Best single track of the decade

[Wojo 2,453]

It's still not well-understood by most people that the LOTR scores were the last truly BRILLIANT scores that were produce...eeeh composed.

There have been some good scores after that, but nothing that can stand next to the great scores of the 20th century, without feeling a little bit ashamed.

The scores were pompous bullshit elevated by an epic masterpiece of film.

There was much better music from the decade than the deceptive crap that helped make LOTR patronizing to the senses.

I don't know about that. I'll treasure the music to those films long after I've forgotten about the movies themselves.

[Desplat13 1]

"Cloverfield", anyone?

Not that I think it is the best, I am just surprised it hasn't come up yet.

For me, I think it would also have to be "Breaking of the Fellowship" from FotR. So. So. Beautiful.

[aj_vader 533]

I'll have to say "Across The Stars"

[Hlao-roo 389]

For sheer entertainment value, I'd go with "Riding Contest (Butch Meets Sundance)" from Poledouris' The Legend of Butch and Sundance.

[Richard Penna 3,664]

It's still not well-understood by most people that the LOTR scores were the last truly BRILLIANT scores that were produce...eeeh composed.

There have been some good scores after that, but nothing that can stand next to the great scores of the 20th century, without feeling a little bit ashamed.

The scores were pompous bullshit elevated by an epic masterpiece of film.

There was much better music from the decade than the deceptive crap that helped make LOTR patronizing to the senses.

And yet they got a generation of teenagers into film music, me included.

Sugar free: don't crap all over my nostalgia asshole

[John Crichton 4]

"Cloverfield", anyone?

Not that I think it is the best, I am just surprised it hasn't come up yet.

Sure. Not THE best, but it deserves to be in the discussion.

Lots of good candidates here, and any of the best cues from LotR are definately worthy. I'll throw in a couple of Williams' that I haven't seen mentioned yet: The Quidditch Match (HP:SS), and Lament (RotS).

[Maglorfin 196]

Speaking of LotR: Prologue: One Ring To Rule Them All and Caras Galadhon.

[indy4 155]

Probably general grievous from ROTS. I think it's Williams best action cue ever. Brutal and aggressive. Complicated. And highly rhythmic.

I'd say it's one of his best easily, possibly the best

[Docteur Qui 1,544]

I'm going to say "The Fellowship Reunited" from Return of the King. It just beats out "Breaking of the Fellowship", very narrowly. It very neatly concludes some of the thematic material for the trilogy; there's some lovely statements of the Gondor theme, the reuniting of Aragorn and Arwen and of course one of my favourite moments from the film - the gorgeous Hobbit theme soaring on strings as the entire kingdom bows to the four Hobbits atop Minas Tirith. I get shivers just thinking about that one.

Edit - seems like I already posted on the previous page. Must've been drunk when I wrote it. Explains why I woke up the other day with my iPod blaring in my ears with "Breaking of the Fellowship" on repeat.

[gkgyver 1,645]

My vote would go to The Breaking Of The Fellowship from LOTR: FOTR.

As soon as I read the thread title that was the first thing that came into my mind.

Same here.

The most influential was without a doubt He's A Pirate. Which leaves the conclusion that artistry and public success were never more of a polar opposite.

The Fellowship Reunited is a brilliant piece of music, but in contrast to Breaking Of The Fellowship, the thematic material doesn't flow as well. Simply because more themes of different colours had to be connected. Shore did it brilliantly, but BotF just has a better flow to it.

[Quintus 5,399]

Concerning Hobbits is another highlight. A piece if music whose playful tone better suits the subject than Williams bombastic wizardry for the shy little bespectacled lad from little England, who turns out to be a wizard.

[Ollie 1,059]

I'd have a hard time choosing just one cue from the LOTR series.

It's all good.

[aj_vader 533]

The Siege of Gondor from ROTK CR is my favourite! its sensational!

