Who is the most overrated film composer in recent history?

[Trope 527]

5 hours ago, enderdrag64 said:

This might be controversial but of all the ones I know, and based solely on the scores of his that Ive listened to, the most overrated composer in my opinion is probably Thomas Newman. I find his work to be ambient and athematic and unmemorable. I think Wall E is probably my favorite score of his that I've heard, if only because I actually can remember a cue or two from it.

Out of interest, have you tried listening to Newman with headphones? That’s a whole other experience. His compositions may appear simple but his production certainly is not!
 

I’m a fan of his minimalist and ambient approach, and I’d say I’ve probably listened to 90% of his output and loved nearly all of it. Perhaps I could suggest listening to Little Women, How to Make an American Quilt, Scent of a Woman, Angels in America, Road to Perdition, or even Tolkien (if you haven’t already).

[Schilkeman 964]

6 hours ago, Mephariel said:

 

Desplat's dense and complex orchestral colors and textures is the problem for me. I listened to his score for Valerian and honestly, there are a lot of notes. Like  A LOT of notes. But it goes in one ear and out the other. Because there is no clear narrative or cohesion to me. 

I'm kind of with you. I find his music stuffed with ostinato to make up for a lack of rhythmic variation and counterpoint, and harmonically stagnant. 

11 hours ago, Edmilson said:

Indeed.

 

It's cues like this that made me love his music. Many people will say it's boring or dull, but for me it's some of his finest moments.

 

 

Stuff like this is making me a growing fan of his. He can be a little hit or miss, but rarely less than solid. He has a subtle craft not dissimilar from Horner in his 90's scores. I think I now place him a solid 5th on my favorite (not necessarily best) film composers list.

[Trope 527]

1 hour ago, Schilkeman said:

I find his music stuffed with ostinato to make up for a lack of rhythmic variation and counterpoint, and harmonically stagnant. 

You're referring to Giacchino, right? I'm genuinely curious, can you link an example of Desplat not utilising rhythmic variation, counterpoint, and remaining harmonically stagnant (not including Wes Anderson films)? These thoughts have never crossed my mind while listening to Desplat, but maybe you're listening to scores I'm not familiar with.

[Schilkeman 964]

2 minutes ago, Trope said:

You're referring to Giacchino, right? I'm genuinely curious, can you link an example of Desplat not utilising rhythmic variation, counterpoint, and remaining harmonically stagnant (not including Wes Anderson films)? These thoughts have never crossed my mind while listening to Desplat, but maybe you're listening to scores I'm not familiar with.

I mean, all four of those examples earlier in the thread show this, to me. There's a lot going on, but not much happening (my main complaint with Elfman). And yes, I feel the same way about Giacchino, but that's a tired road. 

[Mephariel 451]

Both Desplat and Giacchino are at their best when they just let their music breathe a little. When they are focused on bringing out the wonder and curiosity and the whimsical nature of human beings. I actually think Desplat does do counterpoints, good melodies, and interesting textures. But only in cues where you are allowed to notice them. For example, one of my favorites from Desplat is the Little Women cue. The music is not overly complex, but the layers and elements are put together in a way that enhances anticipation, and it feels magical. I still think the storytelling is a bit weak (it still sounds a bit like he is composing for himself rather than the picture) but this is the kind of stuff I dig. 

 

 

Giacchino is in the same boat. To me, his best stuff is not his frantic scoring, like Jupiter Ascending or Jurassic World: Dominion. That is because he has been reusing the same loopy strings, stretched horns forever and the unique narrative of the movie just fades away. Rather, it is when he is dedicated to bringing out a specific concept. Like Joy: 

 

 

Giacchino is a actually quite a charming composer. But you would never know if you just listen to his action scores. Even when he is using sweeping orchestra, it is best when he is focus on just making things wonderous and romantic:

 

 

The last point I want to make is that there are nuances to the question "Is a composer overrated." A composer can be overrated in specific situations, some genres, from certain perspectives, and underrated in others. 

[Schilkeman 964]

3 hours ago, Mephariel said:

I still think the storytelling is a bit weak (it still sounds a bit like he is composing for himself rather than the picture) but this is the kind of stuff I dig.

I liked that more than most of his stuff I've heard, but it's still a little meandering. Or as you say, weak on storytelling. The music doesn't really go anywhere. Which is a complaint I could have about someone like John Adams, or other minimalist composers, but doesn't seem to bother me as much with them. I'll have to think about why that is.
 

