I don't listen to John Williams any more!

[filmmusic 3,320]

Maybe the thread title is a bit misleading, but it's true.

Let me explain:

I spend many many hours in front of my pc every day, and at that time I listen to a lot of soundtracks, while I'm surfing the net.

But, I almost always listen to new soundtracks I haven't ever heard of (maybe sometimes like a compulsory task, as was suggested by someone in another thread).

If I listen to Williams, who I think writes the best film music of all, I want to be totally free doing nothing at all and give all my attention to his music.

But, if I do that, I'll probably fall asleep, as I usually do (nothing to do with the scores I'm listening to, I guess I'm so tired from the day's work).

So, I end up not listening to his music at all. This is going on for many years I'd say.

 

I haven't still listened to the Harry Potter box, or the Jurassic Park complete scores, which I had bought at the time.

I have listened to E.T. and Hook complete releases (my 1st and 2nd favorite scores), just once!

Does this also happen to you? Maybe for some periods in your life?

[Jay 46,839]

Nope.

[Damien F 2,146]

I partially agree with you. I almost always listen to scores while I'm working but I rarely listen to JW while working because I find that his music distracts me from my work especially his action music. His music requires more of my attention than I can give it while working. However, I still listen to JW's music almost every day. I could never give up his music. 

[Xander Harris 9,808]

It’s absolutely happened. I went years without listening to much of any soundtracks. I just didn’t have the time and I was more interested in listening to Podcasts than these orchestras that didn’t even exist at the time of Odysseus. As with anything, it’s better to take breaks so as not to get burnt out. You can go to Disneyland every day, but at some point you’re going to get sick of it and it’ll be ruined for you. It’s got to be earned.

[Smeltington 2,032]

Agreed that it seems best to listen to his music (and other artists whose music is important to me) when I'm able to concentrate. But I find enough opportunities to do that, either in my down time, or while driving. That sucks that Williams is just out of your life! I hope you find a way to add his music back in.

 

Lately I like to listen to a score a few cues at a time while lying in bed, right before going to sleep, or right after waking up in the morning. It's fun to zero in on just a few cues at a time and really pay close attention to them. Been doing this with Crystal Skull lately, before that it was Willow.

[Mr. Hooper 9,434]

1 hour ago, Damien F said:

I partially agree with you. I almost always listen to scores while I'm working but I rarely listen to JW while working because I find that his music distracts me from my work especially his action music.

 

 

[Bespin Copilot 10,901]

I, the undersigned, ____________________________, hereby acknowledge that I have failed to listen to any John Williams music for a period exceeding six consecutive months.
 

I understand that this prolonged abstinence constitutes a severe violation of Article 1, Section 1 of the JWFan.com Honor Code, which states that “no member shall go more than six months without listening to at least one John Williams work.”
 

Accordingly, I declare the following:

• I acknowledge my fault — and accept that my fan status is now classified as “inactive,” possibly “deficient.”

• I resign from JWFan.com — effective immediately, with no right of appeal before the Council of Mods.

• I commit to leaving the premises — quietly, without humming the Superman theme, since I clearly haven’t listened to it recently.

I understand that any future reinstatement will require:

1. A complete, uninterrupted listening of E.T. The Extra‑Terrestrial (the expanded program).

2. A public confession stating: “Forgive me, Maestro.”

3. Proof of purchase of at least one box set I already owned in three different editions.

 

Signature: ____________________________

[filmmusic 3,320]

Hey, at least I have watched all John Williams scored films from 1958-today (and many TV episodes too I might add), which is more than I could say for many members here.. 

[Xander Harris 9,808]

Yeah, I gave up on watching all the stuff he’d scored and indeed listening to all of his works. I’m much happier not knowing. 

[Mr. Hooper 9,434]

3 minutes ago, filmmusic said:

Hey, at least I have watched all John Williams scored films from 1958-today (and many TV episodes too I might add), which is more than I could say for many members here.. 

 

 

[Armenian Money Train 11,254]

It's all just Western colonial orchestral junk for Western nerds. The rest of society hates it anyway.

[Xander Harris 9,808]

I surrendered my JW Card years ago. I enjoy nice lengthy breaks between listens, which maintains if not heightens my appreciation for the music. It’s been weeks since I listened to a soundtrack.

