Breadstick Basilisk

I can't possibly pick one top favorite, so here are 10 of my favorites (in no order):
 
"Prologue" (JFK)
"The Meeting in Sicily" (MONSIGNOR)
"The Seduction of Suki and the Ballroom Scene" (THE WITCHES OF EASTWICK)
"Kelso in Barstow" (1941)
"Fawkes the Phoenix" (HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS)
"For Gillian" (THE FURY)
"Remembering Childhood" (HOOK)
"The Plane" (EMPIRE OF THE SUN)
"End Titles: "If We Were in Love"" (IF WE WERE IN LOVE)
"Journey to the Island" (JURASSIC PARK)
 
 
 

Was just going to come here to say, "The Rebellion Is Reborn" is one of my fav tracks from the album, not to mention from 2017, and also not to mention the saga as a whole. I know some people take issue with the fact that Rose and Luke/the island are rather unrelated, but musically it works unbelievably well. Great concert arrangement to sum up TLJ.

At one time, decades ago, Horner was shoulder to shoulder with him. But he dropped off a cliff fairly quickly and figuratively didn't have anywhere near the longevity that Williams had. Apart from the odd highlight before his premature death, Horner had fallen into also-ran territory along with Silvestri and Arnold. Meanwhile, Williams, whether you like it or not, is still writing cracking good Star Wars themes. 
 
So no, Horner wasn't as good as Williams. Not in the end. 

THAT! Oh. My. Williams God!
3:08 to the end.
 

0:10 and 0:42
 
 One of Johnny's coolest moments. It's in 9/8, but it doesn't feel like it. That's largely thanks to the infectious two measure ostinato in the strings and low brass, which subdivides meter across two measures into a ratio of 5:4 and 4:5. A palindromic rhythm.
 

1.       The Empire Strikes Back End Suite (1980)          
2.       Last Crusade End Suite (1989)                  
3.       The Temple of Doom End Suite (1984)              
4.       Raiders of The Lost Ark End Suite (1981)  
5.       The Asteroid Field (1980)                                      
6.       The Parade of The Ewoks (1983)                  
7.       Hedwig’s Theme (1998)                                
8.       Into the Trap (1983)                                  
9.       Duel of the Fates (1999)                                  
10.    Journey to the Island (1993)                        
hm.    The Flag Parade (1999)
 
1-4 Suites are a loophole that allows for multiple compositions, so no wonder which wonders end up at the top.
5-7 Three great "complex" uh... singles.
8 Into the Trap—just very elegant
9 Duel of the Fates is a repetition of repetitions, but the thing being repeated is so great that I have no other choice... 
10 Journey to the Island is probably the best from what is left, although I do not like it that much
 
Honorable mention of The Flag Parade—the fanfarous aspect of JW's appeal in a nutshell. These trumpets bring me closer to ancient Rome than the entirety of Ben Hur and sound more regal than the Imperial March.

Every JWFan should listen to this today!  Martin is such a beautiful performer, his trumpet tone and character is unrivaled.
 
 

Its a legitimate thread despite whatever those who reach this composer thinks.
 
 

I can't possibly pick one top favorite, so here are 10 of my favorites (in no order):
 
"Prologue" (JFK)
"The Meeting in Sicily" (MONSIGNOR)
"The Seduction of Suki and the Ballroom Scene" (THE WITCHES OF EASTWICK)
"Kelso in Barstow" (1941)
"Fawkes the Phoenix" (HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS)
"For Gillian" (THE FURY)
"Remembering Childhood" (HOOK)
"The Plane" (EMPIRE OF THE SUN)
"End Titles: "If We Were in Love"" (IF WE WERE IN LOVE)
"Journey to the Island" (JURASSIC PARK)
 
 
 

Not an unpopular opinion, dude, so...

I could come up with better puns.

I'll start.
 
He is not particularly good, at least from my perspective. He is not terrible but he is rarely good or great. His Up was fantastic. But like a broken clock or blind pig.  Perhaps TGP can start this type of thread for Zimmer.

Me neither, I prefer Adventure on Earth.

End Titles

So here’s what I don’t understand.
 
This past December, John gifted us a soundtrack album that is among the best scores I’ve heard this decade.  An album where each and every cue is entertaining, melodic, emotional, and containing a richness and depth of gorgeous orchestration that is just astounding.  It’s a crowd pleasing score like enthusiasts lament doesn’t get written anymore.  A score with four or five central melodic ideas that get developed and played with in super cool ways over the course of the album.
 
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But nobody is talking about FERDINAND.
 
Well, here goes.
 
