Best of's 2010

[publicist 4,643]

Best film score collector, 2010: me

Proudly downloaded over 400 scores from filehost! :cool:

[John Crichton 4]

The best new music release to me hands down is Lost: The Last Episodes. I hadn't really realized how few movies and new scores I've heard this year, really can't make an informed vote on either. I've finally got Let Me In on the way, and the new Potter was easily the best in quite a while.

I'd have to split the best re-release at least 5 different ways. Impossible to pick just one this year.

Kind of a backwards year for me: hardly any new movies or scores, yet I played quite a few new video games and felt like I was actually making informed votes in Gamespot's year end awards. Usually it's the other way around.

[Jay 37,355]

Best song: Alicia Keys - Empire State of Mind (Part II)

Runner up: Muse - Uprising

Uprising was a single from 2009.

And don't you think there are many other songs on the album better than that one? Its a stupendous album!

[Taikomochi 1,136]

Best film score collector, 2010: me

Proudly downloaded over 400 scores from filehost! :cool:

Only real men admit to it

I, uh, would never...

[Ollie 1,059]

I paid for all of mine.

[Jay 37,355]

Not the Harry Potter 1 recording sessions

[John Crichton 4]

I would have if I had too. And I will when it's officially released.

[gkgyver 1,645]

Best film score collector, 2010: me

Proudly downloaded over 400 scores from filehost! :cool:

Only real men admit to it

Fantastic, real men are hot in demand in jail.

[BLUMENKOHL 1,068]

Maybe it's the best electronic score in the past 7 years, although that's not saying much, but I don't consider it a breakthru or something that will be on everyone's awards list.

Maybe for people who never listen to this kind of music...

Man publicist, you are so modest and well versed! I bow to your brilliance.

[crocodile 8,012]

Not the Harry Potter 1 recording sessions

No, he actually did pay for that... Idiot!

(Just joking btw)

Karol - still amused by the "complete promo" Avatar auction earlier this year

[Jay 37,355]

I would have if I had too. And I will when it's officially released.

Oh we all would pay for an official release!

[Taikomochi 1,136]

Fantastic, real men are hot in demand in jail.

Well fake men certainly can't be in jail. They'd crack.

[Ollie 1,059]

Maybe it's the best electronic score in the past 7 years, although that's not saying much, but I don't consider it a breakthru or something that will be on everyone's awards list.

Maybe for people who never listen to this kind of music...

Man publicist, you are so modest and well versed! I bow to your brilliance.

It doesn't matter as to what style the music is. If it's good, it's good. If it's bad or average, it's bad or or average.

[publicist 4,643]

Maybe it's the best electronic score in the past 7 years, although that's not saying much, but I don't consider it a breakthru or something that will be on everyone's awards list.

Maybe for people who never listen to this kind of music...

Man publicist, you are so modest and well versed! I bow to your brilliance.

About time, dickhead!

[BLUMENKOHL 1,068]

Maybe it's the best electronic score in the past 7 years, although that's not saying much, but I don't consider it a breakthru or something that will be on everyone's awards list.

Maybe for people who never listen to this kind of music...

Man publicist, you are so modest and well versed! I bow to your brilliance.

It doesn't matter as to what style the music is. If it's good, it's good. If it's bad or average, it's bad or or average.

Something tells me that's not true. At all.

[crocodile 8,012]

Tron aside (I haven't even listened to it, to be honest), Family Plot now officially joins my list of favourites. 70's JW is just sooooo good.

Karol

[Ollie 1,059]

Maybe it's the best electronic score in the past 7 years, although that's not saying much, but I don't consider it a breakthru or something that will be on everyone's awards list.

Maybe for people who never listen to this kind of music...

Man publicist, you are so modest and well versed! I bow to your brilliance.

It doesn't matter as to what style the music is. If it's good, it's good. If it's bad or average, it's bad or or average.

Something tells me that's not true. At all.

Perhaps in your world. If the music is good it will be sitting on my shelf, regardless of what medium is used to compose and perform. If I find it lacking or awful, I won't waste any money on it.

[Red 75]

I was very surprised by how much I liked Tron. Though Daft Punk had made some songs that I could appreciate they weren't really my cup of tea, and I definitely questioned how well they would do with a full-length film score. I must say, they knocked it out of the park.

[BLUMENKOHL 1,068]

Maybe it's the best electronic score in the past 7 years, although that's not saying much, but I don't consider it a breakthru or something that will be on everyone's awards list.

Maybe for people who never listen to this kind of music...

Man publicist, you are so modest and well versed! I bow to your brilliance.

It doesn't matter as to what style the music is. If it's good, it's good. If it's bad or average, it's bad or or average.

Something tells me that's not true. At all.

Perhaps in your world. If the music is good it will be sitting on my shelf, regardless of what medium is used to compose and perform. If I find it lacking or awful, I won't waste any money on it.

Riiiiigggggghhhhht.

[Richard Penna 3,687]

Tron it turns me off when it gets into pure techno/dance music.

I just made a playlist of tracks I like, and it totals 27 mins. The rest of it is either Zimmer in hyperdrive or just pure dance music. I don't get what's attracting people to the entirety of the score.

