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What Is The Last Score You Listened To From 2021?


Jay

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NTTD

Listened to the CD for the first time.

Have not seen.the film so I can't judge how it works cinematiclly.

As music , it's a disappointment.

Once again., Zimmers action cues are mediocre and most Of the score in disc is action.

Not really looking forward to the.film , but I'll check it out soon.

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Johnny Klimek, Tom Tykwer — The Matrix Resurrections

A couple of motifs are rather memorable (My Dream Ended Here and Recruiting), and the whole updated/remixed/processed style somewhat works for this movie, but it feels a bit too Zimmer-y and I zone out after a while.

Man. I miss Don Davis.
 

 


 

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I've been listening to Spider-man: No Way Home's OST album a lot since it came out.  I really like it. It's not as good as his first two Spidey scores overall, but the first half of the OST album is.  Tracks like "Otto Trouble", "Sling Vs Bling", and "No Good Deed" are up there with the best action cues of the trilogy.  None of the action music for the third act is nearly as good and the theme used for the emotional payoffs doesn't work too well for me either.  Oh well.

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Soul is technically a 2020 film and score, though I personally discovered it in 2021 so... do please allow me to include it here.

 

Been listening to "Epiphany" from this one every night for the past few days. Such a soothing piece. Perfect for my end-of-the-year reflections on all the goods and the bads of the year I am about to part with.

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Eternals - Djawadi

I am biased towards the composer in general. It may not actually be like that but I always think he is all about spiccatos or stuff that are intended with a keyboard in mind. The performances he gets on his scores aren't very "energetic" either. This score here is not so different. But I do like the opening cue. A little more enthusiasm in the performances and a perhaps a spicy orchestration would have made it terrific.

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ab67616d0000b273e622b1479ac03810e240b5d5

 

Wow. I loved the series, but didn't pay particular attention to the music. So far, there are only beautiful psalms; I'm expecting the Newton Bros. horror tropes to appear later, but this is an eye (or ear) opener as far as the Newton Bros. are concerned. So far a major highlight of the year.

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To follow up: Alas, the score proper isn't as interesting as the psalms. More musically rewarding than a lot of the other Newton Bros. things I've heard, but not enough to enter my collection, I think.

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ab67616d0000b2738e600d586fda395ff064f4f5

 

This was a surprise. I started listening to the first track, and thought to myself that this was a great Oingo Boingo pastiche. And by googling around, I found out that the members of Oingo Boingo are indeed involved here, albeit without Elfman, but with Ego Plum instead. And so, as an Elfman/Boingo completist, I need to keep this.

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ab67616d0000b273b670d95d46d299fa7e4b4579

 

Another positive surprise, as in a very different type of score from Bye. He usually does these beautiful, cautious, melancholic landscapes for acoustic instruments (FARÖ, A SERIOUS GAME etc.), but here he taps into synths and more upbeat material. Great stuff!

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FG0gO5pWQAkc9xj.jpg

 

Technically a 2020 score, but only released in 2021 -- the latest film from esteemed Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulouf. Very interesting score by Amir Molookpour, some lovely melancholic/melodramatic writing that sends associations to Italians and Frenchmen of the 60s and 70s rather than Iran. Between this and WOODGIRLS - A DUET FOR A DREAM (2021), also released on Moviescore Media, Molookpour is one of the biggest composer discoveries I've made in 2021.

 

Both of these are less than 20 minutes in duration, so on to:

 

ab67616d0000b2737ea13926613d25cf543213f3

 

Hultquist impressed me immensely with SILICON COWBOYS in 2016, then both he and his wife Sophia (aka Drum & Lace) have continued to impress with their gorgeous synth music for the DICKINSON series (never seen the show, but have all three season albums). I was not thrilled with their rather generic music for the I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER series last year, but this recent film is somewhat back to form -- neon-infused synthwave elements and thankfully not that many horror tropes. But album needs whittling, perhaps, even at a reasonable 50 minutes.

 

On 03/01/2022 at 2:25 AM, Disco Stu said:

Wow.  Anne Dudley’s Benedetta.

 

Indeed. I'll hopefully see the movie in two weeks time (at a festival), but I'm looking forward to a soundtrack release very much! This is very much up my alley.

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On 02/01/2022 at 2:20 AM, Thor said:

ab67616d0000b2738e600d586fda395ff064f4f5

 

This was a surprise. I started listening to the first track, and thought to myself that this was a great Oingo Boingo pastiche. And by googling around, I found out that the members of Oingo Boingo are indeed involved here, albeit without Elfman, but with Ego Plum instead. And so, as an Elfman/Boingo completist, I need to keep this.

Poster reminds me of this.

Same director?

