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What is the last score you listened to?


Mr. Breathmask

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A couple this afternoon. Started with THE DARK KNIGHT (re-edited OST). I like this a lot. Generally works for the movie, but I really do find it enjoyable to listen to. Followed by STAR TREK: FIRST CONTACT. A lovely main theme, some good battle music, nothing terrible, but nothing hugely stands out about the whole thing (besides the main title theme). Terrible source songs, too. I wish people would realize that pop music and Star Trek doesn't mix.

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Superman III

Wow. That was over quickly.

I'm liking Ken Thorne's stuff a lot better now than on the first listens, though. Especially Superman II. First time I just kept hearing all the recycled bits.

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Thorne did an outstanding job working with Williams music.

I would say he is better on his own. That is why I will always prefer Superman III to Superman II.

Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire: This one is for people who say Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is great music, just to remind them this is not the case. Great music from McNeely. Sadly, the whole thing seems like a sample of a bigger work. It should have been at least 2 hour long.

Karol

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Yeah, that would probably been better ( and since we are on the subject, why not the actual series? It would not be the first time he scored a Lucasfilm series.) Anyways, in one of the most miserable nights of my life, I went through many scores last night in a futile effort to go to sleep.

Batman

Edward Scissorhands

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas

Serenada Schizophrana (twice)

I wanted to enjoy them, but I just could not. I do not want to look in the mirror today.

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M:i:III:

I agree with Koray, this is the best of the Mission Impossible scores. It really improved on this listen, and I enjoyed much more than I ever have. I still don't see Giacchino as the God many here think he is, but he's definitely a strong composer. And Mission Impossible is easily the weakest trilogy when it comes to scores that I've heard. 3.25/5 stars

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Um why the was the last one closed?

Because it reached 100 pages. You should know that when threads reach 100 pages they get closed and a new one opens up. They do it because threads with over 100 pages tend to slow the board down.

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Um why the was the last one closed?

Because it reached 100 pages. You should know that when threads reach 100 pages they get closed and a new one opens up. They do it because threads with over 100 pages tend to slow the board down.

Yes that makes perfect sense.

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Um why the was the last one closed?

Because it reached 100 pages. You should know that when threads reach 100 pages they get closed and a new one opens up. They do it because threads with over 100 pages tend to slow the board down.

Yes that makes perfect sense.

It's cause it's magic, see.

I'm amazed JK Rowling hasn't sued that thread for copyright infringement yet.

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Um why the was the last one closed?

Because it reached 100 pages. You should know that when threads reach 100 pages they get closed and a new one opens up. They do it because threads with over 100 pages tend to slow the board down.

Yes that makes perfect sense.

it will rollover after 200 since its the oldest current running thread on the board.

the last score I listened to was :shock: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade :shock:

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I guess it's just to good to keep away from, even if you're trying to convince yourself it's lacking.

nothing so fantastic. 5 new cds in my collection, each must be listened to once or twice, or in TOD case many many times. I even listened to the interviews. the french guys voice is annoying as hell.

I have no problems with the sounds, or the pitch or whatever, I think the sound of the music is great on all 5 cds. I

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The Magnificent Seven:

It was a good score. The main theme is fantastic, one of the best western themes I've ever heard. It has many great moments throughout. 3.5/5 stars

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You actually own "Ghosbusters"? How many kittens did you have to sell to afford that?

It's funny you should say that because I actually have a strange phobia to cats (I'm not kidding, I can't stand being near one). Anyway, I don't remember paying that much, I got it from Varesse's page when it was released, and the shipping to Mexico is always expensive, but I don't think it was that bad.

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You actually own "Ghosbusters"? How many kittens did you have to sell to afford that?

There's probably 2500 people that bought Ghostbusters at a cheap, affordable price.

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The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Alexandre Desplat

Listened to this one (courtesy of the Warner Brothers' generosity) while jogging around the neighborhood on a crisp winter afternoon. Quite an experience.

Though not equal to walking through a path in the woods on an overcast, lightly raining wintry day accompanied by the haunting and beautiful strings of The Village. No, that one will be hard to beat.

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Mary Poppins (1st CD):

This is a really really fun score. "Spoonful of Sugar" or "Chim Chimeree" are probably my favorite songs. I also love "Feed the Birds," especially that wonderfully beautiful choral passage. Overall just an incredibly fun listen. 4/5 stars

"The original JAWS music, while brilliantly effective in the film, was a somewhat empty listening experience. It was simple, moody music, with only one thing going on at any one time."

