Do You Truly Hate Hans Zimmer? (Musically.)

[Ollie 1,059]

I do love Hannibal, I still think it is a album

Great score.

The best cue on the album wasn't even written by Zimmer.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Yes it was!

[Romão 2,274]

Let my Home Be My Gallows and to Every Captive Soul are some of the best stuff he has ever written. He does well with this sort of very string heavy adagios, like in the latter case. It does have its formulatic side to it, but I think he also wrote another good cue in this vein for Gladiator (Patricide)

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Finally a sensible comment.

[Cantus Venti 13]

I was going to submit a long post about how much repitition and simplicity in music is a subjective taste, from beat-making all the way to dissonant contemporary classical, but along the way I realized I don't have to care about Zimmer's popularity. There are billions of things we ignore every day, we continue to like what we like and do our own thing regardless of what other people do, and if we can't due to societal restrictions then find a way around it or find the next best thing! Keep thinking on your own, you'll do well! Because there is more to being right: you really have to be different to make a difference.

[Wojo 2,453]

Right on! Children are starving in war-torn Turkmenibuckingduckystan and here we are bickering about Zimmer's popularity. Think of the children!

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

If people dont like it on war torn countries why dont they just move?

[Taikomochi 1,136]

I hate the lazy Hans Zimmer. I have no problem with the Hans that tries.

[gkgyver 1,645]

I was an artist my whole life and artistic processes are often wonderous, inexplicable, and always hard to explain to "regular" people.

It is not really an issue to evaluate whether or not you are taking risks because in the end, you always do what fits your vision, provocative or not. And I do not think that artists who are artists with heart and soul make a fuss about certain techniques they used or approaches they took.

The problem with Zimmer is simply that he has a strong tendency to indeed make a fuss about ideas he has or approaches he takes, he is marketing and exaggerates the artistic process. In short, he talks bullshit. And that offends my artistic sensibilities.

Not to mention that "taking risks" is not something I would connect with his music. It would be "comfort zone".

[KK 3,307]

Right on! Children are starving in war-torn Turkmenibuckingduckystan and here we are bickering about Zimmer's popularity. Think of the children!

[Koray Savas 2,251]

I was an artist my whole life and artistic processes are often wonderous, inexplicable, and always hard to explain to "regular" people.

It is not really an issue to evaluate whether or not you are taking risks because in the end, you always do what fits your vision, provocative or not. And I do not think that artists who are artists with heart and soul make a fuss about certain techniques they used or approaches they took.

The problem with Zimmer is simply that he has a strong tendency to indeed make a fuss about ideas he has or approaches he takes, he is marketing and exaggerates the artistic process. In short, he talks bullshit. And that offends my artistic sensibilities.

Not to mention that "taking risks" is not something I would connect with his music. It would be "comfort zone".

I'm sorry, what? If I may ask, what is your art? Because any film composer interview I read/watch discusses the process. What the hell else would you discuss? I like this piece of music because it makes me happy? Please, those are the JW type interviews. I write, and while I don't consider myself an artist, if I discuss writing, it's typically about my process.

[Quintus 5,399]

Gkgyver wants Zimmer to come across disinterested and vacant in interviews about his current projects, show no enthusiasm or joy. Because that bugs him.

Everyone else agrees that Zimmer is a stand up guy, regardless of his music.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Every interview i have seen and read shows him to be an entirely pleasant German....

[gkgyver 1,645]

I do not mean talking about your technical process or your relationship with the director or whatnot, I mean the way he talks about the own creative process.

You can talk about it humbly and with well-placed words, like JW does, or you can talk about it like it is the second coming of Christ. And Zimmer more and more sounds like the latter.

I am sure he is a pleasant guy to be around, but his comments on his essentially always the same music cause eyerolling more and more often.

The way he talks about DKR while he is more or less copy-pasting 60% of the score is breathtaking.

