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  1. I thought that I would start a new thread for people to comment on things that are currently annoying them...
    The views expressed in this post are entirely my own and do not reflect the opinions of maintitles.net, or for that matter, anyone else. http://www.racksandtags.com/falkirkbairn
  2. I was looking for somewhere to add a comment I wanted to make about a film music-related post made on Twitter. It isn't really an annoyance (not really) but more of a funny thing.

    Someone on Twitter asked which composer do people think (except for John Williams!) are composers who consistently produce high-quality scores. And, as with any question like this, the response went down a familiar path.

    The first dozen or so responses were interesting to see: different people coming up with the main composers who you would expect to see in lists like this (but very few of them composers whose presence others would agree with). Then, there is a flurry of composer additions when people see that their own favourite composer isn't mentioned. And, after that, there is a third wave of composers added when more people see that their favourite composers are still missing from the ballooning list. So, we end up at a stage where practically every current composer is mentioned as a composer who consistently produces high-quality scores, and now we have just a list of most composers.

    And, as the list is ever-expanding, others start to question the addition of certain composers to this list because either the added composers don't always reach the giddy heights of 5-star scores, or there's incredulity at a composer has been added at all because that composer can't write music.

    It's quite funny to watch.
    The views expressed in this post are entirely my own and do not reflect the opinions of maintitles.net, or for that matter, anyone else. http://www.racksandtags.com/falkirkbairn
    •  
      CommentAuthorThor
    • CommentTimeJul 10th 2021
    Yeah, that's a common problem on messageboards too. Someone asks for recommendations or even limits it to "must-haves" by a composer, and soon every single score by said composer is mentioned. Not only because people have different taste, but by the time all the big titles are mentioned, people want to go obscure and "show off" instead.
    I am extremely serious.
    •  
      CommentAuthorThor
    • CommentTimeJul 20th 2021 edited
    What's annoying me?

    The FSM log-in problem, as alluded to in the "site problems" thread....and now I cannot log into my Dropbox accounts either, neither my own or IFMCA's (same problem, I type in username and password, and the page just refreshes without any login). WTF is going on here?!? Have I been hacked?
    I am extremely serious.
    •  
      CommentAuthorLSH
    • CommentTimeJul 21st 2021 edited
    What's annoying me? Fucking Covid. Never would I had expected to contract it this late on but it's sweeping through the UK again... including my workplace. 12 of us caught it last week.

    It's horrible. I get that it affects everyone differently but I don't like my 'version'.

    I feel fairly ok now but I've had a rough 4-5 days. Symptoms came in waves. One moment I think I'm fine and over it. 30 mins later, enveloped in cold sweats, pounding headache, fucking diarrhoea. God damn knackers you out too. Haven't slept so much in my life, the past few days. I'm hoping that the one dose of vaccine I've had so far is doing its job.

    I think the worst of it is over. However I now completely understand that whole loss of taste/smell thing. God, it's the most infuriating bit. I thought to myself, 10 days in isolation, I'll have the time to cook loads of nice stuff. No bloody point. dizzy

    slant
    •  
      CommentAuthorThor
    • CommentTimeJul 21st 2021
    Sorry to hear it, Lee. And with one dose, even. Hopefully your young age and good shape makes it a relatively quick affair, and you don't have to think about it ever again in your life.
    I am extremely serious.
  3. Thor wrote
    ... and you don't have to think about it ever again in your life.

    That may be a bout of wishful thinking. We may have to have yearly boosters from now on - like some people do for the flu.