Some guy on "Jaws 2" (5-stars)

Is this you, indy4?

Nah, I think that Jaws is a good listening experience, just not as good as Jaws 2.

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The Curious Case of Benjamin Button:

A beautiful, beautiful score. I love it. I'd say that it is the second best score of the year, and definetly deserves a nomination. I love the way Desplat uses the flutes...so beautiful. The second disc is, for the most part, useless. Strange, the three best releases of the year came from Concord... 4/5 stars

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"'I' before 'E' except after 'C'", indy4.

Bah...the Internet is not place for a Grammar Nazi!

On a similar subject, have you listened to "Schindler's List" yet?

Nope, it's up next.

I'm actually finding Clemmensen's assessment of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button spot on. Yet another rigorously unsentimental Desplat score that leaves me, well, curiously unmoved.

An interesting read, but I disagree greatly. While it certainly is a subtle score, I find it to be very enjoyable throughout, which is rather unusual for me.

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I'm actually finding Clemmensen's assessment of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button spot on. Yet another rigorously unsentimental Desplat score that leaves me, well, curiously unmoved.

An interesting read, but I disagree greatly. While it certainly is a subtle score, I find it to be very enjoyable throughout, which is rather unusual for me.

I think this is one of those rare instances where I can quite honestly say, without a hint of condescension, that I envy you. Desplat's skill as a composer is undeniable, and his relative restraint in genres that all too often elicit treacle or bombast from his contemporaries is refreshing, but I can never quit lose myself in his music the way I can with that of others.

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I'm actually finding Clemmensen's assessment of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button spot on. Yet another rigorously unsentimental Desplat score that leaves me, well, curiously unmoved.

An interesting read, but I disagree greatly. While it certainly is a subtle score, I find it to be very enjoyable throughout, which is rather unusual for me.

I think this is one of those rare instances where I can quite honestly say, without a hint of condescension, that I envy you. Desplat's skill as a composer is undeniable, and his relative restraint in genres that all too often elicit treacle or bombast from his contemporaries is refreshing, but I can never quit lose myself in his music the way I can with that of others.

Before I say this, I must warn that I own two Desplat scores in total, so take all of this with a grain of salt.

First I'd like to redact something I said in my last post--I actually don't find Benjamin Button to be a subtle score, the more I think about it. Restrained, as you put it, seems to much better describe the score. I don't find it subtle because, most of the times, there is a clear melodic idea going on. Perhaps this is incorrect, but I always thought a subtle score to be one that consists mainly of ideas that are difficult to grasp at first. Cues like "Postcards" seem to have a very obvious melodic idea to them. I'm sure that there's tons of stuff going on in that cue that I can't grasp, subtle touches, but for me the cue is not subtle because there are at least one easily understood melodic idea going on throughout the entire cue. A better example of subtley, as I define it, would be "Finding Satsu" from Memoirs of a Geisha. There aren't really any clear ideas that I can see. I suppose that the fans of it see these ideas and connect with them, but I cannot. And that's one of the reasons why I think that this score doesn't bore me.

Restrained, I agree with, as the score (BB) avoids any major swells in the orchestra, I doubt they're ever playing any louder than a Mezzo Forte. A perfect example of this is "Submarine Attack," which builds brilliant tension in the film without ever getting too loud. It is the closest to an action cue that this score has, but it never feels out of place with the rest of the score. Of course, the score is restrained in areas other than dynamics, but this is the best example I can think of.

I find Memoirs of a Geisha to be a difficult score to sit through because of its subtlety in many cues. But in BB, there always seems to be something going on in the different cues, an idea that I can easily grasp.

The only other Desplat score I own is The Golden Compass, which has a great first half of the album (one which is less restrained than BB), but then decays into loud, overly bombastic noise. A great example of this is "Ice Bear Combat." I'd say that if you're interested in a less restrained Desplat, then you should check out the first half. But I'd forget the second half. But the first half definitely has its share of restrained cues, and the worst of them tend to drag more than BB for me. Anyways, I'm only mentioning this because, aside from a few cues, it seems much less restrained than BB. Your post implies that Desplat always writes with the restrained sound of BB...would that make TGC an exception? Because many moments from it seem far from restrained.

