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What Is The Last Score You Listened To? (older scores)


Ollie

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On 5/19/2020 at 3:29 PM, Gruesome Son of a Bitch said:

James Horner Collage

 

It's one of my favorite albums. 

 

Wow I really like this, thanks for the recommendation. 

 

Wow the first track's theme is quite similar to Rescuer's Down Under

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I'll take it this time.

 

Krull OST (recreated from the LLL)

Listened with @The Illustrious Jerry, sorry that @SteveMc couldn't make it (thanks anyway to both). After the latter gentleman educated the former on Horner and linked Ride of the Firemares, we both were immediately under its spell and wanted more. Having seen the film a few days ago, this seemed to do an alright job at including the major highlights and arranging them for A and B sides, but I'll be stoked to hear twice as much goodness on the LLL, which I already ordered after I saw the film - listening to this certainly did not make me regret that.

 

Quotes copied over from the live discussion:

[Referring to Widow's Web] Love this effect in the opening. Is it the spiderwebs' look that compels us to use weird strings to depict them musically? Shore did that too.

[Widow's Lullaby] Lovely piece. This was a much more matured and somber reading of the love material than the loud and sweeping one for the young whippersnappers.

[Referring to 4:56-7:47 of Destruction of the Black Fortress] I love that it allows for more extended "pure" musical parts like this, not just jump back and forth erratically and reacting to every rock fall or shot fired. It can be more musical and musically driven. Obligatory "Back when they knew how to make movies"!

 

Takes a lot from Mars and Khan but who cares! It's awesome.

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Nightbreed - Danny Elfman

 

I like this one! Shirley Walker's orchestrations are all over this score, a more carnival and macabre take on Elfman's Batman style -- like those brass layers -- an underrated score for sure. Really beautiful and harmonic.

 

I wish he worked with her more in the late 1990s and early 2000s. She gave Elfman's music a real zest and energy.

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Jurassic World - Michael Giacchino

Doctor Strange - Michael Giacchino

Krull - James Horner

Star Trek Episode II: The Wrath of Khan - James Horner

 

The Horners were fine, but the Gias... You know when you like something when you're young, then you suddenly wake up and doesn't like that thing anymore? I'm feeling like this with Gia's music. They don't excite me the way they used to a few years ago. Now I just feel he writes the same score, with minor tweaks, for every movie.

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His first Spiderman score was his absolute low point. I haven't heard a less inspired big movie score outside of the RCP realm. 

I would actually put Zimmer's ASM 2 above it. At least that one elicits emotions other than boredom, even if that emotion is laughter. 

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On 6/13/2020 at 3:04 AM, Holko said:

I'll take it this time.

 

Krull OST (recreated from the LLL)

Listened with @The Illustrious Jerry, sorry that @SteveMc couldn't make it (thanks anyway to both). After the latter gentleman educated the former on Horner and linked Ride of the Firemares, we both were immediately under its spell and wanted more. Having seen the film a few days ago, this seemed to do an alright job at including the major highlights and arranging them for A and B sides, but I'll be stoked to hear twice as much goodness on the LLL, which I already ordered after I saw the film - listening to this certainly did not make me regret that.

 

Quotes copied over from the live discussion:

[Referring to Widow's Web] Love this effect in the opening. Is it the spiderwebs' look that compels us to use weird strings to depict them musically? Shore did that too.

[Widow's Lullaby] Lovely piece. This was a much more matured and somber reading of the love material than the loud and sweeping one for the young whippersnappers.

[Referring to 4:56-7:47 of Destruction of the Black Fortress] I love that it allows for more extended "pure" musical parts like this, not just jump back and forth erratically and reacting to every rock fall or shot fired. It can be more musical and musically driven. Obligatory "Back when they knew how to make movies"!

 

Takes a lot from Mars and Khan but who cares! It's awesome.

Wait untill you hear Vella!

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1 hour ago, gkgyver said:

His first Spiderman score was his absolute low point. I haven't heard a less inspired big movie score outside of the RCP realm. 

I would actually put Zimmer's ASM 2 above it. At least that one elicits emotions other than boredom, even if that emotion is laughter. 

 

It's one of his worst high-profile film OSTs.

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4 hours ago, The River (Fal) said:

Wait untill you hear Vella!

It really didn't make much of an impression under the dialoge, so I am really looking forward to it!

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And I thought I was unenthusiastic about Giacchino...