[A24 4,331]

The rest of it is either Zimmer in hyperdrive

More rock anthems? I guess the masses can no longer cope with Wendy Carlos, which is understandable because the musical distance between Lady Gaga on their iPod and the symphonic/electronic blend of Carlos is too great.

Alex

[publicist 4,643]

More rock anthems?

Alex

No rock anthems. DARK KNIGHT/INCEPTION-pulsating ostinati and deeeeeeeep bass rumbles. They should've gotten Goldenthal to 'assist' instead of Zimmer, maybe that would've made the whole thing more out-of-the-box.

[crocodile 8,012]

The saddest thing is that Lady Gaga is hardly the worst there is...

Karol

[A24 4,331]

The saddest thing is that Lady Gaga is hardly the worst there is...

She's a thousand times more popular than the next one. That makes it as sad as it gets. And because she 'acts' weird, people propably think it buys them style and personality. It was no different when Madonna ruled the charts. To give her some credit, she does play an instrument and writes her own stuff.

[Quintus 5,399]

I heard her do a few hits a while ago on radio one's live lounge. She played the piano and sang poker face etc; the sound was very different to what we hear from her in the charts. She's very talented indeed, musically. I don't care for her unoriginal showmanship.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,524]

Mark my words; in 12 months, it will be "Lady who?".

As for the Daft Punk/Wendy Carlos thing; well, honestly, it's like comparing New Kids On The Block to Mozart. The only thing that they have in common, is that they both use 12 notes!

I love the TRON score, and, although it is not an easy listen, I find myself playing it quite regularly. How TRON:Legacy will fare in the long-term, I cannot say, but, for the moment, I'm enjoying it.

[crocodile 8,012]

I heard her do a few hits a while ago on radio one's live lounge. She played the piano and sang poker face etc; the sound was very different to what we hear from her in the charts. She's very talented indeed, musically. I don't care for her unoriginal showmanship.

That's the point. There is nothing wrong with pop music as such. It's that it seems to be all about packaging.

Karol - who never heard Wendy Carlos (beyond The Shining and A Clockwork Orange)

[Charlie Brigden 7]

I don't really get the Zimmer comments in regards to Legacy, at least the "oh, it's just Zimmer mixed with DP". Yeah, it sometimes sounds a bit like (like publicist mentioned) TDK, although I think it's less Inception and more Vangelis, who I think was directly mentioned by the duo as an influence (and the end titles sound like a pretty big homage to the Blade Runner end titles), but especially the more orchestral side of things sounds much better than anything RCP (Powell excepted) usually comes up with, which is maybe the Broughton influence?

But I understand the chasm of understanding between the enjoyment of the score and Williams' work.

[crocodile 8,012]

I'm listening to it right now, actually. It's a fine album, if you like these kinds of things. While it's not a disaster and I can find some enjoyment listening to it, this is the kind of thing I will get bored with after few weeks. The problem is that it doesn't really sound all that striking, even in its own genre. As a film score, it isn't so far removed from Hans Zimmer's work for Christopher Nolan's films. Granted, there is some more traditional orchestral elements, but nothing really all that sustained. Or, better yet, nothing too ballsy. It's a typical "let's use and orchestra!" thing. And as far as electronica goes and its merging with acoustic elements, John Powell is still in the lead. Musically, The Bourne Supremacy easily kicks Tron's butt. Both as an orchestral/electronic combo and as a film score.

The bottom line is, I have the feeling heard all this before. But I think general public will like it. I'm sure it gets a generous volume level in the film. This coupled with the fact it emulates all the usual suspects (Vangelis, Zimmer, Glass along with, yes, Daft Punk) guarantees the success. Long or short lived, but success nontheless. And that's most disappointing thing about Tron Legacy. The score is not bad. it just sounds exactly the way you think it will. I heard this music months ago, even before they even started working on it.

Now then...onto my Family Plot... Which is a perfect summary, I guess.

Karol - who is wondering how on earth people praise this score and yet at the same time pan Inception and such stuff.

[Ollie 1,059]

Nicely put Karol.

[Quintus 5,399]

Still haven't heard Tron, but I'm going to sort it out. I feel like I'm missing out on more than just this debate.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

Best Blu Ray Release.

New

Toy Story 3, again another cartoon film that takes advantage of all the Blu has to offer. Not only does it look great but it offers so much.

Mid Aged films.

Alien Anthology, based on the efforts of James Cameron's restoration of Aliens. This film is absolutely stunning in detail and the richness of colors. This movie has never looked better. What a masterwork.

Old

Night of the Hunter, I've always asked what does Blu offer a black and white film....the answer is this

[Quintus 5,399]

I got the Laurel and Hardy Collection for Christmas. I'd love to see what Blu could do for them!

[Charlie Brigden 7]

James Cameron's restoration of Aliens. This film is absolutely stunning in detail and the richness of colors. This movie has never looked better. What a masterwork.

[Jay 37,355]

Can't wait till I can afford the Alien Anthology! Gotta start selling junk on ebay!

