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

[Tallguy 6,686]

I adore The Polar Express. There. I said it.

 

White Christmas is a masterpiece. As is It's a Wonderful Life. A Muppet Christmas Carol isn't as good as Muppet Treasure Island. But it's really good.

 

Oh, this is the score thread. Well, I still adore The Polar Express. 

[Naïve Old Fart 12,533]

24 minutes ago, Tallguy said:

... The Polar Express.

Never seen that, and...

 

 

25 minutes ago, Tallguy said:

A Muppet Christmas Carol...

...never seen that, and...

 

26 minutes ago, Tallguy said:

... Muppet Treasure Island.

... never seen that.

Oops!

[Edmilson 11,476]

8 minutes ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

Never seen that, and...

 

 

...never seen that, and...

 

... never seen that.

Oops!

Since this is the score thread, have you listened to their scores? 

[Bespin Copilot 10,315]

A lovely compilation 

 

[Naïve Old Fart 12,533]

3 hours ago, Edmilson said:

Since this is the score thread, have you listened to their scores? 

Er... no 

[Romão 2,448]

Nosferatu, by Christopher Young

 

I was immediately taken by the full score since the first time I listened to it in its entirety, but it has steadily transformed into a all time favorite. Life circumstances and timing matter tremendously in these things, as well, and since I had a baby girl earlier in the year, the act of forming memories and associations has become, how to say, much more focused and centered on a smaller scope, don't know quite how else to put it. And since this score was in heavy rotation around the time of her birth, it has just ingrained itself in my memory and is now an indelible watermark of a very specific and very memorable period of my life. But it is tremendous music nonetheless, wonderfully atmospheric, with a clear dramatic arc, a great listening experience as an album and it joins the ranks, next to JW's and Kilar's Dracula scores as the holy trinity of musical representation of that particular story.

 

It's such a well rounded listening experience, that I almost always listen to the whole thing in its entirety and don't cherry-pick certain tracks.

 

My favorite score from the last 2 years or so

[bollemanneke 4,249]

HP2. EVERY time I listen to this score, it gets better! I even liked Dumbledore and Harry this time around! Can't believe I used to write this score off as a rehash. The thematic applications are fantastic!

 

The only lingering issues are that Lucius's theme doesn't appear in Hagrid's Arrest, that they tracked the entire Riddle-Harry conversation and that the concert suites still sound a bit... muddy compared to the spectacular sound of the rest of the presentation.

[Kasey Kockroach 2,621]

Innerspace could definitely benefit from a shorter playlist, but it’s fun. I’d sort of put it in the middle as far as ranking Goldsmith-Dante. 
A precursor to Total Recall’s soundscape, but benefits from romantic cues lacking in Recall (which doesn’t need it but it can leave me cold when not in the right mood for TR).

[Tallguy 6,686]

22 minutes ago, Kasey Kockroach said:

Innerspace could definitely benefit from a shorter playlist, but it’s fun. I’d sort of put it in the middle as far as ranking Goldsmith-Dante. 
A precursor to Total Recall’s soundscape, but benefits from romantic cues lacking in Recall (which doesn’t need it but it can leave me cold when not in the right mood for TR).

 

It is my hands down favorite Goldsmith Dante. And it's top 5 Jerry for me. (Top 3?)

 

Which is nice because too many of my "favorite scores" track with my "favorite movies". I do love Innerspace. But no where at all proportionate to how much I love this score.

 

The one side of the LP obviously left off a lot of great music. Maybe even essential to the score. But if I was going to rate all of the "best parts"? Everything on the LP is better than everything else in the score. If they had another few minutes though, it should include the Cowboy Theme.

[Kasey Kockroach 2,621]

18 minutes ago, Tallguy said:

 

It is my hands down favorite Goldsmith Dante. And it's top 5 Jerry for me. (Top 3?)

 

Which is nice because too many of my "favorite scores" track with my "favorite movies". I do love Innerspace. But no where at all proportionate to how much I love this score.

 

The one side of the LP obviously left off a lot of great music. Maybe even essential to the score. But if I was going to rate all of the "best parts"? Everything on the LP is better than everything else in the score. If they had another few minutes though, it should include the Cowboy Theme.

Really needed an end credits cue to make it sing, but I’d throw in that “Twistin’ the Night Away” song at the end if I could. There’s a perfect 50ish minute playlist somewhere if I get around to making it. 
I’d put it behind both Gremlins and The Burbs, but still very giddy a friend burned a copy of the LLL release for me!