 

Screenshot_2022-01-05-22-01-47.png

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ab67616d0000b273b93a1361e1e9e66620abc93b

 

So I'm slugging my way through hundreds and hundreds of 2021 scores at the moment, and it's mostly in one ear and out the other. But this was a nice gem in the walkthrough. It's a Swedish movie about a girl who moves from Sweden to LA to become a porn star. Frid's music is surprisingly poignant as it combines choral elements -- almost Gregorian chants -- with lofty and at times dark synth textures (and a little bit of hip hop), as if it's the Virgin Mary herself being dilluted by the seedy industry. I'm familiar with some of Frid's earlier work, often in collab with his brother Pär. Like CITIZEN SCHEIN. But this is his best, IMO; definitely a contender for my upcoming top 10.

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ab67616d0000b2738674ba61bd17c7597768486a

 

Pemberton had an impressive year in 2021, no doubt about it. But while people went on about the similarity between his theme from BEING THE RICARDOS and Vangelis' MISSING (both the score and similarity are overrated), his best approach to Vangelis -- and his best score overall of the year -- was this documentary. Expansive, lush electronic landscapes that are sometimes "undermined" by various oscillating effects.

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ab67616d0000b273210f52db7c98f5e1c0915342

 

I haven't seen anything of the famous Japanese franchise EVANGELION, I'm afraid. I aim to, though. This is the fourth of the new animé films that follow the original TV series and films from the 90s onwards, from 2021. This is an insanely excessive 3CD set that contains both original music and earlier tracks by Sagisu. Lots of great music here, but it's all over the place, genre-wise -- orchestral neoromanticism, 70s folk, disco, electro, what have you. It doesn't come together well -- there are basically four or five albums hidden here that would work better on their own. But the music in and of itself is excellent.

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600x600bf-60.jpg

 

Naoki Sato is always reliable (love his scores for KYOTO, MORIBITO: GUARDIAN OF THE SPIRIT and UNMEI NO HITO, for example). For this film, MASQUERADE NIGHT, he delivers a muscular orchestral score that should please most people on this forum (even though no one are willing to seek it out).

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ab67616d0000b273704e9b983a31c3b8604d2134

 

Another Japanese highlight -- IN THE WAKE by Takatsugu Muramatsu. Orienting yourself on the Asian and Japanese scene can be bewildering (because they have all these weird franchises with super-long names), but once in a while, you'll find a gem. Like this.

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Michael Giacchino - Spider-man: No Way Home

 

I still like it.  I like the album more after seeing the film, though I still think that the first half is much stronger than the second have, and a different cue selection could have led to a better album.

 

"Otto Trouble", "Sling Vs Bling", and "No Good Deed" are as great as any action tracks from the trilogy, but the overall score is still third place after the great first two.

 

Still looking forward to what MG will do with the college trilogy.

 

 

Christophe Beck - Hawkeye (Vol 2 OST)

 

Not as good as the Vol 1 OST, but still some nice highlights.  The tracks I like most from both volumes would probably one album I'd listen to far more frequently than either as-is.  I like how much fun he had interpolating christmas tunes into the scores - "A Christmas Peril" is another fun one here

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ab67616d0000b273c428b7dca33b5a02ec2dd62c

 

This nifty little, claustrophobic sci fi - directed by the highly capable Alexandre Aja -- is one of the best films of 2021, IMO. Rob's haunting score -- lots of circular movements, great dynamic from highs to lows -- adds quite a bit of heart. He's at his best with synths, of course (his non-synth scores haven't impressed me so far). Also a contender for my top 10 soundtracks in addition to film.

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ab67616d0000b2734e3c659b11ab7b1396029c55

 

Sometimes, I'm a sucker for dreary, Eastern-European landscapes about war atrocities -- i.e. SCHINDLER'S LIST-ian stylings like this, by composers Aleksandra Kovac and Roman Gorsek. A shame no one bothered to create a soundtrack cover; the above is what is posted on Spotify.

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Scream - Brian Tyler

 

Sound-wise, Tyler sticks to the template Marco Beltrami established in the previous four movies (especially in "Ghostface"), even references Beltrami's Sidney theme if I remember correctly. Not much acoustic guitar though.

 

I don't know how the score plays in the film (won't see it until after this weekend), but apart from some Tyler-esque flourishes, Beltrami could've written this.

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  • 2 weeks later...

ab67616d0000b27332ed0815630ae216543751c2

 

Phew, finally listened to all the 2021 scores I could find (my episode recounting the top 10 is mentioned in the Celluloid Tunes thread). Before I delve into more list writing (Norwegian film music year, top 20 films etc.), I set aside some time to listen to a few 2021 scores I discovered in the walkthrough, but that didn't quite make it to the list, or that were television and videogames. This was one of them. Kudos to Barr -- known mostly for his horror work -- to create this neat mix of classical pastiche and folksy Italianisms with contemporary elements, like sleak synths.

