DarthDementous

Star Wars was considered epic at the time but Williams gave us a different epic (and apparently now modern epic) with TPM.  I'm glad Williams given us a new, different yet familiar Star Wars sound for TFA without relying on loud and in your face music.

That is certainly possible.
 
iTunes sells AAC's which are compressed in such a way that the sound quality is affected. That isn't the case with FLAC. 
 
 

That is a matter for the Admins and Mods to decide.  I would hope that anyone planning on even hinting as to such a posting would PM the powers that be for pre-blessing.
 
Its a murky point.  While the material is readily available for free, it is at a lower quality.  And that difference in quality is what may lean the big kahunas to decide against such posting.

Wait... Does that mean DarthDementious was only listening to lossy files all his life until... today?

Examples like that are usually designed to work on a sub-conscious level. Through analysis we can appreciate this but its meant to subtly inform the emotion of the moment as its being watched.

So many! Here's just a few moments that make my heart flutter.
 
(FYC because they're film versions)
- Kylo Ren's introduction, from his shuttle landing to him getting off ("Attack on the Jakku Village Part 1" 4:28-5:03). Anyone who says there's no awesome epic music or moments, look no further.
- When Rey reveals her face and tries to drink water, then slides down, then drives away, then eats, then hangs out by the AT-AT. Basically, the entirety of "The Scavenger" and "Lunchtime."
- Every statement of Poe Dameron's theme. 1:52 on "I Can Fly Anything" when Finn knocks out the turret and they both cheer - a totally fun and classic Star Wars scene. 1:06 on "The Resistance" when Poe's X-Wing flies around taking out baddies showing he's "one hell of a pilot." 0:35 on "The Journey Home" when Starkiller blows and our heroes fly away.
- The entirety of "Follow Me and the Falcon" is just a killer combo of film + music. One small moment I dig is 5:50 when it cuts to the Tie pilot, just a classic bad guy thing. The end is perfect as are all the Rebel fanfare statements.
- Luke's theme when Han and Chewie show up gives me big goosebumps (I think you can hear it on "The Rathtars!" OST at 0:50)
- I'm not in love with "The Rathtars" as a scene or as a cue but I really like the horn bit at 0:31 as Rey and Finn run down the corridor.
- The Force theme when Han talks about, uh, the Force (unreleased, unfortunately). 
- The short motif in "Kylo Ren Arrives at the Battle" 0:24 when we see that beautiful shot of the Ties against the sun, Apocalypse Now style. Reminds me of the Death Star motif in the best way.
- When the camera swings to stormtroopers being shot down to the rhythm of "The Resistance" at 0:48.
- The beginning of "The Abduction" on OST with the bad ass rendition of Kylo's secondary theme as he lurches towards Rey, blocking her shots. Also the sweeping, tragic rendition of Rey's theme at the end of "The Abduction" when Finn chases after Kylo's shuttle.
- Pretty much all of "Torn Apart" but I especially love at 1:33 as it shifts from sinister to sad as Han puts his hand on Ben's face and falls away and then at 2:04 when it shifts from sad to angry as Chewie flips shit.
- "Burning Homestead" when Rey gets the lightsaber. Yeah, it's tracked, but nowhere else does the film give me chills this big.
- The Scherzo bit at the start of "Ways of the Force" as the X-Wings start their trench run, and the big statement of the Force theme at 3:20 as Rey harnesses her potential.
- "The Journey Home" at 1:51 when Rey hugs Leia and we hear Han and Leia's theme for the last time and I cry my eyes out.
- The entirety of "Farewell and the Trip."
- The entirety of "The Jedi Steps."
- A bunch of others. I could spend all day doing this.
 
Yeah, I really like this movie and score.

I really like the moment in Torn Apart before the death and also the angry trumpets when Chewie gets pissed off right after the strings. Also the great muted trumpet moment in The Rahtars! 2.20-ish.
 