[filmmusic 3,320]

22 minutes ago, Xander Harris said:

It’s been weeks since I listened to a soundtrack.

Well, I couldn't pass a day without listening to ANY soundtrack at all!

What do you listen in their place? Classical music? Pop songs?

Or nothing at all?

[Xander Harris 9,808]

Nothin’ at all!

[johnmillions 208]

I often stream "new" (to me, at least) music on my laptop while I'm relaxing and surfing the internet (often while I'm catching up on this and other film/classical music sites, like right now). I've found this to be a good way to "preview" music that I've never heard before. I'm not entirely "committing" to the music; it doesn't get my full attention, and I haven't purchased it.

 

In the evenings, I listen to my CD collection. At most, I read liner notes while listening. Recently, my wife decided that I needed a better chair to sit in at my CD player (I have to listen on headphones because my son is asleep). The problem is that the new chair is so comfortable that I fall asleep after about 20 minutes...! 

 

At this point, JW usually gets the "CD treatment" unless it's a score of his that I haven't purchased or his concert music. I have been more in the mood for Golden Age scores lately, but I have the urge to play JW or Goldsmith, the "staples" and most familiar scores in my collection, every other week or so. 

[Loert 3,157]

Not even John Williams listens to John Williams, so I wouldn't worry about it.

[BloodBoal 8,924]

In Soviet Russia, John Williams listens to you!

[filmmusic 3,320]

9 minutes ago, johnmillions said:

The problem is that the new chair is so comfortable that I fall asleep after about 20 minutes...! 

Oh, when I listen to soundtracks doing nothing at all, I lie on the couch and close my eyes.

Maybe that's why I fall asleep every time? 

[johnmillions 208]

Hey, why don't I get the couch?! I am relegated to one of our extra bedrooms. 

 

This isn't coming out exactly as I intended...! 

 

 

[King Mark 4,019]

I listen mostly to :

Scores I've recently acquired (rare these days as film music tends to suck) from all composers

Long playlist I've made in iTunes of my favorite tracks of all my favorite scores (film, videogames)

JW scores in full (especially the recently expanded ones)

Various other composer albums I want to listen to (Horner,Barry,Goldsmith...)

 

I listen to every new expanded JW release/OST at least 5-6 times initially.

 

[Quintus 6,674]

He comes and goes. I play my favourite cues every now and then, when the mood hits me. Never full OSTs or scores though – just highlights. Pretty much never his newer releases. In my car is where, or if I've got the house to myself I'll watch and listen to some of his stuff on YouTube. It's nice to read the gushing worship of the old geezer in the comments, as it can really warm the heart.

[Arnaud2 120]

6 hours ago, King Mark said:

I listen mostly to :

Scores I've recently acquired (rare these days as film music tends to suck) from all composers

Long playlist I've made in iTunes of my favorite tracks of all my favorite scores (film, videogames)

JW scores in full (especially the recently expanded ones)

Various other composer albums I want to listen to (Horner,Barry,Goldsmith...)

 

I listen to every new expanded JW release/OST at least 5-6 times initially.

 

Any recent work good enough to recommend?

[King Mark 4,019]

Recently I liked Megalopolis, Frankensten and Fantastic Four scores, that's about it.

[Bryant Burnette 790]

I basically only love listening to music if I can listen to it loud, which means while I'm driving since I live in an apartment and don't want to piss off my neighbors.  I'll occasionally listen to music on headphones while doing nothing else; most Williams releases get that treatment at least once.  But overall, the stuff that's most important to me is played while I'm driving.  And since I don't drive more than half an hour most days, I really don't end up listening to much music the way I'd like to listen to it.

[King Mark 4,019]

I listen to it on my portable device and earphones. I recently moved to wireless earphones  and find Jlabs mini earbuds really good.

 

Or on  my desktop PC with my Grado GS1000i headphones

 

 

[gbatfatf 110]

As time passes, I’m not really sure how big a fan I am of isolated film music, but I still love John Williams and listen to him almost every day, in amongst my other listening.

[Tom 6,988]

I have never listened to John Williams.  I am in it just for the fringe benefits, if you know what I mean.  

