The Williams Breaks

[Thor 7,451]

I just realized I haven't played any Williams since mid September, when I finished going through all his concert works. I have these Williams breaks now and then; sometimes up to 3-4 months where I don't play anything from him at all (for various reasons).

 

What's the longest you've gone without playing any Williams?

 

(btw, pleased with my thread title! ;))

[Incanus 5,713]

I take periodical breaks from Williams' music, sometimes a week or two usually. I can't remember exactly the longest period of time though.

These breaks give a nice bit of perspective and allow you to experience JWs music with new freshness.

 

And yes Thor the topic title is a nice homage to Maestro's The Missouri Breaks.

 

 

[Jilal 569]

I take a Williams break when sleeping.

 

So ... 13 hours?

[Incanus 5,713]

59 minutes ago, Jilal said:

I take a Williams break when sleeping.

 

So ... 13 hours?

So is it non-stop JW fest in your life every waking moment? I am rather envious.

 

[Joni Wiljami 1,206]

Not a single day without Williams since I was 11. 1977 it was.

[Thor 7,451]

2 minutes ago, hornist said:

Not a single day without Williams since I was 11. 1977 it was.

 

Wow. Seriously?

[Miguel Andrade 1,260]

Can't remember of a single day without some Williams music played.

[Quintus 5,399]

These days I go for weeks and months without listening to Williams, and actively stopped listening to other film music a few years ago.

[Jay 37,249]

No idea

[Disco Stu 15,495]

I certainly have gone long periods of time in the past without listening to any Williams or really any film music whatsoever.  TFA was so amazing it relit the fire of my love of his music to be stronger than it ever was before really.  Still going strong from that high

 

[Wojo 2,453]

I usually only listen to music at the gym anymore, and film music is too slow to keep my rates up. TFA is the only CD in my car so it gets some play time, but a seven minute commute isn't much time for music. 

[Disco Stu 15,495]

I have found in the past that "Scherzo for X-Wings" is great music to listen to at the gym, actually.  Very motivating when I'm on the elliptical or whatever.

[TownerFan 4,983]

I have no idea. I surely had breaks, but if I think about it rationally I'm pretty sure it's never been more than 1 or 2 weeks. His music is part of my life since childhood and I'm sure it'll continue to be until I'll be on this earth. It's one of the things that gives me the greatest joy, so I feel naturally attracted (and compelled) to return to it all the times I can.

[Wojo 2,453]

20 minutes ago, Disco Stu said:

I have found in the past that "Scherzo for X-Wings" is great music to listen to at the gym, actually.  Very motivating when I'm on the elliptical or whatever.

 

I just use Volbeat basically. Last week I used Offspring's Americana which was fun. 

[Jay 37,249]

1 hour ago, petaQ said:

I usually only listen to music at the gym anymore, and film music is too slow to keep my rates up. TFA is the only CD in my car so it gets some play time, but a seven minute commute isn't much time for music. 

 

Ooooh, I'm jealous of that commute.  Mine is 45 minutes now and its slowly killing me.  The positive is that I've listened to a ton of my film score CDs I haven't heard in years / decades, but the amount of freetime I have has dwindled significantly.

[Bespin 8,472]

I'm an archivist of many artists now... Charles Aznavour... Roy Orbison... Joe Dassin... Félix Leclerc... and the last little one... John Williams.

 

I must say that with Classical Music, I proceed by phase, from one artist or genre to another.

 

I can be many months without listening to one of them.

 

My musical listenings are often dictated by new releases and discoveries I made.

[Jilal 569]

13 minutes ago, Jay said:

Ooooh, I'm jealous of that commute.  Mine is 45 minutes now and its slowly killing me.  The positive is that I've listened to a ton of my film score CDs I haven't heard in years / decades, but the amount of freetime I have has dwindled significantly.

 

Mine is an hour.

[Thor 7,451]

My main problem, to elaborate on that, is that I have about 1500 albums in my collection, many of which I haven't listened to it in years. And even after deleting a lot of them recently, new ones keep pouring in all the time (mostly promos). Also, I go through phases where I don't really want to play any film music at all, but other genres. I really want to get to a point where I know all my items well, and that takes time.

 

So it's all a bit overwhelming in a kind of western world, luxury problem kind of way.

 

Also, I spent so much time in the 90s and 2000s obsessing over Williams, acquiring all his stuff with a completist urge and then listening to it intently. I'm now at a point where I own everything he's done (with some exceptions, mostly in TV), and I've heard most of it many times. Which means it's often refreshing to take some time off, and then return with renewed enthusiasm later on; like meeting an old friend after a long absence.

[Disco Stu 15,495]

8 minutes ago, Bespin said:

I'm an archivist of many artists now... Charles Aznavour... Roy Orbison... Joe Dassin... Félix Leclerc... and the last little one... John Williams.

 

 

 

I only know Joe Dassin from the song that was used in the end credits of the Wes Anderson movie The Darjeeling Limited ("Les Champs-Elysees").  I like that song a lot, is that what a lot of his music sounds like?

[Bespin 8,472]

7 hours ago, Disco Stu said:

 

I only know Joe Dassin from the song that was used in the end credits of the Wes Anderson movie The Darjeeling Limited ("Les Champs-Elysees").  I like that song a lot, is that what a lot of his music sounds like?

 

His 60's yes, happy and catchy tunes, many french covers of international songs (many from Italy) but original songs too. In the 70's it became more disco, but like every artists. Joe Dassin, a very good musician (guitar), born in New-York is surely the most french of the americans and the most american of the frenchs!  To understand his career, where nothing has never have been left to chance (he was very very pro and rigorous), you also have to look at some videos, he was very popular among the women, wearing his tight pants!

 

Joe recorded many songs in english, spanish, italian and german too. He has a very interresting international disco!

 

Unfortunately, he died too much early at 41.

 

My Joe Dassin Songs Catalog : http://www.goplanete.com/dassin/catalogue Joe Dassin.htm

 

 

[Bellosh 3,369]

Maybe...maybe a few days?  But who knows really.

 

Once you go JW --- you don't go back.

 

It was 2007 when I finally decided to buy a full John Williams album (Episode IV: A New Hope).  I always loved his music from the films I knew he did and were popular for, but it never dawned on me to listen to the whole album/film from start to finish.

 

Yeah that summer day changed my music interests for good.

 

The first real sign though of me being a JW fan was definitely when I was a kid and would rewind parts of Temple of Doom for the music, not the movie.  Always did it with the British Troops theme, and Short Round's theme.  I was 8 years old and didn't even realized I wanted missing music off the soundtrack.

[Will 2,215]

11 hours ago, Jilal said:

I take a Williams break when sleeping.

 

So ... 13 hours?

 

Haha yeah I never really go a day without listening to JW. I don't listen at school but when I get home I always listen to something. 

[Dixon Hill 4,232]

I increasingly find much of his music to be too overbearing to listen to without having gone weeks or months away from it. Even the very top works need to be spaced out, because they're demanding in their own (and much more agreeable) way.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

5 minutes ago, Prerecorded Briefing said:

I increasingly find much of his music to be too overbearing to listen to without having gone weeks or months away from it. Even the very top works need to be spaced out, because they're demanding in their own (and much more agreeable) way.

 

The voice of NeoJWFAN!

[Dixon Hill 4,232]

They wish!

[Thor 7,451]

I can appreciate those who listen to Williams daily. It was who I am throughout two decades. Not only did I need to get a dose of my favourite composer every day, I also needed to acquaint myself with the scores to the extent that I knew them by heart, being in "advance" of the music as it played out.

