KK

I myself am a big fan of Doyle's Holmes stories as well (own every short story and novel he wrote based on the character). Similar to you, I didn't really like the first episode (thought it kind of "dumbed down" the first novel) and it took me a while to get my head to accept that Cumberbatch was Holmes. But as the show progressed, I fell in love with Cumberbatch and the interpretations. A friend of mine introduced it to me and tried to get me to like it, after some hesitancy, I now am truly in love with the show.

I liked the episode, but like others, I didn't think it was very close to the greatness of the season premiere of season 2. But the show continues to maintain a high standard of writing and great acting on Cumberbatch's part. Although I wonder how ridiculous it must have seemed to film the "Mind Palace" scene SPOILER ALERT: Yes, there were some plot holes. But wasn't the "hound" in the hollow always the dog (just seen as a vicious hound)? The hound at the lab was induced by Sherlock's noises and such. Also, I could see the smoke unleashed upon enemies as a weapon of mass fear. - KK

Wow, its pretty cool to realize that the Hobbit music is getting so much attention! Very much unlike when Fellowship first came out. But then again, he didn't have 3 Oscars and a massive trilogy of completed epic scores under his reputation then

Wrong. I've been a huge fan of thematic association and the leitmotivic style of Star Wars since... well, since Star Wars was released (1977), and I'm definitely NOT a fan (not to mention a 'huge' fan) of Howard Shore's Lord of the Rings. And I'm certainly no exception. Just don't assume that everyone else is. Point taken, although I never presumed that everyone here loved Lord of the Rings (I know there are many who are not very fond of the films or the music) but since I got the impression that Ethan was into thematic driven scores, he might find something to enjoy in the LOTR scores. A little introduction to a popular set of scores (regardless of what people think of them) does no harm, right? You'll have to excuse my enthusiasm over certain scores, I acknowledge it can be overbearing.