[Koray Savas 2,251]

It was $70 on Amazon, and came with a free copy of Last Of The Mohicans. That was the best deal I've seen of it.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

Can't wait till I can afford the Alien Anthology! Gotta start selling junk on ebay!

Walmart 64 bucks.

[BLUMENKOHL 1,068]

I'm listening to it right now, actually. It's a fine album, if you like these kinds of things. While it's not a disaster and I can find some enjoyment listening to it, this is the kind of thing I will get bored with after few weeks. The problem is that it doesn't really sound all that striking, even in its own genre. As a film score, it isn't so far removed from Hans Zimmer's work for Christopher Nolan's films. Granted, there is some more traditional orchestral elements, but nothing really all that sustained. Or, better yet, nothing too ballsy. It's a typical "let's use and orchestra!" thing. And as far as electronica goes and its merging with acoustic elements, John Powell is still in the lead. Musically, The Bourne Supremacy easily kicks Tron's butt. Both as an orchestral/electronic combo and as a film score.

The bottom line is, I have the feeling heard all this before. But I think general public will like it. I'm sure it gets a generous volume level in the film. This coupled with the fact it emulates all the usual suspects (Vangelis, Zimmer, Glass along with, yes, Daft Punk) guarantees the success. Long or short lived, but success nontheless. And that's most disappointing thing about Tron Legacy. The score is not bad. it just sounds exactly the way you think it will. I heard this music months ago, even before they even started working on it.

Now then...onto my Family Plot... Which is a perfect summary, I guess.

Karol - who is wondering how on earth people praise this score and yet at the same time pan Inception and such stuff.

Hmm.

It's always captivated me how groups of people who are fond of a singular line of thought like those of us at JWFan can hear such nuances and massive variations in an otherwise infinitesimally small niche of music, and dismiss most anything else that deviates from those standards with which we are so familiar as sounding the same. Much in the same way a lot of groups not strictly fans of film music from the 80s to today can be so oblivious to those same differences we are so keenly aware of.

And mind you these observations are not directed specifically at you Karol. It is both a triumph and folly of our inherently generalizing minds. We all do it in every aspect of our lives.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,524]

All music is just 12 notes: it's either beautiful, or it ain't.

[BLUMENKOHL 1,068]

If you look at music on a mathematical level, it is countably infinite. And over the past thousands of years of civilization we've barely scratched the surface of the possible combinations.

The perception of beauty and or the pleasure derived from anything is directly linked to our brain's ability to process those combinations of musical elements. That mental ability is directly linked to a combination of instinct and environmental factors. The definition of what combination of musical elements is beautiful or not is constantly changing, though slowly because our "musical environment" is very limited at the moment (recall, it barely scratches the surface of what is possible).

This is why you see [relatively] big differences in musical taste from generation to generation (the sounds you are exposed to can dictate your taste in music), and yet certain sounds affect you very much the same across any time and culture (the sounds your genes have taught you to fear or like).

[crocodile 8,012]

It's always captivated me how groups of people who are fond of a singular line of thought like those of us at JWFan can hear such nuances and massive variations in an otherwise infinitesimally small niche of music, and dismiss most anything else that deviates from those standards with which we are so familiar as sounding the same.

That's because were are superior to everyone else!

But seriosly, I just wish that people who are responsible for creating these movies would stop for once equating "out of the box" approach with "changing a genre of music to something modern". In its essence it has nothing to do with that.

Karol

[Ollie 1,059]

Perhaps if they actually did something different with electronic music instead of everything sounding the same?

[crocodile 8,012]

Precisely.

As it stands, Tron Legacy is enjoyable. But underwhelming and certainly NOT groundbreaking. Kind of like Arnold's CON3.

Karol

[Naïve Old Fart 9,524]

Perhaps if they actually did something different with electronic music instead of everything sounding the same?

If you are talking about the "TRON:Legacy" score: there actually is variety in it.

Yes it does sound like Zimmer in places, but it also reminds me of Peter Baumann-era Tangerine Dream, and also "Revolutions"-era Jean Michel Jarre.

When it comes to electronic music, I belong to an era that could tell its Moog from its Prophet-5. I hold no truck with a lot of the modern stuff, which is why I appreciate groups which try, at least, to emulate (no pun intended!) the sounds of the aforementioned keyboards, and also the likes of Jupiter, Juno, Elka, Oberheim, and the mighty Mellotron. "TRON:Legacy" may not be the acme of film scoring, but it is a competently put together piece of work, created with one soul purpose: to compliment and support, the film that it underscores, and it does it admirably.

[Ollie 1,059]

Oh I'm not even talking about a Zimmer sound. It just sounds like a typical electronic score, nothing new or special.

[Richard Penna 3,687]

I love the 27 mins I selected, but the rest.... it's dance music, not score music.

[Quintus 5,399]

What, you mean it's like the awesome highway chase music from Matrix Reloaded? Very much "score", that cue.

[crocodile 8,012]

Well, no. There's nothing like that. The Matrix Reloaded stuff was agressive and ballsy. And yes, cool.

Karol

[Koray Savas 2,251]

"Derezzed" is the only cue that really sounds like dance music to me. The rest is fairly good.

[Jay 37,355]

Speaking of Derezzed, they made a music video for it: