Soundtrack Central

Golden Globe Awards:

2007-01-16T10:21:00.000-07:00

From soundtrack.net:

Tonight in Beverly Hills, the 64th Annual Golden Globe Awards were handed out. Winning for Best Score was composer Alexandre Desplat, for his music to The Painted Veil. Desplat's other excellent score this year, for The Queen, was also listed on SoundtrackNet's Best of 2006.

Winning for Best Song was Prince Rogers Nelson, for "Song of the Heart", from the animated family film Happy Feet.

Critics Choice Awards

2007-01-13T09:46:00.000-07:00

The two soundtrack categories had interesting results:

*Soundtrack: "Dreamgirls"

*Composer: Philip Glass, "The Illusionist"

I can't argue with the "Dreamgirls" nod, because this wasn't a "score-only" category, and that soundtrack has some pretty good songs on it. Haven't seen the movie though, and probably won't. Not my type, regardless of the (Oscar) hype surrounding it.

As for Philip Glass winning the Best Composer award.... Ugh, there were just so many better choices. What about John Powell? Truth be told, X3, Happy Feet, and Ice Age 2 aren't the kind of soundtracks that are gonna win their composer a major award. But United 93 could. And if you're going for a Philip Glass-y sound, then why not nominate and award Clint Mansell's The Fountain! Mansell did Philip Glass better than Glass himself with that one!

Ugh, I just don't like all these stupid awards. They rarely go to the person or score that truly deserves it.

Book: "The Emerging Film Composer"

2007-01-12T08:48:00.000-07:00

A new book is coming out this spring called "The Emerging Film Composer." Written by Richard Bellis (best known for his score to Stephen King's IT) the book is a guide for the aspiring movie music composer. Although Bellis isn't the most accredited composer in the industry, his book of insights and tidbits about the soundtrack business has generated some very positive feedback from guys like James Newton Howard and Bruce Broughton. Composer Alf Clausen said that the book is a "wonderful guide to realistically dealing with the business side of this seductive career."

I'm definitely going to check it out. Not many books of this sort have been written exclusively for the soundtrack industry, that I know of.

If any of know of others like this book, please let me know in the comments.

Listen to "The Mars Underground" by James Dooley

2007-01-11T11:06:00.000-07:00

In my opinion, one of the more impressive offerings from a new/up-and-coming composer was the soundtrack to The Mars Underground a couple years ago. Influenced by his Media Venture-buddies, composer James Dooley put together an impressive array of cues drawing from synthesizers and traditional instrumentation. The end result was a terrific score of a quality rarely heard in a documentary. 3 of the tracks are online, and I'm linking you to them, here. Take a listen; there are some impressive moments, especially in the first track.

1. Arrival on Mars
2. History has taught us
3. Confrontations

FatBoy Slim reverses music genre roles

2007-01-06T10:34:00.000-07:00

Like Paul Oakenfold before him, DJ FatBoy Slim is starting a different gig, in Hollywood. Here's the story:

"Norm has already begun working with Hollywood composer Danny Elfman- trice nominated for Oscar awards for his musical ingenuity –on the soundtrack to a New Disney animated film.

Fresh from the adulation and success of his staggering 20,000 capacity New Year’s Day Brighton beach party, fans of Norm’s dance moniker, FatBoy Slim, will be disappointed to hear the DJ’s plan to lay off dance production and djing in 2007, to concentrate on new projects such as his stint in Hollywood.

‘It’ll be a quiet one for FatBoy this year... It feels right that after 10 years and so many albums, we should give it a rest for a while’."

The soundtrack was king in 2006!

2007-01-05T21:49:00.000-07:00

Here's a fun statistic for movie-music-lovers like us: Although overall album sales were down 5% in 2006, the second fastest growing music category (behind "Classical") was Soundtracks. In fact, the number one best selling CD last year was a soundtrack. Can you guess which one? Come on, getcha head in the game, you know this! ;-)

Yeah, so High School Musical totally won out with a triple-platinum+ certification, but another soundtrack (Hannah Montana) slid into 8th place with just under 2 million sold. Now, you may say "those aren't soundtracks!" and I'd agree that they aren't the movie music I've come to love and appreciate. But they still fall under the "soundtrack" category alongside Hans Zimmer and John Powell offerings. Elite company!

Here are the complete top ten best-selling albums of 2006:

Rank Title/Artist Units Sold
10 Soundtrack / High School Musical 3,719,071
2 Me and My Gang / Rascal Flatts 3,479,994
3 Some Hearts / Carrie Underwood 3,015,950
4 All the Right Reasons/ Nickelback 2,688,166
5 Futuresex/Love … / Justin Timberlake 2,377,127
6 Back to Bedlam / James Blunt 2,137,142
7 B’day / Beyonce 2,010,311
8 Soundtrack/ Hannah Montana 1,987,681
9 Taking the Long Way/ Dixie Chicks 1,856,284
10. Extreme Behavior/ Hinder 1,817,350

Yeah, I bought...all of none of those CDs.....

The Fountain soundtrack review

2007-01-05T11:56:00.000-07:00

The Fountain
By Clint Mansell

Let me start by saying that I think 2006 was a great year for soundtracks. There was a little something for everyone, and genres that are typically weak or cliched were given rejuvenated life (eg: the continuous action scores of MI:3 and Casino Royale). Danny Elfman spread his wings with an impressive symphony composition (not technically a soundtrack) and a worked on a children's story that wasn't somehow morbid or terrifying (WOW!). Alexandre Desplat improved on output of recent years with scores like Firewall, and the award-winners: Queen and The Painted Veil. His rich musical style has even earned him the job of scoring the hotly-anticipated first movie in the His Dark Materials series (due out later this year). John Powell was probably the surprise of the year, with not one or two stellar soundtracks, but three: United 93, X-Men: The Last Stand, and Happy Feet. There was even activity from my man Alan Silvestri (Night at the Museum).

When you look at the surprises of film music in 2006, the first score that comes to my mind is the brilliant Pan's Labyrinth by Javier Navarrete. This is an articulate and gorgeous work with arguably the most intimately fetching theme used in cinema last year.

But in my opinion, Clint Mansell's movie soundtrack to The Fountain was also a very great surprise. Unfortunately, I haven't seen the film, itself (it left the box office before it scored 10 million domestically), so I can't account for the "music in film" aspect of the score. But I'll rent it as soon as it comes out.

Mansell had teamed up with Director Darren Aronofsky on two of his other films (including Requium for a Dream), and, more recently scored the soundtracks for Sahara and Doom; the former I loved as much as I hated the latter. So, suffice it to say I wasn't expecting much from his work on Fountain; a movie which I had heard was a convoluted mess of time zones and spirituality. But after his score received a couple nominations for various awards, including a Grammy, I finally tracked down the score, and took a listen.

And I was very glad I did.

The story itself is summed up on wikipedia as "three interwoven narratives that take place in the age of conquistadors, the modern day period, and the far future. The film stars Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz, whose characters' romance exist in all time periods." The movie can simply be described as a creative and inventive--if highly frustrating--exploration of love and mortality.

The soundtrack opens very quietly with "The Last Man" (incidentally the film's original teaser-title), a track dominated by repetitive string patterns, and melodies that are sweet, yet sorrowful. It is interesting to note that, although the soundtrack is full of artificial instrumentation, the disc opens and closes with simple piano compositions. The Kronos quartet, comprised of two violins, a viola, and a cello, expertly carries out the plain arrangement of "The Last Man," which reminded me of the main theme from James Horner's An American Tail, even though the the two do not actually sound very much alike. The mood transitions to morose foreboding during the final seconds, effectively leading into the next cue: "Holy Dread," which sounds like a basic B-movie horror theme until the Scottish rock band Mogwai makes its grand entrance after almost 3 minutes of listless repetition. What follows is what sounds like a vigorous demonic chase sequence, with violins, synths, percussion, and an electric guitar violently pulsing out looping motifs. "Tree of Life" is just an extension of these viral ideas, with a piercing blend of conventional and electronic instruments punching out the three note motif which is to be one of two main themes endlessly hammered out by Mansell during the remainder of the score's 46 minute runtime.

A variation of that motif is looped for most of the following cue "Stay with me," except it is designed to draw out an emotional sequence, instead of an action-packed one. Like most of the score, "Stay with me" will appeal to the Philip Glass crowd who enjoy endless repetition of a simple, yet beautiful theme. I felt for this soundtrack, the looping was effective to get across an emotion, but was not so simple as to bore me to tears (like Horner's Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius). The following track is basically two notes drumming over and over, with violin melodies moodily caressing the flow. Again, repetitive, and composed of a small team of four musicians, a band, nine vocalists, and synthesizers, but nonetheless: stylish and fetching.

"Xibalba" is musically the highlight of the CD, traditionally speaking, and probably the most listenable, as the Kronos quartet winds simple patterns that evoke emotion and beauty. Love is definitely the predominant mood here. "First Snow" is all about cycles and patterns. A 5 note violin theme dominates the meandering percussive underscore straight through to a rousing crescendo near the end, where the vocalists are also showcased.

"Finish It" is a kind of guilty pleasure. It starts really slow, then gradually picks up speed, as the familiar 3 note theme takes over, sounding for all the world like snatches ofMorricone's Untouchables. Then the electric guitar takes hold of the motif and runs with it for a few ear-splitting measures while the quartet plays in the background. This is a haunting piece with more dissonance and cacophony than most will find bearable, but in the overall scheme of the CD, it works very well.

Most cite "Death is the Road to Awe" as the best track, and I'd have to agree. It encompasses both themes, and interchanges them with a few new ideas, most of them morose, but all of them appropriate to the rest of mood. What I love about this cue is the way all the instruments are combined to punctuate the musical ideas. There's your choir, your band, and your talented Kronos quartet all working together, making up for what they lack in numbers with originality (engaging despite its repetition) and execution. Approximately, the final 2 minutes personify the organized mayhem of all these instruments and styles with a brilliant crescendo that left me breathless and inspired.

I applaud Mansell for making do with what he had, and coming up with just the right melodies and themes for his ensemble. Sure the basic melodies tend to be simplistic, and yes, they loop--some think--ad nauseam, but some of the most popular and successful movie themes were built off of the same idea. Take Jaws and Titanic, for instance. Of course, those soundtracks had more embellishment to the score and theme than you might argue The Fountain does; but I still feel that Mansell was correct in his aim to express the mixture of radically different time periods with radically different (clashing) musical styles...and I think he did this well.

One of the surprise movie scores of 2006, and hands-down the best offering, yet from this 44-year-old composer.

My Rating: **** 1/2

Now I just need to experience the music in terms of the movie it is accentuating! :-)

Director finds a composer: himself (with a great result)

2006-12-29T08:22:00.000-07:00

In my experience, movie directors don't often compose musical scores for their own movie. At least not for big-budget Hollywood movies. The prime example of a director who has done this would be Clint Eastwood, who has composed piano-driven scores for his recent films.

On January 5th, the movie Perfume: The Story of a Murderer debuts in Chicago. For the film, Tom Tykwer Directed, wrote the screenplay, and composed the music. Now that's a tall order! Wikipedia sums up "Perfume's" intriguing plot in this manner:

"Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, whose prodigious gift of an incomparable sense of smell and inexplicable lack of personal scent isolates him from society. Obsessed with the rich sensory world he alone inhabits, his single objective in life becomes the preservation of the perfect scent...."

What follows is a VERY weird story that combines elements of a murder-mystery, love affair, and serial killer, all bound up in 18th century France. The trailer reminded me slightly of The Prestige, but the music (clips provided on the films official website) was something far more special. In fact, what I heard, blew me away. This is not an Eastwood-style mood piece, this is an amazing expression of smell through sound.

And while Mr. Tykwer was not without help in constructing this musical achievement, I think he is to be commended for the highly provocative, astonishing result. I can't wait to grab this CD!

Listen to the Director talk about the job of composing the music via this link.

Klaus Badelt to score "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles"

2006-12-16T12:20:00.000-07:00

Confession: "TMNT" is one of my most-looked-forward-to movies of 2007. Why? Watch the flippin' trailer and you'll see!

I wasn't too excited about the music, though, until this latest news byte came out yesterday: Klaus Badelt is replacing Marco Beltrami. I just really don't like Marco's scores in this genre (case in point: I, Robot). He would have brutalized this and made it too dark and not swashbuckling enough. Seriously, the turtles need a little over-hyped action, not just the dark mood music with overlayed electronics. Badelt isn't my favorite, but in this case, I'm on the badwagon. :-)

The turtles'll be hitting theatres on March 30.