Hey guys, I’m really new around here, so I'm not sure if I should be posting this, I'll try anyways. I'm going to try and keep this story short (doubt I’ll succeed). A couple of months ago, I wrote a passage that was basically describing this LOTR-level kind of war. After reading it over a few times I decided it might be fun to compose a piece after it. Now I started, but I never really got to finish it and it dragged for months. It was a hassle because I wanted to finish it but never got the time. It happened to be that once in a while I would look back to the file and add a minute or two of music and it kept expanding that way. AT LAST, over the holidays, in all my frustration, I managed to get to the end! To try and get some worth out of this, I’d like to share it with you guys (pardon me for the self-promotion…but this stupid piece has been killing me). http://soundcloud.co...larkk/the-storm If you listen carefully, you can notice the stylistic differences. This is essentially a very rough copy. I just finished it recently and thought I'd share to get some feedback. The mixing has barely been touched, and a lot of parts can still use tons of work. So its incomplete, but I think I'm going to stay away from this piece for a bit...its given me enough headaches! Now, before you listen, I’d like to point out that this is actually a leitmotif driven piece and you might not hear them all. Give it a shot and see what you can pick up on. If you want, I did stupidly write up a thematic analysis on it (how stupid is that?!). As you might see below, I tried to really pull a Howard Shore with this piece THEMATIC ANALYSIS (don't read if you wish to keep your sanity) _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ There are 3 main themes. The first theme is the hero’s theme. The piece opens up with a solemn statement of this theme on the horns. Its simple in its progression but I made it like that so that its very malleable. If you notice carefully, this theme has many different variations and the theme is always constantly developing. There is the fanfare variation that heralds the arrival of the hero or some heroic action from the protagonist. This is heard in several moments on different such as the beginning on horns, 2:05 on the piccolo, 7:10 on trumpets, 8:06 full ensemble and its grand finale at the end which begins at 10:48. Most of the time this action variation is placed at the forefront of chaotic orchestral material, only at the end is it in its true heroic form (to show the victory of the hero). The most heroic and full statement of this theme is at 2:19. This part shows off the hero’s theme with the most flair and colour in its orchestrations. You also hear the B phrase of the hero theme at 2:34, however all this magic is shortlived before its drowned by chaos. There are only two other places that the B phrase of the hero theme shows up and that’s very briefly at 7:55 and then a more expanded hopeful version of the B phrase at 10:23 that leads into the final Hero fanfare. What I tried to do with this theme is really develop it throughout the piece to show how the hero is being changed by this massive war. In the beginning, you get the sense that the hero’s theme is a brief call. However in its more emotional renditions, it begins to expand, exploring the upper regions more. You’ll notice at 6:16 that a new dimension is added to the hero. There is a more introspective emotional variation to theme. He receives most fully expanded variation at the end where the music mourns for the hero and all that he has lost at around 9:29. This will eventually lead to the finale where the hero understands that sacrifice is necessary and he becomes the man he needs to be. I also tried to put tons of hints of the main theme everywhere. Shortened variations of the hero theme are the “staircase like” ascending and descending abbreviations of the theme. It’s the Hero’s action motif. It shows up briefly here and there. You first hear this action motif on the low and high woodwinds, chirping in the background at around 1:35-1:43 ish. This action motif also leads into the first emotional statement of the hero theme (and supports it in the background) at around 6:14 and onwards. The next major theme is the theme for the villain. Now the passage didn’t exactly have ONE BIG villain. So his theme actually shows up the least out all 3 of the main themes. In fact, you don’t hear it till half way through the theme. The reason this villain receives the main theme is because he’s the most prominent of the villains. He is a dark, monstrous fiend who has quite a dark of sense of humour. So his theme premiers on a waltz like dance as he enters the field. It begins in very subdued, dark tones (with bass pizzicato rhythms and variations of the theme in the background) at around 3:09. The waltz expands to explosive heights at the man’s cruelty at around 4:44. Now from here, you only hear subtle hints of this villain’s theme because the war is not just about him. There are tons of other forces fighting here and music has to address all that. What you do hear instead are different appearances of the first 3 notes of this theme in multiple action variations along with other parts of theme sped up or slowed down. From as early as 5:20 to 5:31, you hear parts of the first three notes and the sections alternating the bass pizzicato rhythmic variation of the theme (the stuff you heard in the beginning of the waltz). The first three notes of this villain theme becomes a useful action 3 note phrase that acts as a great transition as well. With that we are lead into an explosion of the war theme (more on that later), but if you listen to the background, you’ll hear the woodwinds taking a very slow variation of the theme (followed by the cellos doing the same thing at 5:45). And then at 5:51, the pizzicato strings you hear are actually playing a variation of the 3 note phrase from this theme. Even at 6:11, the 3 note phrase gets passed around the orchestra, so I tried to give it as much showtime as I could without the theme taking the spotlight. Finally, we come to arguably the most important theme. Although the passage stands more for the hero’s personal journey, I tried to make the war itself a metaphor of something more. It stands for the storm in society. The chaos that is prevalent in each one of us. That’s why the villain theme can’t be prevalent, because this is more about chaos. And so the piece needs a main theme for the war. This comes in very early in the piece at around 0:54. This theme receives quite a bit of development with explosive statements like 5:31 and 7:26. I also gave it some background time where it plays as the chaotic noise behind other themes. For instance at 2:51 , as the hero theme is playing out, variations of the war theme are playing underneath. The same variation receives a growling like rendition at 6:45 to show that the war is not over yet. There was a part in the passage where a tribal folk joined the war and I thought I should musically represent that. I didn’t come up with a new motif or theme but I actually came up with a really ornamented variation on the trumpet at 5:51. With pizzicato strings and tambourine rhythms, I hope to add a whole new flavor that made it sound like a different motif but it was really just the war theme sneakily showing up in different forms. Very closely related to the war theme is the most important secondary motif. I call it the dread motif. It is a rising four chord (or note) progression that is heard almost right at the beginning (after the hero theme’s first statement) at 0:25. This motif plays whenever there is eminent danger approaching. This is a very important progression as it is one of the principle ideas in the passage. In fact, the war theme is built off these progressions. You can even hear this progression acting as the harmony of many of the statements of the war theme. This motif shows up a lot like at 6:56 with pizzicato strings and with full ensemble at 7:00. In fact, this motif is what concludes the war. The battle finally ends at 8:20 with the dissonant pounding. At that moment, every section of the orchestra is playing either one or more notes of the dread motif (to show the end of the war). The final secondary motif is another action motif that shows up here and there. Its an echoing like motif that heralds danger and first shows up at 1:04 and in other places like 7:07 and less noticeable at 7:37 (this is a more expanded version). _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Hopefully all that wasn't too much of a burden. Oh well, its not like anyone will bother to read all this stuff, I mean its all nonsense really. The only reason I’m sharing this is because its been a really pain in the derriere to compose. I don’t have the fancy equipment everyone else here does, so when I compose a piece, I use Notion 3 (the notation software program) and have to insert every single note by hand (including all the runs). So its very painful stuff. That and the mediocre samples at Notion really pale compared to some of the really authentic stuff used by composers here. Just a fair warning, there are glitches in a lot of places (like the terribly mediocre attempt at a flute solo…it starts with a glitch chord somehow). Most people will skip over this (and rightly so). I really feel bad about this extensive post…oh well, hope you get something out of it. Sorry for burdening you with this little nightmare of mine! Criticism and feedback is welcomed…a lot! Thanks again for putting up with me guys. I know I can be annoying sometimes - KK