 

I've never been a fan, but I do like his two Jurassic scores, and a handful of moments from Spiderman: Homecoming. I watched Fallen Kingdom last week, and rather enjoyed both film and score.

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I don't want to join the cult of the Giacchino haters, as I believe he's truly a good composer, and I still mantain that his Far from Home score was one of the best last year for big budget movies. 

 

But, listening to his scores these days, I dunno... It's hard not to think that he is writing the same score, with the same tropes, for every movie. His music sounds too "pop" for me, too unsophisticated. Meanwhile, when I listen to John Powell for instance, it's genuinely great music thoughtfully written and performed by someone who knows how to be exciting without losing the sophistication.

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3 hours ago, The River (Fal) said:

It is rather "dull"

 

3 hours ago, Jurassic Shark said:

It goes nowhere.

He lacks that special sense of narrative purpose, if you'll pardon my...lack of a less pretentious way of putting it.

 

For example, there's several spots in Fallen Kingdom's underscore that he could have intertwined either the main theme or Blue's theme or whatever, but he just doesn't and just has the usual dull meandering underscore or hammering action rhythms that don't say anything (even if I'm nonetheless entertained). Why not have the raptor theme intertwined in Double Cross to Bear or Operation Blue Blood, for example? Why not intertwine that splendid main theme into the action music throughout the whole volcano section? It's like he's just hired to provide background noise rather than feeling compelled to tell a story. He's almost got it with the spectacular renditions of that main theme, but he doesn't really commit to it enough.

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The problem with Gia is that it is very apparent that his scores lack the dramatic sophistication of Williams, Horner, JNH, Elfman or even John Powell. These are people who spend years studying music, learning their craft, improving their writing and listening to the classics to get the inspiration from there (literally in Horner's case).

 

Gia, on the other hand, sounds like a fanboy who listened to Empire Strikes Back a few times and has been trying to do the same ever since. He seems to be more of an enthusiast rather than an actual music scholar. 

 

I don't like snobbing the guy, he seems a cool person, has some talent and wrote some genuinely outstanding material over the years. But it's hard to shake that feeling that he isn't in the same ballpark as someone like the Williamses and Goldsmithes and Horners of the world.

 

Maybe the problem isn't with him personally, maybe it's more due to the fact that he does mostly the same action blockbusters which require a very specific type of music. He became so comfortable doing these action/adventure flicks that his style didn't mature enough. Great composers, from JW to JG, Horner, Elfman, JNH, etc., have worked on very different kinds of films, including those where it needs a more intimate, discrete scoring.

 

But then again when Gia is presented with this opportunity (eg. Jojo Rabbit), he brings back just the same combo of piano and strings from Lost.

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It’s not about the movies themselves, seeing as how something like those disposable Blue Sky animated movies have stronger thematic material than anything Gia’s ever written for a ‘real’ movie. Powell could churn out something rapturous with something like Horton Hears a Who while Gia struggles to come up with anything compelling for his big time productions.

 

Or of course the sheer amount of times Goldsmith gave great scores to garbage movies.

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35 minutes ago, Edmilson said:

These are people who spend years studying music, learning their craft, improving their writing and listening to the classics to get the inspiration from there (literally in Horner's case).

 

I don't know if it's fair to say Gia hasn't done these things. You don't earn his kind of success and clout in an industry by just cruising along. He just doesn't have the chops to write the larger operatic scores you're describing. 

 

His big-band style and simple pop-ish harmony is better suited for the smaller and colourful Pixar films, which have easily produced his best work.

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3 minutes ago, KK said:

 

I don't know if it's fair to say Gia hasn't done these things. You don't earn his kind of success and clout in an industry by just cruising along. 

 

Junkie XL says hi.

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X-Files: Fight the Future - Mark Snow

 

It's nice to get this score properly mixed, thanks to LLL's expanded release. A proper big-screen expansion of Snow's music for the show, with some fine orchestral writing in "Crossroads" and "Crater Hug." It's more about tone and atmosphere than motifs and musical storytelling, but it fits the movie (and CD release) just fine.

 

Child's Play 2 - Graeme Revell

 

It's strongly thematic and propulsive for a slasher movie -- and for his first major studio film, Revell delivered in spades. It's fun (much like the movie itself), but apart from the action cues I don't hear much of Shirley Walker's touch on it. Whoever recommended her to Revell deserved a raise though.

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Doyle's Cinderella

 

Boy, was Doyle having fun with this movie. Several of the 'source' pieces for the ball are rather good as well. I paused the movie constantly to find the track I was hearing, and his rendition of Lavender's Blue in 'Who is She' finally made me find the CD on Amazon.