Golden Globe nominees

2006-12-16T09:28:00.000-07:00

Here's the nominees in the musical categories leading up the 64 annual Golden Globe Awards:

Original Score
Alexandre Desplat, "The Painted Veil"
Clint Mansell, "The Fountain"
Gustavo Santaolalla, "Babel"
Carlo Siliotto, "Nomad"
Hans Zimmer, "The Da Vinci Code"

Original Song
"A Father's Way" from "The Pursuit of Happyness"
"Listen" from "Dreamgirls"
"Never Gonna Break My Faith" from "Bobby"
"The Song of the Heart" from "Happy Feet"
"Try Not to Remember" from "Home of the Brave"

There's some nice variety here, but I'm afraid to make my picks, because the VERY obvious shoe-in is Zim's "Code" for Original Score. Original Song, though...I just...haven't heard any of 'em.

Always interesting though, to see who grabs these awards.

Listen to the entire "Eragon" soundtrack

2006-12-13T19:13:00.000-07:00

For a limited time AOL is offering the complete "Eragon" soundtrack for your listening pleasure. Well...I don't know if I'd call Eragon "pleasurable" (it's actually a little underwhelming), but there are some good motifs (like the "Battle" cue). But Mr. Doyle certainly didn't outdue the "Goblet of Fire" here.

Here's the link.

Desplat's "Queen" wins award

2006-12-11T07:23:00.000-07:00

The Los Angeles Film Critics Association gushed awards on The Queen all night, including for Best Actress, supporting actor, and screenwriter. Composer Alexandre Desplat also got the award for "best music" for his highly original score to the movie.

Again I say, Alexandre is one of the finest up-and-coming (or has he fully "come out") composers in the industry.

What critics are saying...

2006-12-08T22:08:00.000-07:00

...about new soundtracks:

Apocalypto (James Horner):
*"Apocalypto [is a] rich soup of indigenous percussion, qawwali vocals, and other semi-exotic sounds . . . heavy on throat singing." (Washington City Paper)

Charlotte's Web (Danny Elfman):
*"Danny Elfman's humble, eloquent score completes the extremely pleasing effect." (Hollywood Reporter)
*"[At times] Gets a little too close to Corpse Bride. . . . Parts of it are very pretty." (Film Score Monthly)
*"Inspiring score!" (Monsters and Critics.com)

Blood Diamond (James Newton Howard):
*"Action packed! . . . "Ethnic." "Lovely Media Ventures ring to it." (Film Score Monthly)
*"Overladen with flutes." (Boston Herald)
*"Inspiring." (Screendaily.com)
*"[Howard goes] all exotic with an african-flavoured score." (Music from the Movies.com)

Eragon (Patrick Doyle):
*"[The theme] is in pretty much every track. . . . This score is like Harry Potter; 4 part two." (Film Score Monthly)

Some great new scores coming out this month!

I'm giving Apocalypto my first official listen tonight. Can't wait! :-)

The Grammy nominees

2006-12-08T21:52:00.000-07:00

The 49th annual Grammy Awards will be announced February 11th, in LA, and up for grabs are two particular awards that film music fans are taking note of: "score soundtrack album for motion picture/TV" and "Song written for Motion Picture/TV."

The nominees are:

"Score Soundtrack"
*Chronicles of Narnia, the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe - Harry Gregson-Williams
*The Da Vinci Code - Hans Zimmer
*Memoirs of a Geisha - John Williams
*POTC: Dead Man's Chest - Hans Zimmer
*Munich - John Williams

I'd take Da Vinci Code as my favorite out of those five. But all have their own unique aspects, and certainly the rabid fan approval of Zimmer's "Pirates" follow-up factors into the committee's decision to some degree... But I hope not too much. Also interesting to note that there were no TV soundtracks picked.

"Song Written for Motion Picture/TV"
*"Can't Take It In" (from Chronicles of Narnia) - Imogen Heap
*"I Need to Wake Up" (from An Inconvenient Truth) - Melissa Etheridge
*"Our Town" (from Cars) - Randy Newman
*"Travelin' Thru" (from Transamerica) - Dolly Parton
*"There's Nothing Like a Show on Broadway" (from The Producers) - Mel Brooks

Out of those less-then-decent choices, I'd select Imogen Heap's breathy number. It sure is bizarre though!
Your top picks? And who do you think will actually get the award?

Elfman is working on "Spidey 3"

2006-12-01T21:09:00.000-07:00

Grant Curtis (producer for Spider-Man 3) recently said the following on his blog in response to a reader who asked "Will Christopher Young use [Elfman's] main theme . . . or will he compose a new one?"

"Danny and Chris Young are both working on the picture. We have yet to start actively working on music, but we will start soon."

Sounds like confirmation to me! Danny Elfman IS involved in the project...on some level. So now we know. The question looms now: to what extent will his music be featured in the film?

Christopher Young originally replaced Danny Elfman on the Spider-Man franchise, where Elfman's music (and theme) had already been a staple-mark of the first two films. Until now, though, I hadn't heard any word that Elfman might actually be collaborating (to any degree) with Mr. Young. While I look forward to Young's solo efforts, I still think that Elfman's influences would be an excellent addition.

I've returned

2006-12-01T08:19:00.000-07:00

After a sudden departure to the southern parts of North America, I've returned--once more--to civilization. My vacation was long and most enjoyable, but it's always nice to get back home, too. :-) And I see that the soundtrack world has not been quite in my absence. A lot of news spilling from my sources these days. It'll take me a few hours at least to catch up! ;-)

But I'll be back to my posting ways shortly. Very shortly. Promise. :-)

Seasons greetings and a very merry, merry, early Christmas cheer to you all!

God bless!
-Sam

John Powell talks about "Happy Feet"

2006-11-18T06:24:00.000-07:00

In one of his most interesting scoring jobs, yet (in my opinion), John Powell composed the original score--and helped "mash-up" iconic songs--for the movie Happy Feet, about, well...penguins that sing and dance. :-P
In this short--but informative--interview, Mr Powell takes a few minutes to talk about his work on Happy Feet (a project that took him 4 years from start to finish) with Animation Magazine.

2006 has been quite the year for this guy! My personal favorite from him is undoutably X-Men 3: The Last Stand; what about you? What has been your favorite John Powell soundtrack so far this year?

Top 10 James Bond songs

2006-11-17T17:27:00.000-07:00

Recently we talked about the worst James Bond songs, so howabout we switch gears to the best! :-)

IGN listed their top 10, with Live and Let Die (by Paul McCartney and Wings) taking the top slot. Shoulda known, huh? Personally, The World is not Enough also struck a sweet chord with me, so...that's probably my number one.

What's your favorite Bond song?

Soundtrack bits and bytes

2006-11-17T10:45:00.000-07:00

November 21st is the release of I Choose Noise, the highly anticipated electronica album from the synth-rock band Hybrid. Also collaborating on this inventive work was film music composer Harry Gregson-Williams, who is known for (among other things) his own heavily synthesized projects for films such as Man on Fire and Domino. Amazon.com's editorial review comments that Gregson-Williams direction of a 36-piece orchestra gives "the album's compositions a deliciously harrowing, cinematographic quality."

I, myself have listened to this album (via my Napster account) and cautiously recommend it to a film music enthusiast who enjoys the techy, synth-crunch effects popularly utilized by Brian Tyler and David Arnold. Indeed, this is very James-Bond-ish.

Fans of Dario Marianelli will appreciate the fact that Lakeshore records is finally releasing his score to The Return--the (underwhelming) thriller starring Sarah Michelle Gellar. Marianelli is one of the most excited new composers in Hollywood today, in my opinion. The satiric "news"paper The Onion, had this to say about the movie and its music:

"A sales rep for a trucking company, her work takes her to Texas, where she's assaulted by all the signs of a barely trying B-movie. You know what I mean: her radio goes crazy when she enters a supernatural danger zone; she sees someone else's face in the mirror; the score becomes a hyperactive blend of violins, wind chimes and a ghost that keeps whispering 'sunshiiiiine' in her ear."

I can only grin and appreciate the mocking humor of Keith Phipps. :-P

Also, Gustavo Santaolalla's intriguing score to Babel comes out this week on the Concord label. Gustavo has taunted me with sparks of greatness, but I never really know what to expect with him. If you're wondering about the "spark" of greatness, I'll admit, I heard it in his Brokeback Mountain soundtrack. But rarely. And that score still was a woeful Oscar pick.

And, recently announced, Lalo Shifrin (an uncontested veteran of the film music genre) is composing Rush Hour 3, yet again teaming up with Director Brett Ratner in this series. I've never been a big Shifrin fan, but I do admit that Jackie Chan flicks are a guilty pleasure of mine. But Lalo's scores are very distinctive, and he has undoubtedly had a great influence on film music over the years (he's 74 now); with one of more famous gifts being the Mission Impossible theme. Yeah, now you know who I'm talking about!

And, yet another composer passes on. Nigel Holton drowned in New Zealand last month (just now the news is really making the rounds, though). Here's an excerpt from the Soundtrack.net report:

Nigel Holton, 54, died on October 26th in an accidental ocean drowning while visiting relatives in New Zealand. Nominated for an IFP "Spirit" award in 1992 for Kiss Me a Killer, he scored over 30 feature films, 40 documentaries and numerous short films, and released 2 albums as a contemporary instrumental artist. He composed music for the Turner Classic Movies Series on Silent Film Stars, including portraits of Marion Davies, Howard Hughes and Clara Bow. Born in Canterbury, England on July 7, 1952, he was a naturalized U.S. citizen and resided in Newbury Park, CA.

After watching The Prestige, drowning seems a little more real than ever. Awful. :-(

And speaking of deaths, the latest in the "Hannibal the Canibal" series Hannibal Rising (due next year), has a new poster (pictured) and a new composer. The poster I...like(?), but the composer: Ilan Eshkeri, I kinda go "huh?" about.
And I'll leave you with that charming visage. :-)

Have a great day, soundtrack lovers of the world!

Steve Jablonsky's mark on cinematic history

2006-11-17T10:13:00.000-07:00

I bet you thought I was going to say something outlandish like..."Steve Jablonsky is the greatest film composer ever," or..."his scores for 'The Island' and 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning' are the bestselling soundtracks ever!"

Nope. That'll never happen.

But, Steve Jablonsky is returning once more to where he has been most succesful: Scoring "Asian" films. His breakout original score for Steamboy garnered rave reviews, though his follow-up projects (like the aforementioned "Island" and "Chainsaw") did nothing but dispell the hype.

Now Steve is a part of cinamtic history. And you may rightfully ask "why?" Well, he's on board to score the music for the most expensive--perhaps the most ambitious--South Korean movie ever. It's called D-War, and it's set in Dragon-ravaged L.A. The historical part? It's being made with a 70 million dollar budget, practically five times more than any other film South Korea has put out. It's being labeled a "special effects extravaganza" and features a primarily-Western cast ensemble.

I personally don't have high hopes for the movie, but I'm actually excited about the soundtrack. Steamboy was one of those original works that was both reflective and fresh. Kind of a re-packaged "Media Ventures" sound. "The Island" was symphonic, synthesized nonsense (very low-grade fare), and "Chainsaw" was decent for a horror movie, but nothing to unseat Chris Young or--the master--Herrmann. So I'm looking forward to this change.

The movie is supposedly due for a United States winter theatrical release (if you trust IMDB), with no word on a soundtrack release, yet.

Howard Shore interview

2006-11-15T19:37:00.000-07:00

In what I felt was a somewhat cagey conversation, Howard Shore talked with Tracksounds.com about the Lord of the Rings music trilogy and several other projects. Most interesting though, were his words about the "Hobbit" (film/soundtrack):

CC: There has been quite a bit of talk about THE HOBBIT being made into one or two movies...possibly by Peter Jackson. If that happens, do you see that as another opportunity to dive back into that world and detail?

HS: Yes. Definitely. Peter and I both want to make the movie. We've talked about it. We really want to do it, so we're hoping it all works out. I would love to return to Middle Earth and write more music for that world.

CC: In the back of your mind, have already begun that process?

HS: Yes.

CC: Sort of difficult not to, I'd think!

HR. Yes.

Shore also mentioned that the final complete recordings soundtrack (to The Return of the King) will come in a 4-disc package (as opposed to 1 & 2's three-discs). Sweet!