I like Filmtracks' round up of the DKR: "the composer needs to shut his yap, change to D major and drop a wicked oboe solo on us, maybe then he'd deserve an interview."

[KK 3,307]

I like Filmtracks' round up of the DKR: "the composer needs to shut his yap, change to D major and drop a wicked oboe solo on us, maybe then he'd deserve an interview."

It's change to F major, not D. It wouldn't be as funny if it was written as the latter. And that has got to be one of Christian's best review closers ever.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

I do not mean talking about your technical process or your relationship with the director or whatnot, I mean the way he talks about the own creative process.

You can talk about it humbly and with well-placed words, like JW does, or you can talk about it like it is the second coming of Christ. And Zimmer more and more sounds like the latter.

I am sure he is a pleasant guy to be around, but his comments on his essentially always the same music cause eyerolling more and more often.

The way he talks about DKR while he is more or less copy-pasting 60% of the score is breathtaking.

I like Filmtracks' round up of the DKR: "the composer needs to shut his yap, change to D major and drop a wicked oboe solo on us, maybe then he'd deserve an interview."

I never meant technical process, even though that is certainly part of it. Creative process is what everyone wants to know about, right? JW is humble, but boring and pretty much says nothing about how he composes. Zimmer is humble yet interesting because of his creative process, and how he discusses working in the industry, mainly because he usually functions as more than just the composer that's brought in during post-production.

[indy4 155]

^ I agree. (exception: I don't think JW is boring, but I'd love it if he were more frank and honest in his interviews, like Zimmer.)

[Quintus 5,399]

I just think Zimmer loves his job, his life and can't help but shout about it. He's a happy chap, and a probably a decent salesman.

People like that tend to be infectious; only irritating the most curmudgeonly minded among us.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

This thread will end really well btw, and Joey will of course refrain from reminding us that Zimmer's music is fucking atrocious noise.

Thus far Joe has not posted in this thread at all.

Just thought I'd point that out....

[PIANOMUSICIAN1991 0]

Personally, yes I hate him musically. The problem with Zimmer is that he has passed his sound on to the group of musicians he works with in his company/business. He usually writes the themes for a movie and then his minions often write the scores for the scenes, meaning that they have to adopt his style. When they eventually leave his scoring company and make their own way into the scoring world, they still have his sound, and know nothing else. No originality! He has caused the death of proper film music.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

The bullshit in this thread is staggering.

[Trent B 337]

I'm not overly fond of a lot of the stuff Zimmer has written. However, there are some scores from him that I actually do like. I wouldn't go so far as to say I hate the man in musical terms.

The bullshit in this thread is staggering.

That's what you get when you do get people who despise the man big time and nearly every media ventures composer.

I dislike the influence he has had on the film music industry.

Same... to many composers these days try to emulate him and don't do their own direction and try to have a good score. A lot of the other veteran composers IE: David Arnold, Silvestri, Williams, etc ...are slowly dying (no pun intended).

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Still no response from Joe in this thread...

[TimCox 0]

When I first heard Zimmer's stuff I was totally blown away, mostly because I had no clue how he got those massive sounds.

Then I got a nice computer and became less impressed

It seems these days all you need is some loud Taiko samples and a keyboard to impress people.

I think it's a young person thing (I'm only 26 so I'm not saying I'm old or anything but still), most people I know who love Hans Zimmer are late teens, early 20s.

I'll always thank my parents for raising me on Star Wars and Indiana Jones

[Josh500 1,615]

To be honest, I dislike many of his scores. Some are okay, sure, and very few are even fantastic. But the majority of his output is like... meh.

