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    • CommentAuthorRocky
    • CommentTimeSep 14th 2011
     
    I'm fairly certain I'm not the only one who listens to and owns any kind of soundtrack. Being almost its own form of entertainment, I though it'd be worthwhile to have a topic devoted to it. Discuss what you have and what you want, which composers you admire and despise, styles of scores, and so on.

    Uninteresting aside: My favorite contemporary composers would have to be John Williams and Jerry Goldsmith (RIP).
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      CommentAuthorBeldam
    • CommentTimeSep 14th 2011
     

    Admittedly, though I love soundtrack scores, I don’t know many of the artists involved in them—except for Hans Zimmerman. Because, you know, he’s Hans Zimmerman. But my most recent favourite is the Shawshank soundtrack—Stoic theme, you just own me. I really love soft intstrumentals with some melancholy violin in there—ones that are sad are great, but ones that get awesome as they go (Like Requiem for a Dream’s main piece) are also amazing for building a mood. Recently, I got the Gymnopedie’s from the Dissapearence of Haruhi Suzumiya, which are beautiful but unfortunately very repetive, and I cannot wait for Super 8’s soundtrack to come out in this stupid country. Also, Daft Punk’s soundtrack for Tron was just awesome—they managed to keep their radass techno style and still do some seriously instrumental Amadeus style bussiness in there—I recommend CPU. Don’t even see the movie, just buy the soundtrack—the cover alone is more awesome than the entire film.

    I think the one soundtrack piece that really made me feel something other than melancholy (which is a strangely easy emotion to evoke with music) was In the House-In a Heartbeat, which I heard originally in a scene in Kickass, and found out actually came from 28 Days Later. Listening to that song at night one repeat will really make you paranoid and scared for your life so just don’t do it.

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      CommentAuthorRorschach
    • CommentTimeSep 14th 2011
     

    I love soundtracks. My favorite composers:

    - John Williams (so much) – Howard Shore (Lord of the Rings) – John Powell (best known for the Bourne series) – Alan Silvestri (a lot) – Hans Zimmer (no man) – Klaus Badelt (PotC, along with Zimmer) – James Newton Howard – Clint Mansell (Requiem for a Dream)

    My favorite soundtrack of all time is probably Jurassic Park, by John Williams, although the soundtrack to Lord of the Rings is very good.

    Soundtracks are excellent mood music for writing.

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      CommentAuthorswenson
    • CommentTimeSep 14th 2011
     

    Oh, I love soundtracks! My collection of movie soundtracks is relatively small, but growing. Most of it is Hans Zimmer (and Klaus Badelt in the case of PotC), but I do have Howard Shore (such great music in LotR!) and some John Williams. And then there’s all the stuff for which I don’t know the composers’ names…

    I also listen to videogame soundtracks. In my opinion, Halo 3 soundtrack soundly beats most movie soundtracks out there.

  1.  

    Halo 3 soundtrack

    Chrono Cross soundtrack > this

    •  
      CommentAuthorBeldam
    • CommentTimeSep 14th 2011
     

    Why did I write Zimmerman? facedesk What the hell is wrong with me?

    •  
      CommentAuthorKyllorac
    • CommentTimeSep 14th 2011
     

    Chrono Cross soundtrack > this

    Seconding.

    Aside from the ones mentioned above Ian Eshkeri is worth a look. He composed the soundtrack for Stardust, and while all the tracks work beautifully with the movie, there are some which are just plain awesome all on their own. Like Septimus.

    • CommentAuthorRocky
    • CommentTimeSep 14th 2011
     
    If anyone with a small collection would like some recommendations, I (and assuredly others) would be happy to provide detailed examples. For instance: a really good, thunderous score to pick up would be the two-disc set of David Arnold's _Godzilla_. Or, if you want the ultimate in contemporary swashbuckling music, grab John Debney's _Cutthroat Island_.
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      CommentAuthorLeliel
    • CommentTimeSep 15th 2011
     

    Oh man, Cutthroat Island has an amazing soundtrack. I actually saw the movie for the first time when it was on TV a couple of years ago and it wasn’t bad — not great by any means but certainly not deserving of its floppy status. The soundtrack is just ludicrously good though.

    I’ve been listening to video game soundtracks since Mega Man 2 and other (mostly Capcom) NES entries, but it was Square’s SNES era games that really cemented my love of instrumental music. I didn’t get into movie soundtracks until much later for some reason.

    Right now my soundtrack directory has:

    Bourne trilogy (John Powell)
    Bram Stoker’s Dracula (Wojciech Kilar)
    The Dark Knight (Hans Zimmer, James Newton Howard)
    Die Hard (Michael Kamen #1-2)
    Inception (Hans Zimmer)
    James Bond themes
    King Arthur (Hans Zimmer)
    Lord of the Rings (Howard Shore)
    Narnia (Harry Gregson-Williams)
    Pirates of the Caribbean (Klaus Badelt #1, Hans Zimmer #2-3)
    Predator (Alan Silvestri)
    Serenity (David Newman)
    Signs (James Newton Howard)
    Solaris (Cliff Martinez)
    Starship Troopers (Basil Pouledouris)
    Titan AE
    Unbreakable (James Newton Howard)

    • CommentAuthorRocky
    • CommentTimeSep 15th 2011
     
    I'm wary of posting my collection. I've been at it since 1997, thereabouts.
    •  
      CommentAuthorJeni
    • CommentTimeSep 15th 2011
     

    Unbreakable (James Newton Howard)

    High five, Leliel! I love the film, but the soundtrack is just beautiful.

    •  
      CommentAuthorswenson
    • CommentTimeSep 15th 2011
     

    Chrono Cross soundtrack > this

    Seconding.

    To be honest, I’d be willing to third that. :P I haven’t listened to all of the Chrono Cross soundtrack, but what I’ve heard of it is very, very good.

  2.  

    Yep, its soundtrack is the only way it really surpasses Chrono Trigger, although CT’s soundtrack is also freaking great(I’ve shed manly tears to Frog’s Theme more than once).

  3.  

    Not Film, but I find myself listening to Murray Gold’s Doctor Who OSTs for hours on end.

    • CommentAuthorRocky
    • CommentTimeSep 15th 2011 edited
     
    I'm doin' it anyway. My directory:



    @Leileil: If you liked his work on _Cutthroat Island_, I suggest giving Debney's score for _Lair_ a listen. You can find it on Youtube.
    •  
      CommentAuthorInkblot
    • CommentTimeSep 15th 2011
     

    No one? NO ONE? Last of the Mohicans? No?!

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      CommentAuthorKyllorac
    • CommentTimeSep 15th 2011
     

    It’s been years since I watched Last of the Mohicans. But the music, it is AWESOME. HOW COULD I HAVE FORGOTTEN?!

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      CommentAuthorswenson
    • CommentTimeSep 15th 2011
     

    WHOA NELLY, Rocky. That’s impressive.

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      CommentAuthorTakuGifian
    • CommentTimeSep 16th 2011
     

    I don’t know if it classifies as a ‘soundtrack’, but some of the instrumental stuff in Jeff Wayne’s War of the Worlds is really inspiring psychodelic.

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      CommentAuthorLeliel
    • CommentTimeSep 16th 2011
     

    High five, Leliel! I love the film, but the soundtrack is just beautiful.

    Shyamalan can produce crap for the rest of his life (and he may very well do that, at his current rate) but I will still love him on the merits of Unbreakable and Signs. Everyone loves The Sixth Sense, but I don’t remember that soundtrack at all.

  4.  

    Rudy

    ;_;

    My favorite soundtrack that’s not an original score is easily Office Space, and it’s not even close.

    • CommentAuthorRocky
    • CommentTimeSep 16th 2011 edited
     
    bq. Everyone loves The Sixth Sense, but I don’t remember that soundtrack at all.

    That soundtrack is extraordinarily creepy at moments. "Suicide Ghost" and "Help the Ghosts/Kyra's Ghost" both have an especially tremendous way of making your skin crawl. Honestly, I think that soundtrack, while maybe not as harmonic or rousing, is far more unsettling than _Signs_. I can understand not remembering it as much, though. _Signs_ especially has a few emotional moments set between tracks of quiet intensity, whereas _The Sixth Sense_ has a less coherent (imo) arrangement of emotional blubbery and sheer creeping horror.

    bq. ;_;

    _Rudy_ is pure magic. It never ceases to amaze me how Jerry Goldsmith could hit so many different emotional buttons so perfectly.
  5.  

    Rudy is pure magic. It never ceases to amaze me how Jerry Goldsmith could hit so many different emotional buttons so perfectly.

    Agreed. I love that movie wholeheartedly, but there’s just no way it would’ve worked without the music. It’s actually the first soundtrack I can remember listening to, since my dad would play it a lot when he’d drive me to school.

    • CommentAuthorRocky
    • CommentTimeSep 17th 2011 edited
     
    I don't suppose it'd be any surprise to you that Goldsmith, on many occasions, has received a standing ovation _from his performing orchestra_ after playing and recording a piece? _Rudy_ was one such instance, if memory serves. I think it happened after they finished their final recording session.

    bq. I love that movie wholeheartedly, but there’s just no way it would’ve worked without the music.