More on Mark Isham's "Bobby" soundtrack

2006-11-14T15:33:00.000-07:00

There hasn't been much buzz about Mark Isham's upcoming score to "Bobby," especially when compared to the relative excitement his work on "Black Dahlia" generated. There is a confirmed tracklist out for the "Bobby" soundtrack, though, with everything from pop rock songs to a couple original score tracks by Isham.

"Never Gonna Break My Faith" - Aretha Franklin & Mary J. Blige
"Tracks Of My Tears" - Smokey Robinson & the Miracles
"Come See About Me" - the Supremes
"Function At The Junction" - Shorty Long
"I Was Made To Love Her" - Stevie Wonder
"Tuesday Afternoon" - Moody Blues
"Black Is Black" - Los Bravos
"Ain't That Peculiar" - Marvin Gaye
"Baby I Love You" - Aretha Franklin
"Grazing In The Grass" - Hugh Masekela
"Louie Louie" - Demi Moore
"The Sound Of Silence" - Simon & Garfunkel.

Also featured will be a couple speeches by Robert Kennedy, including his "Mindless Menace Of Violence" speech.

I'd kind of like a little more from Isham, but the movie intrigues me, so...naturally the music does too. ;-)

Video: David Arnold interview

2006-11-14T10:28:00.000-07:00

Finally, an actual video interview with the mastermind behind an excellent Casino Royale soundtrack. It is good. (Review coming soon). Video after the jump.

Alan Silvestri's "Night at the Museum"

2006-11-13T07:11:00.000-07:00

In one of the better (IMHO) switches of the year (outside of Zimmer/Horner on Code), the producers behind December's Night at the Museum flick, decided to trade John Ottman for Alan Silvestri. The result has been described as a "gargantuan action-adventure score" with a "monstrous symphony orchestra." Wondrous! Just the thing I needed to tithe me over till Silvestri's score to Beowulf comes out next year.

Hopefully this should be more like The Mummy Returns than Van Helsing, though. The latter--despite being very entertaining--was pretty much the same action pieces looped over and over, while Mummy was a truly amazing effort. Both ethnic--without being cliche--and ripped with powerful symphonic action cues, Mummy is probably my favorite Silvestri soundtrack.

The movie--about museum artifacts and fossils coming alive after closing time--comes out in mid December, with the soundtrack hitting stores on December 18th.

Soundtrack bits and bytes

2006-11-11T07:06:00.000-07:00

Here's a quick rundown of the latest in film music.

First off, Ramin Djawadi is reportedly on board to compose the original score to Hotel Transylvania, Sony's latest animated comedy (due in 2009). If Open Season was any kind of indication about Sony's current animation-fare, then I plan to pass on the movie. Djawadi scored that movie, as well, beside a couple of other credits which include the solo projects Blade Trinity and "additional music" for Batman Begins and Pirates of the Caribbean. He is also scoring the upcoming thriller Mr. Brooks which opens on March 23, 2007.

Michael McCann talked with Game Zone about scoring the video game Splinter Cell: Double Agent. It's an enlightening article considering the young composer's bright future. It's fun to watch all this new talent surface. Well, anyways, the interview is in two parts.

Tonight on Classic FM, there's a special treat for us movie music fans. Starting at 5PM, Simon Bates will spotlight British composer William Walton's music, go over the weekly box office hits, and churn out some classic soundtrack bits. To top off the evening is a David Arnold interview beginning at 9PM. Go to the source for more information.

A word on new CD releases: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers the complete recordings finally hit the market this week, and quickly moved up the chart to the 70th best-selling music CD on amazon.com (currently). The Grudge 2 by Christopher Young is also in stores now. Like the movie, Young's score isn't as fresh as the original, but he's still one of the best contemporary composers of horror music, in my opinion.

And next week we've got a whole pack-full of soundtracks coming out:

Birdman of Alcatraz - Elmer Bernstein
Careful, He Might Hear You - Ray Cook
Casino Royale - David Arnold (I've heard about half of it, and it's one of the Best Bond scores I've listened to)
Lucas - Dave Grusin
Runaway: The Deluxe Edition - Jerry Goldsmith
Seven Cities of Gold/The Rains of Ranchipur - Hugo Friedhofer
24: Seasons 4 & 5 - Sean Callery (I despise these scores)
Wah-Wah - Patrick Doyle

And finally, on this date (1985) Bruce Broughton recorded his score for the Amazing Stories episode "Gather Ye Acorns." An amazing composer!

Charlotte's Web soundtrack clips

2006-11-10T11:58:00.000-07:00

Sony Music finally offered up clips for the up-and-coming Danny Elfman score. Check them out HERE.

Video Tribute to Basil Poledouris

2006-11-10T09:54:00.000-07:00

Title says it all.

Can I say it one more time? Basil--you will be missed!

Mark Isham composes music for ARMY commercial

2006-11-10T09:09:00.000-07:00

Mark Isham composed a nice short peice of music for Army's latest commercial, which runs in two formats--a 30 and a 60 second spot. The ad is called "Army Strong" and launched yesterday. The commercial was filmed over a two week period and used real army soldiers because "No actor could ever authentically convey the power and intensity of an Army Strong Soldier" (Jonathan Cranin, director for the Army's marketing communications agency).

Here's the story, and here's the video:

More on Basil Poledouris' passing

2006-11-09T12:32:00.000-07:00

It almost seems hollow right now to mention that The Two Towers' complete recordings soundtrack is out (and sounds great). Basil Poledouris was a fine film composer and a great man--from all I've heard, with a driving passion to bring movie music to new heights of excellence. He (and his music) will be GREATLY missed by all.

Dan over at soundtrack.net just put up a memorial podcast for Poledouris, and I encourage you to listen to it before heading over to Poledouris' official message board to leave a comment for his family.

Basil Poledouris dead at age 61

2006-11-08T21:59:00.000-07:00

After a long battle with cancer (including bouts with brain and lung tumors), Basil Poledouris--the amazing composer who wrote such masterpieces as Conan The Barbarian, Starship Troopers, and Free Willy passed on. Here's the official report:

Basil Poledouris passed away today in Los Angeles at the age of 61. We welcome any messages in his memory.

If you would like to make a donation in his memory please contact the Catalina Island Conservancy or The Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation.

Thank you, The Poledouris Family

They also ask for your prayers and well wishes at the Basil Poledouris message boards.

This is a very sad day, friends. We've lost a pioneer, and a fine film composer. He will be GREATLY missed.

Pray for his family.

-Sam Van Eerden

Danny Elfman's "Charlotte's Web" CD cover art

2006-11-06T10:07:00.000-07:00

Here's a first look at it folks:

I don't know about you, but I'm just itching for the first listen!

Lord of the Rings - The Two Towers - Complete soundtrack

2006-11-04T08:41:00.000-07:00

It's coming, folks. Just 3 more days.

Get it for a "cheap" $60 off amazon.

This is my least favorite soundtrack of the series (1st being "Return of the King"), but it's got a great Rohan theme, and early reviews say there's a heck of a lot of "Rohan music" going on in here. That's probably because most of the movie takes place in Rohan or at Helms Deep with the Riders and Warriors of Rohan. The 3rd disc is almost entirely the Battle Music at Helms Deep, and the other two discs soak up the rest of the cues.

Soundtrack.net dropped a star from their "Fellowship of the Ring" review (down to a mere four for "Two Towers"), and I suggest you check out all of their comments for the complete 3 hour soundtrack recording at their site...via these links: Note: the review is in 3 parts.

Worst Bond songs of all time

2006-11-03T22:09:00.000-07:00

The popular music news website Idolater has made an interesting list of the worst James Bond song (themes). It's interesting and hugely debateable (I disagree with most, and thought Madonna's atrocious cut shoulda been the #1 worst), but probably my biggest beef was that the latest Bond song from Casino Royale made the "worst-of" list. What?!?

Anyways, read the rest of the results (complete with music videos) at the official article.

Rupert Gregson-Williams gets a "gay movie"

2006-11-03T11:29:00.000-07:00

The composer who brought us the charming (if simplistic) score to the (better than Cars, IMHO) movie Over the Hedge, is taking on a more 'mature' project. He's been hired to do the music for the upcoming movie I now pronounce you Chuck and Larry. Adam Sandler has the (co)starring role (alongside Kevin James and other B-listers) so it's obviously a comedy.

The storyline is two straight firefighters pretend to be a homosexual couple to get domestic partner benefits. What? Am I missing something? How is this movie going to make money? I guess if it gets the homosexual activist crowd to the theatre it'll make.....roughly 3 million dollars? Yeah, that'll cover Sandler's paycheck.

Movie comes out on July 20, 2007.

The scariest soundtrack ever!

2006-11-03T10:57:00.000-07:00

Wow! That's a loaded question, isn't it? And it's not mine; though I'll open it for discussion here, if you care to give your opinion. Moviemusic.uk polled their readership recently, and...with responses still flowing in, they've currently had well over 2,000 votes tallied. The results up to this point?

Of these scores, which is the scariest?
Halloween	35%
Jaws	15%
The Omen	27%
Psycho	12%
Scream	7%

I voted for Halloween, myself, and I definitely think it deserves to be the runaway-number one it currently is. :-) There are just some drop dead FREAKY cues on that score. Forget the movie, and forget the special edition's voice-overs, John Carpenter's main theme is so scary, I'd go to pieces just hearing it in a dark room at night. And I haven't even seen the movie! Well, I've seen about a third of it; but still...

Your opinion is greatly appreciated (if you don't mind weighing in)! :-)

Interview with James Dooley

2006-11-02T16:05:00.000-07:00

This is late by a few days (and I apologize for that), but if you haven't read this yet, you should. It's an interview James Dooley did with the online "scoremagacine." I've been following James for a while, so it was fun to be able to read a full interview with him. He's a smart guy, seems nice, and has a promising career.

Read the interview.

Hans Zimmer interview (part 3)

2006-11-02T15:06:00.000-07:00

In Soundtrack.net's final installment of what has been a really cool, enlightening look at Hans Zimmer and his recent compositions, we get the man's response on several interesting issues:

Hans stoutly refuses to be labeled as a self-plagurist a la James Horner, and soundtrack.net helpfully offers an audio suite to back up the composer's quote "They're [his soundtracks] all different."
Zim talks a bit about the upcoming Batman movie, including his assertion that if he does the soundtrack, he won't without James Newton Howard's involvement. Grrr.... Too many cooks spoil the batter...
His upcoming projects, including a "revelation" that most of the music from the soundtrack to August Rush is in fact composed by Mark Mancina. Zimmer admits to primarily just being a sounding board.

Read the whole thing here.

Listen to the "Superman Returns" soundtrack online

2006-11-01T14:17:00.000-07:00

I know I've mentioned this in the past, but the link bears an update, and is worth repeating. Listen to John Ottman's score for Superman Returns (in RP or WMP format) at THIS LINK.

Casino Royale music video: "You Know My Name"

2006-11-01T07:24:00.000-07:00

Here's a first look at the music video from Casino Royale's Main Title song: "You know my name," as performed by Chris Cornell (of the band Audioslave). Enjoy! :-)

As far as Bond scores go, this is a pretty good title song, I think. Of course, I'm a little biased to Mr. Cornell; but the video here, itself, is great, especially as it contains never-before-seen footage from the movie.

When asked about making this song (with music that plays into David Arnold's original score), Cornell said ‘Paul McCartney’s in there, Tom Jones is in there, which I’m—people might not know this, but I’m a huge Tom Jones fan. I think he’s amazing singer. I had never heard his version of ‘Thunderball’ until recently. I’m sure I did when I was a kid, but it was 1965 so I was one. But it’s great, you know, it’s great being part of something like that, historically.’

It's neat that he isn't taking the elite company for granted, but appears genuinely excited to be on board this project. And a good job he did, too! :-) Unfortunate then, that this song doesn;t even make the soundtrack album. What the....?!? Grr...... What are those people over at Sony thinking!

James Horner booted off "Good Shepherd"

2006-10-31T07:24:00.000-07:00

I wonder if this is starting to annoy Horner, yet. First, he's heavily critisized for his music for the 2004 epic flop (no, that's not an oxy moron) Troy, then he's kicked off The Da Vinci Code in favor of Hans Zimmer. (Good choice!) Now he sees one of his three shots at the Oscar this year get taken from him as he parts on the project due to "creative differences" with the director Robert De Niro. The Good Shepherd will now be scored by composers Marcelo Zarvos (Hollywoodland) and Bruce Fowler (on of Zimmer's 'additional music' guys), which I find rather surprising. Those aren't the biggest names in film music, but--hey--if it makes De Niro happy...