[Naïve Old Fart 9,556]

@Mephariel, I love the little nod to Horner, in "Night On The Yorktown" 

[Giftheck 917]

Night on the Yorktown also reminds me of Goldsmith's 'The Enterprise' as well. If ever the fourth Kelvin film happens, I really hope it is used to launch the new Enterprise, because it would just fit really well.

[TolkienSS 407]

On 20/09/2023 at 11:39 PM, Naïve Old Fart said:

Enough of this meshugas!

We all know that the most overrated film composer ever, is 

 

  Hide contents

John Williams 

 

 

If you take his output from 2012 onwards, that's not wrong.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,556]

24 minutes ago, TolkienSS said:

If you take his output from 2012 onwards, that's not wrong.

 

Controversial, but... there's some fire, there.

[Schilkeman 964]

There’s really not. It’s a profoundly foolish thing to say. 

[Naïve Old Fart 9,556]

That depends.

[Faleel 5,365]

Post 2015 for me.

[Schilkeman 964]

Lincoln, The BFG, The Last Jedi and the 2nd violin concerto hold up against anything he's ever written. I would be careful not to let nostalgia, or the sporadic dates of composition, or the perceived quality of the films, color my perception of the music. 

[TolkienSS 407]

55 minutes ago, Schilkeman said:

Lincoln, The BFG, The Last Jedi and the 2nd violin concerto hold up against anything he's ever written. I would be careful not to let nostalgia, or the sporadic dates of composition, or the perceived quality of the films, color my perception of the music. 

 

I don't. None of the above.

 

And concertos don't count, it's about film scoring. 

 

John Williams is still being hyped as the composer who writes classic all time film music one after the other, and every piece he releases at this point is heralded as this amazing, irreplacable genius work with thousandfold meaning, when more often than not, and especially lately, he's pulling out repackaged tropes from yesteryear.

The Star Wars sequels are the best example, The Last Jedi marks the point where his Star Wars themes became more tropes and member berries than serious compositional elements.

 

I would bet good money it's the exact opposite: sporadic dates of composition and nostalgia make people fawn over Williams pieces that would not get anywhere near the accolades or praise, had they been written about 15 years prior, and the notion "thank god we still got him" is the main driving force behind this.

In 2005, Williams wouldn't have gotten away with a Star Wars score like The Last Jedi, or Rise Of Skywalker for that matter.

And certainly not with Dial Of Destiny. That score is as clear a sign that Williams should stop scoring such films as anything you'll ever get. And it's THE perfect example for what I'm convinced is the state of overhype for JW: it's a few handful of original material in an environment of self-plagiarism. Even with a short OST, it's still full of outright repurposing of old compositions.

And while it's hard to tell how much exactly is temp love, it's not hard to tell why DoD is held in such high esteem: the semi-retirement of Williams, not the actual originality or quality of the score.

 

Williams is overhyped now because he's kept in public memory as the guy who always produces amazing original classics, while he simply isn't doing that anymore for about 10-15 years.

 

Nobody would care about BFG if it was sandwiched by two scores of the quality of Jurassic Park and Schindler's List, just like scores like Sabrina or Born On The 4th Of July aren't mentioned as much or held in as firm a memory because he wrote Last Crusade, Phantom Menace, and the likes shortly before or thereafter.

 

Now bring the hate.

[Schilkeman 964]

You seem to be bringing plenty yourself. And I would also be careful to not confuse originality with quality. A well made chair is still a chair. Williams is a more subtle craftsman in his later years, and his intricacies and beauties less obvious, but his delight in the acute art of orchestration, harmony, rhythmic spontaneity, and melodic invention have not lessened in any of the examples I mentioned. 

[Remco 685]

17 minutes ago, TolkienSS said:

 

I don't. None of the above.

 

And concertos don't count, it's about film scoring. 

 

John Williams is still being hyped as the composer who writes classic all time film music one after the other, and every piece he releases at this point is heralded as this amazing, irreplacable genius work with thousandfold meaning, when more often than not, and especially lately, he's pulling out repackaged tropes from yesteryear.

The Star Wars sequels are the best example, The Last Jedi marks the point where his Star Wars themes became more tropes and member berries than serious compositional elements.