[Luke Skywalker 1,792]

In fact; I consider Shore's scores to be some of the finest film music EVER written.

Shame he was just a one (three...hopefully five) hit wonder.

[Ollie 1,059]

I will say there is more to Howard Shore than LOTR.

I think he prefers smaller projects as opposed to blockbusters. The man has composed some wonderful music, The Fly, The Cell and Silence of The Lambs, to name a few.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

He certainly does not have a typical "Hollywood Blockbuster" style.

When he was announced for LOTR, was I the only one thinking, WTF?

[Ollie 1,059]

No I think it caught me off guard too, but I was optimistic because I had some of his music.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Oh I was certainly surprised, but not in a negative way.

I was just wondering why they hired a composer specialised in psycho thrillers.

Hitch's response was:

OH NO!

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

I almost forgot about Goldsmith's Soarin'. It's awesome!

[Quintus 5,399]

I was as surprised by Shore as I was by Jackson.

Initially I was terribly dismayed by their 'appointment', but how wrong I was.

[Charlie Brigden 7]

I was as surprised by Shore as I was by Jackson.

Initially I was terribly dismayed by their 'appointment', but how wrong I was.

Same here. Even though I was a PJ fan through his splatter flicks, I thought it would be a disaster, but it turned out glorious.

It's not a best track, as it's bookended by decades-old material, but the full-blown suite version of Shinzon's Theme from STAR TREK NEMESIS is amazing. But I suppose that would be in best themes of the decades.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

In fact; I consider Shore's scores to be some of the finest film music EVER written.

Shame he was just a one (three...hopefully five) hit wonder.

Give me the Shore that excels in thrillers over LOTR any day.

[gkgyver 1,645]

Why exactly is Howard Shore a "three hit wonder"? I think that's a bit insulting, considering that the cinematic world doesn't only consist of multimillion popcorn films. He has outstanding sensibilities for certain genres, and he continues to showcase them in highly acclaimed movies (excluding Twilight).

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Why exclude Twilight? Are you just going to assume the score will suck?

[Luke Skywalker 1,792]

Shore can write good movie. But he will always be remembered only for LOTR. Most people didn knew him before that and most people dont talk about his other projects after.

I'm talking non-film score fans.

[Charlie Brigden 7]

Why exclude Twilight? Are you just going to assume the score will suck?

He said highly acclaimed movies.

I loved Shore before LOTR, particularly THE FLY, SE7EN and THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, and he's done excellent work since, such as the amazing EASTERN PROMISES.

[Wojo 2,453]

Koray, the score for Twilight doesn't exist yet, so it doesn't count. Don't get excited.

Shore will also be remembered for his musical work on Saturday Night Live, which he did long before LOTR. And while we're on the subject, he named The Blues Brothers. That alone is memorable.

[Marian Schedenig 8,153]

I loved Shore before LOTR, particularly THE FLY, SE7EN and THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS

Exactly. It's not like he was a nobody before LOTR.

[Quintus 5,399]

Shore can write good movie. But he will always be remembered only for LOTR. Most people didn knew him before that and most people dont talk about his other projects after.

I'm talking non-film score fans.

'Most people' don't even know who John Williams is.

How does that make you feel?

Me personally? I think your livin' on another planet.

[indy4 155]

I'm not very familiar with Shore's non-LotR works, but I do love his score to Ed Wood.

[Luke Skywalker 1,792]

I loved Shore before LOTR, particularly THE FLY, SE7EN and THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS

Exactly. It's not like he was a nobody before LOTR.

he definately was no goldsmith, williams, herrmann, north, rozsa, horner, elfman, bernstein, silvestri, zimmer ( )...

You get the picture.

[Charlie Brigden 7]

I loved Shore before LOTR, particularly THE FLY, SE7EN and THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS

Exactly. It's not like he was a nobody before LOTR.

he definately was no goldsmith, williams, herrmann, north, rozsa, horner, elfman, bernstein, silvestri, zimmer ( )...