All The Kings Men still remains James' Oscar front-runner, and I doubt that Apocalypto will change matters any. Though, truth be told, I expect to enjoy the latter far more than the former.

Here's a question: In your mind, which soundtrack is the top Oscar contender right now? Or, answer this: what is your favorite soundtrack of 2006 (so far)?

Killers frontman Brandon Flowers: "I stalked Danny Elfman"

2006-10-30T17:30:00.000-07:00

Apparently the massively-successful crooner for the Vegas rock/synth group The Killers, Brandon Flowers has had a longtime obsession with film music composer Danny Elfman. (Wow! We have something in common.)

After Tim Burton directed the music video for the Killers' second single ("Bones") off their latest album Sam's Town, Brandon was asked about the Director and delivered the following statement when Mr. Elfman's name was mentioned alongside Burton's:

"I stalked Danny Elfman once when he came to eat at a restaurant that I worked at," said Flowers. "I went up to the table, I wasn't allowed to, but it was his birthday and he ended up being really sweet."

Sweet. Sweet? Weird. Not the first word that I'd expect people to use when trying to describe the talented--but macabre--musical storyteller. Still; I thought that was a rather cool anecdote. :-)

Complete Lion King soundtrack

2006-10-28T14:33:00.000-06:00

Bitter that Walt Disney never released an expanded edition of the Lion King soundtrack? No problem; listen to (and download) it online at THIS link. There's a ton of new instrumental music here, with the standout tracks being "King Of The Past" and "The Return (King of Pride Rock)."

Have fun! :-)

"The Omen (original)" soundtrack Review

2006-10-28T08:52:00.000-06:00

What better way to kick off the creepy weekend then by highlighting one of the all-time classic horror movies (and scores)? While The Exorcist and Rosemary's Baby probably remain the most (in)famous horror films ever made, and the Halloween slasher series gets most of the holiday hype, the 1976 original Omen holds its cult (and occultic) status as one of the most disturbing and chilling movies ever put to the big screen. It followed the popular theme of the times by using a "demon child" as its main character, and subsequently the boy-antichrist Damien Thorn has become one of the more notable "faces" of children in cinema.

The movie spawned numerous sequels and doubtlessly inspired countless other movies en route to the 6/6/06 remake this year starring Seamus Davey Fitzpatrick (which piled up an underwhelming 54 million domestically). But perhaps one of the series' most lasting legacies is the music, particularly the score for the original. Composed by Jerry Goldsmith, his soundtrack for The Omen garnered the only Oscar award he ever received. If Mr. Goldsmith was destined to only ever get one statuette, this is probably the one to award. The music blends the religiosity of the story neatly (and horrifically) with a truly terrifying demonic presence that accentuates the film perfectly. There are few horror movies that have been blessed with such perfect musical accompaniments, though a few that come to mind are Psycho, Jaws, and (I know I'll get flak for this) Halloween. Indeed, when you look at horror scores since 1976 you can see the tremendous impact that Goldsmith's Omen has had on many of them. I equate The Omen's musical impact to The Lord of the Rings' literary impact (ie: both created the now-popularized cliches).

The original soundtrack release ran at under 35 minutes; but in 2001 Varese Sarabande released a 48 minute "deluxe Edition," which is the score I'm reviewing. The "extended" release only really adds about 15 minutes of new material, along with a better sound quality. Still, there are bootlegs floating around the internet that are well worth your time in searching for if you really like the soundtrack.

With the Main Titles Ave Satani, (translated from Latin to English as "Hail Satan") the horror begins immediately. Jerry Goldsmith wastes no time frittering around with useless ideas; the creepy bass and string lines are heavily accentuated by a Latin chorale punching out the brutal verses. Translated, the words are "We have drunk the blood. We have eaten the body. Raise the Body. Satan! Hail!" Obviously a sadistic slam on communion and the Catholic Mass. Goldsmith didn't choose the actual lyrics, though; he just asked for Latin chants, and his choral director--John McCarthy--did the rest.

On this Night and The New Ambassador serve as the "good" contrast to "Ave Satani's" dominant "evil" themes presented in the Main Titles. We are shown the happy side of the family and an additional love theme for Damien's step-parents, though the beginning of Where Is He invokes a sense of foreboding, as well. The mixture between good and evil here in the early going is both dexterous and extremely tense, as Goldsmith plays with the listener's (and viewer's) emotions as easily as he plays his orchestra. Eventually, however, the evil can no longer be repelled and is completely unleashed in a the sixth and seventh tracks: Broken Vows and Safari Park. The former is propelled by chimes and features a selection of crazed string and choral mixed arrangements (a la Bernard Herrmann). "Safari Park" opens calmly enough, with the "New Ambassador" love/family theme, but halfway through, the peacefulness is shattered with the same 'chase-style' motif realized in the "Broken Vows" cue; only it is more powerful here and features one of the best combinations of string and voice that I've ever heard.

The Priest is killed to the tune of track #9 The Killer Storm, a dark, brooding cue filled with terrifying violin flourishes and a dissonant choral bursts. This is a piece of pure genius by Jerry Goldsmith, and perhaps one of the most intricate cuts on the soundtrack. Surely it is one of the most terrifying portions of film music I've ever heard. Don't Let Him is another anguished glimpse of the good versus evil struggle and is artfully accentuated by low key changes and flighty woodwinds.

Dogs Attack is the only spot on this soundtrack where I liked Marco Beltrami's 2006 version better. At 6:09, this is the longest track on the original score, and gives Goldsmith plenty of time to showcase his wide array of styles. There are smatterings of a Jazz pattern near the opening, and the percussion uses everything from chimes to bass to the human voice to accentuate its rhythm. But it is overly scatterbrained, and perhaps a little too frenzied in places. However, the 5-note choral motif used extensively in this is a nice touch, and a good arrangement. Beheaded probably contains the single-most disturbing vocal appearance though; a brash, sudden burst which rages for a few seconds before dissipating. But it'll get your attention fast! Despite its significant title, 666 is nothing more than a 30 second bass buildup to an echoing woodwind 'riff,' while The Demise of Mrs. Baylock gives us a truly startling selection of cues. Mostly choral-dominated. The frenzied female section off-set by the male is incredible, and it amazes me that Goldsmith was able to have all this in his head and put it down on paper. The Altar has a more religious-tone to it, but it's basically an extension of the Demise of Mrs. Baylock, and contains the 5-note motif first introduced in the Dogs attack cue.

All in all, this is one classic soundtrack that deserves a place in anyone's musical library. When you look through the decades of film and film music, there are certain movies where the music just made it what it became. Obviously Jaws is the first one that comes to mind, but The Omen is definitely right up there. A nice touch is that the final track on this soundtrack is the song The Piper Dreams by Carol Heather and it uses the family/love theme. It creates an odd finale to an otherwise demon-inspired soundtrack, especially considering its other 'bookend' (if you will) is the morbid Ave Satani.

Rating for the Original soundtrack release: ****
Rating for the Deluxe 2001 Edition: **** 1/2

David Arnold talks about "Casino Royale"

2006-10-27T22:56:00.000-06:00

Not much time, but here's a cool interview with David Arnold on his soundtrack for Casino Royale. Enjoy!

'Jaws' tuba player Tommy Johnson passes away

2006-10-26T22:42:00.000-06:00

From SpielbergFilms.com:

While his name may not be familiar to fans, Tommy Johnson helped create millions of nightmares and fantasies around the world through the films of Steven Spielberg.

Johnson, who passed away this past October 16 at 71 years of age, was a first tier studio session tuba player who brought the chilling notes of John Williams' famed "Jaws" theme to aural life. According to the Los Angeles Times, Johnson was still performing until just a few weeks before complications from cancer and kidney failure took his life.

[Johnson said of the soundtrack] "This solo kept recurring in almost every cue. I found out later that was the theme for the shark. I asked John Williams later why he wrote that so high for the tuba, why didn't he write that for the French horns since it was in the perfect range for them? He said, 'Well, I wanted something that was in that register but I wanted it to sound a little more threatening.'"

==============

One of the most historic musical scores of all time. Up there with Herrmann's Psycho.

Too bad; he will be missed. Tommy Johnson also featured in many other movie scores over his career, including "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom," "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade," all three "Back to the Future" films, "The Flintstones", "Twister" (composed by Mark Mancina) and "Men in Black".

"Nightmare Before Christmas" then and now

2006-10-26T12:02:00.000-06:00

Watch the evolution of the song "This Is Halloween;" via friendly youtube-ers. Do I even have to ask which one is best?

Elfman rules!

Casino Royale audio clips

2006-10-26T11:03:00.000-06:00

Soundtrack.net (bless 'em!) just put up another one of their excellent "soundtrack previews," this time for David Arnold's score to the latest James Bond film: Casino Royale. I've gotta tell you, at first listen, I'm pretty impressed. Sounds like they pulled out ALL the stops with this one. It's a lengthy soundtrack, with a ton of kick-butt action cues. Just like a Bond score should be...

For a hint, listen to this clip "Stairwell Fight" then go to the original article for the complete listing! :-)

Have an awesome day,
-SamV

Bruce Broughton interview

2006-10-23T12:35:00.000-06:00

The multi-talented, Emmy-Award winning film composer Bruce Broughton talks candidly and at length with musiconfilm.net. It's a fascinating interview with someone who has scored dozens of projects and yet doesn't often come to mind as one of today's premiere composers. A fact I think is unfortunate.

My favorite soundtrack by Mr. Broughton? Homeward Bound. :-P The Young Sherlock Holmes series is a great score, too, as is his works for Disney. What can I say? Bruce has great aptitude for those kids' scores, though his only Academy Award nominated effort was for Silverado, which is probably the one he's best known for.

Quick hits and audio tidbits

2006-10-23T10:12:00.000-06:00

Check out this video interview of Danny Elfman and Marilyn Manson as they talk about the original Nightmare Before Christmas soundtrack project and the "updated" version. It's a 16 minute interview, and--while slightly morbid at times, remains--thoroughly entertaining.

After pop/rock artist Ben Folds teamed up with Rupert Gregson-Williams (and Hans Zimmer) on the Over the Hedge soundtrack (a barrel of fun and goodness!), Rupert has returned the favor by pitching in with Folds' latest CD: Supersunnyspeedgraphic The LP in a good light, saying " which hit store shelves today on the Columbia record label. Entertainmentwise.com reviewed the collaboration in a good light by saying "The best track on the album by far is the closing track. ‘Still’ is the result of a collaboration with composer Rupert Gregson-Williams and Academy Award winning Hans Zimmer. Soft, gentle and honest this is classic Ben Folds and the perfect way to close the album." Nice!

Oh yeah, and here's an exciting bit from David Arnold's soundtrack for Casino Royale: Sound clips are up! :-) Click over to Sony's site for the previews; but beware of the spoiler track titles (a la The Sixth Sense's "Malcolm is Dead"). The album contains 25 tracks and will be released in stores in the US on November 14, but you can preorder it for $14 from Sony.

And finally, if you haven't already seen this, soundtrack.net has a photos up of the Deja Vu scoring sessions. Those are always fun, and Harry Gregson-Williams is at the helm, so...good stuff!

Inon Zur talks about Lineage II

2006-10-22T20:34:00.000-06:00

Inon Zur's soundtrack to the RPG Lineage II has so far recieved nothing but positive feedback from the video game world. And I'm pleased; Zur's done a fine job on well over 40 projects through the years and deserves the recognition!

Read this article has he talks more about the music for the soundtrack.

Video: The "Grudge 2" soundtrack and Christopher Young

2006-10-22T19:47:00.000-06:00

Check out this cool video of composer Christopher Young giving an inside scoop of his studio, his team, and the background of his project to score the second Grudge film. During the little docu-short, Chris mentions that he had just 3 1/2 weeks to score the music for the film, which amounts to about 3 finalized-for-the-movie minutes per day. Wow! Good thing he'd already established a musical basis for the series with his soundtrack for the original Grudge movie!