 

I would bet good money it's the exact opposite: sporadic dates of composition and nostalgia make people fawn over Williams pieces that would not get anywhere near the accolades or praise, had they been written about 15 years prior, and the notion "thank god we still got him" is the main driving force behind this.

In 2005, Williams wouldn't have gotten away with a Star Wars score like The Last Jedi, or Rise Of Skywalker for that matter.

And certainly not with Dial Of Destiny. That score is as clear a sign that Williams should stop scoring such films as anything you'll ever get. And it's THE perfect example for what I'm convinced is the state of overhype for JW: it's a few handful of original material in an environment of self-plagiarism. Even with a short OST, it's still full of outright repurposing of old compositions.

And while it's hard to tell how much exactly is temp love, it's not hard to tell why DoD is held in such high esteem: the semi-retirement of Williams, not the actual originality or quality of the score.

 

Williams is overhyped now because he's kept in public memory as the guy who always produces amazing original classics, while he simply isn't doing that anymore for about 10-15 years.

 

Nobody would care about BFG if it was sandwiched by two scores of the quality of Jurassic Park and Schindler's List, just like scores like Sabrina or Born On The 4th Of July aren't mentioned as much or held in as firm a memory because he wrote Last Crusade, Phantom Menace, and the likes shortly before or thereafter.

 

Now bring the hate.

 

Wrong. All these are great scores, not just 'for his age' or anything.

 

Only the OST presentation is sub-par though, and so is the film mix (except for TLJ). 

 

I recently discovered Crystal Skull for myself, after years of believing the word of mouth that I read 15 years ago on the internet that 'Williams had lost it' or whatever. It is great too. Not every score can be a new Empire, but I think people like you simply raise the bar too astronomically high.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,556]

Again... nothing more simple than individual taste.

[TolkienSS 407]

1 hour ago, Remco said:

 

Wrong. All these are great scores, not just 'for his age' or anything.

 

Only the OST presentation is sub-par though, and so is the film mix (except for TLJ). 

 

I recently discovered Crystal Skull for myself, after years of believing the word of mouth that I read 15 years ago on the internet that 'Williams had lost it' or whatever. It is great too. Not every score can be a new Empire, but I think people like you simply raise the bar too astronomically high.

 

Within one sentence, you intentionally deligitimize criticism of JW's sliding quality by putting everything up against one of the greatest JW ever wrote, to then accuse the critics of putting the bar too high.

 

Now that's comedy.

[Trope 527]

17 hours ago, TolkienSS said:

it's a few handful of original material in an environment of self-plagiarism.

Congratulations! You just described the output of every composer in the history of western art music and film music! And if you argue otherwise about even a single one, you’d only be showing your lack of familiarity with their body of work.
 

The more you listen to a single composer’s work, the more you will find musical similarities and techniques applied regularly across different pieces. You will eventually begin to notice more subtle stylistic references (i.e. a particular phrase structure, orchestration, cadence, etc.). This repetition of musical features over time in a composer’s body of work we call “musical voice” or “identity” and helps to distinguish one composer from another.

 

If you listened to any other composer’s output to the same detailed extent as you did John Williams, you would have no choice but to agree. Our limitations as humans prevent us from discovering this is true for each individual case - If we had infinite time and memory, this would be no problem.

 

I challenge you, even among the greatest composers of all time (Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Haydn, Chopin, Tchaikovsky, Wagner, Ravel, Debussy, Bartók, Vaughan Williams, the list goes on), can you honestly tell me there is not the same balance (more or less) between original material and self-references that you find in Williams? I would even argue that JW has one of the best ratios of original:recycled material among the greatest film composers (Steiner, Korngold, Bernstein, Herrmann, Morricone, Goldsmith, Horner, etc.).

[mrbellamy 6,298]

6 hours ago, TolkienSS said:

Nobody would care about BFG if it was sandwiched by two scores of the quality of Jurassic Park and Schindler's List, just like scores like Sabrina or Born On The 4th Of July aren't mentioned as much or held in as firm a memory because he wrote Last Crusade, Phantom Menace, and the likes shortly before or thereafter.

 

I don't think The BFG is as highly regarded as you seem to think it is...

[Faleel 5,365]

Goldsmith definitely can be predictable.