[wanner251 17]

While I will say that I do adore the score for the Lion King, the infamous Hans seems to me more or less a texture writer. That isn't to say that he has no abilities at all, because he can definitely come up with some ideas that are really quite good when he allows himself to focus. I agree with the sentiment that he could have been great, but is instead lazy. However, I think that the reason for this is just as underwhelming as his music. He's about quantity, not quality. This is true in every aspect of what he does. For instance, if you check his entry on IMDB, he has composed for 151 titles since 1984. That amounts to an average of 5 films a year, which is quite a few. He's not going to be able to give any focus to any particular project. In fact, he composed for 10 titles in 2011. Yes he has his flying monkey minions do it, and then slaps his name on it. This too is excess. Quantity goes up, quality goes down. So why on earth is he so sought after by so many people, including the brilliant Christopher Nolan? That's a tough one, but my thought is that he probably allows the director to basically say and do whatever he/she wants as far as the score is concerned. That way Zimmer can remain fairly benign. As long as he provides texture for mood, and the director invoked it, the director is getting what he/she wants, and Hans gets a rehire. We all hate this approach because the music suffers. Years ago, composers were hired as experts in their craft. A director needed music, and the composer stepped in to solve the problem in his own way. If it was not satisfactory, the composer was still paid, and the director had to dig deeper into the budget to look elsewhere. In the case of Zimmer, he seems to be a political "YES" man in the world of film, hence the amount of work he does, hence the clinging to formulaic, repetitive writing, hence the subpar quality.... A director says, I want this shot of the countryside to sound "green", and Hans Zimmer says OK no problem. He then goes to his DAW and under the "Green" folder he pulls out something and changes it slightly to fit. And the director thinks he is a genius.

Yes, I truly hate him musically for this reason.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

I'd put that post in my signature if it wasn't so long. Wrong on all aspects.

[gkgyver 1,645]

Not entirely.

[Giftheck 916]

It's not entirely wrong. However, it's much more overblown than the way I see it.

[wanner251 17]

I must admit... I let my emotions get the best of me as I was writing.... I shall diminish and remain wanner251....

However, I would like to see Koray take my terrible rhetoric and disprove it with his own for the sake of being enlightened better, since I too wonder how Hans Zimmer can garner so much work.....

I still think that he is a nonsensical YES man...

[gkgyver 1,645]

He's often nonsensical, but a yes-man, not sure about that. I don't think he has scrupel though when a director asks of him to quote earlier work, large chunks of DKR sound like that.

Honestly though, I think a lot of it also has to do with film makers simply not caring about music too much.

[Brónach 1,301]

If I made a film I'd end up being hated by my film composer of choice.

[Faleel 5,340]

I would have him write Wall to wall music, then cut out what did not work.

[chuck 154]

Pardon my ignorance but I have to ask this question: Is it true that HZ started the tradition of putting temp tracks in films?

[Brónach 1,301]

I would have him write Wall to wall music, then cut out what did not work.

Interesting. I'd thought on it the other way around, with the defult mode being no music. It'd depend of the film.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Pardon my ignorance but I have to ask this question: Is it true that HZ started the tradition of putting temp tracks in films?

Haha seriously?! Temp tracks have been around forever. Zimmer is probably the most temped composer though.

[Uni 306]

Pardon my ignorance but I have to ask this question: Is it true that HZ started the tradition of putting temp tracks in films?

Oh, hell no. Temp tracks have been making it directly into movies for decades on end (2001 may be the most infamous—if forgivable—example). In other cases, directors ask composers to mimic the sound and style of their temp tracks ("Charging Fort Wagner" from Glory is one obvious instance).

While I agree that filmmakers often don't care about the music, sometimes they care too much for the wrong kind . . . and this can interfere with the sort of score a composer would like to create for a movie, but can't, because the director's already stuck in a certain groove. And in the end, who do you think gets blamed for inferior work or plagiarizing?

- Uni

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Pardon my ignorance but I have to ask this question: Is it true that HZ started the tradition of putting temp tracks in films?

Using pre existing music in films is as old as cinema itself.

[BloodBoal 7,538]

So, does that mean we should blame cinema for temp-tracking?

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Fraid so!

[BloodBoal 7,538]