-The short fanfare from "The Bombing Run" as the x-wings begin their assault on the Death Star

The entire opening sequence is great.  It's a little soon but I think it's my favorite of the entire saga. 
 

- First shot as the new Star Destroyer's shadow covers Jakku and the brass rises (Main Titles and Attack on Jakku Village at 1:37)
 
- Rey making her dinner and the beautiful flute and harp of her theme come in (The Scavenger at 2:54)
 
-Rey saying how she didn't think there was that much green in the whole galaxy as the Falcon comes in to land (Finn's Confession at 0:47)
 
- Poe on his badass annihilation run with his theme blasting out in full glory. (FYC track - The Resistance at 1:03)
 
- Ren doing his evil walk to go get Rey from the interrogation room (On the Inside at 0:45)
 
- Burning Homestead as Rey catches the lightsaber. (I think it makes the scene more powerful and didn't bother me that it was lifted from ANH)
 
- When the Falcon flew away from Jakku and into space. (The Falcon at 3:14)
 
 

 
This relates to a thought I had after my second viewing, which was whether or not Rey's Theme is distinctive enough as a hook, especially the first 6 notes standalone. For one thing, you only really get three big, loud statements of the full theme in the film (and one of them -- The Abduction -- is nearly buried under loads of explosions), plus some quieter statements, but otherwise a lot of its recognition rides on those first 6 notes. How much do they say by themselves, especially in "Ways of the Force"? When he starts spinning variations, of course WE know what we're listening for, but how many viewers will realize that this is Rey's theme for example?
 
 
 
 
It's a little unusual for this series. Normally, a Star Wars theme is pretty much always the same whenever it appears. There's nothing to figure out, it's instantly identifiable. But Rey's theme is treated with more flexibility than I can remember with the other core material in this franchise. That's appealing to me as an active listener, but I feel like this score required more investigation on my part than usual for Star Wars. What does that say? Is it clever or just confusing?
 
These subtle variations that are harder to pick up on...is it a good thing that we have to really strain to hear Han/Leia's theme in Torn Apart, or as a piece of film music should we have known it was there the instant Leia reacted? Or is it even important that we hear it?

One that stands out in my mind and haven't seen mentioned is the build-up to the arrival of Kylo Ren.
 
For the first time in the saga, stormtroopers are shown to be the formidable fighting force we've been always been told they are. The moment I'm talking about really starts once the wave of stormtroopers starts taking significant causalities, and Finn recoils from the horror around him. In one of the film's most memorable images, a blooded hand from a dying comrade slides down Finn's helmet,  At this point the score climbs to a fever pitch as out of the blackened clouds, Kylo Ren's shuttle raises its wings to land. Williams's motif with its triplet fanfares and cyclic string runs suggesting a man-monster, cutting through the fear in his troops. While technically none of this new (stylistically you could say it points to Nixon, The Patriot and RotS), dramatically this is dead on. Beyond badass.
 
 
 

The more complex or daring music is, or the more different it is from what you expect/want it to be, the more time it takes to understand and appreciate.  Familiarity breeds fondness.  I'm sure we all love some music that at first hearing made us raise our eyebrows.  I love that experience, it's very rewarding.  This also makes it very exciting to be a composer in the 21st century.  Write whatever you want, or improvise freely, and listen to it repeatedly.  What at first might seem like nonsense starts to make sense.  Part of that is good underlying musical instinct dictating even our "random" choices, but even more of it is just this weird thing that happens when even the strangest or most incoherent things suddenly take on great logic and meaning once you're exposed to them enough.  I suppose it's because beyond the actual scientific, physical reasons for the "sense" of tonality, there's no inherent meaning in sound, only what we put onto it ourselves.  And we can do that with any sounds, as long as we're familiar enough with them.
 