[Schilkeman 964]

1 hour ago, mrbellamy said:

8 hours ago, TolkienSS said:

Nobody would care about BFG if it was sandwiched by two scores of the quality of Jurassic Park and Schindler's List, just like scores like Sabrina or Born On The 4th Of July aren't mentioned as much or held in as firm a memory because he wrote Last Crusade, Phantom Menace, and the likes shortly before or thereafter.

 

I don't think The BFG is as highly regarded as you seem to think it is...

It's me. I'm nobody. And I absolutely put BFG up with both of those. Just look at my top 10 list.

6 hours ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

Again... nothing more simple than individual taste.

Yes, but also personal taste is influenced by education and analysis. I would posit that I have poor, and largely superficial, taste in fine art, due in no small part to the fact that I know so little about it. If I knew more, my taste would change. I think there's a danger in a kind of "I like what I like" mentality. It can close us off to the possibility that something is good, and well-made, but perhaps not agreeable to our sensibilities.

[JTN 2,051]

15 hours ago, Remco said:

I think people like you simply raise the bar too astronomically high.

In the case of Maestro John Williams it’s kind of… normal, I guess. He’s one of the greatest film composers of all time after all, even his lesser works are better than almost every other film composer’s best work. 

[GerateWohl 4,384]

9 hours ago, Trope said:

Congratulations! You just described the output of every composer in the history of western art music and film music! And if you argue otherwise about even a single one, you’d only be showing your lack of familiarity with their body of work.
 

The more you listen to a single composer’s work, the more you will find musical similarities and techniques applied regularly across different pieces. You will eventually begin to notice more subtle stylistic references (i.e. a particular phrase structure, orchestration, cadence, etc.). This repetition of musical features over time in a single composer’s body of work we call “musical voice” or “identity” and helps to distinguish one composer from another.

 

If you listened to any other composer’s output to the same detailed extent as you did John Williams, you would have no choice but to agree. Our limitations as humans prevent us from discovering this is true for each individual case - If we had infinite time and memory, this would be no problem.

 

I challenge you, even among the greatest composers of all time (Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Haydn, Chopin, Tchaikovsky, Wagner, Ravel, Debussy, Bartók, Vaughan Williams, the list goes on), can you honestly tell me there is not the same balance (more or less) between original material and self-references that you find in Williams? I would even argue that JW has one of the best ratios of original:recycled material among the greatest film composers (Steiner, Korngold, Bernstein, Herrmann, Morricone, Goldsmith, Horner, etc.).

Completely agree with that assessment.

Just wanted to add, another mechanism often comes into play, especially in the area of song writing, where artists use a certain chord progression or chord sequence or melody just once, so they can say, I didn't repeat myself, but on the other hand not caring about how many other composers used exactly that same pattern. 

 

I guess, it is just natural, that composers who care a lot about not repeating themselves dip conciously or subconciously or just by accident into the buckets of other composers. And those who care most about, not sounding like others, thend to repeat themselves more.

 

 

[Schilkeman 964]

9 hours ago, Trope said:

The more you listen to a single composer’s work, the more you will find musical similarities and techniques applied regularly across different pieces

Yeah, I like to put on the classical radio station and play guess the composer. If they don't get too obscure, I can get it right about 75-80% of the time for this very reason. 

[JNHFan2000 2,969]

I'll throw another name in there:

 

Hildur Guðnadottir.

 

It's a shame. I really feel that it's important that women get the same opportunities in the composer realm as men do. And Hildur seems like such a lovely person, but her music is really overrated in almost every way. There are so many female composers who do much stronger work and have a better musical voice.

 

Think Laura Karpman, Pinar Toprak, Germaine Franco, Nami Melumad, Amie Doherty.

 

I wish they would get the same praise of Guðnadottir seemingly gets for every score she writes

[JTN 2,051]

2 hours ago, JNHFan2000 said:

I wish they would get the same praise of Guðnadottir

It’s because she won all the awards for Joker. The same thing happened to Rachel Portman. She wasn’t the best composer who happened to be a woman, but the industry wanted to show that they appreciate female film composers and she got all the best gigs after winning the Oscar for Emma.
 

I wish the sex of film composers didn’t matter at all, only the quality of the music they produce. I’m so tired of “female film composers”. I just want great scores by Film Composers, regardless of their sex. If a woman composer is as talented as a man, let her prove herself by getting major assignments. If no woman in Hollywood can write on the same level as the men, then studios shouldn’t hire them just to meet diversity quotas, because that only hurts the music. 
Nothing else should matter when hiring a film composer besides talent. Men or women should be hired only if they are talented, and every director should have the right to choose who they want to work with. 

