pixie_twinkle

Aside from the entire Friends of Mr Cairo album (which I love), I think the most successful Jon and Vangelis material is Jon's contributions to the 1980 album "See You Later". He only sings on the two long tracks (side two of the vinyl version), and even then he only sings for a couple of minutes on each song, but it's terrific stuff. I also think his harp playing on the last track of Opera Sauvage is beautiful. Thet entire track, Flammants Roses (or something like that) is extremely lovely.

It's more Jon's self-conciously sincere singing style and lyrics. Haven't heard Page of Life in years, but I remember it having some good moments.

Having only just listened to these albums (I know!) I have to say I prefer Tintin by a mile. War Horse has some nice stuff, but Tintin is way ahead as an overall listening experience.

That scene definitely, but also the first/last kiss with the Doctor is very emotional. Very well-written and well-played scene. The Moff still has magic up his sleeves, but we just don't see it quite as consistently as we used to.

Season 6 only works (if "works" is the right word...) if you think of it as "The River Song Story". Pretty much the entire story arc revolved around revelations about her. Her tale is done. I'm 99% sure the show will move away from her character now. Haven't watched it yet, but nowhere does it mention CGI dinosaurs on the box. I think the BBC left it alone. Bit of a shame. They did try to recolourize the missing episode 1, though. Apparently the results were not all that great so they also include the black and white episode 1 as an alternative.

Great film. Great score. I'm buying this!

I completely understand your feelings towards possible approaches for season 7. The show desperately needs a bit of a step away from the complex and yet unsatisfying story arch of season 6. But like you I really hope we get an explanation for the Tardis exploding. It was such a major event in season 5 that it will be really annoying to continuity-minded fans like me if it never gets resolved. My DVD set of The UNIT Files arrived today. Rubber dinosaurs and faceless androids! I can't wait!

I'd completely forgotten about that voice. I hope it's not just yet another idea that never gets resolved. I'm still frustrated that Moffatt seems to have forgotten all about the Tardis exploding at the end of season 5. If he plans on answering all these open questions next season he's leaving it all a bit late, given that most viewers have either forgotten about them or simply don't care any more. Also, it doesn't make for a promising season, does it? Season 7: The season in which all the plotholes from seasons 5 and 6 are tied up. Doesn't leave much freedom for creative new stories. I haven't commented on this thread since the Christmas episode went out. To be honest I didn't really know what to write. I neither loved it nor hated it. It was just sort of meh. As I watched it I felt the same mixture of excitement and disappointment that I've been feeling while watching most recent Doctor Who stories.

Anthony Hopkins' courtroom speech in Amistad. The music just feels way too sentimental and obvious.

Man or Muppet nominated for best song??? It was a very funny scene admittedly, but come on!

It certainly depends on the film. If the director is able to achieve the perfect effect he wants without music, then adding music would be a waste of time, and the music would be meaningless noise. Hitchcock's The Birds is a good example. So is the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Also, some of the most effective scenes in motion pictures are unscored. In Brazil, a very emotionally gutting moment is when Sam finds out Jill has been shot dead. The matter-of-fact way in which he is told, completely unscored (if my memory serves me correctly) really adds to the emotional punch of the scene.

Great opening, but it's such a bizarre track once Jon joins in! For me their second album (The Friends of Mr. Cairo) was LIGHT years ahead of all their other efforts. It's an incredible album. State of Independance is a real highlight, but the whole thing is superb.

Are you sure PT? He was on Shooting Stars only last year performing his latest work. That's awesome!

He's pretty much retired. No way you can count his current output as being "semi-retired". It's more like "Fully-retired but with a musical hobby". Any sign of his "El Greco" soundtrack ever getting a wide release?

This set looks fantastic, but it's a bit of a kick in the teeth to those of us who have already bought the available Bond movies on Blu Ray! http://www.amazon.com/Bond-50-Complete-Collection-Blu-ray/dp/B006U1J5ZY/ref=sr_tr_sr_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1327284522&sr=1-1

Lincoln's already been "taken care of"...

Bloody hell!

Indeed. Great episode! I'm glad to see series 2 appears to be maintaining the high quality of writing, acting and overall sophistication of season 1. Moffatt is very good at the tear-jerker endings lately.

Me too, but I don't post here as much as I used to (which was never that much anyway!). But I am appreciating these snippets, Thor.

Lovely! Very magical scoring. Unlike Blume I think the glock works beautifully throughout. Glock doubling harp is hardly "mechanical"; it's effective doubling IMO. I like the mix of Williamsy melodic material (0'50 - 1'05) and Debussian augmented and half-diminished harmonic stuff (1'37 etc). The ending is a bit of a letdown and feels a bit like an afterthought. Are you happy with the ending? I'd love to hear your original ending as I love jazz. Aside from the ending this is really very beautiful. Nice job! Ok, found the jazzy version on your website. Very nice, MUCH better (although I wish the sax sample was a little more convincing!)

Damn you and your excellent memory! (We're all entitled to our vices... )

I think composition students in general are taught a much wider variety of styles today than they were in the past, which can't be a bad thing. This is certainly the case in the US, at any rate. Back in the '60s, American universities taught primarily 12-tone and serial music to their students, which seems very shortsighted with the benefit of hindsight. While I think it's important that composers understand how serialism works, it's hardly the only technique worth learning. These days composition students learn all sorts of techniques, covering a wide spectrum of contemporary styles and genres. That's certainly the case in graduate school. Undergraduates may still be required to write classical-style pieces to develop their basic skills, but once those skills are evident I'm sure they are encouraged to find their own voice. As for listening to music and studying scores, well if the only exposure to score study and music-listening the student gets is in the classroom, then the student is clearly not a particularly serious musician. He should be developing his own style, and studying the music he wants to learn outside the classroom, while using his composition lessons to get feedback and advice from the teachers.

Spoken like someone who clearly doesn't understand the importance of learning how to walk before learning how to run. Your approach is simplistic and idealistic, but not realistic. I know all too many people who say exactly the same kind of thing you just said, and then sit down at the piano to play their "masterpiece" which usually consists of a few basic triads (played theatrically with extremely disproportionate emotion and rubato). If you want to create new music, please do the world a favour and learn your theory and study scores first! A great composer is someone who learns the mechanics of theory, orchestration and composition while simultaneously developing his own style and voice. It is possible to be creative and original without also being ignorant, believe it or not.

Not only the face, but the zoom. Classic!