You get the picture.

I'm not sure I do. The average person on the street won't have a clue who any of those people are save for maybe Williams and Zimmer because they have a copy of Harry Potter and Gladiator. If you take a poll of ten random people in a cinema foyer, how many of them are really going to know who Miklos Rozsa or Alex North are?

And he's a better composer than at least three people on that list.

[Luke Skywalker 1,792]

I loved Shore before LOTR, particularly THE FLY, SE7EN and THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS

Exactly. It's not like he was a nobody before LOTR.

he definately was no goldsmith, williams, herrmann, north, rozsa, horner, elfman, bernstein, silvestri, zimmer ( )...

You get the picture.

I'm not sure I do. The average person on the street won't have a clue who any of those people are save for maybe Williams and Zimmer because they have a copy of Harry Potter and Gladiator. If you take a poll of ten random people in a cinema foyer, how many of them are really going to know who Miklos Rozsa or Alex North are?

And he's a better composer than at least three people on that list.

I was not talking about popularity here (i mean im not answering Quint's post) but Marian's which talks about Shore being 'no nobody' regarding a film composition career.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Shore was definatly NOT a nobody prior to LOTR.

He scored some very succesfull or reputable films.

Se7en

Silence Of The Lambs

Ed Wood

Philidelphia

Mrs. Doubtfire

Single White Female

Striptease

Analyse This

The Score

Scanners

She-Devil

The Cell

The Fly

After Hours

Videodrome

He certainly was a known name in film music, and the "to go to guy" for horror/thriller/psychological stuff.

[Luke Skywalker 1,792]

Are you telling me he was in the same league as the other composers i mentioned?

I'm not saying he was a complete nobody, just that he was not one of the A list composers.

But well to each their own.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Your list is stupid.

How is Silvestri in the same league with Herrmann? How is Zimmer in the same league as Rosza?

Is Zimmer really a better composer then Howard Shore?

[Luke Skywalker 1,792]

It's not that hard trying to understand what i'm want to say.

You won. I'm leaving this thread for good.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,488]

Damn, I just can't get into Harry's Wondrous World

I see where you are coming from, Quint. I prefer both "The Chamber Of Secrets", and "Fawkes The Phoenix".

Your list is stupid.

How is Silvestri in the same league with Herrmann? How is Zimmer in the same league as Rosza?

Is Zimmer really a better composer then Howard Shore?

Does it honestly matter who is "better" than who? I like the music of J.W; he is my favourite composer, and nothing will change that, but I also like Goldsmith, Barry, Horner, Shore, Herrmann, Rosza, Walton, Vaughan Williams, Prokofiev, Tiompkin, Silvestri, Bernstein (both of 'em) etc., etc. It all comes down to personal opinion, and no-one can - no-one should - take that away from anyone. If someone says that Silvestri is in the same league as Herrmann, what they are saying is that they enjoy the music of the former, as much as the music of the latter. I believe that there is no shame in that, and that there should be no snobbery in the assessment of personal taste. As (I believe) Quincy Jones once said: "All music is just 12 notes: it's either beautiful, or it ain't".

[Jacob 0]

Lots of good candidates here, and any of the best cues from LotR are definately worthy. I'll throw in a couple of Williams' that I haven't seen mentioned yet: The Quidditch Match (HP:SS), and Lament (RotS).

I'll give a shout out to Battle of the Heroes. One of my favorites from probably my favorite score of the decade.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

I've never heard a Shore score that I felt worth owning. I almost bought Lotr Fotr once and then I decided to save my money.

They are not bad by any means but nothing I desire. I watched

Silence of the Lambs today and the score works in it well. It sounds like a dreary day which fits the picture.

Hand of Fate is my absolute favorite track of the last 10 years. Hedwigs theme is a close 2nd.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Shore will also be remembered for his musical work on Saturday Night Live, which he did long before LOTR. And while we're on the subject, he named The Blues Brothers. That alone is memorable.

