welcome to like crap like that, all power to you. But it's still a shit score.


    Could someone explain why Winter Soldier is the go-to score when talking about the soulessness of modern film music. I actually quite like it *braces for personal attack* and think it works well within the film, while not being a fantastic listen on the album only because it's not that sonically appealing or varied. But do you hate it because it avoids the traditional orchestral sound and swings very much in the synthetic instrument direction, or is it something else? Always each to their own of course, no problem with people not liking it.
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      CommentAuthorErik Woods
    • CommentTimeSep 15th 2019
    Jules wrote


    Could someone explain why Winter Soldier is the go-to score when talking about the soulessness of modern film music. I actually quite like it *braces for personal attack* and think it works well within the film, while not being a fantastic listen on the album only because it's not that sonically appealing or varied. But do you hate it because it avoids the traditional orchestral sound and swings very much in the synthetic instrument direction, or is it something else? Always each to their own of course, no problem with people not liking it.


    I hate it because it's lowest common denominator scoring. Boring ostinatos, RC anthemic theme, uninteresting pre-programmed electronics, that stupid Winter Soldier voice/screech thing that's trying so hard to replicate The Dark Knight Joker motif. This is the sort of stuff that any composer with a keyboard and a computer can pound out in minutes. That's the issue I have with it. It's soulless, uninteresting music that barely functions in the film.

    -Erik-
    host and executive producer of THE CINEMATIC SOUND RADIO PODCAST | www.cinematicsound.net | www.facebook.com/cinematicsound | I HAVE TINNITUS!
  13. Winter Soldier is very badly released on album (there is a highly recurring theme Jackman wrote and the only moment that gives it full justice on album is... its cameo in Beck's Ant-Man), that's its main problem.

    I think it's a very effective score and the contrast that his theme for Cap (this time quite tragic) with the merry heroic Americana Silvestri wrote for the first film and wouldn't be appropriate here at all, is playing with the theme of disillusion that the character goes through in the film.

    Also, one has to take into consideration that the film was essentially modelled on the 1970s conspiracy thrillers. While much more creative in terms of the way they were used and written (especially in its historical context), one has to bear in mind that the scores to the conspiracy thrillers of the 1970s, like Parallax View, like The Marathon Man, the unused China Syndrome, essentially the David Shire and Michael Small (even if they could have BRILLIANT themes) weren't among the most easy-listening, warmest music ever written. In fact, they were quite modernist in approach and highly dissonant.

    Even something as brilliant as Williams' Black Sunday (which was a revelation for me when it was released and it's among personal favorites) doesn't have highly complex thematic material, so there's that.
    http://www.filmmusic.pl - Polish Film Music Review Website
  14. Erik Woods wrote
    Jules wrote


    Could someone explain why Winter Soldier is the go-to score when talking about the soulessness of modern film music. I actually quite like it *braces for personal attack* and think it works well within the film, while not being a fantastic listen on the album only because it's not that sonically appealing or varied. But do you hate it because it avoids the traditional orchestral sound and swings very much in the synthetic instrument direction, or is it something else? Always each to their own of course, no problem with people not liking it.


    I hate it because it's lowest common denominator scoring. Boring ostinatos, RC anthemic theme, uninteresting pre-programmed electronics, that stupid Winter Soldier voice/screech thing that's trying so hard to replicate The Dark Knight Joker motif. This is the sort of stuff that any composer with a keyboard and a computer can pound out in minutes. That's the issue I have with it. It's soulless, uninteresting music that barely functions in the film.

    -Erik-


    I am not sure that Jackman used any pre-programmed stuff. I mean, it's fairly typical, but that Winter Soldier stuff was what got him the gig in the first place. I can imagine that he spent a good while working out the electronics in the score.

    This gets to certain sources of RCP music and that not everything is essentially taken from Hans (there are former Hans Zimmer alumni at play, too), but that's another discussion.

    The anthemic theme for Cap is something that I actually like, because I think the use of Silvestri's material legitimizes it in a way and I think it really works with his character arc. There's also the subtle Americana in it (yes, the anthem itself!), which gets overlooked.

    That said, I have to admit that I am struggling with an example where everything being great on paper ends up being, simply, bad music. Especially that the sequel to that is everything being bad on paper and the music being much better, perhaps even, paradoxically, better for it. So I understand why this score isn't liked and how frustrating it is for me. I used to hate Winter Soldier myself, until I actually saw the film.
    http://www.filmmusic.pl - Polish Film Music Review Website
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      CommentAuthorThor
    • CommentTimeSep 15th 2019
    I agree with your overall assessment, Pawel. WINTER SOLDIER is one of the best and most interesting scores of the Marvel movies. Why it gets such a bad rap is beyond me.
    I am extremely serious.
  15. christopher wrote
    Did you listen to what Chance Thomas composed to try to get hired on Avatar 2?

    No, I'm not in loops that would allow me to do so, though I'd love to. ^^