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On 02/01/2022 at 8:25 PM, Disco Stu said:

Wow.  Anne Dudley’s Benedetta.

 

 

 

The OST album is out now

 

https://us.7digital.com/artist/anne-dudley/release/benedetta-original-motion-picture-soundtrack-19704196
https://tidal.com/browse/album/213100284
https://www.qobuz.com/us-en/album/benedetta-original-motion-picture-soundtrack-anne-dudley/ggvm8s52n2vlb
https://open.spotify.com/album/6ftdgmFcPPJlxMs5WxhKF5?si=IKCmlWpjRiOz9r8BbGZCUw
https://music.apple.com/us/album/benedetta-original-motion-picture-soundtrack/1605849773

 

1. Beata Viscera (2:12)
2. A Bride of Christ (2:32)
3. Flames Will Not Burn Me (1:58)
4. A False Prophet (2:28)
5. Immodest Acts (4:07)
6. The Comet (2:45)
7. The Convent at Pescia (1:22)
8. Confession and Penance (3:28)
9. Stigmata (1:50)
10. Extraordinary Accusations (5:11)
11. Plague Stalks the Land (2:36)

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Indeed it is. I got it a few days ago, but finally had time to listen to it now, inbetween other listening obligations.

 

I saw the film last week, at a Norwegian festival (it will premiere more widely later in the year here in Norway), and absolutely loved it. The score, I've been craving ever since that Youtube clip. And the soundtrack fulfills all my expectations -- glorious choral music, solemn string writing, just my kind of score all around. Beautifully curated at 31 minutes. Some of it harkens back to Dudley's masterpiece AMERICAN HISTORY X.

 

Fortunately, I can have the film on my 2022 top list (I only count Norwegian premieres for that) when the time comes. For my 2022 soundtrack list, I normally only use the international premiere dates, but I will make an exception here (cheating or not) since the soundtrack only came out this year. This would definitely have featured in my 2021 top list if I had seen the film and heard the soundtrack sooner.

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Is that older "Closing Suite" track on the OST album under a different name, or is it a unique suite?

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ab67616d0000b273a2a3229a8e2642ec99b410f4

 

There are two types of videogame scores I'm drawn to these days -- either electronic affairs, or calm landscapes like this (with chamber-sized ensembles). The big orchestral action stuff, I have minimal interest in. Music by Binary Haze Interactive and Mili, whoever those are. Soft pianos, voices, discrete synths, melodies with a slightly oriental slant.....yes, love it, even though I have no idea what game it is. (There are two and a half hours worth on Spotify, so it obviously needs serious whittling).

 

 

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In the last month or so I've revisited a lot of my 2021 favorites

 

 

Christophe Beck - Hawkeye (Volume 1 & 2 OST albums)

 

Well, I really, really like a bunch of the highlights here, but find a lot of the released material in between to be nothing special.  I want to cut a good playlist of the best stuff which would probably be 45-60 minutes.  Everytime he interpolates a Christmas carol, it works really well!

 

 

John Debney - Home Sweet Home Alone

 

I listened to this in the middle of January I like it so much.  Something Debney does just works for me!

 

 

Revo - Bravely Default II

 

I ultimately think this is a failure, because he relies way too much on reworking all the Bravely Default I cues instead of contributing significant new material - and what brand new material is here, is not as good as the original score.  But it's still not a complete waste of time, just a disappointment to me as a massive fan of the first score.

 


Joseph Shirley - The Book Of Boba Fett Volume 1 OST

 

Another case of the highlights being great but too much filler being included, which is especially frustrating because watching the show I noticed cool highlights I wanted that aren't here.  The score overall is good, this OST album is poorly constructed.

 

 

Various - Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade

 

Another case of the OST album being poorly constructed.  Well, it attempts to be a basically complete release off the bat (which it fails it, it turns out now that the full gamerip is out), and a lot of music composed for this DLC is silly stuff for sidequests and bonus stuff that's all integrated into the main program and really ends up with no listening experience.  My cut-down of an hour of highlights is brilliant though - some of my favorite work from the whole Remake project so far is here!  So overall, a fantastic addition to the Remake project and the FF series, and still can't wait to see what Part 2 brings!

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Spider-Man No Way Home by Michael Giacchino

 

I didn't care about the score when I first heard it, but now that I watched the movie, I decided to revisit it. And you know what? I really liked it this time!

 

Thanks to @Jay's OST breakdown, I could appreciate the score more than I had the last time. 

 

It's still not as good as Homecoming and specially Far from Home (which is in my top 10 Gia scores), but it has a lot of great moments. I specially liked the Cure theme.

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Yea I agree it's not nearly as good as his first two Spidey scores, but I still like it!

 

I do think a complete release would be more of an improvement to the listening than either of the first two score's getting expanded one - a lot of good stuff in the film that isn't on the album

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