    Let's hope not but it's a possibility.
    The views expressed in this post are entirely my own and do not reflect the opinions of maintitles.net, or for that matter, anyone else. http://www.racksandtags.com/falkirkbairn
    •  
      CommentAuthorThor
    • CommentTimeJul 21st 2021
    Maybe for us who haven't had it. But if you've had it, and recovered, and have no longterm side effects, surely you don't need boosters? Mutated versions or not?
    I am extremely serious.
  4. It's too early to know how long an initial infection will provide immunity. Maybe a second infection will be less severe.
    The views expressed in this post are entirely my own and do not reflect the opinions of maintitles.net, or for that matter, anyone else. http://www.racksandtags.com/falkirkbairn
    •  
      CommentAuthorThor
    • CommentTimeJul 29th 2021 edited
    Water leak!

    There are three pipes running through the closet in my one-room apartment; the same closet where I store all my shirts, all my training clothes, all my bags and a few other things, like a semi-expensive wrist watch. Well, Tuesday's and yesterday's torrents of rain must have caused a water leak in these pipes. I couldn't sleep last night due to a funky smell. At 3:30, I went searching for it, opened my closet and found ALL of my clothes soaked in sewer-like water. Currently waiting for a plumber to arrive, but the damage is done. None of my shirts or bags or other things are salvageable, I think. I have insurance, obviously, but will only get a fraction of the value back (many thousands of Norwegian kroner).

    So yeah....that annoys me currently. Thanks for letting me vent! smile

    (I don't know why I'm so unlucky with everything all the time....did I do something horrible in a previous life?).
    I am extremely serious.
    •  
      CommentAuthorThor
    • CommentTimeJul 29th 2021
    But enough of my endless problems.

    How are you doing, Alan and Lee? You've both been ill lately.
    I am extremely serious.
  5. Thor wrote
    But enough of my endless problems.

    How are you doing, Alan and Lee? You've both been ill lately.

    I've been having problems with an overactive immune system leading to an overactive thyroid which had to be treated with radio iodine therapy and subsequent thyroid hormone replacements.

    Then my immune system started attacking my platelets and my platelet count dropped from 140 (a normal level) to 5! A course of steroids raised the level back to normal but that didn't last so I was put on a drug that boosted platelet production and that seemed to be working.

    But after about 10 days in that my body decided that it didn't like that drug, I had a systemic sensitisation reaction and I came out in a skin rash from head to toe and my temperature went up to 38.5 degrees. So, it was a trip to A&E for me.

    That was about 10 days ago. I am feeling better but the rash is still visible sometimes when I am warm.

    Getting old sucks big time!
    The views expressed in this post are entirely my own and do not reflect the opinions of maintitles.net, or for that matter, anyone else. http://www.racksandtags.com/falkirkbairn
    •  
      CommentAuthorThor
    • CommentTimeJul 29th 2021
    Yikes, that's a medical rollercoaster you've been on. Let's hope it's stabilized a bit now.
    I am extremely serious.
  6. Thor wrote
    Yikes, that's a medical rollercoaster you've been on. Let's hope it's stabilized a bit now.

    Here's hoping!

    The drug that I was put on is one used in chemotherapy. If my experience with this single drug is any indication of the side effects cancer patients on chemotherapy can experience, it must be a horrible thing to go through when suffering from the cancer and the effects of a cocktail of drugs on top of the disease.
    The views expressed in this post are entirely my own and do not reflect the opinions of maintitles.net, or for that matter, anyone else. http://www.racksandtags.com/falkirkbairn
    •  
      CommentAuthorThor
    • CommentTimeAug 6th 2021
    Don't want to bother anyone with my miniscule problems compared to the proper health problems that some of you are experiencing, but anyway:

    The verdict is back on the water damage. They have to tear up the entire floor of my one-room apartment and dry up the humidity. I'll have to move to a lugubrious apartment that they've sorted for me for a month+. This doesn't bode well for the Zoom meetings, which I had intended to restart next week, but we'll see how the WiFi situation is in the temporary apartment. FYI.
    I am extremely serious.
  7. Hopefully you won't be inconvenienced too much Thor.
    The views expressed in this post are entirely my own and do not reflect the opinions of maintitles.net, or for that matter, anyone else. http://www.racksandtags.com/falkirkbairn
  8. Sorry, Thor. That's no fun.
    •  
      CommentAuthorThor
    • CommentTimeAug 7th 2021
    Thanks. We'll see how the possibilities are to host a meeting at the lugubrious apartment.
    I am extremely serious.
  9. Perhaps it's not an annoyance, more of a frustration.