[Bespin Copilot 10,315]

As a homage to Rob Reiner, the score from A Few Good Men, written by Marc Shaiman.

 

[filmmusic 2,916]

11 minutes ago, Bespin Copilot said:

As a homage to Rob Reiner, the score from A Few Good Men, written by Marc Shaiman.

 

I don't remember the score at all!

How is it?

[Bespin Copilot 10,315]

3 minutes ago, filmmusic said:

I don't remember the score at all!

How is it?

It's among the best ones of Shaiman acording to me... and well, few people. 

It blends moody orchestral drama, sleek jazz textures, and military pageantry into a soundscape that perfectly mirrors the film’s moral tension without ever overwhelming it. It’s one of his most sophisticated dramatic works.

[Bespin Copilot 10,315]

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 11,649]

The good old days

[Kasey Kockroach 2,621]

[Naïve Old Fart 12,533]

17 hours ago, Bespin Copilot said:

Now, that is a very nicely manicured thumb.

[Bespin Copilot 10,315]

[HunterTech 1,598]

[Kasey Kockroach 2,621]

My trimmed Explorers playlist.

[crocodile 9,488]

Jurassic Park

The Lost World: Jurassic Park

Jurassic Park III

Jurassic World

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

Jurassic World: Dominion

Jurassic World Rebirth

 

Listened to the expansions of the first 3, expanded fan edits of the middle three and seemingly complete album of the last one - 13+ hours of music. To be honest, some preferences aside, there isn't really a bad score in the series. The quality drops after the first two but that was to be expected, given there are really no composers today who can match Johnny. Having said that, all the remaining scores entertain in their own unique ways. While both Desplat and Davis display stronger mastery over orchestral writing, Giacchino, to his credit, pours a lot more heart into his trilogy. He won't match the other two technically but, interestingly, makes his work more memorable. And his triptych also shines more in complete form. Williams, of course, annihilates them all with ease. No surprise there. Still, plenty of fun all around.

 

Karol

[Naïve Old Fart 12,533]

On 18/12/2025 at 3:21 AM, Kasey Kockroach said:

My trimmed Explorers playlist.

You 'trimmed' your EXPLORERS playlist?

 

You trimmed your EXPLORERS playlist?!

[Kasey Kockroach 2,621]

I only took off 11 minutes!

[Naïve Old Fart 12,533]

1 hour ago, Kasey Kockroach said:

I only took off 11 minutes!

 

11 minutes?

11 minutes?!

 

[HunterTech 1,598]

[Kasey Kockroach 2,621]

9 hours ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

 

11 minutes?

11 minutes?!

 

And I took 13 minutes off Innerspace! 🥺

 

 

[Naïve Old Fart 12,533]

13 minutes off INNERSPACE?!

Your ripping the piss, mate.

[Kasey Kockroach 2,621]

I have never removed a single track from both Gremlins, DOES THAT HELP?

[Naïve Old Fart 12,533]

You can remove all you want, from GREMLINS, my lad, I've never liked that one (except for 'Out Out', and 'Gremlins Mega Madness').

GREMLINS 2 is much better.

[Kasey Kockroach 2,621]

Love them equally, just depends on my mood given how different they are.

 

My Mummy playlist is just the OST with four tracks added. 

[Xander Harris 8,919]

7 hours ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

You can remove all you want, from GREMLINS, my lad, I've never liked that one (except for 'Out Out', and 'Gremlins Mega Madness').

GREMLINS 2 is much better.

I agree to some extent. Gremlins is fine but I don’t rank it among his best. The sequel is more balls to the wall entertaining. The original is still better than some foreign piece of crap you pick up nowadays.

[Andy 6,930]

On 14/12/2025 at 8:46 PM, Tallguy said:

The one side of the LP obviously left off a lot of great music. Maybe even essential to the score. But if I was going to rate all of the "best parts"? Everything on the LP is better than everything else in the score. If they had another few minutes though, it should include the Cowboy Theme.

And the last three glorious cues

Out of the Pod

Disengage (take that pun, Giacchino!)

No Red Lights

 

I would rate those better than Optic Nerve on the OST. 
 

Innerspace is a great listen start to finish. No trimming required. 
 