Elfman continues to expand his horizons

2006-10-22T16:52:00.000-06:00

Not content with writing symphonies and composing songs for the new Charlotte's Web movie, Danny Elfman has undertaken the project of scoring the music for The Fortune Teller; a feature-length marionette show produced by Erik Sanko. Sanko's website reveals the plot as the following:

"Seven unusual characters are invited to the estate of a late millionaire industrialist and informed they’ve been included in his will. On a dark night, the strangers arrive at the late millionaire’s mansion only to learn their inheritances will be based not on a will, but on the readings of a fortune teller. One by one, each is delivered what they have coming to them, but perhaps not what they are expecting. Seven strangers’ twisted tales are brought to life in a handcrafted marionette play and woven with haunting music to tell an eerily comic story of fate and fortune."One look at the grotesque puppets and a cursory glance at the macabre storyline brings to mind Elfman's previous collaborations with Director Tim Burton a la The Nightmare Before Christmas and Corpse Bride. I doubt the music to this show will get an album release....(anyone know??)...but if it does, I'll let ya know! :-)

Brian Tyler to produce the music for "Big Bad Wolf"

2006-10-20T15:44:00.000-06:00

In something of a mockery, Fangoria (America's Horror magazine) announced that Brian Tyler would be producing the soundtrack to the upcoming thrasher flick Big Bad Wolf which is about (unsurprisingly) a werewolf. Director Lance W. Dreesen said about the soundtrack (which was composed by the musical mind behind Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Dana Niu): “The effects and music rock! Our score really kicks [you know what]. It’s pounding, percussive and eerie orchestral music that’s better than we had any right to expect. The beast really lucked out!”

Cool! Certainly the trailer didn't make me wanna run to the nearest theatre to catch the film (not that I could; it's making the festival rounds now), but--as I've said many times before--anything with Brian Tyler's signature is worth a listen, at least. Which is what I'll do, providing the music gets an actual CD release, that is.

(Now I'm going to poste that soundtrack review.)

Countdown to Halloween

2006-10-20T11:46:00.000-06:00

Halloween is the most vile of holidays. I don't celebrate it myself; it's too morbid, too sinister, too...well, evil. (I'm a Christmas guy! ;-)). However, I'm taking advantage of the day to begin a soundtrack countdown all the way up to October 31st. I'll review--at least--one spooky soundtrack a day up till then. It should be fun!

I had considered doing a top-1o countdown of my favorite "Halloween-ish" soundtracks, but that'd be really difficult! Maybe by the 31st I'll be able to concoct a list, though. We'll see.

Check back soon (today) for the first score-spotlight. (Can you guess what it'll be? ;-))

Hutchinson Symphony gives "prelude to Halloween" symphony

2006-10-20T09:46:00.000-06:00

The Hutchinson News reported the following:

Spooky violins and scary drumbeats, along with a goosebump-inducing program of symphony music will sound from the Fox Theatre on Thursday as a prelude to Halloween.

The program runs the gamut from hauntingly beautiful to wild and scary.

Hutchinson Symphony musicians will be dressed appropriately for Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Phantom of the Opera," Klaus Badelt's "Pirates of the Caribbean" and John Williams' "Symphonic Suite from Harry Potter."

Conductor Richard Koshgarian will keep the tempo pulsating with "Funeral March of a Marionette" by Gounod.

The dark mood of the music comes with two macabre musical visions in Berlioz's "Symphonie Fantastique, Op. 14."

Footsteps and noisy outbursts mix in "March to the Scaffold." The chilling presence of demons in "Dream of a Witches' Sabbath" adds a gothic atmosphere to the Halloween concert - with the symphony treating the audience.

Spooks vanish and the program moves to romantic, then to dynamic for "Concerto No. 2 in E-flat for Clarinet and Orchestra" and solo artist Jeff Pelischek.

The slow "Romanza" movement portrays the character of a serenade. The syncopated "Alla polacca" movement adds an Eastern European flavor.

The best of stage and cinema music, along with yesterday's pops favorites, will come to life at the Fox.

To hear the full story, start with the pre-concert talk and then enjoy the music that sets the pace for a frightfully lovely pre-Halloween evening.

The Specs:

What: Spooks & Spirits - The Pops Concert

When: Thursday - 7 p.m. pre-concert talk, 7:30 p.m. concert begins

Where: Fox Theatre, 18 East 1st

Tickets: Adults, $15; students, $7

A better Panic! recording of "This is Halloween"

2006-10-18T18:48:00.000-06:00

One of my readers informed my of a better spot to listen to Panic! At the Disco's cover of "This Is Halloween." Listen to it here.

And don't forget: the movie comes out this Friday...with the soundtrack following on the 24th! :-)

Audio highlight: "The Blue Lagoon"

2006-10-18T11:30:00.000-06:00

The controversial 1980's film about the "natural love" of an adolescent boy and girl marooned on a tropical island at a young age made some serious waves when it came out. The nudity and mature themes in the movie brought down heavy critical reviews from conservative and mainstream audiances alike, and even Roger Ebert called it "[one of] the dumbest movie[s] of the year" (though he cited the story more than the nudity).

For my part, I'll at least claim that the soundtrack (composed by Basil Poledouris) is a beautiful work built upon swelling orchestral motifs and large trumpet fanfares. The "love theme (Emmeline)" is where most of the glory is at, while most of the interior music reflects more of the naturalistic beauty of the island than anything else. The "Main Titles" occur as the ship is sailing (directly before it blows up), and Basil really puts a lot of oomph into this; so much so that some critics complained the music was far too loud.

But it's an all-around great effort by a man who's become all-but extinct in the film music world. This is unfortunate; Mr. Poledouris has created some amazing masterpieces in his time, not the least of which is The Blue Lagoon.

Here are a few excellent audio clips I rounded up:

Love Theme (Emmeline)
Main Titles
Love Theme (reprise)

Complete Track Listing:

1.	Love Theme (Emmeline)	2:31
2.	Main Title	2:35
3.	Fire	1:17
4.	The Island	1:43
5.	The Sands Of Time	2:24
6.	Paddy's Death	1:18
7.	The Children Grow	4:09
8.	Lord Of The Lagoon	1:04
9.	Love Theme (Reprise)	1:10
10.	Underwater Courtship	1:58
11.	The Kiss	2:33
12.	Richard Sees Paddy	2:20
13.	The Birth	1:13
14.	Bad People; Baby Swim	2:59
15.	The Memories	1:18
16.	3 Points To Port; End Titles	3:20
	Total Time:	33:52

Have a great day!
-Sam Van Eerden

Turkish film festival to honor John Debney

2006-10-18T09:31:00.000-06:00

One of my favorite film composers John Debney will be honored--along with the late actor/rapper Tupac Shakur--at the first annual Turks & Caicos International Film Festival. The festival is designed to celebrate the fusion of music and film. It began yesterday and runs through the 21st, with the final awards and accolades being handing out on that day.

John will be honored for his amazing ability to create such a wide variety of musical scores spanning numerous film genres. (This is probably the reason I respect him the most. That and one score: Cutthroat Island.)

Debney has won three Emmys, eight ASCAP Awards, and was nominated for an Academy Award for his soundtrack to The Passion of the Christ.

Rock on! :-P

Jeff Danna gets a "Canadian Emmy"

2006-10-18T07:16:00.000-06:00

Last night at an awards ceremony made to boost the hype for the 21st Annual Gemini Awards (held on November 4), the Gemini Lifestyle, Children's and Youth winners were announced. Jeff Danna (lesser known brother of film music composer Mychael Danna) won the "Best Original Music Score for an Animated Program or Series" for his work on the show Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Friends.I know it doesn't look like much, but I think the show's a hit in Canada in much the same way that Bob the Builder is/was(?) a hit here in the U.S.

In any case, congrats to Jeff for winning this Canadian Award, which is essentially their version of an Emmy.

Panic! At The Disco's cover of "This Is Halloween"

2006-10-17T20:33:00.000-06:00

One of my most favorite songs from the original Nightmare Before Christmas "This Is Halloween" is covered twice on the new 2-disc soundtrack of the movie's 3D version (film out on October 20) and offered along with an early demo by Danny Elfman. One of the covers was done by Marilyn Manson, while Panic! did another.

Strangely enough, Manson's is better. However, I can't bring myself to listen to it much just because of the kind of person MM is.... A self-proclaimed Christ-hater is not the kind of guy I like to hear sing...even if it is a great song.

Anyways, Panic!'s version has very little musical backdrop to it, just the lead (and backing) vocals...which you'll like or hate depending upon your preference of style. The song opens and closes though with a music box bit, which is a nice touch. Still, Fall Out Boy's "What's This?" is the best cover I've heard...and I've heard 'em all!

Listen to Panic! At the Disco's "This Is Halloween" at AOL.

Serenada Schizophrana: The Ultimate Audio preview!

2006-10-17T09:51:00.000-06:00

So you're thinking about buying Danny Elfman's foray into the concert hall: Serenada Schizophrana? Considering this is a musical work by none-other than Danny Elfman I don't know why you've waited this long. Chances are, you might be a little leery about his approach to this unique project.

There are many clips of Serenada Schizophrana all across the internet, but in order to give you the best preview of this album, I've compiled a bunch of those clips in this article. Read, click, and listen; "SS" is a beautiful masterpiece! :-)

(Note: there may be a little overlap in the cues.)

Serenada Schizophrana's official media player (offers 45 sec. clips)
Cinemusic.net's preview of all 8 movements
Here's a 2 minute clip of the first movement "Pianos" performed live (note the Sleepy Hollow similarities!)
One Minute clip of movement 5 "I forget" performed live (read the lyrics here)
You can also hear the first 3 1/2 minutes of the "I forget" cue overlayed over this video montage of the film Corpse Bride (soundtrack composed by Danny Elfman)
Barnes and Noble has clips for each movement
Sony Musical also has individual clips
Of course amazon.com also has clips for each

Danny Elfman has spent a lot of time promoting the album, and has graciously done several interviews. Listen to a couple of them via these links:

Elfman on Synthesisradio.net
Elfman talks with Soundtrack.net (lengthy interview)

Note also that the concert was composed for the following instruments:

flutes (3, with 3rd doubling on picc.)
oboes (3, with 3rd doubling on Cor Anglais)
clarinets (3, doubling E-flat, bass clar, and alto sax)
bassoons (3, with 3rd doubling on contrabassoon)
horns (6)
trumpets (3)
trombones (3, with 3rd doubling bass trombone)
bass/contrabass trombone
tuba (doubling on cimbasso)
timpani
percussion
pianos (2)
synthesizers
harps
strings
small female chorus [8 voices]

And finally: the CD's official track listing:

1. I. Pianos (7:00)
2. II. Blue Strings (10:08)
3. III. A Brass Thing (7:55)
4. IV. The Quadruped Patrol (2:55)
5. V. "I Forget" (6:23)
6. VI. Bells and Whistles (8:07)
7. End Tag (0:51)
8. Improv for Alto Sax (2:46)

And now that you're all ready to buy the CD, I suggest you order it via amazon.com. The list price is a cheap $12.99.

You won't regret the money spent at all!

-Samuel Van Eerden

Kamen/Mancini "Lifeforce" extended soundtrack release

2006-10-17T09:41:00.000-06:00

(from musiconfilm.net)
BuySoundtrax has released a two CD edition of the 1985 horror/sci-fi score LIFEFORCE. Originally penned by Henry Mancini and later Michael Kamen, this represents the fullest version of the score released to date and has the previously unreleased Kamen music.

Limited to 3000 copies and priced at $29.95, this album will go quick.

Contest: Remix the "Lineage II" soundtrack

2006-10-17T06:59:00.000-06:00

For you audio-genius' out there who love to mutate sounds and use garage band to add your own flair to tracks and songs, this contest is for you! Until the 24th of October when the contest ends (that's one more week) you've got the chance to download three of Inon Zur's musical tracks for his soundtrack to the Lineage II game and remix them using whatever programs you wish. The only stipulation is you are allowed to only use your work. No copyrighted sound effects (that you didn't create) are allowed. That being said, there is a lot of room in these three tracks (which feature a bunch of vocals and only one short action cue) to go crazy, and the prizes are generous:

iPod Nano 8GB
a Lineage II Chronicle 5: Oath of Blood T-shirt
Lineage II Epic Collection
Lineage II Game Time Card (60 days worth of free game time)
Lineage II Cap

Read the rest of the contest rules and rewards here.

Download the contest tracks here.

Go crazy and Have fun!