He also composed Conan's Late Night theme that was carried over to The Tonight Show.

[Morlock 11]

Really? I never knew that.

My own personal Shore scores are Ed Wood and The Aviator, very different approaches to musically characterize a protagonist's inner world. 'Icarus' is certainly one of my top-10 tracks of the decade (The first flying cue is very close, too).

[indy4 155]

Shore will also be remembered for his musical work on Saturday Night Live, which he did long before LOTR. And while we're on the subject, he named The Blues Brothers. That alone is memorable.

He also composed Conan's Late Night theme that was carried over to The Tonight Show.

Whoa!!!! I didn't know that, but I absolutely love that theme!

Has it ever been released? I'd love to own it.

[gkgyver 1,645]

Why exclude Twilight? Are you just going to assume the score will suck?

The suggestion was that Howard Shore isn't remembered by the public because he didn't write music for good movies; and I said he wrote music for a lot of acclaimed films, excluding Twilight, since I think Twilight is a pile of poop.

Shore can write good movie. But he will always be remembered only for LOTR. Most people didn knew him before that and most people dont talk about his other projects after.

I'm talking non-film score fans.

Yeah, right, like non-film score fans know the name John Williams.

I recently played LOTR to a few friends of mine, and they loved it; and guess what, they had no clue who John Williams was.

[Morn 8]

Probably general grievous from ROTS. I think it's Williams best action cue ever.

That's a bold statement.

It's his most rhythmic and energetic action cue.

[Datameister 2,034]

Yeah, right, like non-film score fans know the name John Williams.

I recently played LOTR to a few friends of mine, and they loved it; and guess what, they had no clue who John Williams was.

Well that's a non sequitor. Did those friends of yours immediately say, "That must have been Howard Shore...he always writes the most amazing music!"

[gkgyver 1,645]

Point taken

I guess I just want to say even though Williams' music may be better known by the public (since he was befriended with more mainstream directors), Shore's output isn't any less effective.

[Jay 37,249]

Hmmm, I can't choose between:

Married Life from Up

Roar! from Cloverfield

Enterprising Young Men from Star Trek

End Credits from Star Trek

Main Titles from Spider-Man 3

The Jungle Chase (complete) from Indiana Jones 4

Harry's Wondrous World from Harry Potter 1

Fawkes The Phoenix from Harry Potter 2

The Chamber Of Secrets from Harry Potter 2

Love Pledge and The Arena from Attack of The Clones

and a bunch of tracks from the 6 Lord Of The Rings releases, but especially:

Concerning Hobbits

The Great River

The Bridge Of Khazad-Dum

The Breaking Of The Fellowship aka The Road Goes Ever On... (Part 1)

The Three Hunters

Forth Eorlingas

Samwise The Brave

Roots and Beginnings

The Lighting Of The Beacon

A Far Green Country

And there are so many other great LOTR moments that are buried in the middle of long tracks that aren't amazing all the way through..... the crowd bowing before the hobbits at the end of ROTK, some great Rohan theme and White Rider theme variations, "I can't carry the ring for you, but I can carry you", the deliciously evil variations on the orc and uruk themes from one of the mount doom tracks (The Land Of Shadow I think), the Nazgul theme, the first big version of the fellowship theme as they pass by the camera going up the hill one by one, the seduction of the ring theme, Gandalf and Pippin's arrival at Gondor, the choral version of the fellowship theme, etc). In fact even "The Lighting Of The Beacon" probably doesn't deserve to be on there because it meanders so much before getting to the amazing lighting sequence (in either OST or CR form), but the lighting music is just so good...

Anyways, this isn't a LOTR thread. The point is, its incredibly hard to narrow a decade down to just one best track

[Koray Savas 2,251]

It's not incredibly hard. It's impossible.

[QMM 4]

I feel like no one brings up The Aviator except Morlock and I.