Gremlins is also a great listen from beginning to end. Even more impressive considering it had to compete with songs like Mega Madness, Do You Hear What I Hear and Christmas Please Come Home for the Main Title.  It’s also more well rounded and many faceted than it’s being credited with. I prefer the more diabolical and earnest approach to both score and film of the original to the madcap on the nose zany comedy of the sequel. It’s a Kentucky Harvester!  
 

Explorers is essential from first cue to last.  Whittling it down is sheer madness!! 

[Kasey Kockroach 2,621]

My trimming is quite light compared to what Thor or publicist would do! 
Plus Explorers put a source cue and an alternate in the main program, doggone it! 

 

I agree though I would never do a thing to tamper with Gremlins. 

[filmmusic 2,916]

You guys are weird! 

I never trim anything, no matter how bad it may be.. 

[Bespin Copilot 10,315]

Time for "Home Alone 2" - C&C

Yep, 40 tracks... 1 hour 53 minutes!

[Edmilson 11,476]

2 hours ago, filmmusic said:

You guys are weird! 

I never trim anything

Anything? 

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 11,649]

If you occasionally light your farts, you keep the rear end neat as a side effect.

[Marian Schedenig 11,177]

22 hours ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

You can remove all you want, from GREMLINS, my lad, I've never liked that one (except for 'Out Out', and 'Gremlins Mega Madness').

 

 

[Naïve Old Fart 12,533]

It's great, but... isn't it just a riff on 'The Neighborhood Day'?

[Marian Schedenig 11,177]

How so? Both are upbeat, string based, with some pizzicato, and there the resemblance ceases.

[Naïve Old Fart 12,533]

I just prefer 'The Neighborhood Day'.

[Jay 44,818]

I somehow keep forgetting that I should listen to Christmassy scores when I need something random to listen to.  Instead, I listened to these recently

 

James Horner - The Mask Of Zorro (LLL complete)

 

Great score, so much fun

 

John Williams - Saving Private Ryan (LLL complete)

 

Really like the mood of this, it really hits the spot if you're in the right mindset for it.  I strongly prefer only hearing the Hymm as the ending piece and not the opening

[HunterTech 1,598]

 

Giving it one more listen....

[GerateWohl 6,369]

11 hours ago, Jay said:

John Williams - Saving Private Ryan (LLL complete)

 

Really like the mood of this, it really hits the spot if you're in the right mindset for it.  I strongly prefer only hearing the Hymm as the ending piece and not the opening

I know, it's a movie about war. But still I wish this beautiful music had less of these military snare drums.

[Jay 44,818]

John Williams - Home Alone 2 (OST album)

 

Now that's more like it - lovely Christmassy feel.  I hadn't heard any version of this score for a while, and had probably only heard the OST album once or twice before, the first expanded album came out so soon after the movie did.  It's actually a nice arrangement of highlights!

[HunterTech 1,598]

[Jay 44,818]

Enjoyed more Christmassy scores while working this afternoon, all found on Spotify

 

Alan Silvestri - The Polar Express

 

The only album on Spotify is mostly songs with a few Silvestri cuts.  A shame the labels haven't been able to give this a proper score album yet!

 

Alan Silvestri - A Christmas Carol

 

This might have been the first time I ever heard this (and I've never seen the movie) - boy, its nice!  I liked how many various Christmas carols are worked in.  Cool!

 

Christopher Lennertz - Dashing Through The Snow

 

Similarly, this has a lot of Christmas carols worked in as well, and also is really nice, though this has a more modern sound instead of a more traditional one.

[Tallguy 6,686]

3 hours ago, Jay said:

The only album on Spotify is mostly songs with a few Silvestri cuts.  A shame the labels haven't been able to give this a proper score album yet!

 

RIGHT?!? At least it has Seeing is Believing. 

 

3 hours ago, Jay said:

Alan Silvestri - A Christmas Carol

 

This might have been the first time I ever heard this (and I've never seen the movie) - boy, its nice!  I liked how many various Christmas carols are worked in.  Cool!

 

Now I realize I should check this out. Alan is a genius.

[Kasey Kockroach 2,621]

[tomsmoviemadness 4,585]

8 hours ago, Jay said:

Alan Silvestri - A Christmas Carol

 

This might have been the first time I ever heard this (and I've never seen the movie) - boy, its nice!  I liked how many various Christmas carols are worked in.  Cool!

 

 I love this score!

 

The opening track is so much fun! And I love the Carriage Chase.

 

Wonderful score by Silvestri