Right? It's so..ugh. That's why I tend to be more...Zimmer-ish in my action stuff. Do you have a link to your compositions? I'd love to hear! Sure, I'll post up some of my compositions. I'd love hear some criticism from you. Have you thought about the composers challenge yet, btw? Weird? Not at all. That is pretty much the mindset of most film score fans. If you're a big fan of thematic association and the leitmotivic style of Star Wars, you'll be a huge fan of Howard Shore's magnum opus for the Lord of the Rings. This score is a thematic powerhouse and an intricate tapestry of a multitude of themes and motives weaving in and out of each other in many ways. In terms of thematic connections, I think LOTR even surpasses Star Wars in that regard. The Lord of the Rings is a score full of epic choral glory and orchestral action. And because the novels and the films are so intricate with its characters, locations and concepts, Shore provides numerous themes for the trilogy that often overlap each other. In fact, the entire trilogy is more like one entire big symphony rather than 3 separate scores. There are many big, bold themes in Shore's LOTR (if you're a fan of that stuff). Here are some samples that might sell the music for you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNx8tz4qVeI Opens up with the exotic Lothlorien theme, and then at 0:41, you're introduced to probably the most important theme in the trilogy, the History of the Ring theme. This prologue music is quite epic and you'll be introduced to many themes and motifs in this single track(ex. 2:19 is the Ringwraiths theme on choir). At 4:18, you hear a bold statement of one of the major themes of the first film, the theme for the Fellowship. 0:24, you hear a glimpse of one the major new themes of the 2nd film, the Rohan theme. 4:59, one of the major new themes of the 3rd film, the Gondor theme. And just to show the thematic continuity in the score: A grand choral statement of the fellowship of the theme (Followed by other themes ending the cue with the ring theme) near the climax of the film. I could go on about LOTR for days, weeks, maybe more. To list all the themes right now would be ridiculous. But if you're into thematically driven scores, LOTR is the ultimate score for you. The great thing about the scores are that as time goes by, you'll continue to be surprised at the amount of motifs and themes you'll find. Even years after you purchase the score, you might just find some subtle motif that Shore sneaked in and you didn't notice...unless you buy the ultimate cheatsheet, Doug Adams' analysis of the score in his book. And not a fan of the novels or the films? That must be changed...give it a chance. Both the books and the films rank amongst my favourite in their respective mediums. Sorry for the long blabbering, you can tell I'm quite a fan - KK

The first thing you're doing Ethan, buddy is getting yourself the Lord of the Rings scores (unless you already have them). The music for these epic films ranks amongst the best of film music. Also, I don't have a midi software either, so when I compose, I have to insert everything note by note too...very painful for action sequences.