[GerateWohl 4,384]

I think, the "overrating" of Guðnadottir is not specific to her or female composers. This hyping happens all the time in many places. It is much about cannibalization by media of a certain visibility of artists because they won an award or something. 

Basically, it is the reason why we have this thread.

[JTN 2,051]

Yes, but @JNHFan2000specifically mentioned HG and why he thinks she’s overrated.

[Brónach 1,302]

2 hours ago, JTW said:

and every director should have the right to choose who they want to work with. 

 

plenty of tasteless or directionless filmmakers though

[JTN 2,051]

15 minutes ago, Brónach said:

 

plenty of tasteless or directionless filmmakers though

Still it’s their film, their decision. 

[Richard Penna 3,696]

3 hours ago, JTW said:

Nothing else should matter when hiring a film composer besides talent. Men or women should be hired only if they are talented, and every director should have the right to choose who they want to work with. 

 

I'd narrow that down to hiring based on the suitability of their style to the film. Some films clearly need a sweeping orchestral epic and others absolutely don't. Many here judge 'talent' and 'skill' by how well they handle an orchestra, instead of just how well their music conveys emotion.

[Mephariel 451]

5 hours ago, JTW said:

It’s because she won all the awards for Joker. The same thing happened to Rachel Portman. She wasn’t the best composer who happened to be a woman, but the industry wanted to show that they appreciate female film composers and she got all the best gigs after winning the Oscar for Emma.
 

I wish the sex of film composers didn’t matter at all, only the quality of the music they produce. I’m so tired of “female film composers”. I just want great scores by Film Composers, regardless of their sex. If a woman composer is as talented as a man, let her prove herself by getting major assignments. If no woman in Hollywood can write on the same level as the men, then studios shouldn’t hire them just to meet diversity quotas, because that only hurts the music. 
Nothing else should matter when hiring a film composer besides talent. Men or women should be hired only if they are talented, and every director should have the right to choose who they want to work with. 

 

I am sorry, but I find this post to be baseless. Since Joker, she has done 3 films and none of them are blockbuster hits. The way people say she "got all the best gigs," you would think she is churring out scores like Lorne Balfe. Even critically, only Tar was a highly regarded film. Also, all this talk about her getting gigs because she is a woman doesn't make sense. Her trajectory isn't that different than Atticus Ross and Trent Reznor. They won an Oscar for Social Network and started to get gigs from directors looking for Avant-garde scores. 

 

And since Hildur Guðnadóttir won an Oscar and is critically praised, she is already proven right? Or do you mean she has to prove herself to the 200 people posting here at JWfan.com?

 

Lastly, we know women can write as good as men. How is this still a question today? You don't think Debbie Wiseman, Rachel Portman, Pinar Toprak, Anne-Kathrin Dern, and others can write as good as men? Not every guy is writing John Williams level scores.  

[GerateWohl 4,384]

2 minutes ago, Mephariel said:

Not every guy is writing John Williams level scores.  

In fact it's just more or less one guy.

[Schilkeman 964]

5 hours ago, JTW said:

I’m so tired of “female film composers”

This is where I link you to about 700 articles on glass ceilings. 

 

I'm not super familiar with the work of any of the women mentioned, but enough to say none of it has jumped out to me, but also that there are about 10-15 men currently writing music in film and television who are no more or less talented. Some of them have won awards and some haven't. Some have been around for a very long time. Are they more deserving of work in some way? 

 

When last I checked, women make up 50% of the population. I struggle to see how a disproportionate number of them getting awards and work is somehow upsetting fragile nature of the scoring business.

 

If you think raw talent is all that matters, I point you to the last 20 years of film scores. If that's the talent men have to offer, then, for the love of God, hire more women, and if your immediate reaction to any woman getting a gig is that she's a diversity hire, I encourage you to go home and rethink your life.

[mrbellamy 6,298]

7 hours ago, Mephariel said:

I am sorry, but I found this post to be baseless. Since Joker, she has done 3 films and none of them are blockbuster hits. The way people say she "got all the best gigs," you would think she is churring out scores like Lorne Balfe. Even critically, only Tar was a highly regarded film. Also, all this talk about her getting gigs because she is a woman doesn't make sense. Her trajectory isn't that different than Atticus Ross and Trent Reznor. They won an Oscar for Social Network and started to get gigs for directors looking for Avant-garde scores. 