    It's been building for a while now but I am finding myself becoming more and more disillusioned by the whole film music environment and the associated reviewing 'scene'.

    The saturation of the music releases putting out so many poorly-realised albums, the dip in the quality of the majority of music being written, the very blinkered spread of titles being reviewed, and the lack of support there is for many worthy composers: I don't think that this whole area is as healthy as some make out.

    Perhaps not a subject to talk about in an open forum but it's a subject that I find I am constantly thinking of when I am reading the various social media outlets and messageboards.
    The views expressed in this post are entirely my own and do not reflect the opinions of maintitles.net, or for that matter, anyone else. http://www.racksandtags.com/falkirkbairn
    •  
      CommentAuthorThor
    • CommentTimeAug 7th 2021
    On this, we agree, Alan.

    I still have a dream of creating an "alternative" IFMCA that highlights the work of lesser known composers and scores in a given year, and ideally with more stylistic variety (when I looked at the video that was created for this year's winners, 90% of it sounded like it came from the same score).

    I've felt "alienated" from the film music scene for a while, and not only due to the C&C phenomenon, but the way people TALK about the artform, i.e. the very discourse. There's very little aesthetic discussion; it's mostly nuts-and-bolts stuff about missing music or superficial matters that relate to sound, packacking, shipping, you name it.
    I am extremely serious.
    •  
      CommentAuthorBobdH
    • CommentTimeAug 7th 2021 edited
    I concur with this completely, like I also let slip a bit in the Now Playing thread.

    On the one hand there seems to be this illusion of a better world for smaller composers, because nowadays a lot more works can be released and published as opposed to the pre-Digital world of over 10 years ago. Look at what gets to iTunes, practically every work by any composer can (and often, will) be published, whereas works by larger and well known composers quite often seem to be released in their entirety. This gives off the impression that it’s easier for composers to get their stuff out, get picked up on by fans, who get to hear their music.

    But on the other hand, releasing works that are more aimed towards serving the picture and not so much as working as a stand alone experience do tend to give certain composers a bad rap. For example, I still found it bizarre that when Mad Max by Junkie XL came out, EVERYBODY seemed to go for the DeLuxe edition, and then all blamed it on “having some good material” but being “too generic”, while the regular and more concise 70 min release was a WAY better listening experience. I’m certain the release would’ve gotten a much better reputation if people had focused on that version.

    Like you said Thor, there is so much focus and discussion on releasing so much as possible, and the (arrogant) entitlement from people that comes with it, that there seems to be absolutely no attention to composers releasing their works in a way that serves the material justice and shows it in its best light. As such, there’s a lot of negativity surrounding composers and their works, which makes the environment on forums toxic.

    On the other hand, though, there’s also lower standards, it seems, for music. What would’ve been regarded as “fine” is nowadays “awesome”, maybe because people are getting used to those nondescript releases?

    Oh damn, just saved this post and noticed how large it has become! I’ll stop now, haha.
    •  
      CommentAuthorBobdH
    • CommentTimeAug 7th 2021
    One more thing I wanted to say about the “alternative IFMCA”, and I hope this comes across right, as I find it difficult to formulate the right words:

