Nick1Ø66 4,713 Posted October 30, 2016 Share Posted October 30, 2016 I was reading an article today about how impactful the Harry Potter books were to people of a certain age growing up. Some of the stories were quite moving. I read Lord of the Rings the first time while I was growing up and it got me through my parent's divorce. I don't know how I would have survived that without being able to escape to Middle-Earth. Over time as I got older with re-reads it become more than an escape, I learned to recognise its depth and complexity in ways I didn't as a child. It inspired in me a life long love of literature, history, tales, folklore and legends. I went on to major in History at Uni and I wrote my thesis on the Icelandic sagas. Tolkien's classic has impacted me in ways that I'm not sure even I fully appreciate. Which book, film or piece of music changed your life, and how? Or if not changed your life, had a major impact on it? Incanus 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon McBride 113 Posted October 30, 2016 Share Posted October 30, 2016 As a kid I always watched Star Wars. My life growing up was pretty great, so it wasn't an escape or anything, but Star Wars is the reason I want to go into film scoring. Other music that has fundamentally changed my life are the Aquabats. They are what got me into music in the first place. Without them I probably wouldn't have ever been interested in any types of music. I'm so glad that I grew up with music. Music has been an escape for me even though my life is pretty dang awesome Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melange 446 Posted October 30, 2016 Share Posted October 30, 2016 I'm going to have to come back to this after considering it for a while. It would be a long list. It became evident only in recent years how some of the most silently influential were in childhood, like a seed was planted. I once said to someone that I don't remember ever having had a strong desire to travel, and that is just happened somehow. But then when you consider things like these three examples below, travel, adventure, search was a major theme in them all. It freaks me out now when I look back at these and see places / representations of them that I actually ended up visiting. Nick1Ø66 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Penna 3,686 Posted October 30, 2016 Share Posted October 30, 2016 Seeing Fellowship was the first time I ever came out of a cinema wanting to know what the music was, and really, was the point where my musical tastes changed forever. Until that point I had left behind the 90s pop music, but hadn't yet found my next genre, so being able to gradually solidify my tastes was a revelation. The exposure that film music gave me to different cultures and eras was quite astounding. I'd say that to an extent it helped get me through my first 3 years of uni. I didn't get much out of my undergrad degree for many reasons*, and listening to soundtracks became my way to escape all that. * Apart from lifestyle things, I chose a default 'safe' degree, Business Management. It helped get me my current job, but for all practical purposes, it was the wrong one. I then did Computer Science, which I should've done to start with. Nick1Ø66 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muad'Dib 1,802 Posted October 30, 2016 Share Posted October 30, 2016 Nothing to do with the movie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixon Hill 4,234 Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 Like Melange, would be a long list. Thinking about it as stringently as possible, down to the most fundamentally seminal thing, it's probably the source of my avatar. Tolkien is right there too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheUlyssesian 2,478 Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 I think the book that absolutely upended my world at the tender age of 13... and hear my out... was the book... Gone With The Wind. I was a great reader before that. I had read a few Harry Potter books, Famous Five, Enid Blayton, some abridged Dickens and all assortment of young adult fiction and books prescribed for young readers. Reading Gone With The Wind at the age of 13 (and it is a huge book) just suddenly destroyed what I knew about the world and threw everything open. Now suddenly here was a book, where there were NO heroes or villains, the lead character is an absolute scheming lying selfish entitled bitch, and there is an extremely wide spectrum of acts committed, there is no judging and no knowing what is right and what is wrong. The lead character is a bitch but also the most monumentally jaw-droppingly human figure I had encountered in fiction, a person who was petty and selfish, but had dreams and desires, and acted on impulses of self-preservation but sometimes also acted out of nobility and net to net, wondered about what was right or wrong and was extremely unsure and there was no way of knowing how a life is to be lived or what is right or wrong. And that just destroyed all notions of good and bad for me forever and the concept of heroes and villains, and what remained at the age of 13 was this sledgehammer blow that there is no right or wrong, we are all extremely flawed people and that we will be wondering throughout our lives whether we are doing the appropriate thing and we will have to face the consequences of our actions and there probably will be no solace (the book has a tremendous downer of an ending where Scarlett O'Hara is left all alone with just her wits and courage and wealth about her). For a young person, such an adult realization at such a young action can be truly earth-shattering. It can basically alter the course of your life and even alter the person that you become when you grow older and want to become when you grow older. It also shrouds all existence in a grey mist where everything is subjective and a matter of perspective. Nick1Ø66 and Melange 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wojo 2,453 Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 The book "We Reach the Moon" inspired me to become an engineer. Nick1Ø66 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unlucky Bastard 7,782 Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 I grew up watching Godzilla movies, Friday the 13th movies, A Nightmare on Elm Street and Halloween movies. So I guess those were the big influencers that shaped me as a person. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koray Savas 2,251 Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises Terrence Malick's The Thin Red Line Streetlight Manifesto's Everything Goes Numb While I can't particularly say any type of media has fueled something as important as a career choice, the above three are examples of how media has molded and influenced my perception of life and the way I live and understand it. These artists have a knack for exploring the human condition through their work, and that has helped me resolve interpersonal struggles. Nick1Ø66 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488 Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 Batman (1989) and Batman Returns Star Trek Star Wars Disneyland Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incanus 5,714 Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 The most profound effect on my life in art have without a doubt been the works of J.R.R. Tolkien as a whole, ever since I first got to know them when I was 11. Over the years they have been a gateway to innumerable connections in life and other art, some obvious, some more indirect. The flames of my interest in languages were certainly fanned by Tolkien and I doubt that my interest in the classical tongues would have been as great without his example and inspiration. Film music wise I am of the Jurassic Park generation, which was an introduction to film music that exploded into a passion for music, films, literature and countless other things that touched upon the subject in some way. My love and fascination with the symphony orchestra was only deepened by my exploration of film music while I also got to hear the most extraordinary things that could be done with other musical sources. Film scores have also led me to classical and orchestral works I might not found otherwise. Nick1Ø66 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thor 7,495 Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 No film or book per se, but the series TWIN PEAKS had a huge impact on me. Not only did I write a whole novel, inspired by the series' atmosphere (at age 13-14), it was also one of the first soundtracks I got and was a cornerstone in my film music interest in general. I communicated this to Angelo Badalamenti when I met him some 5-6 years ago, and he replied by saying "you should make a film of it [my novel], and give me a call -- I'll do your music". Gruesome Son of a Bitch and Nick1Ø66 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BloodBoal 7,538 Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 5 hours ago, Daniel Clamp said: I grew up watching Godzilla movies, Friday the 13th movies, A Nightmare on Elm Street and Halloween movies. So I guess those were the big influencers that shaped me as a person. So, you're a serial killer, then? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 Yes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unlucky Bastard 7,782 Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 Isn't it more likely that I'd idolise the final girls in each movie as awesome women who overcome the odds against them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 So you...identify with these females? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unlucky Bastard 7,782 Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 If I was being chased by a maniac wielding bladed weapons, sure as hell! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 Just then? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unlucky Bastard 7,782 Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 When? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 You don't identify with the female state of being in any other situations? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unlucky Bastard 7,782 Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 Nah. Except for Ripley, maybe! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick1Ø66 4,713 Posted October 31, 2016 Author Share Posted October 31, 2016 2 hours ago, Incanus said: The most profound effect on my life in art have without a doubt been the works of J.R.R. Tolkien as a whole, ever since I first got to know them when I was 11. Over the years they have been a gateway to innumerable connections in life and other art, some obvious, some more indirect. The flames of my interest in languages were certainly fanned by Tolkien and I doubt that my interest in the classical tongues would have been as great without his example and inspiration. Film music wise I am of the Jurassic Park generation, which was an introduction to film music that exploded into a passion for music, films, literature and countless other things that touched upon the subject in some way. My love and fascination with the symphony orchestra was only deepened by my exploration of film music while I also got to hear the most extraordinary things that could be done with other musical sources. Film scores also lead me to classical and orchestral works I might not found otherwise. Beautifully said Icanus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incanus 5,714 Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 I have to add that Tolkien as a writer was a great guide to a larger world of myths, legends, poetry, storytelling and the beauty of language. The more I read the more I admire his ability to evoke and revivify the imagery, feel and power of the old myths in his own works. These were not mere retellings but he managed to capture the central themes and elements that seem to connect most of humanity in their universal appeal which just receives different forms in different cultures. This also has led me to explore the folklore and mythologies of various cultures, not to play a game of "spot the reference" but rather to see the wider stylistic and thematic parallels and inspiration that delighted him as an author and most of all to see beyond them, to discover the literature itself, and if possible in their original language. Nick1Ø66 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unlucky Bastard 7,782 Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 Hey, if I can find the time and patience to enjoy Hans Zimmer scores these days, I might be able to find the same time and patience to enjoy and appreciate the writings of Tolkien. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLUMENKOHL 1,068 Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 Sharkissimo 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incanus 5,714 Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 1 hour ago, Daniel Clamp said: Hey, if I can find the time and patience to enjoy Hans Zimmer scores these days, I might be able to find the same time and patience to enjoy and appreciate the writings of Tolkien. Don't bother, please. You'd be hopelessly lost with all those strange and silly names for people, places and things. And the story. It's about a bunch of rings can you imagine! Try Zimmer instead. Nick1Ø66 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick1Ø66 4,713 Posted October 31, 2016 Author Share Posted October 31, 2016 1 hour ago, Daniel Clamp said: Hey, if I can find the time and patience to enjoy Hans Zimmer scores these days, I might be able to find the same time and patience to enjoy and appreciate the writings of Tolkien. You might just skip LOTR and give Sword of Shannara a try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unlucky Bastard 7,782 Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 Well anyhoo I can't wait for my Interstellar 2-CD to arrive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixon Hill 4,234 Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 Drax my boy, you're coming around! But if you're looking for a different experience with Interstellar, the lengthier album release probably won't do it. Go for the complete score as heard in the film. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bollemanneke 3,342 Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 The HP books probably changed my life. Patrick Doyle's Goblet of Fire made me pay attention to film scores (for some reason, JW's scores just went completely unnoticed). Jerusalem by Parry got me into Anglican music, I owe that English teacher forever. Nick1Ø66 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unlucky Bastard 7,782 Posted November 1, 2016 Share Posted November 1, 2016 5 hours ago, Prerecorded Briefing said: Drax my boy, you're coming around! But if you're looking for a different experience with Interstellar, the lengthier album release probably won't do it. Go for the complete score as heard in the film. Where's the complete score available? I just bought the lengthiest version that was official. It's got a battery-powered light in it. And apparently it's rare too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488 Posted November 1, 2016 Share Posted November 1, 2016 I was also obsessed with Titanic. The movie, the real history of the ship, James Cameron filming from a construction crane while extras in period costumes were being lowered in lifeboats off the replica of the ship sinking in the waters off Mexico. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unlucky Bastard 7,782 Posted November 1, 2016 Share Posted November 1, 2016 I even liked the Hallmark miniseries as a kid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixon Hill 4,234 Posted November 1, 2016 Share Posted November 1, 2016 1 hour ago, Daniel Clamp said: Where's the complete score available? I just bought the lengthiest version that was official. It's got a battery-powered light in it. And apparently it's rare too. Yeah, the big album is a good listen but it's not radically different from the main album release if you've already heard that. Didn't realize it's rare. The FYC is floating around, and it's complete minus the last two cues, which are on the official album anyway. It plays more like a traditional score than a Zimmer album. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unlucky Bastard 7,782 Posted November 1, 2016 Share Posted November 1, 2016 Wow! I would have instead figured a 131 minute release would be a revelation compared to a truncated 71 or 92 minute version. I'll keep an eye out for the FYC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixon Hill 4,234 Posted November 1, 2016 Share Posted November 1, 2016 Most of the additional tracks are Zimmer's "suites" rather than more material from the film. Of course, you may dig it anyway. Can't remember if you're one of the people who prefers C&C. It's hard to keep track.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red 75 Posted November 1, 2016 Share Posted November 1, 2016 As far as books go, Cormac McCarthy's The Road probably had the biggest impact. I read it in my senior year of high school and it completely shattered what I understood book writing was. Here was something that had no character names, no chapter markings, little punctuation. Even the supposed prerequisites of storytelling like exposition seemed barely present. The method made it all about the prose, the power of the words, in a way I had never experienced. It was a kind of revelation and it set in me a renewed affinity for language the medium as a whole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unlucky Bastard 7,782 Posted November 1, 2016 Share Posted November 1, 2016 1 hour ago, Prerecorded Briefing said: Most of the additional tracks are Zimmer's "suites" rather than more material from the film. Of course, you may dig it anyway. Can't remember if you're one of the people who prefers C&C. It's hard to keep track.... That depends on the score. If I've been critical of Zimmer's musical style over the years, I've always praised his ability to create a great album experience. Apparently the track Tick Tock is a must have that wasn't on the shorter album. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,351 Posted November 1, 2016 Share Posted November 1, 2016 This might help https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1yDVlbkzOW6Ytmts4aUQ43pOOVdaLFqBg1KyJUjl4Dd8/pubhtml Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unlucky Bastard 7,782 Posted November 1, 2016 Share Posted November 1, 2016 Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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