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1 minute ago, Jurassic Shark said:

Hi Tom! :wave:

 

Hello! It's good to be here... or something haha. But cheers, seems like a good forum. Now onto Young Guns II, Alan Silvestri. It's no Quick and the Dead but still...

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3 minutes ago, Tom Guernsey said:

 

Hello! It's good to be here... or something haha. But cheers, seems like a good forum. Now onto Young Guns II, Alan Silvestri. It's no Quick and the Dead but still...

 

Can't remember anything about the music from Young Guns II, except for Blaze of Glory. :lol: Is there any good Silvestri cues?

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3 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

 

Can't remember anything about the music from Young Guns II, except for Blaze of Glory. :lol: Is there any good Silvestri cues?

 

Pretty decent... I didn't remember much about it either to be honest. One working from home benefit is a LONG soundtrack heavy "up next" list and someone mentioned this so thought I'd give it a spin. It's a bit more poppy/rocky/80's but still some solid Silvestri orchesral writing... Lynch Mob has some decent action writing.

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2 hours ago, Tom Guernsey said:

Poltergeist, Jerry Goldsmith. I never used to like this score but I have no idea why... terrific stuff.

First post, go me. Hi everyone.

Welcome, brother. You've taken your first step into a larger world.

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19 hours ago, Richard Penna said:

Doyle's Cinderella

 

Boy, was Doyle having fun with this movie. Several of the 'source' pieces for the ball are rather good as well. I paused the movie constantly to find the track I was hearing, and his rendition of Lavender's Blue in 'Who is She' finally made me find the CD on Amazon.

 

Along with Brave probably Doyle's best of the millennium. Not particularly deep, but gorgeous melodies very competently executed.

 

5 hours ago, Tom Guernsey said:

Poltergeist, Jerry Goldsmith. I never used to like this score but I have no idea why... terrific stuff.

 

Without even a shred of a doubt one of Goldsmith's finest. And it works wonders in the film, too.

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Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

Mission: Impossible

Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Call of the Wild

The Bourne Ultimatum

 

:music: The Thing (Quartet Records)

 

Karol

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Robin & Marian (John Barry). The CPPO re-recording is terrific, really lovely score, very different from the usual Robin Hood style scores.

Pixels (Henry Jackman) - Fun, although I can't really remember much about it!

The Man Who Killed Don Quixote (Roque Baños) - Some lovely stuff here, I need to listen to Baños more often although I'm not sure he's quite lived up to his early promise (such as The Machinist which is one of the best fake Bernard Herrmann scores ever).

Godzilla: King of the Monsters (Bear McCreary) - Kinda wonder if the album isn't a touch long at times, great though it is, and the most memorable thematic material is the original Ifukube theme but still terrific stuff. Godzilla may not have always beem served well by US remakes, but all the scores have been great in their own way (and yeah, I love the Desplat one, and the Arnold one is terrific of course).

LBJ (Marc Shaiman) - Not as memorable as The American President but an enjoyably old fashioned drama score.

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11 minutes ago, Tom Guernsey said:

Robin & Marian (John Barry). The CPPO re-recording is terrific, really lovely score, very different from the usual Robin Hood style scores.

 

I'll have to check out this one. Thanks for reminding me.

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The River (score only)

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

The Thing

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

The Hateful Eight

Braveheart

Sneakers

 

Karol

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Screenshot_2020-06-18-14-43-00~2.png

On 6/16/2020 at 8:13 AM, Tom Guernsey said:

 

Hello! It's good to be here... or something haha. But cheers, seems like a good forum. Now onto Young Guns II, Alan Silvestri. It's no Quick and the Dead but still...

YGII is one of my favourite of his. He stretched his style on this with great use of guitars.

QatD is not a fave.

On 6/15/2020 at 7:33 AM, Edmilson said:

I don't want to join the cult of the Giacchino haters, as I believe he's truly a good composer, and I still mantain that his Far from Home score was one of the best last year for big budget movies. 

 

But, listening to his scores these days, I dunno... It's hard not to think that he is writing the same score, with the same tropes, for every movie. His music sounds too "pop" for me, too unsophisticated. Meanwhile, when I listen to John Powell for instance, it's genuinely great music thoughtfully written and performed by someone who knows how to be exciting without losing the sophistication.

 His score for DAWNPOTA marked a step up in his development.

The orchestration is stunning!

 

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