[Will 2,215]

5 hours ago, Thor said:

My main problem, to elaborate on that, is that I have about 1500 albums in my collection, many of which I haven't listened to it in years. And even after deleting a lot of them recently, new ones keep pouring in all the time (mostly promos). Also, I go through phases where I don't really want to play any film music at all, but other genres. I really want to get to a point where I know all my items well, and that takes time.

 

So it's all a bit overwhelming in a kind of western world, luxury problem kind of way.

 

Haha that almost perfectly encapsulates my situation in regards to film music -- "overwhelming in a western world problem kind of way." 

[Jilal 569]

I should comment that I do listen to Williams at least every day, but not exclusively to Williams's music. I'm trying my hardest to discover a lot of new (mostly classical) music (through a variety of media) and revisit music I already know. And I don't listen to music all the time.

[BloodBoal 7,538]

Last time I listened to some JW was when the BFG OST was released.

[Wojo 2,453]

I haven't even done that yet . 

[BloodBoal 7,538]

You didn't miss much.

[Jilal 569]

1 minute ago, BloodBoal said:

You didn't miss much.

 

@Will ATTACK!

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

5 minutes ago, BloodBoal said:

Last time I listened to some JW was when the BFG OST was released.

 

2 minutes ago, BloodBoal said:

You didn't miss much.

 

Et tu, Alvar?

[Will 2,215]

4 hours ago, Jilal said:

 

@Will ATTACK!

 

Lock S-foils in attack position! Accelerate to attack speed. This is it, boys!

 

 

 

4 hours ago, BloodBoal said:

You didn't miss much.

 

Yep. This is all you missed, @petaQ:

 

 

Quote

I'm not very familiar with JW's oeuvre compared to most members here. That will take a long time. 

 

But based on my current knowledge, I really must refute the notion, stated by @Incanus and others, that this score is more or less a repackaged collection of old JW fantasy ideas. Because I find this score incredibly fresh in many respects (although, as you might imagine, it does have some stylistic continuity). 

 

There's a regal sound, a British sound, a musical sound, a classical sound ... I'm not sure what it is but it seems very unique and it's all over this score. 

 

This is a beautiful score. I haven't totally warmed to the "To Giant Country" material, but there is so much else that I have completely warmed to. And @Marcus has highlighted the incredible level of intelligence behind the notes, from the main (friendship) theme notes reading B(b) - F - G to the way in which JW approached this score as a collection of dances (minuet, waltz, galop, and Broadway) to the grouping of themes (sonata form). (As a side note he also reminded me that JW's thematic references aren't always intended completely literally, something it's easy to forget and that's influenced my thinking on various things ever since. It's easy to get bogged down in "oh, here when they say BFG you hear this theme, so it must be the BFG's theme" but what we really need to do is look at the broader strokes.)

 

The main theme has such an elegance, a grace, a magic to it. I think it would work very well in some capacity at a wedding. I can imagine people walking down an aisle as the theme plays on piano and strings. And then the bigger performance during a reception. I remember it worked very well at the red carpet thing at Cannes. When the stars walked onto the balcony to the soaring version ... when they climbed the stairs to the soft piano.

 

Sophie's melancholy theme has this incredible inevitability to it, as if it always existed and was just waiting to be discovered. The March of the Resistance B melody and Ren's B theme did too. 

 

The BFG's theme (the one Incanus thought was the queen's theme initially) is absolutely gorgeous. It has this great warm, classical feel.

 

I gave the score five stars. I wasn't comparing it to anything else but rather looking at its own merits. I very much enjoyed it, it had thematic and orchestrational intelligence ... great. Five stars. 

 

Certainly, when I first really experienced the score (in the film; I listened to the OST after) I was really disappointed. It was another grower. 

 

I've been meaning for a while to post some of my favorite moments from the score, particularly the more unheralded ones, and now seems as good a time as any. I apologize for the extreme length of this post.

 

 

The harmonies with the bass strings remind me of when my extended family goes Christmas caroling every year. We're a very musical family so of course everyone sings different parts and the sound is pretty good, with the sopranos bringing light and the bass bringing great warmth. The other JW composition that gives me this warm feeling is the Athens Bugler's Dream bells arrangement. 