[Datameister 2,589]

I don't take intentional breaks, but I go through dry spells with any given composer. And I tell you what...I never enjoy JW's music more than when I'm listening to it for the first time in a while.

 

Overall, my pure undistracted listening time has definitely decreased over the years. I always feel like I want to do more of that, but my limited free time tends to fill up with other projects, time with friends/family, and turn-my-brain-off leisure. And as much as I've stayed away from the web's more attention-span-shattering diversions, I've still lost some focus, sadly.

[artguy360 2,282]

I listen to at least some JW music every week. When there's new JW music to listen to, I will listen to it many times over in a matter of days or weeks. There are gaps, times when I listen to less JW music, but it's probably been a very, very long time since I've gone an entire week without listening to some JW music.

[filmmusic 3,320]

I didn't mention when was the last time I listened to a John Williams film score.

It was a bit more than a year ago, with the release of The Reivers.

I've listened to that one, 2-3 times..

Yeah, I don't think I have listened to anything else of him, in all this time. Wow! 

[Chewy 2,916]

22 hours ago, filmmusic said:

I haven't still listened to the Harry Potter box, or the Jurassic Park complete scores, which I had bought at the time.

 

So you haven't found 3h30 of free time in 10 years to listen to the Jurassic Park boxset? 

[filmmusic 3,320]

22 minutes ago, Chewy said:

 

So you haven't found 3h30 of free time in 10 years to listen to the Jurassic Park boxset? 

Well, it seems I prefer surfing on the net, than doing nothing at all to enjoy and concentrate on these scores..

And listening to new scores I haven't ever heard of..

[Miguel Andrade 1,738]

It's rather rare I have a day when I don't listen to any Williams at all. But it does happen.

At work, whenever possible, I listen to music with headphones. The time I spent at the headmistress office, that is, during classes I obviously can't do that. It's just half the attention to the music, but I discovered I'm able to do much more burocratic work that way. 

At home I listen mostly at night, with my Senheiser top grade headphones. During the weekend, I do listen on my hi-fi system.

 

But besides Williams, I hardly listen to any film music. Mostly classical music and some jazz now and then. And even with Williams, I think I spend more time with his concert output than with his film scores.

[filmmusic 3,320]

24 minutes ago, Miguel Andrade said:

And even with Williams, I think I spend more time with his concert output than with his film scores.

Hmmm.. I think you must be the only one here who can say that? 

[Jay 46,839]

I think so too!

[Mr. Hooper 9,434]

11 hours ago, Datameister said:

I don't take intentional breaks, but I go through dry spells with any given composer. And I tell you what...I never enjoy JW's music more than when I'm listening to it for the first time in a while.

Agree. Absence makes the heart grow fonder... If I ate my favourite food every day, my appreciation for it would decrease over time until I was completely turned off.

[scallenger 667]

I think the problem for me is that there have been fewer new film scores that have "spoken" to me like they used to. Perhaps my tastes have changed a bit, but then again, so has the current film score landscape. And since nothing new is sounding much like the old (in terms of what attracted me to film scores in the first place), perhaps it's kind of fizzled out for me overall. Especially since listening to the same great scores over and over again can become wearisome eventually, unless there is an extended break from them. I feel like I am in that phase now.

[mrbellamy 8,271]

It'd be impossible for me to visit this forum pretty much every day and not revisit the cues people are talking about or play all the snippets people post. I check in with the Legacy of John Williams podcast from time to time too which always plays stuff, so even without my own listening habits, JW is pretty regularly on the brain. Anticipating the documentary followed by the biography were very inspiring for partial or full relistens. His birthday is always a good excuse. I'm always participating in his music somehow. I listen to my own Star Wars I-IX playlist every May the 4th, I go to a LTP concert every year or so, I'll look up the orchestration of something in the sheet scores, learn a piece on piano, or just hum tunes in my head. 

 

I definitely have dry spells listening to full soundtracks, whether or not I'm lying down quietly with full attention, but whatever. I tend to go back to that or listening to old favorites most whenever I'm anticipating a new score and he just keeps chugging along, so I've been back into it, relistening and rewatching 21st century Spielberg/Williams. 