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Schindler's List:

Another beautiful score. It's easily the worst of JW's Oscar winning scores, but it is not bad in any way. I don't quite take this score as many here do--it's good, but that's about it, for me. To be honest, I would have preferred JP to win the Oscar (actually, Elfman's Nightmare Before Christmas). Still a good score, and definitely a worthy addition to my John Williams collection. "Auschwitz-Birkenau" is especially haunting. 3.75/5 stars

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The album doesn't tell you the story of Schindler's List. It's a beautiful yet meaningless collage of music. You have to hear it complete and chronological: the first occurrence of Schindler's theme is cold and restrained ("Schindler's Workforce"), then tentatively emotional ("Stolen Memories," the guitar part), and finally blossoming ("Immolation"). By contrast, the Remembrances theme is represented in an empathetic way from the beginning ("Stolen Memories"). The music chronicles Schindler's journey from a place of coldness to a place of warmth.

It certainly helps to fill in the gaps with that complete recording sessions bootleg. :lol: I am also partial to the licensed recording of "Yeroushalaim Chel Zahav" used in the film.

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Really, now....

Anyways, I listened to "Jaws 2" again.

I really want to love this album, but I cannot. Though I love Tracks such as "Finding the Orca" (and not just because of the "Orca Theme"), "The Catamaran Race", and "End Title, End Cast" ( I kept expecting the "Orca Theme" to pop up, though), there is just something about this score that drives me away. I, for one, do not like the crazy "Jaws Theme" passages ( sorry, indy4), and I just do not care much for most of the action music in general.

However, I really am torn on what to think of this score. In that regard, this is the "hardest" John Williams album I have ever listened to. I can say this, though: Is this score fun to listen to? Yeah. Is it better than the first? Not if you ask me. Do I like it? I think so.

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It never did a whole lot for me. There's emotion, excitement and bombast but I'm not sure what the point of it all is. "End Title, End Cast" is certainly a fun listen.

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The album doesn't tell you the story of Schindler's List. It's a beautiful yet meaningless collage of music. You have to hear it complete and chronological: the first occurrence of Schindler's theme is cold and restrained ("Schindler's Workforce"), then tentatively emotional ("Stolen Memories," the guitar part), and finally blossoming ("Immolation"). The music chronicles Schindler's transformation. It certainly helps to fill in the gaps with that complete recording sessions bootleg. :lol:

Is there a chronological listing of the OST somewhere? If it really is that important, then I might as well make a chronological playlist of the OST.

EDIT: Nevermind, I found it on the "Chronological Thread."

Really, now....

Anyways, I listened to "Jaws 2" again.

I really want to love this album, but I cannot. Though I love Tracks such as "Finding the Orca" (and not just because of the "Orca Theme"), "The Catamaran Race", and "End Title, End Cast" ( I kept expecting the "Orca Theme" to pop up, though), there is just something about this score that drives me away. I, for one, do not like the crazy "Jaws Theme" passages ( sorry, indy4), and I just do not care much for most of the action music in general.

However, I really am torn on what to think of this score. In that regard, this is the "hardest" John Williams album I have ever listened to. I can say this, though: Is this score fun to listen to? Yeah. Is it better than the first? Not if you ask me. Do I like it? I think so.

My favorite bit of Jaws 2 is the beautiful harp solo during the main titles. Action music is one area where I feel that Jaws 2 is on par, if not worse, than Jaws. I vastly prefer "The Big Jolt" to "Blown to Bits," but cues like "Attack on the Helicopter" don't hold a candle to cues like "The Great Shark Chase" or "Man Against Beast." But I love the opening minute of "Fire Aboard," so it's difficult. I think they're about tied for action music.

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Is there a chronological listing of the OST somewhere? If it really is that important, then I might as well make a chronological playlist of the OST.

Yes, we have the wonderful "Chronological Album" Thread at the top of the General Discussion page, which is what I used to re-sequence "Jaws 2".

My favorite bit of Jaws 2 is the beautiful harp solo during the main titles. Action music is one area where I feel that Jaws 2 is on par, if not worse, than Jaws. I vastly prefer "The Big Jolt" to "Blown to Bits," but cues like "Attack on the Helicopter" don't hold a candle to cues like "The Great Shark Chase." But I love the opening minute of "Fire Aboard," so it's difficult. I think they're about tied for action music.

Really? I do not feel anything at all when listening to the action music in the second score. At least I am not alone in this matter, though.

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To each his own.

"The Big Jolt!" will always be some one of the best cues in terms of building tension that JW has ever written, in my mind.

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Maybe I am missing something? You see, this is why I doubt myself: I keep hearing all of these positive things about it, yet I cannot understand why they do, and I begin to think that they ( you and everybody at Amazon.com, in this case) are hearing something that I am not. I have not felt like this since I told people that I did not really like "American Beauty".... Nonetheless, I will listen to it again, and I will see if I agree ( probably not, though).

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