The Score that began your love of film music...

[odnurega1 0]

Hello All. I am sorry if this has been done before, and considering the topics that this board comes up with, I am sure it has, in one variation or another, over the years. Right now I am listening to "Cocoon: The Return" by James Horner, and I began to think of how I "got into" soundtrack music. I have always loved it, and the first score that I ever owned was Flipper, by Joel McNeely. It wasn't all instrumental (had some hip-hoppity song by Shaggy on it), but I can recall it being the first score I ever owned. I wouldn't say that this was the one that got me into my love of film music, but it was the beginning of my favorite type of music, and something that now takes up a large part of my mind and daily life. It is something I am passionate about.

So, my questions to you are:

1) What was the score that began your love of film music?

2) Did this score also inspire you to collect the other works of the scores composer? (I expect quite a few JW answers here).

3) Anything else noteworthy or memorable you feel like adding?

Hopefully this can spark a long discussion about early works, more recent works, etc. because of the wide range of ages on this board!

[Henry B 50]

Aladdin. Then the Star Wars trilogy. I didn't start collecting until The Phantom Menace.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

So, my questions to you are:

1) What was the score that began your love of film music?

2) Did this score also inspire you to collect the other works of the scores composer? (I expect quite a few JW answers here).

3) Anything else noteworthy or memorable you feel like adding?

1) Spider-Man or The Phantom Menace.

If you want to know the true story, my brother was big on scores at an early age. He was obsessed with The Rock, and he also had a lot of other scores that are long gone now. I can actively recall him having The Rock on cassette, as well as Jurassic Park. Face/Off also comes to mind. Our friend owns a CD shop and used to give us the promos. Long story short, I used to copy him being the little brother, so my Dad got me a few of the promos. The first were Spider-Man, the soundtrack not the score, and The Phantom Menace and Attack Of The Clones. I was accussed of being a copycat, so I decided to branch off of what he loved and followed John Williams' work and Danny Elfman's work.

2) Yes, answered in Question 1. I just started to collection JW and DE.

3) I'm glad I was a copycat.

[Desplat13 1]

For me, it was Gettysburg by Randy Edelman. At the time, I didn't realize how thick, synthesized and homophonic it sounded. All I wanted were the melodies, and they meant a lot to me. Still do. From there, I got Gods and Generals, and then I think I started on the Star Wars series. My admiration for John Williams came from those scores, and has only grown since that time.

It has probably been about 3 years since I got Gettysburg, so I am a newcomer.

Colin Thomson

[indy4 155]

Got Phantom Menace as a gift when it came out. I wasn't even into soundtracks, but I liked SW, so I guess my relative figured I'd like the soundtrack. A couple months later a friend gave me By Request - The Best of John Williams and the Boston Pops. While it wasn't my first soundtrack-related album, I credit it for really getting me into soundtracks. I think I also had the Shrek music from and inspired by album, and the orchestral work on that CD blew me away (it still does). Then I started getting others--Spiderman, Empire Strikes Back, Jurassic Park, and many tracks on iTunes.

[Morn 8]

Braveheart

Then star wars.

[Trent B 337]

1) What was the score that began your love of film music?

For me it would have been Star Wars when listening to the music while watching the film.

2) Did this score also inspire you to collect the other works of the scores composer?

Yes it did and ironically my first soundtrack that I bought (that was actually a CD) was Star Trek III: The Search For Spock.

3) Anything else noteworthy or memorable you feel like adding?

I can't think of anything...but it was back in junior high when I really started collecting film score CD's. After getting Star Trek III it exploded from there.

[Hlao-roo 389]

For reference, this topic has been discussed previously in the following threads:

http://jwfan.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=572

http://jwfan.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=8640

http://jwfan.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=13243

http://jwfan.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=14362

Thor

[odnurega1 0]

For reference, this topic has been discussed previously in the following threads:

http://jwfan.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=572

http://jwfan.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=8640

http://jwfan.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=13243

http://jwfan.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=14362

Thor

Why, thank you! You've ruined the fun!

Just kidding.

[Hlao-roo 389]

For reference, this topic has been discussed previously in the following threads:

http://jwfan.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=572

http://jwfan.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=8640

http://jwfan.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=13243

http://jwfan.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=14362

Thor

Why, thank you! You've ruined the fun!