 

And since Hildur Guðnadóttir won an Oscar and is critically praised, she is already proven right? Or do you mean she has to prove herself to the 200 people posting here at JWfan.com?

 

Lastly, we know women can write as good as men. How is this still a question today? You don't think Debbie Wiseman, Rachel Portman, Pinar Toprak, Anne-Kathrin Dern, and others can write as good as men? Not every guy is writing John Williams level scores.  

 

Also what were all these amazing gigs Rachel Portman was getting post-Oscar? She was working plenty doing like 2-3 movies a year but there was nothing unusual or disproportionate about her career, they were just a bunch of modestly budgeted dramas. She maybe got the best (or highest profile) crop of movies for women composers at the time but that in itself is pretty average when the highest budgeted movies she got in her heyday ($70m-80m) were Beloved, The Legend of Baggar Vance, Mona Lisa Smile, and The Manchurian Candidate...like come on. I'm not sure I can even pinpoint an especially great Hollywood film she worked on, her two Best Picture nominees Cider House Rules and Chocolat were pretty standard Miramax weepies. I'm not saying it's a bad career, she had a perfectly decent run, but it's hardly too much even if we call her overrated. 

 

The one thing I'll admit is that those four higher-budget movies were possibly movies that could have gone to Howard Shore, Thomas Newman, and Patrick Doyle based on the director associations, and it really is too bad what happened to their careers because of Portman taking those movies. 

 

Oh actually I forgot Hart's War which was a pretty expensive movie, that director's previous movie was Frequency, scored by Michael Kamen, who died right after Rachel Portman took Hart's War. So there could be something to that. 

[Brónach 1,302]

it wasn't me this time! i said nothing about women!

[Bayesian 1,364]

10 hours ago, TolkienSS said:

Now bring the hate.

I don’t think any of us is looking to bring the hate, but if you’re open to a reasonable counterargument, I’ll give it a shot. 
 

Your depiction of us as too-easily-impressed JW fanboys misses the mark. It doesn’t help that you misrepresent the amount of self-plagiarism in JW’s music, specifically DoD.
 

We don’t treat every score JW writes with unquestioned, overjoyed praise. Off the top of my head, there was plenty of commentary in these boards about how slight BFG, The Post, and The Fabelmans all were. Folks here wasted no time identifying the handful of moments that JW lifted from his previous work for DoD, which led to (in my opinion) an overwrought reaction about JW’s supposedly deteriorating creative faculties. I seem to recall TROS being treated as the least of the sequel trilogy scores—although that’s actually due to JJ Abrams and the Mouse House screwing the movie up every which way possible.

 

Rather, what we appreciate and show genuine gratitude for is a man who continues to apply himself with the same level of commitment to the craft that he gave when he was half his age—composing music for characters and moments using ridiculous, outdated things like key changes, octatonic scales and woodwinds, rather than washes of interchangeable ‘moods’ written with drum loops; writing and shorthand-orchestrating every note with a pencil on paper; conducting every bar in the studio; and doing it week after week at an age when most of his birth cohort is already six feet under. It’s exactly this that prevents JW from ever being overrated. Being the consummate pro that he is, JW continues to be the same one-stop shop he’s always been, delivering each film exactly the music it needs (to the extent this era of “no such thing as picture lock” allows)—and if that music is ‘deficient’ in some way to some folks, it’s usually because JW either left out some choice cues in his OST program or because we all spent too long imagining what the music might be like to a movie we hadn’t seen in the months/years leading to that movie’s release and was ultimately disappointed in the material JW had to work with.

JW isn’t overrated here—he’s rated exactly at the level he deserves to be.

[thestat 348]

Probably everyone who works right now in the US blockbuster industry. None of it is interesting (okay Wallfisch with The Flash works) - it is not composition, but simple content craftmanship. There was a recent quote on the deplorable hans-zimmer.com site about how Balfe is the fastest writer in the business. Not exactly difficult to see why - and I still don't see why these bellends don't realise they are talking themselves out of a job with AI!

[TolkienSS 407]

Balfe is the fastest writer because his number of assistants almost surpasses his number of notes per score.