Some secrets are best left untold.... Don't forget to share your work! By the way, if you're really interested, you should try and join a little event I run called the composers challenge. Here is the blog: www.composerschallenge.wordpress.com Its basically a challenge that happens every once in a while where pariticipants are given a clip of film that they are supposed to score to. Their entries are then submitted to a panel of judges that offer critical feedback along with ratings. The clips are then open for public voting and a winner is decided. We've had 5 successful challenges so far. In fact, the 5th challenge is undergoing the judging process at the moment (the clips will be open for public voting on this Friday) so you can't really join this one. But I'll let you know when the 6th one starts, if you're interested. You should join. James Newton Howard is a very talented young composer who has offered great scores. Its just when he's off the mark, he can really be off (as with scores like Green Lantern, Michael Clayton and Salt). He has some Zimmer-ish sounds, but his style is more of the intimate piano and string melodies although his fantasy sound can be quite expansive. Here are some recommendations: JNH Fantasy Scores: - The Last Airbender (a powerhouse of 2010!) - Lady in the Water (absolutely beautiful) - Atlantis (I hope you really enjoyed this one, its a great score!) - Treasure Planet His drama works are also great. He often collaborates with M. Night Shyamaln and while he produces horrid films (with the exception of the Sixth Sense), the scores that he offers for the director just gets better and better. JNH's scores from the 90s are also quite good. The composer is very diverse in his talents and quite versatile. Now here are some more great JNH scores you should obtain: - The Village (a suspense score with absolutely gorgeous violin solos) - Defiance (a score of great depth and gravity with the touch Joshua Bell's violin) - Blood Diamond (this is pretty MV/RC or Zimmer-ish in ways, but it is a beautiful score for the ethnic elements that elevate this music above the usual MV/RC stuff) - I Am Legend (truly some heartbreaking melancholic writing) - Dinosaur (great animation score! one of his best) - Snow Falling Cedars (one of his most potent dramatic scores and also the score that later provides inspiration for the Village. Don't dismiss it as atmospheric though, you'll be blown away by the epic LOTR-like choir in the track, Tarawa) - King Kong (although PJ ridiculously kicked Shore out of the job, JNH manages to deliver quite a score in a very short span of time) Try those for now. You'll understand that he's not just Zimmer-ish. He is quite the composer. By the way, how much of Zimmer have you listened to? In the last few years, he's largely produced trash for music, but if you go back through his career, you'll come to realize that man has composed some great works (especially in the 90s...most Zimmer fans fail to recognize that he has many different styles to him). Zimmer is a talented composer, he's just grown incredibly lazy recently and fails to root back to his 90s sounds (or the tones of some of his mid 2000 scores). - KK Minimalism isn't necessarily bad and I certainly wouldn't say Williams is getting lazy because he used the technique in some of scores. The minmalism in indy4's examples of AI and Memoirs of a Geisha are extremely effective in context (and rather beautiful in the latter score). There have been some great scores that made use of minimalism. However, the technique should be used properly...otherwise, its not much.

Agreed. It is a refreshing change of tone and pace. On the album presentation, it works really well. But if I had to pick single tracks to play in random order, Joey's Friends would probably be the last one I'd visit. Its great stuff, but there is so much other greater stuff on the album!

Its really hard to choose, but I'm going to go with Joey's New Friends. Again, its a great track, but its the least interesting on the album for me. Following that would be The Auction. Personally, the Auction's Celtic tones were something I enjoyed more than the other cue in question. But once again, both cues are great!

Yikes, I'm a bit younger than I thought in terms of this community. Not sure if I can really describe his style as he's explored quite multiple stylistic directions in his vast career, but he is definitely an amazing composer. Goldsmith was a great experimentalist. His orchestral epics are stunning, and as the latter part of his career went on, he experimented a lot with synthetics to create some truly unique scores (Legend, Hoosiers, etc.). He also had a tendency to score terrible films in great portion of his career, but he is well known for always elevating those terrible films in quality with his music. I would never really place him above Williams (still think Williams is the better composer) but he is a worthy rival and you must delve into his works if you wish to pursue film scoring. A few of his bigger scores that are good places to start: - The Wind and the Lion - The Omen I - Omen III: Final Conflict - Lionheart - Star Trek: The Motion Picture - Under Fire - Mulan - Patton - Poltergeist - Legend - Rudy - The Ghost and the Darkness - Rambo scores - etc. I think you are the youngest one here, but that doesn't matter much. I'm pretty young too it seems, compared to others here. But really, collecting film music is an awesome hobby take up as a teenager. So stay and continue. By the way, I've heard your work that you've posted here. Love it. Keep up the great music Ethan (thats your name, right?). - KK

Perhaps. I personally thought he juggled the themes quite well. There's only so much he can do with what is given in the trailer without making the music his own work. I mean, its hard to tell how Shore will use the new theme (and how it will be varied) so I guess he didn't want to be too creative with the main theme (otherwise, people will start complaining). And I think he developed that short new melody for Bilbo quite well, especially by melding it with "A Hobbit's Understanding" and the other Shire themes. I've heard some really crude, horribly renditions of Shore's work. And some very interesting (I use this word for fear of what else may come out of my mouth) takes and guesses on what the Hobbit music will be like. I've come to learn that Youtube is a very depressing abyss for film score fans (with fanboys roaming around and destroying sanity in film music related matters) but this is something I'm genuinely impressed with. Its either that, or my mind has learned to be satisfied with anything that resembles Shore's potential score for the Hobbit.