Just kidding.

I know how unwieldy (and buggy) this board's search engine is; no one should feel he must apologize for starting a topic he thinks might have been discussed earlier. I'm merely linking to what others have written in the past, in case you or anyone else is interested.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

I loved so many film scores when I was a kid in the late 80's and early 90's that I have no idea which specific score made me a fan or collector.

[John Crichton 4]

Copying my response from the last thread on this topic (it's late and I'm lazy):

I had a few cassettes to start with when I was in my early teens, mostly Star Treks and nothing Williams, but I only listened to them casually. Then came the Star Wars SEs, which I got gradually over '97-'98 and I guess it was '98 when I started really listening to them, and in the end memorizing them. Then TPM in '99, and my legendary Summer of 2000, in between my freshman and sophmore years of college, when I got the newly released complete Superman and any Williams OST I could get my grubby little hands on (The Patriot new, Raiders before it was out of print, Hook, Last Crusade, ET).

[Ollie 1,059]

Since Thor posted the links to previous versions I won't repeat myself.

[Ray Barnsbury 8]

I played a JW marching band show (Raiders, Far and Away, JP, ET) and loved it, so I got JW's Greatest Hits 1969-1999. Then I started getting scores that I liked from the Greatest Hits, and the rest is history.

Ray Barnsbury

A JW-themed marching band show in 10th grade. I went out afterwards and bought me a Williams compilation, and the rest is history.

Ray Barnsbury-who's sure his ascent (descent?) into film scores was greatly spurred by this board

John Williams Greatest Hits: 1969-1999 (2-disc set). Sometimes I wish I could experience it for the first time again and again.

Ray Barnsbury

There wasn't really a single moment. It was a gradual process: playing a JW show marching band show in high school, which led to casually buying the Greatest Hits set out of interest, which led to buying individual soundtracks, which eventually led to joining this God-forsaken place in the fall of 2001.

Hah.

[Bryant Burnette 654]

I can remember as a small child -- six years old or so -- being given several vinyl singles (were those called 45s?) of film music, including "The Imperial March" frmo The Empire Strikes Back and the Queen theme song to Flash Gordon. So I guess that's where it started: with sci-fi movies, which somebody -- probably my mom -- obviously knew I liked. As I recall, I played the hell out of those records, along with several storybook/record combos having to do with Star Wars and Star Trek.

Later, when I was choosing things for myself, I can recall buying cassettes of the Star Wars trilogy, Raiders of the Lost Ark and Temple of Doom, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Conan the Barbarian, E.T., and 2001: A Space Odyssey. And Superman, I'm pretty sure.

So for me, it was mostly the classics of 1977-1984, which I think we can mostly agree were big-time classics. It was a good time to get into film music, that's for sure.

[King Mark 3,631]

Star Wars ignited it

Empire Strikes Back cemented it

[Hitch 57]

Star Trek II, Cocoon, Aliens, The Name of the Rose...thus began my long and fruitful relationship with James Roy Horner.

[A24 4,331]

Star Wars ignited it

Empire Strikes Back cemented it

I'm not a true fan of film music but it goes something like this:

As a child, I was always fascinated by the music that accompanied programs on TV.

Star Wars cemented it (the double LP)

Empire Strikes Back tried to hammer down that cement

Star Wars used good cement

[MissPadmé 17]

Well it started very early..

my father is a big Soundtrack fan and so I always was listening to the scores he listened to. But I remember Star Wars being one I really loved. My father always had to adjust the LP Player for me because I was to young (as he said :-) ) and then turning it every 18 minutes or so .. the double LP from Star Wars.. it practically played the entire day when I was at home playing.

But I started collecting with JP: The Lost World

[A24 4,331]

... the double LP from Star Wars.. it practically played the entire day when I was at home playing.

That's the spirit!

[MAG-SI 10]

Jurassic Park was the trigger.

[nicholas 1]

'Close Encounters' taught me about the potency of the bonding between image and music. It haunted me and still does. I've bought every John Williams score since, even when I haven't seen the film (sometimes the films have little interest for me).