Incidentally, I think that's the current key to writing fresh and substantial music: being willing to grope along in the dark a little bit, not knowing where you're going or what the heck it's going to sound like exactly.  As familiar musical structures become more and more saturated with equally familiar rhetorical/dramatic/psychological meaning, you have to be open to the unfamiliar to say anything new or different.  Just as verbal language evolves and grows to fit new expressive needs, so does musical language.
 
As a fun experiment for anyone interested, consider this piece I just posted in the classical music thread.  I reckon it'll be at least "challenging" to anyone on a first listen.  But listen to it a number of times, even just small sections since it's long, and see if it doesn't start to make perfect sense.  Maybe it won't, and I'm full of shit, but let's find out definitively.
 
 
 

Something definitely would be missing if Williams didn't score Episodes VIII and IX.  Kind of the like the HP series when Williams departed after POA.

I feel that the use of Luke's theme also in a way celebrates return to Star Wars while not simply retreading some previous variation of the theme. There is something so unabashedly heroic and soaring in the development woven into the scherzo figures that to me captures the "heroes are gaining the upper hand" at the end of the battle perfectly. Since Luke's theme was never confined to him alone and is in a broader sense a motto for the whole adventurous spirit of these stories, I got a huge kick out of hearing this particular theme back in the score.

More the once it's been mentioned that the score for Mad Max: Fury Road should have been nominated. I don't know if the posters are being sarcastic or sincere, but I didn't think much of the music. Actually I didn't think much of the film, though I enjoyed some of the stunt work and one or two sassy visuals. Vive le difference.
 
I really liked Giacchino's Jupiter Ascending. I also liked the film (though I think I was the only one in the universe who did). However, given the film's reception, and Giacchino's high-profile with scores this past year, I don't think the score had a chance.
 

 
As far-fectched as this is, I still prefer people paying attention and loving Williams' music like this, than those criticising it for not sounding like the kitschy trailer. 

I can't even tell you how glorious that was to see the first time haha. That entire sequence was pure Han Solo, age be damned.

I was wondering when you'd come to this thread and post about nothing. Glad to see you don't disappoint.

Hey guys, I found this on Star Wars reddit but the video was summarily taken down by Disney so I've uploaded it on my dropbox. Its basically a 10 minute long video showing Before and After of compositing and CGI addition but it features many clips from the movie with full uninterrupted audio. I don't know if its possible to rip some parts that haven't been released but at least we can listen.
 
I believe one of the members talked about a timpani roll that he really liked during the Falcon crashing through the trees on Starkiller Base? That's a clip in here but I'm not sure exactly when that musical part plays.
 
Even though there was quite a lot of CGI in the end oh my god is it absolutely breathtaking. I love the X-Wing fighting scenes because there's these wonderful dynamic shots like a go-pro has been attached to the side of the X-wing haha.
 
Without further audieu, enjoy!
https://www.dropbox.com/s/tj1p2csteojemtx/VFX%20Before%20and%20After%20in%20Star%20Wars%20The%20Force%20Awakens.mp4?dl=0

I was wondering when you'd come to this thread and post about nothing. Glad to see you don't disappoint.

...Huh? I wasn't being sarcastic. It's probably not present on every track but in this case it makes sense how the March of the Resistance quickly interjects before the theme develops like in ESB.

That following the tragic rendition of Han Solo and the Princess is very beautiful indeed. I actually prefer the renditions of that theme in TFA than I do compared to ESB, it just fits the idea of the tragic love theme that I'd come to expect when I first heard it.
 
EDIT:
Just found this wonderful Youtube comment on the Disney Vevo of that track:
"Has anyone else noticed how in every official soundtrack release of Han and Leia's theme (Han Solo and the Princess, Han and Leia, etc.) the song is usually cut off by another song, like the Imperial March or the March of the Resistance? I think that's sort of neat symbolism. Han and Leia's love will always be fleeting and brief, drowned out by the march of war."

FLAC is the future, Darth.  
 
 

I can't even tell you how glorious that was to see the first time haha. That entire sequence was pure Han Solo, age be damned.