-Samuel Van Eerden

The music of the Lord of the Rings

2006-10-16T19:52:00.000-06:00

In light of the VERY soon-2-b-released Two Towers expanded soundtrack, check out this awesome compilation of "Lord of the Rings'" themes. Basically, this article gives an overview of 19 major musical themes in the series (including character and culture themes) complete with audio clips. Of course it's far from complete, being that the soundtracks are so complex and extensive, but there is some great material here! Take a read. :-)

Harry Gregson Williams' "Flushed Away"

2006-10-13T21:19:00.000-06:00

Early reviews for the Dreamworks animation flick Flushed Away (which opens in theatres on November 3) are pretty good, and Gregson-Williams' music has gotten a nice nod too. The Hollywood Reporter said that his "rollicking score gives a huge lift to all the comedy," which is a good thing. I'm anticipating a kind of crazed and disoriented (yet pleasurable) Robots-ish soundtrack. But Harry never ceases to surprise me; usually in a good way, but sometimes bad, too. I think this'll be a good project for him, though! :-)

David Arnold finishes up Casino Royale

2006-10-11T10:13:00.000-06:00

David Arnold's official website reported the grand news that "The recording and mixing of Casino Royale finished early this morning 11th october."

Casino Royale opens in the US on November 17th, but as of yet Sony has not given a release date for the soundtrack, which will be carried on their records label. davidarnold.com promises that the "good folks at Sony are pulling out all the stops" to do so, though. I can't wait! Mr. Arnold's website intro features a clip from the soundtrack, and it's fun Bond-style-stuff! :-)

Stay tuned for more on this soundtrack (and hopefully audio clips) as new stuff develops!

"Flags of our Fathers" by Clint Eastwood

2006-10-11T08:35:00.000-06:00

I guess there might be a sort of added hype to a guy who can Direct, star in, and compose the music to a single movie--as Eastwood did for Mystic River and Million Dollar Baby--but, to me, that little "wow" factor of he did ALL that?!? was pretty much lost by the time I slogged through his musical efforts.

Now, I might have just listened to Mystic River on a bad day, but I found the music to be some of the most unenjoyable, boring slush I'd ever heard. Baby was definitely better (how could it not be), but seriously, few people can actually do a piano-driven score without it floundering. Clint certainly had some gorgeous moments where he showed an amazing talent, but I still was pretty dissatisfied with that soundtrack, too.

Now Mr. Eastwood has recently composed the soundtrack to the film Flags of our Fathers which (according to the film's site) "tells the life stories of the six men who raised the American flag at the Battle of Iwo Jima, a turning point in WWII." From the sound clips (click the link above), I was definitely impressed. At least, it's better than previous Eastwood fare.

For a truly amazing 9/11 tribute (and a patriotic theme in general), check out the 8 minute anthem at this composer's website.

I'm out. More to come!

-Sam Van Eerden

How would you like to work here:

2006-10-11T08:28:00.000-06:00

No matter how much people rip on Hans Zimmer and his Remote Control Productions team, you've gotta appreciate the incredible ability the man's got! And--I don't know about you, but--I'd sure love to work on music in a setting like this (which Zimmer fondly calls the "panic room"):And, check out Hans' Myspace (it's been online since September 30). So far he's got four songs on there, from Gladiator, Thin Red Line, Pearl Harbor, and Black Hawk Down.

Listen to the REVOLUTIONIZED "Nightmare before Christmas" songs

2006-10-10T08:54:00.001-06:00

The 2-disc soundtrack release to The Nightmare Before Christmas (in 3D) remake doesn't hit store shelves for another week, but thanks to Myspace you can listen to the following songs from that rennovated score:

1. This is Halloween (Marilyn Manson) - 3:23 (fondly called "the vampire's anthem"...the nickname is apt; if the original song was creepy, Mansion's rendition is--not surprisingly--simply demonic)

2. What's This (Fall Out Boy) - 3:00 (As I expected, this is my favorite cover on the new CD. Patrick Stump's sort of deranged vocal set is perfect for the mood of the story--though sometimes it's hard to adjust to his very UN-Danny Elfman-like voice. The way he hits the notes on the line: "what's this,"--turning this into a lilting falsetto--is one of several sweet additions the guys make.

3. Sally's Song (Fiona Apple) - 3:20 (Of the four songs previewed on the myspace page, this cover is probably the most faithful to the original. With a harpsichord and string ensamble backing the poppy style, Apple does a pretty good "Sally" impression, though it's more angsty than sweet.

4. Kidnap the Sandy Claws (She Wants Revenge) - 5:09 (When I first heard the news that a bunch of the original soundtrack's songs were to be covered on a 2-disc special edition, the cover song I was most excited about hearing was this one. In my opinion the Lock, Shock, and Barrel ensamble song was the most underrated of the original songs. Elfman's music is whimsical, yet devilish, bringing out the elements of the kids' "childishness" and then distorting those musical qualities in much the same way as he did with his unreleased Little Demons musical. To get back to the updated version, though--it is BY FAR the weakest of the remakes (cruel irony then that it would be the longest, too). Justin Warfield's voice is monotone throughout the entire song, which is made even worse by the fact that the music is pure synth and propelled by an idiotic bm,bm,bm,bm beat. Blech!)

Listen to the songs HERE.

I haven't heard the "This Is Halloween" cover by Panic! At the Disco yet (or the original demo by Danny Elfman), but I'll put up a link once I find it (so stay tuned for updates); I'm sure it's floating around the world-wide-web somewhere! If any of you know where I could find the mp3, though, you'd save me the trouble of searching! ;-)

All-in-all, I still think this updated soundtrack is a great thing, and I can't wait to buy it, and check out the movie, once the date rolls around....

10 days...and counting!

Basil Poledouris is doing......something (amazing!)

2006-10-09T13:15:00.000-06:00

It may not be much, but hey, the dude that composed such classics as the Conan soundtracks as well as Starship Troopers, is signed on to do the music for next year's animation film Igor. IMDB reveals the plot as a twisted comedy telling "the story of a mad scientist's hunchbacked lab assistant who has big dreams of becoming a mad scientist in his own right and winning the coveted first place award at the annual Evil Science Fair."

Not quite in the same epic nature as Poledouris' previous films, but at this point...I'm just happy he's actually doing anything!

Hans Zimmer to do Batman 2

2006-10-09T10:23:00.000-06:00

Soundtrack.net's interview with Hans revealed that Mr. Synth is going to do the sequel music to Batman Begins (which he co-composed, to mixed reviews, with James Newton Howard). Zimmer's exact words:

Once I've done the next Batman movie, which will finish in early 2008, I thought I'd take a year off from writing film scores and just go and do some concerts.

There ya have it. No word yet, whether--or not--Newton-Howard is lending his expertise to the soundtrack, as well (I'd prefer a solo effort from Hans, considering the output the first time around). We'll stay tuned for that news.

Harry Gregson-Williams and Metal Gear Solid...4

2006-10-08T15:57:00.000-06:00

I'm sure you know by now that my favorite video game soundtrack was the score to Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, which Harry Gregson-Williams composed. Well, he's back for the fourth installment of the ultra-popular, ultra-Mature 'Gear 4.' It's an exciting move, and represents the video game industry's overall agenda to keep adding original musical backgrands to their games. Speaking of, I think a Prey soundtrack review is in order. It's a magnificent score in its own right! :-)

But back to Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. The game comes out next year, but there's a trailer of the game already on the internet. Check it out here. Rather sweet, it looks! :-P

Hans Zimmer interview (part 2)

2006-10-08T07:28:00.000-06:00

Soundtrack.net just posted the second part of their interview with Hans Zimmer. It's a great inside look at a bunch of the composer's styles, AND contains several great clips (check out the one from Backdraft!). Be sure to follow this link and check it out! :-)

Cat "sings" Superman theme song

2006-10-08T07:24:00.000-06:00

Aw, this is sacrilage....or is it? In any case, this a totally hilareous clip of a cat (voice) singing the famous man of steel theme. Love it!

The ever-evolving music of Harry Potter

2006-10-07T11:57:00.000-06:00

The first, second, and third Harry Potter soundtracks were composed by John Williams, and--while I liked them less and less--I was upset at the sudden switch to Patrick Doyle for The Goblet of Fire. Don't get me wrong, I actually thought that Doyle would do a much better job than Williams did (considering the poor result of the Azkaban score), but I'm not a big fan of changing mid-stream, if you know what I mean. Especially in an established franchise like Harry Potter. And if we let history speak, we'll find that changing the musical formula in the middle of a series is not always a wise idea, a la the switch from John Williams to Ken Thorne in Superman.

To Patrick's credit, he retained the flavor of Williams' music, and gave a little (okay a lot) more oomph to the action bits. Not surprisingly, Goblet did not have the musical sensationalism that we first heard in the Philosopher's Stone; particularly, the enchanting main theme (listen to mp3). However, I enjoyed more individual tracks in Goblet than I had in any of the previous scores. And the thumping action cues (eg: "The Quidditch World Cup" and "The Maze") were a welcome difference from the 3 earler scores, as well. As a small side-note, I must say that I dont usually enjoy John Williams action music outside of the science fiction genre (eg: and Star Wars and Jurassic Park). The critics seemed to agree that Doyle was a welcome addition to the series, and the soundtrack received an academy award nomination (losing to *blech* *groan& Brokeback Mountain). I also liked the score and put it second on my rankings for the series:

1. Philosopher's Stone (Williams)
2. Goblet of Fire (Doyle)
3. Chamber of Secrets (Williams)
4. Prisoner of Azkaban (Williams)

So I was pretty upset when I heard the news that new Director for the 5th Harry Potter film The Order of the Phoenix was bringing a new composer with him. A Brit by the name of Nicholas Hooper. He's had a hand in well over 200 musical enterprises, but even so, this is a monstrous project he's signed on to. Harry Potter has--up to this point--been garnished with nothing but the most intricate and creative music, and to see this Hooper-guy take the reigns is a little shaky for me, to say the least. While the change to Doyle on movie 4 sort of excited me when I first heard the news, this bit does the opposite. I predict his score will be a sizeable drop-off in quality from the previous four movies.

I hope I'm wrong. The one fortunate thing as that we will at least get the now-famous John Williams theme in the movie; it is a staple-mark in the series...as it should be.

The movie hits theatres nation-wide on July 13, 2007.

Little Known Fact: Composer Dario Marianelli (Pride and Prejudice) was at one time rumored to be the composer of "Phoenix;" but those whispers were quickly muffled.

Harry Gregson-Williams teaming up with....who?

2006-10-05T06:19:00.000-06:00

Here's a bit of news I wasn't expecting (but then again, it doesn't really surprise me): Harry Gregson-Williams (film music composer of Narnia and Domino) collaborates with British electronic/dance/trance music group "Hybrid" on their latest album I Choose Noise. The popular music group is also using a 36-piece version of the Seattle Orchestra in Noise, the follow up to their 1999 album.

So what exactly will Harry's job be on this project? Specifically, he will be co-programming the string section. Iiiiinteresting. I'm actually very interesting to see how this CD sounds. It gets an October 10th release in the U.S.

Composer Inon Zur talks about "Lineage 2"

2006-10-04T11:24:00.000-06:00

In an in-depth discussion with Louis Bedigian of gamezone.com, 41-year-old Israeli film/game music composer talked a lot about his latest project "Lineage 2," the follow-up sequel to the hugely popular online fantasy role-playing game Lineage. Lineage 2 was released on October 1; just a couple days ago. Here's a clip from the soundtrack entitled "Battle Rage." Hahaha! Good stuff... Silvestri would be pleased.

Since I first discovered Mr. Zur several months ago, I've been very impressed with his work, especially for video game scores like the arabian-influenced Prince of Persia (clip) and my personal favorite from him: SOCOM II (clip), which reminds me of Zimmer's more heavily influenced synth work where he also used dominant themes (as in Crimson Tide and The Rock). Check out that clip; it's the complete Main Titles from the game.

Thought you'd might appreciate a glimpse into a lesser known composer's profile. Besides, like James Dooley, he's got some fine potential in the film scoring world if he keeps progressing.

Posting at large,
-Samuel Van Eerden

Brian Tyler Update

2006-10-03T09:01:00.000-06:00

Brian Tyler is one of those composers who's always kind of confused me. He has streaks of greatness (Frailty, Timeline) and then just falls flat on his face with mangled efforts like The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift...which I admit many critics adored. Still, it is the inconsistency about his music that frustrates me...and also excites me. I like listening to his latest scores, in the hopes that he'll blow me away with something amazing; which he is very capable of.

In light of that, here's the official release from tyler's website on his upcoming 2007 projects:

"Brian has four projects lined up for 2007 -- Time to Kill starring Nicholas Cage as a hitman in Thailand, directed by brothers Danny and Oxide Pang (The Eye), Alien Vs Predator 2 for 20th Century Fox, directed by 'The Brothers Strause' (Colin and Greg Strause) set for a Christmas 2007 release, Rogue starring Jason Statham and Jet Li as bitter rivals in a mysterious action thriller directed by Philip G. Atwell and a third collaboration with director Justin Lin for his mockumentary comedy Finishing the Game about Bruce Lee's unfinished film."