I have listened to this soundtrack at least twice a week over the past 4 months and it just has not gotten old.  It’s so dense with ideas!  Powell is resetting/recontextualizing melodies in ways where I don’t realize what it is until the 4th time I’ve listened to the cue.  I’m going to go on record saying that I think “Flower Festival” is one of the best film score tracks of the decade.
 
The Flower Theme (a name that Powell himself uses to describe the main melody in “Flower Festival”) is definitely the showstopper theme of the score.  But I’m a bit fascinated with this other theme lately.  It’s the only central theme not introduced in the opening cue, “Bees and Bulls.”  I call it the Pacifist Theme and it’s first introduced in the cue “Father and Son.”  I think it represents how Ferdinand (and Powell) wish the world worked, that people could live non-violently.  I haven’t seen all of the movie, not really up my alley, but I think that’s what it is.  It’s an aching melody that perfectly captures a reality that Powell knows is just a dream.
 
Anyway, holy crap it’s great.  It’s far from the most used theme in the movie, but when it is it’s for maximum emotional effect.
 
Here’s where it’s quietly introduced on strings, guitar, and oboe.
(0:40 - 1:06)
 
Now this isn’t really a quote of the theme, but in my opinion it absolutely is meant to function as a grief-stricken echo of the melody as Ferdinand’s illusions are shattered by the death of his father.
(0:41 - 0:56)
 
The proper theme makes an appearance later in the same track, “Finding Home.”  This rendition evokes an almost spiritual joy as Ferdinand first steps out into the idyllic field of flowers that serves as his new home.
 
In “A New Day” the theme has a lovely quiet rendition on just guitar with backing horn before the strings join in and it transitions perfectly to the Flower Theme
 
The theme sits out for a while before making a return for the final minute of “Ferdinand and Nina.”  The cellos lead on this rendition, reflecting a deeper, more mature Ferdinand mourning for his idealized world that doesn’t exist
 
It then sits out again until the great “Madrid Finale” where it makes two appearances.
 
Setting up the emotional climax of the score to 6:36 - 7:04
 
A wonderful, triumphant setting at 9:05
 
And finally he closes out the score with it, at least before quick celeste rendition of the Flower Theme.  Definitely an indication of the melody's importance to Powell's emotional intent for the score overall, despite it being used only sparingly.
 
I can already tell you that this is definitely going to be one of my most listened to albums of 2018 and I cannot wait to hear what Powell (and Williams) have cooked up for Solo.
 
I have a work in progress breakdown of all the themes in the score that I might post later.

I misremembered the title.  I meant "Epilogue."  Both are a bit generic in similar ways, in my defense!

Karol

Has anyone seen that?
 
There is a new segment of building a crate. At around 3:57, coming into the new segment, it somehow transitioned into the current Powell's writing style (from Powell's 90s-00s old style). Idk if it is just me, but it feels different.
 
Then there is a longer suite for Lando's Closet. I dont quite like it. the higher pitch kinda ruins in, sadly
 

One of my favorites too.
 
This score is rad.

I ADORE this little bit
 
 
And then when it reappears at 2:40
 
DA DADA DADADA  DADADA DADEEDADEEDADEESDFSFSFS DA DA!

Extremely good deal offered on his site. I'm probably going to toss the 192/24 on my external and keep CD-quality on my computer and iPhone, but still happy to have the high-res for if I ever want it. Nice to have a digital booklet too; that's not offered on iTunes or any of the other sites from what I can tell.
 
The music (so far) is phenomenal. I love the extensive percussion in his film scores, but it's a nice break to have some symphonic/choral music where his voice as a composer really shines through, without the chance of anything being "buried". This release further cements my view that Powell is probably the best composer working in film (maybe even in general) today, aside from Williams. Seriously, can you imagine Giacchino putting out something of this quality?

I can just imagine what it’s like to live in the house of Williams and overhear him composing these endings...
 
plink plonk...plonk.....PLONK!
 
...........
 
*soft chuckles*
 
............
 
PLONK!

I think it's one of those things that he finds humorous, like he likes to trick the listener into believing it's over. But just when they thought it was safe to go back to applauding....
 

 
 

oof this is a snooze-fest. 2 duds in a row. this and Incredibles 2

I'm not a big fan of Screenslaver's theme.  Maybe it's because I loved Syndrome's theme too much! 
 
Compared to the original, this one feels more like a superhero score rather than a spy score. Which probably makes sense considering this didn't really have much genre mixing. 
 
Also I hate how Giacchino just uses repeated chords at the end of Looks like I picked the Wrong Week to Quit Oxygen.  It feels super amateurish!  Hes done that in Jurassic World and Rogue One I think and its always so jarring to me.