Wow, some of folks really have a whole lot of scores to catch up. You're missing out on some of the greatest film music ever composed! Max Steiner is not good...he's BRILLIANT! The man revolutionized film scoring as we know it. So yes, King Kong and Gone with the Wind are necessities for fans of the Golden Age. And how can some of you call yourselves Goldsmith fans without having listened to Wind and the Lion (one of my favourite Goldsmith scores!) or Under Fire. And you haven't heard a true epic until you've heard Rozsa's works. Go now and get yourself a copy of Ben-Hur, El Cid (get the Tadlow recording), King of Kings and Quo Vadis (can't wait for the Tadlow re-recording of this score!). John Williams isn't the only legend out there my friend. By the looks of it, many of you have yet to explore the vast world of film music. It may not be for everyone, but there are wondrous works to be found in the Golden Age! - KK

Georg, you brilliant son of a gun! How did you find this?!? (wait, don't answer that ) I've heard some really bad medleys, but wow this is actually really well conceived. Taking on some really great developments of the themes heard in the trailer. I love how he takes the Shire variations and melds them together. He doesn't alter the theme as much Shore would do, but this isn't howard shore! I really appreciated how he took the trademark musical style of the LOTR scores and applied them here (the music often hints at some other motifs from the trilogy...not sure if this was done intentionally or just to mimic the same sound). It definitely sounds like he knows his LOTR stuff more than the average listener. Kudos to the guy who did this, really well done. My only gripes with it (and they are few) is that he sticks with the "trailer" like nature of the "Thorn and Company" theme rather than what Shore would have done in film, but thats not a big issue. Whats the worst part is where the music dangerously borders Zimmer's sharp bass pounding at 0:47. A bit of a big "no no" with Shore's music. And I also felt its a shame he didn't add other themes from the LOTR trilogy that might possibly appear in the film. Like the Lothlorien theme, the Dwarrowdelf theme, etc. But I suppose he was only creating the suite based off of what he saw on the trailer. I am impressed with this although this only inflames my thirst for Shore's score more. - KK

I found it anticlimatic already on the book. The scene was absolutely critical to the novel. Its what gets Tolkien's big message across (one of the multitude of well crafted themes in the novels).

This is kind of off topic, but I stumbled upon the track "Under the Midnight Sun" from the TGWTDT score on youtube and I read this comment: "FRACKIN FANTASTIC!! Four thumbs and big toes up for TRENT and his awesome theatrical acheivement, well done Trent, Well well done; I smell another Oscar for the Mozart of our time......well done sir, the greatest musical genius anyone can try to argue!!!!!" I just died a little on the inside..... If you appreciate the music in context, I can understand (although I'd disagree), but ranking a guy who plays a single note for 3 hours on his synthesizer amongst the greatest of legends is blasphemy. Honestly listening to those tracks, I can't understand why people "enjoy" this music as a stand a lone listen. Although I haven't watched the film yet, TSN's score was hardly there in the film. Regardless, youtube comments are depressing

Alright. But if you were to take a book LOTR and film as it is word for word (more or less), then it would make a poor film. In that sense, it is more difficult to film and requires more alterations for a better cinematic effect. For instance, keeping the Bombadil scenes or especially the Scouring of the Shire would diminish the cinematic impact of the film. Thats what I meant. Imagine Jackson filming the Silmarillion (God forbid...). Filming that novel as it is would be quite a poor "film" regardless of how amazing it is as a book.

Regardless, the trilogy is marvellous. '"Silly" moments and all! Peter Jackson did an amazing job with the trilogy (my favourite films). But yes, Boyens and Walsh were absolutely critical to the production, with their excellent writing.

Again, its fine to take some artistic liberties with the text as they did in LOTR, but there are some ideas that are just stupid. If you look at the LOTR appendices, they show clips of what they originally intended as the finale for the final film with Sauron appearing in physical form to battle Aragorn. This was filmed and they took it out at the LAST moment (so last minute that they had to take the same footage and replace Sauron with the troll). One would be mortified by the fact that could have been the ending. It didn't make sense in any way and it was horrible. This new possibility is unfortunately along the same veins, so I think fans have the right to worry about it

To answer Faleel's question, yes the LOTR symphony is a little over an hour. But being a Canadian, I've never really had the opportunity to see it... I'd also like to randomly say that I've never really thought much of the Zelda music, although I confess I haven't heard much. Some of this enthusiasm for the score though surprises me, thats all. I guess I'm the odd one

