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Anyone else think James Horner is better than John Williams?


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Randy Newman is an actual-no-hyperbole genius songwriter and just a really good film composer!  So yeah if we're talking just film scores "The Newmans" would be Alfred and Thomas.

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3 minutes ago, Batman's Diet Coke said:

 

I told Steven, you need a better pilot for this aircraft. He said, I know, but they're all dead.

 

I can finally break out this GIF for the first time since taking on my new title/avatar!

 

amadeus_wtf_laugh.gif

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47 minutes ago, Disco Stu said:

 

I can finally break out this GIF for the first time since taking on my new title/avatar!

 

amadeus_wtf_laugh.gif

 

That’s from Amadeus, yeah?

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31 minutes ago, kaseykockroach said:

It's odd, though hardly surprising, that John Williams is the only composer with a forum to his name.

 

I always thought it was weird that the main Horner fan site

 

http://jameshorner-filmmusic.com/

 

doesn't have a forum.  They do have user generated stuff, like reviews and comments, though.

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I love Horner and it is possible to have multiple favorites.  I can't say he is better than JW because there are so many factors at play.  For example, JW had the luck of getting teamed up with Spielberg and Lucas in their prime which afforded him these operatic moments whereas Horner was sort of a discount Goldsmith in the 1980's so the comparison isn't really fair.  All I can say is that Horner is a damn fine composer and really moved me when he was at his most inspired.  Horner definitely had the chops but maybe didn't have all the sources of inspiration that JW had.  One thing I am certain of is that when a great composer passes, one reevaluates any  initial dismissal  of their music and cherishes it as uniquely their own valuable creation.  I am sure the same will be the case with JW in that I will re-evaluate his corpus callosum understanding their shall be no more and what I once trivialized should be reevaluated. 

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9 hours ago, kaseykockroach said:

It's odd, though hardly surprising, that John Williams is the only composer with a forum to his name.

 

#Star Wars #Indiana Jones and and and. It figures that Zimmer is the only other composer with an active forum.

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But what about Goldsmith? Surely Rambo, Star Trek, Gremlins or Alien have active fandoms. :P

Though I suppose it's not the same since he's not makin' new music anymore. Being dead probably didn't help.

I would ponder why Giacchino doesn't have a forum since he does actually have a following, but that's neither here nor there. 

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4 hours ago, Margo Channing said:

Is Jerry Goldsmith Online still around?

Very much so.

 

I've just clicked on Stu's link.

As much as I love his music, there's something about that smug, self-satisfied, oh-so-superior smirk, on his boat-race, that makes me want punch Horner's lights out.

He composed great music, but he came across as an arrogant prick.

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3 hours ago, Richard said:

Very much so.

 

I've just clicked on Stu's link.

As much as I love his music, there's something about that smug, self-satisfied, oh-so-superior smirk, on his boat-race, that makes me want punch Horner's lights out.

He composed great music, but he came across as an arrogant prick.

True, but so was Herrmann. Why does it matter anyway?

 

Karol

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3 minutes ago, crocodile said:

True, but so was Herrmann. Why does it matter anyway?

 

Karol

It doesn't matter at all...or shouldn't at least since the question is concerning the quality of their music.

1 minute ago, Margo Channing said:

Because film composers have to be our bar buddies too.

Maybe they can still be bar buddies like they have in Ireland where they get in fist fights because you sat next to them at a bar but the next day are buddies.

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10 hours ago, publicist said:

 

#Star Wars #Indiana Jones and and and. It figures that Zimmer is the only other composer with an active forum.

Zimmer has a forum?:stir:

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2 minutes ago, Steve McQueen said:

Zimmer has a forum?:stir:

 

I assumed he was referring to this:

 

https://vi-control.net/community/

 

Which is not a forum dedicated to Zimmer, but a forum in which Zimmer himself has actively participated in the past.

 

But maybe pub is aware of a forum that I am not.

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2 minutes ago, Richard said:

It matters, because no-one should bite the hands that feeds them.

Couldn't tell you, I never had a chance to feed James Horner. ;)

 

Karol

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21 minutes ago, Disco Stu said:

 

I assumed he was referring to this:

 

https://vi-control.net/community/

 

Which is not a forum dedicated to Zimmer, but a forum in which Zimmer himself has actively participated in the past.

 

But maybe pub is aware of a forum that I am not.

 

I believe he was referring to this: http://hans-zimmer.com/

 

Not a forum, but it has extensive comments sections where insider information is occasionally shared.

 

Though Zimmer has made some interesting posts in the forum you linked above.

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7 hours ago, Richard said:

Very much so.

 

I've just clicked on Stu's link.

As much as I love his music, there's something about that smug, self-satisfied, oh-so-superior smirk, on his boat-race, that makes me want punch Horner's lights out.

He composed great music, but he came across as an arrogant prick.

 

It’s funny, because I’ve come to find over the last few years (sadly not first hand as I couldn’t meets him myself) that he and I shared a very similar personality and I despise arrogant people. It’s actually one word I would not use to describe him because a lot of what he had to say was born out of both a sense of keeping himself as vague and distant from others as possible, and being frustrated enough to just tell it like it is when having to talk about dealing with other people. He was not a social person and had trouble connecting to others, and as someone very much like that I could see where he came from. If you ever met me in person you would probably get a similar impression and I’m not a world famous composer. 

 

More than half the things people say about these guys in places like this goes far beyond “arrogant prick” but no one cares because no one here is a public figure. No anonymity for these guys whose work and sometimes lives are torn apart and dissected and bitched about  online. 

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Horner's life was really, uh, complex. You know how a normal person wakes up and goes downstairs, and eats breakfast, and kisses somebody goodbye, and goes to a job and...you know! Nice place he had there. Lots of space. Where did he get those wonderful toys?

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On 6. Juli 2018 at 3:36 PM, publicist said:

Horner was not really a hack, but obviously suffered from some unfortunate character traits that made him look worse than he was. I mean, just one note at a cd back or end credits roll that says 'Hey, i took my cues from Khatchaturian here' would have made a whole difference.

 

Then you can rename Star Wars "The Planets Suite Revisited" while you're at it.

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3 hours ago, Horner's Dynamic Range said:

Horner's life was really, uh, complex. You know how a normal person wakes up and goes downstairs, and eats breakfast, and kisses somebody goodbye, and goes to a job and...you know! Nice place he had there. Lots of space. Where did he get those wonderful toys?

 

Aw.  The Batman VHS Diet Coke commercial was my favorite persona you’ve ever had.  Oh well, all good things...

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I don’t think we’ll ever know. JW wrote some of his best works in his 60s and 70s, it’s sad that we’ll never get to hear what Horner could have written at those ages.

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