 

So it's funny, the BFG sometimes reminds me of Christmas. 

 

 

How could I not mention this? So freakin' awesome!!

 

The whole of Dream Country really is pretty great. It captures the feeling of magic the best. I love the moments where all the chimes and bells join together (such as and create this feeling of wonder, that you're surrounded by all sorts of amazing things. The shimmering textures are sublime. And the final payoff with that rolling bit above is very rewarding. I know some have said they are very disappointed that the "build-up" doesn't actually build up to anything, I don't mind. It's absolutely masterful. Stunning. Regarding that cue, there have also been complaints that it is too meandering and directionless. And I think that in that respect it might be that with a long cue people expected a long classic film set piece. Instead they got more of a concert work, where everything isn't quite as accessible and the pay-off is not quite as big and brassy and timpani-pounding, with clear themes, as some would prefer. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My God that transition is heartbreaking. And what follows is great too...

 

 

This above was my favorite moment of the score after my first listen to the OST. 

 

 

That bass note with the harp glisses over it... Williams is so masterful with orchestration. 

 

If you don't remember, these Blowing Dreams bits played over a lovely scene where the BFG sends in a happy dream and he and Sophie watch through the window. A shadow of what's in the dream appears on the wall of the dream receiving boy's bedroom as the BFG describes it. I remember this being a beautiful, beautiful scene, with a kind of mix of the joyful and the melancholy, and JW's music reflects that so well. 

 

 

This was a really emotional scene as well. You may remember that Sophie jumps from the orphanage ledge to force the BFG, who has left her there for her safety, to come save her. She falls right into his arms and he cradles her there for an incredibly touching moment of friendship. The build-up with the main theme fragments before the fall, which is scored brilliantly, and the its fully comforting lullaby style is heard. This music/scene can bring me close to tears sometimes. 

 

 

The BFG doesn't have very many kick-ass moments, but this is certainly one. 1:09.  And the whole second half of that track is really beautiful. Really underscores the fairy tale element. 

 

 

The BFG chases away the mean giants.

 

The whole of Meeting the Queen is really great, from the BFG theme statements to the queen's theme with those tubas (?) to the great snare and brass bit. 

 

And last but not least...

 

 

So exciting. 

 

Okay, so you must not have fainted before finishing reading this incredibly lengthy post. Congrats.

 

 

By the way, @Thor, nice thread title. Missouri Breaks was the first thing I thought of when I saw it (although I haven't actually heard that score). 

[Wojo 2,453]

Will , a link would have sufficed . I don't want to read all that . 

[Will 2,215]

8 minutes ago, petaQ said:

Will , a link would have sufficed . I don't want to read all that . 

 

 

Yes, it's not great forum etiquette.

 

But I had to make it abundantly clear how much you were missing. 

 

I presumed that if I just gave a link you might well not click on it. 

 

 

[BloodBoal 7,538]

If you have to write a super lenghty post to explain how great the music is, then the composer has failed to do its job.

[Dixon Hill 4,232]

Will must learn the folly of opinion-crusading.  Look to the Interstellar threads, son.  Don't go down the same path with The BFG.  You have far less objective ground on which to argue from with music than I did with a movie in which people were outright missing both obvious and subtle details and connections and hints! 

 

Morons!

[Will 2,215]

7 hours ago, BloodBoal said:

If you have to write a super lenghty post to explain how great the music is, then the composer has failed to do its job.

 

I didn't have to write a lengthy post. I could have explained it in fewer words, but I wanted to go into more detail. 

 

Would you say that any score analyzed by Incanus is bad? Or that LOTR is bad because Doug Adams wrote a book about it? 

 

So why did they write a lot about those scores? Because they wanted to give everyone a deeper understanding and point out some important things. That doesn't make those works failures. Why is this situation any different? 