[Incanus 5,714]

Without a doubt it was Jurassic Park that got me into film music. I still remember that feeling of sitting in the theater at the age of 11 and hearing Journey to the Island in the film. It was a magical moment. Such power and grandeur, majesty and awe. I was sold. After that I started to pay attention to the music in films and watched e.g. Star Wars which had great music and what do you know it was composed by this same John Williams fellow who had composed JP. And then came Schindler's List and other films and they all seemed to have this one composer in common. And so I became JW fan and a film music fan.

It took a few years before I started to collect film music. My first scores (and CDs for that matter) were the Lost World Jurassic Park and Schindler's List. And from there on my fascination for film music has grown every day.

[Luke Skywalker 1,795]

1) What was the score that began your love of film music?

Definately without a doubt, Jurassic Park. Though i enjoyed disney scores (what child doesnt?)

2) Did this score also inspire you to collect the other works of the scores composer?

Yes and no. I was too little to buy things on my own at the time of release of JP. It was the fist score i had, taped from a friend of my sister, but that was arround 97. The same friend also taped a 60 min tape of Star Wars. I became a star wars fan with the special editions. Then i got the TPM OST, then TLW and filmworks at my library. I finally bought the SEs scores arround 2000. i bought sporadical scores when i saw them cheap. In late 2001 i bought JPIII and AI, the latter cheap and heck it was Williams and i had liked the movie. After buying AI, i just surfed the net to see the reviews of the score. And i found some obscure site about John Williams, where a oscar promo of AI was mentioned. Also a JPIII promo. I joined, and asked about these things. I had never been in a place like this, so i feared that trading could be illegal and some FBI agents could be lurking here. You know giving adress to someone unkown is somewhat scary. So i decided that a veteran member with a high post count should be a true and respectable member. Thanks Steef! Then after the successful trade, i took interest in buying all the Williams scores i saw. First of movies that interested me. Later, eveything. And here i am, from Star Wars geek to John Williams enthusiast

3) Anything else noteworthy or memorable you feel like adding?

See previous answer.

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

Gather round, and I shall once more tell ye the tale of how Jurassic Park started it all...

- Marc, feeling like an old geezer now.

[ChuckM 1]

Primarily Star Wars and Back to the Future.

[Elmo Lewis 6]

Gather round, and I shall once more tell ye the tale of how Jurassic Park started it all...

- Marc, feeling like an old geezer now.

I really shouldn't have said anything in that thread.

[stuttersteps 1]

1) What was the score that began your love of film music?

Back to the Future II and III. I was Delorean-crazy back in junior high.

2) Did this score also inspire you to collect the other works of the scores composer?

Eventually I picked up his later scores in the 90s for Zemeckis (Forrest Gump, Contact) as well as the ones for the Father of the Bride films. But it mostly led me to the Maestro.

3) Anything else noteworthy or memorable you feel like adding?

I actually despised John Williams (maybe even held contempt for him) until a friend gave me By Request and the light that was his genius finally dawned on me.

[Quintus 5,399]

Jurassic Park.

But I always loved the opening credits of Star Wars and Superman and the End credits of Raiders as a kid.

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

Gather round, and I shall once more tell ye the tale of how Jurassic Park started it all...

- Marc, feeling like an old geezer now.

I really shouldn't have said anything in that thread.

Quite right, you whippersnapper!

[Trent Hoyt 13]

The Star Wars Trilogy has had a huge impact on my life. Among others it introduced me to the music of John Williams. I had the music ingrained in my head and one Christmas I was given the Original Soundtrack Anthology. My grandfather was also a fan of film music and he would make me compilation tapes with the big themes on there. As I got older it seemed that JW had composed the music for all of my favorite movies. From there I was hooked on Williams.

The Star Trek series is another very musical saga and one that is sometimes more interesting than SW. Goldsmith's majestic main title for TMP and his noble theme for First Contact cemented my interest in his work. Horner's brash seafaring scores for II & III are also ingrained in my head.

My three favorite composers all came from my all time two favorite film franchises.

[artyjeffrey 20]

1. Star Wars, followed shortly by Superman as a Xmas gift.

2. From that point on, any movie that I found out was scored by JW was on my wish list (and this was before the internet, sigh).

3. Jaws is actually the first movie that made me notice that there was music in the background; before, as a child, it seemed to be a non-factor.