    I think it’s difficult to nominate a smaller work by a less known composer, because it’s such a big pool to fish in. The way I see it: there’s this relative small pool of Big Fishes that everybody listens to, and then there’s this HUGE pool with Smaller Fishes. When everybody listens to two Big Fishes and 10 Smaller Fishes, it’s still the two Big Fishes that tend to get nominated, as everybody listens to different Small Fishes, if you get my drift?
    •  
      CommentAuthorThor
    • CommentTimeAug 7th 2021 edited
    I get your drift, Bob. If this alternative IFMCA ever came to be, there wouldn't be an outright exclusion of the big titles and big composers, but it would need to be a percentage solution or something. The main focus should be on the under-the-radar items, and preferably displaying a wide array of styles (traditional orchestral, synth, pop, rock, jazz, smaller ensembles etc.). In short, basically molded on the way Indiewire presents their yearly lists.
    I am extremely serious.
  10. There shouldn't be a need for an 'alternate IFMCA' .
    The views expressed in this post are entirely my own and do not reflect the opinions of maintitles.net, or for that matter, anyone else. http://www.racksandtags.com/falkirkbairn
    •  
      CommentAuthorBobdH
    • CommentTimeAug 7th 2021 edited
    You’re right, there shouldn’t, and what I mainly meant with my comment is that it’s just difficult for the IFMCA to nominate smaller, more indie composers as opposed to the big ones. They’ve been saying they want to nominate younger, ‘smaller’, up and coming talent for years now, and yet they end up with big names each year. It’s just what happens whenever you get a big group to vote.
    •  
      CommentAuthorThor
    • CommentTimeAug 7th 2021
    There absolutely shouldn't, but there is.
    I am extremely serious.
  11. Thor wrote
    I've felt "alienated" from the film music scene for a while, and not only due to the C&C phenomenon, but the way people TALK about the artform, i.e. the very discourse. There's very little aesthetic discussion; it's mostly nuts-and-bolts stuff about missing music or superficial matters that relate to sound, packacking, shipping, you name it.

    I think this very much depends on what community you frequent. The sort of meta-nerd-wankery you describe is a lot more common at FSM and JWfan (and a big part of why I don't post in those places) but far less pronounced at, say, the Filmtracks Scoreboard or here.

    As for the music itself, well, let's just say that I think the pandemic has been pretty bad for film scores.
  12. BobdH wrote
    One more thing I wanted to say about the “alternative IFMCA”, and I hope this comes across right, as I find it difficult to formulate the right words:

    I think it’s difficult to nominate a smaller work by a less known composer, because it’s such a big pool to fish in. The way I see it: there’s this relative small pool of Big Fishes that everybody listens to, and then there’s this HUGE pool with Smaller Fishes. When everybody listens to two Big Fishes and 10 Smaller Fishes, it’s still the two Big Fishes that tend to get nominated, as everybody listens to different Small Fishes, if you get my drift?


    I think this is exactly the issue right here. I don't know the IFMCA's voting system, but could there be a first stage of voting that led to nominations for a smaller pool of scores for the association members to consider from? Would that help shrink the pool of smaller fish to a more manageable group, maybe? I'm afraid short of an alternative IFMCA, you'll always get a lot of votes for the bigger films and more famous composers.
    •  
      CommentAuthorThor
    • CommentTimeAug 11th 2021 edited
    christopher wrote
    I think this is exactly the issue right here. I don't know the IFMCA's voting system, but could there be a first stage of voting that led to nominations for a smaller pool of scores for the association members to consider from?


    That is already in place. Alas, it doesn't prevent either the big titles/composers or scores within more or less the same style (traditional, orchestral pap) to win, year after year. There are always some lesser known titles on the nomination or winner's list that make it trough the eye of the needle, thankfully, but I long for an "organization" wherein 80-90% are hidden gems and discoveries of the year, and where a broader range of styles are represented. More in the style of Indiewire or MUBI, I suppose.
    I am extremely serious.
  13. Thor wrote
    (traditional, orchestral pap)

    rolleyes is all I have to say to that phrase.

    While it's true that traditional orchestral scores generally win the IFMCA awards (not always though - witness Interstellar and Arrival), I think there's a reasonable amount of diversity in the nominations, and it's a good balance of acknowledging the better mainstream stuff while also bringing in some gems especially from overseas.