    I remember watching the final game not long ago. Even though there were no tears, it was a massively emotional experience, the way the film and music meshed so perfectly.
  6.  

    I own a couple of theme songs – don’t know if it counts, though.
    Like so:

    Superman
    Star Wars
    James Bond (original)
    A-Team (original)
    Knight Rider (original)
    Veronica Mars (never watched the show, but that song is awesome)
    Ginger Snaps
    Halloween
    Pirates of the Caribbean
    Caprica (Zoe’s theme)
    LotR – The Two Towers (trailer theme)
    Castlevania (trailer theme for one of them, but I don’t know which one)

    Rocky’s list beats mine, though. Hell, his list beats anything I’ve ever seen.

    • CommentAuthorRocky
    • CommentTimeSep 21st 2011
     
    Similar to what I posed in the Movies topic, I'd like to invite opinions on John Williams' work on the prequel trilogy.

    To preface the discussion, I want to point out how interesting I find it that, for the original trilogy, Williams worked on character and entity-based themes, whereas the prequel trilogy contains a major theme for each film (Duel of the Fates, Across the Stars, Battle of the Heroes). This may be an easy comparison between the movies' music, since there was a great deal recycled throughout _Attack of the Clones_ and _Revenge of the Sith_ (worthless aside: I've dabbled with rescoring some key action pieces from Episodes II and III. Here's the "Escape from the Invisible Hand":http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i45QhoLCTCg&feature=channel_video_title sequence. Video quality is subpar, imo).

    Taking in the quality vs. quantity aspect of all three films, however, I still find myself more responsive to _The Phantom Menace_, and I think "Anakin's Theme" has quite a bit to do with it. I really find it stirring, melodic, and emotional, but in a subtle way. I also love, love, love foreshadowing, that feeling of being on the verge of something monumental and perhaps ominous, and that piece does it marvelously. In fact, for the whole trilogy, I think this score has the best representation of varying degrees of tension, from the whispered Sith chanting to the rising choral accompaniment to the passage through the core. Action certainly plays a big part, obviously highlighted by the powerhouse "Duel of the Fates", but I have other favorites: the ridiculously intense "Anakin Defeats Sebulba", the very epic "Escape from Naboo", and the victorious passage that accompanies Anakin as he destroys the droid control ship.

    .....I feel like I just reviewed the bloody thing. I'll shut up now.
  7.  

    Rocky, I sincerely love how you geek out so much about movies and soundtracks. :)

  8.  

    I think it’s heartwarming.

    • CommentAuthorRocky
    • CommentTimeSep 23rd 2011 edited
     
    Shucks. Well, they're pretty much exclusively my link to writing. I can tap into such specific moods and tones for whatever I'm hammering out.
  9.  

    Wow. I have to try that.

  10.  

    I like writing to the Requiem for a Dream soundtrack. Cliche? I don’t care.

    • CommentAuthorRocky
    • CommentTimeSep 27th 2011
     
    bq. Wow. I have to try that.

    See, I could tell you my WIP, despite a bleak and very inhospitable setting, has a tonal atmosphere I can only describe as "the spirit of exploration". Or, I could have you listen to "this":http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBzkFdI9Uo0 and pay special attention to the music starting at the two minute mark.
    • CommentAuthorRocky
    • CommentTimeOct 5th 2011 edited
     
    I'mma nix this post. Nyeh.
    • CommentAuthorRocky
    • CommentTimeOct 16th 2011 edited
     
    This may be somewhat unexciting for some of you, but it's rather significant for someone like me who's grown up with his music. Samples for each track of John Williams' upcoming score for _The Adventures of Tintin_ have been posted on Youtube. His first score since 2008. I'm enjoying much of what I'm hearing thus far.

    "The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn":http://m.youtube.com/index?desktop_uri=%2F&gl=US#/watch?v=CMSEStLSPH0
    • CommentAuthorSen
    • CommentTimeFeb 10th 2012
     

    At the top of my list right now I have Unbreakable by James Newton Howard, Chevaliers De Sangreal and Time <3 , by Hans Zimmer. I guess One Day is there as well, but only because I like the second half of it.

    I NEED MOAR. I’ve found it helps massively with writing. And sleeping. :)

    • CommentAuthorRocky
    • CommentTimeJul 2nd 2012
     
    If I ever go out in a blaze of glory, I want "this":http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qN744bWV3w blasting in the background.
  11.  

    I want the soundtrack to The Avengers. Because goddamn that was good scoring.