A lot of his "restrained" works are still BIG in perhaps a subdued way. Melodramatic is the right word here I believe. Same concept, just quieter dynamics and tempo. Very True - Take Accidental Tourist or A.I for example. The melodic material though quiet, is very Direct, very literal. When JW write he writes a melodic line or melody with such precision ( almost mathematically and predictable) - On the other hand his action material is what I would call - hodge podge at times (i mean the orchestration is all over the place, - War Horse is the complete opposite!) Hodge podge?! The orchestration of Williams' works are pristine (with the brilliant help of Conrad Pope). Just because its detailed and diverse, it doesn't make it "hodge podge". I wouldn't say that. Shore follows very structure driven concepts for most of the films he scores and always takes an intelligent approach to mimicking whats on screen with the score. When he composes a thematic driven score, he often pays attention to them with great detail. They may not be as bold as Williams' themes, but in scores like LOTR and Hugo, the material you call "meandering" are really harmonies and progressions of the themes in a variety of places. And Shore can compose catcy material, as shown by LOTR. Hugo is a charming score too with great themes!

I gather you're not feeling to well. Get better soon! I felt that the original Sherlock Holmes score was pretty refreshing from Zimmer's all too predictable career. The score may have been filled with his typical mannerisms but it was rather enjoyable. But the sequel score is absolutely horrendous...I was hoping for the same refreshing experience but he delivered something beyond my worst imagination... I actually rant on about it for quite a bit: http://musicmusekk.wordpress.com/2012/01/02/sherlock-holmes-a-game-of-shadows-hans-zimmer/ On another matter, it seems kind of superficial to me that the JW fans here are obligated to look down on Zimmer with distaste. He may have had a really bad run in the last few years, but he's offered some great scores in his career (especially when going back to the 90s). It makes me wonder if the general opinion here is that JW fans can't be Zimmer fans. Zimmer may not be close to Williams' genius (and so aren't a lot of composers) but that doesn't change the fact that he is talented (although his post Batman scores have proved otherwise, with exceptions of course)

A lot of his "restrained" works are still BIG in perhaps a subdued way. Melodramatic is the right word here I believe. Same concept, just quieter dynamics and tempo. A lot of his restraned works are not as you say. An example? Presumed Innocent. Besides the main title and the end credits, a pretty quiet score, but bloody brilliant. I should have seen this coming I now admit I phrased that comment entirely wrong. I always meant to say that Williams would have composed a great score, an arguably would have been a modern classic (much like Shore's is now), but I don't think it would have been AS good as Shore's is. And since he was quite busy at the time, I don't think he would had the time to commit himself to re-creating the thematic integrity that Shore created and Williams did himself with Star Wars. Moreover, Williams just would not have worked well with Jackson on that project (I say this because I think they'll be awesome with the Tintin sequel) because of the hectic nature of the process (with Jackson throwing in crazy shots last minute and such). Shore was practically dying with it, not sure if Williams could have committed as much with all the high profile assignments he had at th time.

Nothing beats the books my friend Technically, filming LOTR as written is almost impossible to film, so I understand the alterations in the narrative. But theres a difference between making intelligent changes for the sake of better story telling as a film and making changes to satsify the testosterone driven, mindless action junkies who would probably not understand the reasoning behind the presence of Sauron without seeing him in battle.... Also, as narratives, while being unconventional, they work brilliantly. For instance, for a time in the book, due to the structure of the novels, readers genuinely think Frodo is dead whereas in the film you don't get that twist. There are some weak parts in terms of pacing like the Bombadil chapter (although I understand its purpose), but other than that, the books work excellently as narratives. But both books and films are epic, its just the former is more so

Sometimes it frustrates me when people say all Williams does is bombast. Listening to his more beautifully restrained works, thats clearly not true. Also, Williams rarely doesn't work in film, or at least thats what I believe. To the mainstream however, only Williams' big classics stick to mind, and thu he is ultimately defined by his more fanfaric stuff. Perhaps its just that this style has been around for a while, so people probably automatically latch on to something new. This is what makes guys like Reznor and Ross so popular with their work adorned by some film critics. They're prominent rock stars who are trying something new pushig their style onto a different, traditional based genre of music. Are they introducing something new to the mainstream? Well droning has been around for a while, their previous reputation as artists make it appear as if they're revolutionaries. For that, film critics feel the need to praise them for such. Does any of their work make sense as traditional film scores? Not really. Essentially, in today's world, if you're a pop artist and you were to try a score on a critically acclaimed film, you'll be piling up on awards. And with that, I think I've officially gone off topic...