[arathornion33 0]

Jurassic Park (Original) probably was the first to really put the bug in my ear. I had never really noticed movie music before that, until I heard the music when the helicopter is flying into the Island (First half of "Journey to the Island") I remember just rewinding that one scene over and over again, just to hear the music. I would say it snowballed from there. That was when I was 12, only 4 short years ago...

[MSM 126]

1) What was the score that began your love of film music? Jurassic Park

2) Did this score also inspire you to collect the other works of the scores composer? Yes, indeed John Williams

3) Anything else noteworthy or memorable you feel like adding? Funny: before Jurassic Park I didn't realize movies had music.

Jurassic Park (Original) probably was the first to really put the bug in my ear. I had never really noticed movie music before that, until I heard the music when the helicopter is flying into the Island (First half of "Journey to the Island") I remember just rewinding that one scene over and over again, just to hear the music. I would say it snowballed from there. That was when I was 12, only 4 short years ago...

Wow I didn't read your post before I posted mine I't could've been my post, for me it was also that exact scene and I was also twelve, only for me that is not 4 but 14 years ago...

[vmw331 2]

1) Jurassic Park started it all. I've always noticed music in films before, but JP just stood out among all of the movies at the time. Because I was really into JP, I got the CD at my library and just popped it in my CD player for the hell of it. I listened to JP over and over and couldn't get enough of it.

2) After JP, I found out that my parents had purchased the ET soundtrack when it was originally released, so I dusted it off and got absorbed into that soundtrack. Because these 2 soundtracks were just amazing and beyond anything else I've ever heard, I began to collect every JW soundtrack I could get a hold of.

3) JP has introduced me to the wonderful world of film music, because after I explored most of JW's works, I went back to the library and checked out some more soundtracks to see what else was out there. I discovered Herrmann, Goldsmith, and Horner. Now I'm listening to everything I can get my hands on, but nothing compares to my love for JP and ET.

[arathornion33 0]

Jurassic Park (Original) probably was the first to really put the bug in my ear. I had never really noticed movie music before that, until I heard the music when the helicopter is flying into the Island (First half of "Journey to the Island") I remember just rewinding that one scene over and over again, just to hear the music. I would say it snowballed from there. That was when I was 12, only 4 short years ago...

I would also have to add, upon further reflection, The Lord of the Rings. I saw Jurassic Park and Lord of the Rings for the first time very close together, and they both had a great impact on me. The "lighting of the Beacons" (of course) blew me off my feet. I saw Jurassic Park first in late 2003 and I also The Fellowship and Two Towers then also. (My parents wouldn't let me see LotR until I was 12 So, about the same time.

[oierem 152]

Star Wars original trilogy

[Genius_Gone_Insane 5]

Star Wars. I literally remember the moment that started this mess, listening to Kenobi's Death and TIE Fighter Attack on headphones in the living room.

[QMM 4]

The Lost World got me started

Would've been Jurassic Park but I ran out of the theater pretty early into the movie

[JoeinAR 1,949]

Lost In Space the tv series and Cinderella the Disney film, obviously the mid 60's. Lost in Space introduced me to Johnny Williams, and Cinderella to the power of music and song in a film.

[MrScratch 294]

My parents owned the soundtracks to Star Wars and Superman on LP, which I listened to all the time when I was really young. We also got Empire Strikes Back out from the library on several occasions. When Temple of Doom came out my dad bought me both the soundtrack album and "the story of" album. I think he was surprised that I listened to the soundtrack much more, I especially loved side two. I was 8 years old when ToD came out. After that I didn't listen to film music at all really until Jurassic Park came out and at the same time I rediscovered those three LPs (Star Wars, Superman, Temple of Doom) and that made me start buying up all other John Williams scores past and present.

[Trent B 337]

Funny: before Jurassic Park I didn't realize movies had music.

Typical from the peanut gallery.

[Luke Skywalker 1,795]

what's the peanut gallery?

The thing with snoopy?

[Hlao-roo 389]

Funny: before Jurassic Park I didn't realize movies had music.

Typical from the peanut gallery.

Hey, don't be so stingy with your condescension. Surely the "peanut gallery" is inferior enough to deserve no fewer than three eye roll emoticons.