There doesn't really appear to be anything amazing or brilliant there. But then again, James Dooley turned a space documentary into a musical extravaganza with The Mars Underground, so don't let dumb movie titles fool ya!

Back with more, later--and don't forget, The Nightmare Before Christmas 2-disc soundtrack hits store shelves two weeks from today!! :-) :-) Can't wait!

-Sam Van Eerden

Suite National Treasure music!

2006-09-30T18:45:00.000-06:00

One of my guilty pleasures in the soundtrack world is National Treasure. Or, perhaps Trevor Rabin as a whole is a guilty pleasure for me. In any case, this cue is a great bit of musical madness, and it highlighted a movie that was better than Da Vinci Code!

Danny Elfmans' "Little Demons"

2006-09-30T17:57:00.000-06:00

Danny Elfman is perhaps best known for his work with Director Tim Burton, particularly his Nightmare Before Christmas work, where he wrote and composed the soundtrack, wrote all the songs and lyrics and did the singing voice of Jack Skellington, himself.

Little Demons was a Disney project that never got past the production stage. The plot centered around some creepy kids gone terribly bad. Outside of that, not much is really known of the morbid story. However, the musical portions of the soundtrack (16 minutes) still live on, and they are available to listen to at THIS WEBSITE.

If you liked the music of The Nightmare Before Christmas, you'll LOVE Little Demons. So check the link, and enjoy! :-)

-Sam Van Eerden

What the pros use.....

2006-09-29T11:16:00.000-06:00

Came across this article about a program called SONiVOX which is used by Hans Zimmer, among others in the production of some of his music. Just thought I'd pass the information on, considering Zimmer is my favorite composer, and because the software is relatively inexpensive at 100 dollars.

Danny Elfman. Take a listen.

2006-09-27T21:35:00.000-06:00

I am increasingly amazed with the skill and craftiness of Danny Elfman. With music that has been featured in over a hundred films, Elfman is definitely one of the most talented and most on-demand composer in Hollywood.

In the following two interviews, Elfman talks candidly (first in an NPR interview, and then with soundtrack.net's Dan Goldwasser) about his more recent works (especially the Serenada Schizophrana project--which arrives in stores on October 3rd) as well his upcoming music; primarily for the Charlotte's Web remake. Both interviews heavily feature the music from Elfman's movies, and the NPR one contains an early cut of Charlotte's theme from that movie. It's an enchanting bit of work! :-)

Enjoy!

Posting whenever I get the chance,
-Sam Van Eerden

The Lion King extended soundtrack

2006-09-27T11:37:00.000-06:00

This clip (from the extended soundtrack) is just a reminder of how bitter it is to only have a few tracks of Hans Zimmer's beautiful (Oscar-winning) music on the original score:

Kings of the Past

If I ever find this bootleg version (which contains 80 minutes of music) it's going to be one of the best days of my life!

Top Composers speak out

2006-09-27T09:43:00.000-06:00

In a widely popular interview (drew 4700 listeners in its first 24 hours out) the always-polished James Horner rips--in turns Gabriel Yared--and his critically acclaimed Troy score--director Wolfgang Petersen, and others. Horner's comments went well beyond a general negative remark or two; his criticisms are heavy and scathing, especially to Gabriel, whose music he said sounded like "it was so corny" it came from a "1950s Hercules movie." Anyway, those words and many more (including an abundance of complete musical tracks) are available on the entire interview, which you can listen to at film score radio, via this link. Personally, I found Yared's music to be some of the best work I've heard for an epic film, and certainly better than Horner's replacement score (though James had precious little time to put it together). For whatever reason, James' schedule for 2007 is empty thus far. Though his work for New World was well-received, I wonder if Horner is mired in the biggest dry spell of his career. I must confess that--in recent years--my favorite soundtrack from him was The Legend of Zorro.

On a less controversial note, my favorite film composer (a hard desicion to make!) Hans Zimmer did an interesting interview with soundtrack.net; of which the first part is already on the site. I think that for all the disrespect Zimmer has endured over the years from people who just can't stand his music, Hans is a pretty nice guy . . . and he's once again got his work cut out for him.

The Holiday is the last film of 2006 with his name stamped on the credits, but its back to business again in 2007 when Zimmer has three more movies on his plate: Pirates of the Caribbean 3 (of course), August Rush, and The Simpsons Movie. It's anybody's guess how much original Zimmer stuff will get on any of those projects, but I think that The Holiday will contain the most. IMDB.com (which should be treated as more a speculative source) states that Hans is only composing the theme for August Rush, which would be a shame as the story should require some pretty cool music. As for the Simpsons Movie, I can't--for the life of me--understand why Elfman isn't heading up that project! Goodness knows that Zimmer's music will only have a few blessed minutes of screentime; it's all but certain that Remote Control Productions will helm the brunt of the scoring duties. Hans himself admits that he's "probably ruined the credit of what 'additional music' is supposed to mean . . . I've done it very much."

Anyways, that's the scoop on those guys.

. . . And in other news, Brian Tyler is scoring Alien Versus Predator 2. Why in the world are they created a sequel to that awful film? I have no idea! Unfortunately, Tyler's music is often no better than the film it underscores, with his best music showcased in Timeline and Frailty, in my opinion. The Greatest Game Ever Played definitely outperformed the movie, but then, that isn't hard to do in a golf flick. Even James Horner's cliched, trite piece of work for Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius, outdid the movie. Tyler's got 3 other projects in '07, too, besides AVP2; and I expect there'll be a highlight among them; Brian's definitely got the ability to write some astonishing stuff!

Also, Mark McKenzie's soundtrack to the movie The Ultimate Gift (a 2007 film starring James Garner) is a pretty decent offering, and will be available for sale around the movie's theatrical release date. For now, you can catch a few sound clips over at the composer's site. Check out the "Redemption" cut; it's the best one there. I wish there was a clip for the Main Titles; that's the best musical section in the soundtrack!

Update

2006-09-15T17:01:00.000-06:00

It's not for lack of interest that I'm "neglecting" this blog of mine. I'm just extremely busy these days and don't often have the time to indulge in my soundtrack hobby (outside of listening to scores, of course!). I still catch the news and read the latest buzz whenever I can (mostly from this guy), and motion picture music continues to be an obsession with me.

I've been spending a lot of time listening to Dario Marianelli, lately, and--surprisingly--have found that I really enjoy the intricate cues of V for Vendetta, perhaps even more than I get a kick out of the wild bombasts of his work for The Brothers Grimm. 2005 was quite the year for him, but I don't quite understand all the negative buzz about his 'V' soundtrack. It's pretty somber, and not pumped full of steroids like the Matrix or any other similar-themed films. It's not the mundane sound of the tiresome Minority Report score, though (thank God!)...which is one of the worst scores (in my opinion) of John Williams' career.

I've also been spending some time catching up on some of my "old" favorites like Homeward Bound and (guilty pleasure) Cats and Dogs. Broughton still amazes me...even if he has very nearly ceased to exist by now. Oh wait...he just had an emmy nominee, but didn't get the statuette. Ah well.... I still can't believe that 24 won that! Grrr.......

And finally, a few (guilty?) confessions:

1. I have not yet listened to the Monster House soundtrack with the exception of a few clips
2. On a percentage basis, I enjoy more of Trevor Rabin's scores than Mark Isham's.
3. Hans Zimmer is officially my favorite composer
4. From this point on, my most-looked-forward-to soundtrack of 2006 year is Elfman's Charlotte's Web.
5. I liked Badelt's score to Poseidon.
6....and did I mention I hate the Pirates 2 soundtrack.... Gah!

Posting whenever I can....
-Sam Van Eerden

Silvestri's "Beowulf"

2006-08-31T16:51:00.000-06:00

For a quick listen of what's in store for us with next year's Beowulf soundtrack (composed by Alan Silvestri), check out the film's official site! It's one of my most-looked-forward-to scores of '07. Besides, Mr. Silvestri's been too nonexistent lately. Hmmm, kind of like me.

In other news....Apparently, John Ottman has been replaced by Alan Silvestri on the Nightmare at the Museum project. I definitely approve of the choice! After watching 'Nightmare's' trailer, it's certainly more up Silvestri's alley! So now I have two reasons for watching the movie, including the fact that Dick Van Dyke is in it! What? You thought I was going to watch it for Ben Stiller?? Please! Dream on.

Philip Glass: Taiji: Chaotic Harmony

2006-08-22T09:37:00.000-06:00

From philipglass.com:

"Taiji: Chaotic Harmony is a visual shamanic journey tracing the origin of the taiji quan and qigong. This is a journey between the heaven and earth, we travel through the twilight zone of secular New York subways and streets, and through sacred river of the country.

This journey is accompanied by original music by Philip Glass for voice and cello performed by Philip Glass Ensemble vocalist Lisa Bielawa and Bang On a Can cellist Wendy Sutter conducted by Michael Riesman."

It's sound's kind of out there, and it is a short, documentary-type film, with a limited DVD release, but the soundtrack still sounds interesting, though Glass has the definite propensity to be...well...boring at times.

The Emmy Winners

2006-08-21T08:05:00.000-06:00

The 58th Annual Emmy awards held a big surprise (for me)! Here are the results:

Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music:
Masters of Horror, Edward Shearmur

Outstanding Music Composition For A Series:
24 ("6:00 AM & 7:00 AM"), Sean Callery This was an incredible win for Sean Callery in a very tough competition! Personally, I really disliked the 24 score, and would have rather seen Supernatural or (especially) Stargate Atlantis take the Emmy. Frankly, I'm surprised one of them didn't!

Composition For A Miniseries, Movie Or A Special:
Into The West, Geoff Zanelli

And also, the "Outstanding Music and Lyrics" award went to MADtv • Episode 1111 Song: A Wonderfully Normal Day, which beat out two songs from Disney's High School Musical: "Get'cha head in the game" and "breaking free."

I've never been a fan of the "HSM" movie or soundtrack....

Inon Zur

2006-08-17T20:40:00.000-06:00

I'd never heard of this guy before, but judging from his list of credits, he's been composing music for a while, and not just small-time scores, either. This guy's done some pretty fine orchestrations, especially for the Prince of Persia: Two Thrones (full clip) and as a composer of the trailer for Hero (full clip). He kind of sounds like Alan Silvestri crossed with the synths and rythyms of Trevor Rabin. A wild combo!

But, check his site out, and I'm going to keep tabs on the guy from now on; he may be one of those James Dooley type guys who linger just below the surface for forever, before finally bursting into the limelight. Unlike Dooley, though, Zur seems like he's a lot more grounded in the classical arrangements of things. But then, Dooley is a child of Media Ventures/Remote Control Productions, so maybe that's to be expected.

Yu-gi-oh: the music

2006-08-17T12:13:00.000-06:00

I'll admit it; out of all the TV shows I've ever watched, I've seen the most episodes of the anime Yu-gi-oh. The series has finally ended its run on the WB, or at least the flow of new episodes is over. (Meanwhile Pokemon goes into its bazillionith new season)

I also enjoyed the show's musical underscore, too (though the show's story was what hooked me for its first 3 or 4 seasons). The music is certainly midi-like in places, but then, what animation show isn't at some time or another.

The theme (played at the beginning and end of each episode) is about 30 seconds long, cut from a 3 minute version, which I finally found, after scouring the internet for some time. What's cool about it is how it incorporates Arabian influences (especially in the opening seconds) before propelling into a wild, digitally enhanced set of cues. There's also a true theme here, which appears more than once on the extended theme. The bad guy theme of the series (and particularly of season 2) is given full sway about half way in, before eventually transitioning back to the music of the first season. The transition is made by the words: "You're Move!" and then Yugi's famous line "It's time to duel." Fun stuff!

So, here's the link; enjoy the amazing Yu-gi-oh theme! :-)

Quick hits

2006-08-17T09:12:00.000-06:00

Peter Nashel, whose music made a solid statement in the recent theatrical release The Night Listener (and the Bee Season before that), has been brought on to score The Pleasure of Your company, a romantic comedy starring American Pie's Jason Biggs.

ABC hopes to be behind yet another successful TV series/composer relationship with the hiring of Mark Kilian. Kilian (Tsotsi) is going to compose the music for an upcoming crime drama (because we don't already have enough of those) called Day Breaky. The series--starring Adam Baldwin--is set to begin this November.

