SCORE: The Crew

[BLUMENKOHL 1,068]

Blumenscore-XTRAFANTASTIC-3000-X++-SEX SCORE: 78%

If Earth to Echo was an exercise in solid but inoffensive music with a nice melding of orchestra and synthesizers, The Crew is its polar opposite. It's bold, it's brash, it's got big aggressive synthesizers and it is sure to piss off 90% of JWFan. And I love it. Seriously, I dare you to listen to "Heavy As a Feather" and not plant your foot down into the gas pedal while driving your car around. If relying on aggressive synthesizers and big pop-music inspired chord progressions didn't offend your limited JWFan sensibilities, then surely this will: The Crew was written for...yes...a video game.

This score has this strange quality that every Joseph Trapanese score I've heard so far has in spades: staying power. Music like this in general has the proclivity for a short shelf-life, because it's familiar, and the familiar quickly loses its effortless charm. That's why we all praise Star Wars but only listen to it a couple of times a year. We are after all human, and our brain craves novelty. So when you listen to a score like this, with its roots in commonplace popular music, you fully expect that you'll listen to its dopamine-generating goodness for a week, maybe focusing on a couple of tracks, and then its effects wear off and you move on to your next novel drug. Not so. It's been since November, and I still keep coming back. There's always some charming detail that Trapanese sneaks into the familiar sounds that makes each subsequent lesson an exercise in small discoveries. Sometimes it's the acoustic details, the interesting rhythmic ideas, or just the plane cacophony of everything blasting away all at once in head-banger fashion. But this score hasn't gotten old to my ears. I still get that jolt of dopamine, and I listen to tracks from it on a weekly basis.

There are 28 tracks, and it being video game music, some of the tracks do get a bit tiresome when listened to without the corresponding game to go with it. So the full 28-track album may not be the best for everyone, unless you're genuinely into this kind of music (apparently...I am!). If you're not, the first 5 tracks of the album (starting with Datyon and finishing with Heist 1) provide a kick-ass suite of some exciting music you can bang your head to, and they largely convey the overarching flavors of the whole score.

Another solid score from Trapanese (though it looks like his bore-fest for that teenage book adaptation movie is going to break his "solid" trend).

[Dixon Hill 4,234]

Well, you didn't lead me astray with your enjoyment of the last one, so I'll try it.

[publicist 4,643]

It's TRON: LEGACY reconfigured...so yeah, it's fun (but sensible to turn off after 30 minutes as there indeed can be too much of a good thing).

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

You talk and you talk, but you have no YouTube links!

[BLUMENKOHL 1,068]

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Some really poor samples and a rather ineffective mix make it all sound a bit crude.

[BloodBoal 7,538]

Interstellar isn't so bad after all...

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

I never said it was

[BloodBoal 7,538]

I never said you said it was.

[BLUMENKOHL 1,068]

You can enjoy both, BloodFoal

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[BLUMENKOHL 1,068]

Eva Allan will remain a signature fantasy until your liven up your tastes!

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[Dixon Hill 4,234]

Eh, this one's not for me.

[KK 3,307]

The clips you posted sound more like generic club music to be honest.

[publicist 4,643]

Have you listened to Brian Tyler's FURIOUS 7? Do, it may give you some perspective on this. Though i guess it's not designed for too close scrutiny and not nearly as well produced as those Daft Punk numbers.

[Dixon Hill 4,234]

Have you listened to Brian Tyler's FURIOUS 7? Do, it may give you some perspective on this. Though i guess it's not designed for too close scrutiny and not nearly as well produced as those Daft Punk numbers.

Have it on now... it's actually not as bad as I expected. Kind of catchy in a way.

[publicist 4,643]

If you skipped 1-6 maybe.

[KK 3,307]

Yeah, I was playing some of that the other night. It's mildly entertaining. But Tyler's score seems to be done with more style and conviction that this Trapanese one.

[publicist 4,643]

Mind to elaborate on that? 'Style' and 'conviction'?

[Koray Savas 2,251]

There are 28 tracks, and it being video game music, some of the tracks do get a bit tiresome when listened to without the corresponding game to go with it.

So you play current gen games, eh? Or is Ubisoft the developer you secretly work for?

[Jay 37,350]

If you say you "love" this, how can you possibly only give it 78%? Doesn't compute.

[KK 3,307]

Mind to elaborate on that? 'Style' and 'conviction'?

Well sure. I'm basically referring to Tyler's strengths in blending elements of funk, jazz, pop and other more modern sensibilities with your standard RC/Bourne-style orchestral action to create an entertaining cocktail of both the familiar and the new. In that sense, Tyler is able to bring style to what usually ends up being pretty bland ostinati-based thriller underscore in the hands of a lesser Zimmer clone. Though Furious 7 still ends up on the generic side, I suppose Now You See Me is a better example of what I'm talking about. Despite the fact that the score follows the same formula that typical action/thriller scores take on, Tyler is able to infuse snazzy Schifrin big band material and Mancini swings along with other neat retro elements to create what ends up being a really refreshing whole.

The Trapanese clips above on the other hand stick very close to the tradition of the genres it draws from (EDM, dubstep, etc) while bringing little else to the table. And it when it ventures into the action realm, it still ends up closer to stock Bourne/RC-esque action than the other side of the spectrum. Frankly, others have done what it tries to do with much greater success (such as Tyler, or Daft Punk). And I guess it doesn't help that that kind of sound isn't really my kind of thing anyway.

[Sharkissimo 1,973]

What I've heard of The Crew sounds bland, monotonous and lifeless. Ok for making shapes while wasted, but otherwise of no value.

Pubs and Blume: I'm ashamed of you. Repent, repent.

[publicist 4,643]

So making inconsequential but digestible pop music is a heinous crime now?

@KK: i'm sorry if you don't hear the glaring differences between F7 and NOW YOU SEE ME, this is futile. I skimmed through F7 and if there was the something akin to the smooth fun that the latter score has in spades.

[KK 3,307]

Of course there are glaring differences between F7 and Now You See Me. I'm just saying because the former shares some of those elements in execution (though to a much lesser degree), I'd rather listen to that this score any day.

F7 to me is what I'd label as inconsequential, but digestible. The Crew sounds too bland for even that.

[BLUMENKOHL 1,068]

As predicted, 90% of JWFan thinks this is a crime against humanity!

I won't repent for enjoying this anymore than I would repent for enjoying the occasional freshly made cotton candy at a carnival/fair!

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

No one is saying that!

[Jay 37,350]

If you say you "love" this, how can you possibly only give it 78%? Doesn't compute.

[BLUMENKOHL 1,068]

I love strawberry cheesecake. Doesn't mean I love strawberry cheesecake as much as I love my cats!

You'll note and I'm sure it will shock you: my score is higher for this than Giapoopoo's original Star Trek!

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Well ofcourse

[publicist 4,643]

You'll note and I'm sure it will shock you: my score is higher for this than Giapoopoo's original Star Trek!

Big deal.

[Wojo 2,453]

I'm allergic to cats, and I haven't found any recipes that don't send me to the hospital. I prefer cheesecake.