[Richard Penna 3,687]

1. I'm sure the Jurassic park theme stuck with me from an early age (I would have been 8 or 9 when it came out but I'm sure I didn't see it in the cinema), but it was The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring that made me notice that there was some music in all these films I'd been watching. It was the one element that truly affected me when I walked out of the cinema. It remains, 7 years later as my favourite score ever.

2. The effect was gradual, but I logged onto Kazaa (yeah I know) and started finding other cool tracks. Single tracks from Air Force One, The Mummy, Waterworld, 13th Warrior and Harry Potter were among my first acquisitions, and I could fit my 'collection' on a single CD. Strangely though, even when I was in lower sixth form in 2001-2002 I would tell people that I was into 'synth' music, which I used to perform magic to.

3. Not really.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

well before Lost in Space and Cinderella I didn't know that films and tv shows had music.

[BLUMENKOHL 1,068]

I was aware films had music...for as long as I watched them with a sentient brain.

But it was...believe it or not...the danger motif and the weird clickity opening of "Surprise Attack" from Wrath of Khan that struck me.

[Melange 446]

The Score that began your love of film music..., What was it? When? Details!

It began early for me, during childhood (cue ripple effect). At home, my parents often only owned lots of popular music of the time (mid 70s, initially) which was good, but no score LPs or Casettes in the house. It was to be up at my Grandmother and Grandfathers house that I had my introduction both to Classical and Film score music (as in, outside of a movie).

They both had their wooden LP turntable and had a few records from films they enjoyed. The main soundtrack ones they owned and loved, were Dr Zhivago, Lawrence of Arabia, and the Sound of Music. My Grandmother still owns those LPs as I was at her house not long ago and played them for 'old times sake'. So I would guess those two scores were my first conscious exposure of knowing I was listening to a movie score. Naturally I would have been listening to scores while watching movies on TV. But my grandparents LPs were the earliest full focused listening of scores 'outside' movie.

On from there, this was of course the era of Superman, The Black Hole, ESB, E.T, Raiders, Temple of Doom (you get the idea) and everybody in my school loved the music from them as virtually all of us had been lucky enough to watch them in the cinema. We emulated the themes in school. It was also from seeing STII Wrath of Khan in the cinema, that Horner came into the equasion. Again, that music became popular in school. Jerrys music would have been heard on many TV shows and movies on TV I would have been watching, too. For years I carried on loving music from the movies, but didn't own any on LPs or Cassette until about 1990 when I started getting my own income from properly payed work. Prior to that, most kids in my area simply didn't have the kind of money that kids do now (my parents were a lot poorer then than even I realized at the time).

So it was only at the turn of the 90s that I began buying the odd cassette here and there. What strikes me now, is how easy it is to obtain scores now. It wasn't that long ago that in my area you often had to order scores from a big catalogue they had in a store, and could take up to 2 months to obtain (or fail to obtain). Nowadays even the most obscure scores are often found in the racks, and of course internet ordering like Amazon makes it very easy. How things change (for the better)

Erm yes. Dr Zhivago and Lawrence of Arabia (because I went into quite a Quint-esque storytelling there )

........................Anyway, we delivered the bomb

[Red 75]

1) Hook then Star Wars original trilogy (and The Phantom Menace).

2) Yes, although I didn't really start to become interested until I got the Williams compilation album The Greatest Hits: 1969 to 1999. It wasn't the first time I heard the man's music, but it was my first Williams CD.

3) I had first heard of JW as only the guy who did the music to Star Wars. It wasn't until much later that I saw his amazing filmography, as well as his lesser known gems.

[odnurega1 0]

Its great to see Jurassic Park as a score that a lot of people credit as starting their fascination. Over this past summer, I had the opportunity to see the film on the big screen, at midnight, at my local theater. First, let me just say I am not a late night person (much more of a morning person), so this was a new thing for me. I absolutely loved it (the film, the music, the midnight-ness ). I have to admit that I got goosebumps when "Journey to the Island" started. It was a great experience, one that I am very thankful to have been able to take part in. I also saw Back to the Future at midnight at the same theater! Great! BTTF I, II, and III were my favorite (and most worn-out) childhood films!