[Richard P 5,339]

I barely listen to JW these days, but it's more because of time, and prioritising other music I'd rather listen to.

 

I haven't yet explored Sugarland Express (for all the sampling I've done, I may as well have left the shrink wrap on), but that's a category of score where, once I'd established I liked its vibe, I wanted to make sure I owned it in case it fell OOP. I suppose before that it must be Hook, which again got a fair hearing so I could spend time editing and constructing my personal album.

 

But other than that, I generally prioritise a lot of my non-score music (concept albums, AI extractions) as well as my pop collection - I'm listening to that increasingly.

 

So for scores it's increasingly filtered to material that stands out to my 2000s era mind, and I do make time for new scores.

[Tom 6,988]

4 hours ago, Mr. Hooper said:

Agree. Absence makes the heart grow fonder... If I ate my favourite food every day, my appreciation for it would decrease over time until I was completely turned off.

This is why I commit crimes every now and again to be sent to prison.  I think if I had a life sentence, I would not appreciate the experience nearly as much.  

[benoitjean 163]

I listen to his film scores, concert music, or brass band music every day. 
I never get tired of it. 

JB

[MrJosh 1,207]

I love to alternate between 'classical' music and film music, and I don't go for very long without mixing some John Williams into things. I do listen to him pretty regularly. I'll mix in some Rock/pop/ jazz once and a while also. 

 

I listen both in a passive sense, during some of the work day, or when doing things around the house, and also intentionally, just sitting in front of speakers or with headphones. 

 

@filmmusic In regard to your falling asleep due to the tiredness of the day, have you tried having small mini-listening sessions? Like, maybe sit down with a drink and listen to a Williams score for just 10 minutes? Maybe it's short enough to not get too sleepy from the exhaustiveness of the day, but could be a daily ritual. 

 

I've certainly tried sitting through longer listening sessions on a day where I'm tired and will totally start to close my eyes & fall asleep. 

[Xander Harris 9,808]

I just sat down with a drink and put on the sinking music from Titanic, beginning with A Building Panic. Sorry, guys! Not John Williams! But I did listen to one of his scores between yesterday and today, and it was Harry Potter, y'all's favorite. Although technically that might have been William Ross.

[Mr. Hooper 9,434]

I do the unimaginable—listen to my whole score library on shuffle mode.

 

One minute I'm on Hoth, the next I'm caught in Dracula's embrace, and the next I'm riding a flying bicycle.

[Xander Harris 9,808]

Just now, Mr. Hooper said:

I do the unimaginable—

 

Using em dashes

[Mr. Hooper 9,434]

Just now, Xander Harris said:

 

Using em dashes

I'm a big proponent. lol

[ricsim88 334]

1 hour ago, Mr. Hooper said:

I do the unimaginable—listen to my whole score library on shuffle mode.

 

One minute I'm on Hoth, the next I'm caught in Dracula's embrace, and the next I'm riding a flying bicycle.

That’s  what I do every morning while having coffee. On rare occasions I’ll listen to a whole album. I listened to the Deluxe version of HTTYD 2 a few weeks ago and it was very enjoyable.

I think the last full JW score I listened to was Hook expanded, that was quite a while ago.

[Xander Harris 9,808]

I don’t believe what I’m hearing. Obi-Wan was right.

[MrJosh 1,207]

1 hour ago, Mr. Hooper said:

I do the unimaginable—listen to my whole score library on shuffle mode.

 

One minute I'm on Hoth, the next I'm caught in Dracula's embrace, and the next I'm riding a flying bicycle.

This can be really fun sometimes, and also very jarring sometimes. 

[filmmusic 3,320]

2 hours ago, MrJosh said:

@filmmusic In regard to your falling asleep due to the tiredness of the day, have you tried having small mini-listening sessions? Like, maybe sit down with a drink and listen to a Williams score for just 10 minutes? Maybe it's short enough to not get too sleepy from the exhaustiveness of the day, but could be a daily ritual. 

 

I've certainly tried sitting through longer listening sessions on a day where I'm tired and will totally start to close my eyes & fall asleep. 

Well, when I listen to a score, I'd like to listen to it from start to finish..