With the DVD release of season 2 of Lost--and the near premiere of season 3--Varese Sarabande is also going ahead with a second soundtrack to the second season of the show. Michael Giacchino's critically acclaimed score for the first season set a high standard, but if there's one thing I've learned about Michael, it's that he continues to get better, usually outdoing himself. A good thing for a composer.

AFM Composers under attack

2006-08-16T08:18:00.000-06:00

I don't have time to really write up a bunch of my thoughts on this story, but I thought it was really intriguing, so I'm posting (portions of) the article from filmmusicworld.com.

In a Notice to Members, the U.S. Musicians Union (AFM) has threatened fines of up to $50,000 against AFM members who perform services including composing, arranging, orchestrating, copying, and other services related to film and television scores recorded in Seattle after October 1, 2006. The complete text of the AFM "Notice to All Members" is located at http://www.afm.org/public/press/seattle.pdf

In the Notice, AFM President Tom Lee quotes AFM Bylaw 15 which states:

"No AFM member may perform services (whether as composer, arranger, copyist, proofreader, instrumentalist, leader, contractor, cutter, editor, or in any other capacity): (1) where the product of the services is intended to result in, or be embodied in, recorded music made outside of the United Sates and Canada and the possessions of either; or (2) for the purpose of producing, editing, or dubbing recorded music except where expressly authorized and covered by a contract with the AFM or when expressly authorized by the AFM."

While the AFM Notice to Members specifically targets AFM members involved with Seattle recordings, the AFM Bylaw quoted by Lee is not specific to Seattle, and would seem to prohibit AFM members providing services in "recorded music made outside of the United States..." It is not clear why the AFM has singled out Seattle and whether the AFM will be pursuing charges against composers and other AFM members who record scores in London, Bulgaria, and other parts of Eastern Europe.

The AFM Notice also did not address the situation where some Los Angeles area AFM members have ownership stakes and business relationships with music prep, contracting, and other film score related companies outside the US and may be profiting from the outsourcing of film score recording to non-AFM locations including London and Eastern Europe.

In the interests of presenting all sides of this issue to our readers, Film Music Magazine contacted several AFM officials in Los Angeles and New York including AFM President Tom Lee. No AFM officials contacted by Film Music Magazine would address our questions on these matters.

The Industry Reacts

A Los Angeles area AFM orchestra contractor responded, "The union is attacking the wrong people. The rank and file members have little or no choice about where scores are recorded today. Why doesn't the Union go after the producers and the studios? These are the people making the decisions about whether to record in LA, Seattle, or Europe."

The contractor continued, "The AFM threat is no surprise - work for all but the top players is horrible in LA now, while Prague and Bulgaria are booming. Why? Because the studios are bottom-line oriented, they have a legal right to record their scores wherever they want, and they want to get the best, largest sound at the lowest cost. The AFM won't provide rates that are competitive in the studios' opinion, so they record out of town. It's that simple. You have to wonder why the AFM is going after the small and medium projects that record in Seattle and giving a 'pass' to all the A-List AFM union member composers who record huge, blockbuster scores in London. It's clearly a double standard. If the AFM wanted to get more work for LA players, they'd reform the rates and terms - especially for low and medium budget films - to be competitive with the international market and they could recapture the work overnight. Nobody really wants to travel all the way to Seattle or Europe to record." The contractor asked that his name not be used for this article.

Composers Among Those Targeted by the AFM

It was unclear how the AFM expected to carry through on threats of fines to AFM members for composing, as the AFM does not regulate, protect, or cover the craft of composing music for film and television. The AFM does cover orchestration, conducting, music prep, and other related areas, and many composers are members of the AFM to collect benefits for the related work they perform in addition to composing.

Film Music Network founder Mark Northam expressed concern about the fact the union is apparently targeting composers. "The vast majority of our 1,500 Film Music Network members are working composers and many of them have no choice but to record out of town or not be hired for projects. While many of them try and "rescue" jobs and keep the work in town, that's becoming increasingly difficult as European orchestras become much more proficient at film score recording. But here's the issue: contracts are now being given to composers by the studios that specify "No AFM recording." It's a non-negotiable point. The composers didn't create these rules, the studios and production companies did. It's time the AFM starts going after the real culprit here, and it's not the composers who go to Seattle or Europe when they're given no other legal choice by the studios and production companies."

New Varèse Sarabande releases

2006-08-15T19:56:00.000-06:00

Varèse announced today that they are releasing All the King's Men (James Horner) and Steve Jablonsky's The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning on the third of October. Truth be told, I'm looking forward to Steve's score more than Horner's. Steamboy was so amazing, I can't help but believe there's more where that came from!

Oh, and on the subject of TV themes, check out this 1950s Superman series theme. Hilareous and cheesy, but hey--it's classic! And...it's Superman. Listen HERE.

TV theme clips: The Munsters

2006-08-15T11:44:00.000-06:00

Maybe this will become part of a series. But I've also enjoyed TV themes; especially analyzing them. There's a lot of great one's out there, and not just the classics like The Lone Ranger or Lassie, either.

As a young teenager I really enjoyed the Pokemon main theme "Gotta Catch Em All." Fast-forward a few months and I discovered the techy Digimon title sequence. I'd get up at 7 just to catch those opening 30 seconds!

There are the revolting themes, too. Like Transformers (the "modern" series) and Big Guy and Rusty.

Today I'm posting the main theme of The Munsters, which is one of my all-time favorite TV themes.

Listen here.

Hollywood Symphony Orchestra highlight's "World Trade Center"

2006-08-15T11:31:00.000-06:00

Craig Armstrong (award-winning composer of "Moulin Rouge" and "Ray") is getting a lot of exposure for his soundtrack to the latest 9/11 flick by Oliver Stone. The show will be at Royce Hall (UCLA) on Saturday, October 7th, beginning at 8 PM.

Personally, I liked both the United 93 film and soundtrack (composed by John Powell) better than this new movie and score. The critics seem pretty split, though. I do give Stone credit for leaving a lot of his political bias out of the film, though. Thank God!

An extended hiatus

2006-08-15T07:43:00.000-06:00

So, now that I've got that one week break out of the way, I'm back to soundtracks.

I just watched a (yet-to-be-released) movie a couple nights ago called "The Flyboys" (not to be confused with Franco's "Flyboys"). I was surprised at the excellent acting, especially from the two kids (who portrayed the main roles). Stephen Baldwin was also on board, and did a good job as Mafia kingpin's little, bad brother.

The soundtrack (since that's what we get at, right?) was composed by Lisle Moore. He has only been on two other projects that I could find (imdb only lists one of those), and the last one The Field is White was 4 years ago. Anyways, I was surprised at this score. For a film made with only nine million dollars, it's kind of hard to gauge how much money the company will put into their composer (though he is an integral part of the project!). I don't know how much Lisle cost, but his musical backdrop was a great addition to a pretty decent flick. I wonder if this will garner him more oppurtunities in the future...

"The Flyboys" is due out in theatres before the end of the year.

An unlikely assignment for David Arnold

2006-08-07T12:22:00.000-06:00

David Arnold--the current composer-of-choice for 007 flicks--is on board for a very unique movie project. The film is entitled "Amazing Grace (The William Wilberforce story)" and stars Ioan Gruffudd (of Titanic, Fantastic Four, and Horacio Hornblower). It is a more religious rendering of the classic Amistad epic, taking a strong stance behind the title character's Christian faith.

My Uncle has been asked to help out with the project (which Walden Media is promoting), and he showed me an extended trailer of the movie last night. It was a very intriguing period piece featuring excellent acting and some gorgeous music.

It's a film (and a soundtrack) to watch out for!

The Two Towers expanded soundtrack

2006-08-06T13:22:00.000-06:00

The big news has officially arrived: you can start saving your money for the October release of the EXPANDED edition soundtrack to Howard Shore's The Two Towers. Despite being my least favorite of the trilogy's soundtrack's, this score was still amazing, and introduced a couple excellent themes (for Gollum and Rohan, to name two).

James Horner's latest assignment

2006-08-04T06:48:00.000-06:00

Is this my first post about the legendary James Horner? Strange, considering All the King's Men is a highly anticipated soundtrack coming soon...

Anyways, more on that one later. Horner's latest project is for--surprise!--CBS. He was hired by the network to compose a new musical theme for the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric. I for one am actually interested to hear what the man does. I guess we'll find out when the first 'episode' debuts on September 5 at 6:30 PM, ET. (Wonder if he'll rip off of Apollo 13 or Braveheart.....)

Mark Isham scoring "Bobby"

2006-08-03T09:18:00.000-06:00

As I reported in an earlier post, Mark Isham is composing the Kennedy docudrama Bobby. Soundtrack.net has an interesting article up with pictures and further details about the process. Go HERE for that story.

Soundtrack Central

Golden Globe Awards:

Critics Choice Awards

Book: "The Emerging Film Composer"

Listen to "The Mars Underground" by James Dooley

FatBoy Slim reverses music genre roles

The soundtrack was king in 2006!

The Fountain soundtrack review

Director finds a composer: himself (with a great result)

Klaus Badelt to score "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles"

Golden Globe nominees

Listen to the entire "Eragon" soundtrack

Desplat's "Queen" wins award

What critics are saying...

The Grammy nominees

Elfman is working on "Spidey 3"

I've returned

John Powell talks about "Happy Feet"

Top 10 James Bond songs

Soundtrack bits and bytes

Steve Jablonsky's mark on cinematic history

Howard Shore interview

More on Mark Isham's "Bobby" soundtrack

Video: David Arnold interview

Alan Silvestri's "Night at the Museum"

Soundtrack bits and bytes

Charlotte's Web soundtrack clips

Video Tribute to Basil Poledouris

Mark Isham composes music for ARMY commercial

More on Basil Poledouris' passing

Basil Poledouris dead at age 61

Danny Elfman's "Charlotte's Web" CD cover art

Lord of the Rings - The Two Towers - Complete soundtrack

Worst Bond songs of all time

Rupert Gregson-Williams gets a "gay movie"

The scariest soundtrack ever!

Interview with James Dooley

Hans Zimmer interview (part 3)

Listen to the "Superman Returns" soundtrack online

Casino Royale music video: "You Know My Name"

James Horner booted off "Good Shepherd"

Killers frontman Brandon Flowers: "I stalked Danny Elfman"

Complete Lion King soundtrack

"The Omen (original)" soundtrack Review

David Arnold talks about "Casino Royale"

'Jaws' tuba player Tommy Johnson passes away

"Nightmare Before Christmas" then and now

Casino Royale audio clips

Bruce Broughton interview

Quick hits and audio tidbits

Inon Zur talks about Lineage II

Video: The "Grudge 2" soundtrack and Christopher Young

Elfman continues to expand his horizons

Brian Tyler to produce the music for "Big Bad Wolf"

Countdown to Halloween

Hutchinson Symphony gives "prelude to Halloween" symphony

A better Panic! recording of "This is Halloween"

Audio highlight: "The Blue Lagoon"

Turkish film festival to honor John Debney

Jeff Danna gets a "Canadian Emmy"

Panic! At The Disco's cover of "This Is Halloween"

Serenada Schizophrana: The Ultimate Audio preview!

1. I. Pianos (7:00) 2. II. Blue Strings (10:08) 3. III. A Brass Thing (7:55) 4. IV. The Quadruped Patrol (2:55) 5. V. "I Forget" (6:23) 6. VI. Bells and Whistles (8:07) 7. End Tag (0:51) 8. Improv for Alto Sax (2:46)

Kamen/Mancini "Lifeforce" extended soundtrack release

Contest: Remix the "Lineage II" soundtrack

The music of the Lord of the Rings

Harry Gregson Williams' "Flushed Away"

David Arnold finishes up Casino Royale

"Flags of our Fathers" by Clint Eastwood

How would you like to work here:

Listen to the REVOLUTIONIZED "Nightmare before Christmas" songs

Basil Poledouris is doing......something (amazing!)

Hans Zimmer to do Batman 2

Harry Gregson-Williams and Metal Gear Solid...4

Hans Zimmer interview (part 2)

Cat "sings" Superman theme song

The ever-evolving music of Harry Potter

Harry Gregson-Williams teaming up with....who?

Composer Inon Zur talks about "Lineage 2"

Brian Tyler Update

1. I. Pianos (7:00)
2. II. Blue Strings (10:08)
3. III. A Brass Thing (7:55)
4. IV. The Quadruped Patrol (2:55)
5. V. "I Forget" (6:23)
6. VI. Bells and Whistles (8:07)
7. End Tag (0:51)
8. Improv for Alto Sax (2:46)