 

By your logic, it almost seems as if any score that is not immediately like-able and requires some analysis is bad. Only music that is so "obvious" it's not worth writing a lot about, apparently, is good music. 

 

I am not the only one who likes this score. In fact, the poster Marcus, a composer, loved it and spoke as glowingly if not more so than I have about it. 

[Dixon Hill 4,232]

Incanus and Doug and many others here don't write such things to change other peoples' minds though, neither in the moment nor later through quotes.  That kind of soapboxing tends to entrench people rather than convince them.  

[Will 2,215]

3 minutes ago, Prerecorded Briefing said:

Incanus and Doug and many others here don't write such things to change other peoples' minds though, neither in the moment nor later through quotes.  That kind of soapboxing tends to entrench people rather than convince them.  

 

Good point.

 

Although then again I don't think my intent when I originally wrote my BFG post was to change anyone's mind. It was just to express my love for that score. 

 

But yes, with the SW prequels and in some cases with the BFG I have been "guilty" of trying to change people's minds (if that is a bad thing). 

[Joni Wiljami 1,206]

On ‎4‎.‎11‎.‎2016 at 3:20 PM, Disco Stu said:

I have found in the past that "Scherzo for X-Wings" is great music to listen to at the gym, actually.  Very motivating when I'm on the elliptical or whatever.

 

Yes. I use to jog many times in a week. Last four tracks of TFA are perfect for the 25 min run.

 

 

On ‎4‎.‎11‎.‎2016 at 10:52 PM, Prerecorded Briefing said:

I increasingly find much of his music to be too overbearing to listen to without having gone weeks or months away from it. Even the very top works need to be spaced out, because they're demanding in their own (and much more agreeable) way.

 

Great excuse to stay out of this place if you are so much better musician. I would love to hear your music since it must be better than Johnny's overbearing shit.

 

 

13 hours ago, BloodBoal said:

If you have to write a super lenghty post to explain how great the music is, then the composer has failed to do its job.

 

Älskling!!

[Will 2,215]

On 11/4/2016 at 3:52 PM, Prerecorded Briefing said:

I increasingly find much of his music to be too overbearing to listen to. 

 

You could be a film critic! 

[Arpy 4,145]

I'm not sure how long a Williams break might be for me, I take breaks from some of his albums but not his work entirely.

[Dixon Hill 4,232]

5 hours ago, hornist said:

Great excuse to stay out of this place if you are so much better musician. I would love to hear your music since it must be better than Johnny's overbearing shit.

 

Christ, I really, really don't like you.  You seem like one of the worst types of people..  Is it an act?

[Joni Wiljami 1,206]

drunk post edited

 

 

[Dixon Hill 4,232]

Ohhh, a good musician! And well trained and educated! How impressive, I bet no one else here fits that description!

So it's not an act, you're just a dang fool. You'd have to be to view my, or anyone else's who you are constantly up in arms over, posts as "bashing." Get a grip man. We're all here because of Williams. Everyone recognizes his mastery, whatever changing of trends might happen. Perhaps some of us don't meet your requirements of slobbering Williams worshipper, but I'm ok with that.

[Joni Wiljami 1,206]

have a good life, sir

 

i have nothing here, only magnet to here sadly seems  to be alcohol

 

i deleted the link from celly screen, should have done it 10 years ago

 

 

 

 

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

8 hours ago, Prerecorded Briefing said:

Ohhh, a good musician! And well trained and educated! How impressive, I bet no one else here fits that description!

So it's not an act, you're just a dang fool. You'd have to be to view my, or anyone else's who you are constantly up in arms over, posts as "bashing." Get a grip man. We're all here because of Williams. Everyone recognizes his mastery, whatever changing of trends might happen. Perhaps some of us don't meet your requirements of slobbering Williams worshipper, but I'm ok with that.

 

TheGayPilgrim trying the moral high ground, and failing as usual!

[Disco Stu 15,495]

"JWFan, The Dream Goes On"