Sorry it's been a couple of Tuesdays. Excuses are lame, so I won't give any. Onto the list!
Today I've decided to do my Top Ten Disney Soundtracks. I saw the documentary, Waking Sleeping Beauty, recently and it was all about the Golden Age of Disney. Howard Ashman, Alan Menkin, Tim Rice, etc. It was truly amazing to watch, especially since I grew up with the best Disney films created. So here's my top ten. I can only describe them so much so I will let the youtube videos speak for themselves.
10. Tarzan (Mark Mancina/Phil Collins)
Most people I know did not like this movie and having it on my list probably bodes poorly for them. But I love Phil Collins and the score was one of the prettiest in my opinion.
Song:
Score:
9. The Jungle Book (George Bruns/Terry Gilkyson, Richard M. Sherman/Robert B. Sherman)
This is probably the non-golden age Disney movie on the list. I don't know if this will upset Disney purists, but oh well. All of the songs on here are just as memorable as those from The Lion King or Beauty and the Beast so it deserves a place in the top ten.
Song:
Score:
8. The Nightmare Before Christmas (Danny Elfman)
I know, I know. "It's not a Disney movie!" you cry in indignation. However, it was distributed by Touchstone Pictures, which is a Disney-owned company so it goes on the list.
Song:
Score:
7. Mulan (Jerry Goldsmith/Matthew Wilder/David Zippel)
Song:
Score:
Not even my too-cool brothers can resist busting out their singing chops to I'll Make A Man Out Of You!
6. Aladdin (Alan Menken/Howard Ashman/Tim Rice)
Song:
Score:
Who can beat songs like Friend Like Me or Prince Ali? I know I can't!
5. The Little Mermaid (Alan Menken/Howard Ashman)
This is my favorite Disney movie of all time. The music is fun and makes me feel like I'm in the Caribbean or literally under the sea.
Song:
Score:
4. Beauty and the Beast (Alan Menken/Howard Ashman)
Most people I know say that this is their favorite Disney movie, or at least the best one ever made. For me it comes to a VERY narrow second place next to the Little Mermaid. The music for this film is iconic and come on - it's the only Disney animated movie ever to get nominated for Best Picture.
Song:
Score:
3. The Lion King (Tim Rice/Elton John/Hans Zimmer)
Most people I know rank this as their favorite.
Song:
Score:
2. The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Alan Menken/Stephen Schwartz)
I think this movie is highly underrated. It was dark, disturbing, and heartbreaking. When my 10 year-old self saw it in the theater, it left a horrible twisty feeling in my stomach for days. Not even Disney could Disneyfy this tale and the epic music with medieval-esque scores sweeping and out only add to the film.
Song:
Score:
1. Pocahontas (Alan Menken/Stephen Schwartz)
While this is not the best Disney movie, I'll alway maintain that the music written for this movie was beyond the best for any other Disney film.
Song:
Score:
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Friday, May 28, 2010
Free For All Friday!
Hello all!
Clearly I forgot to update Top Ten Tuesday this week, which probably doesn't bode well for those of you reading this. Fear not! I will not forget next week!
Today I am starting Free For All Fridays which is where I put my iTunes on shuffle and the first soundtrack that pops up gets a blog review dedicated to it. On we go!
Atonement (Dario Marianelli)
The track that popped up was Denouement. Observe:
This particular soundtrack is made up of 15 gorgeous tracks that all clearly indicate the four-part movie.
Part One:
This part of the movie details the introduction of the story and characters and then builds into the rape of Briony's cousin. The rapist is generally unknown, but Briony accuses Robbie (her sister Cecelia's love interest) because she witnessed him and Cecelia having sex against the wall of their father's library. Now, earlier in that day Briony had also witnessed an odd exchange from her window where Cecelia and Robbie wrestle over a vase near the fountain. The vase breaks and Cecelia strips down, dives in, and emerges sopping wet in her now see-through clothes. This creates the sexual awakening between Cecelia and Robbie. Robbie goes home and writes two letters to Cecelia. One is his typed fantasy where he tells her how he longs for her cunt. The other letter is handwritten and a more traditional, heartfelt, love letter. He folds it up and delivers it to Briony, asking her to take it to Cecelia. As she runs off, Robbie realizes that he's given her the typed letter, but it's too late. Briony runs off, reads the letter, and gives it to Cecelia. When Robbie arrives for dinner at their house, Cecelia scolds him about the letter and leads him to the library where they profess their discovered love for each other and hence, have at it against the wall. The first part of the movie ends with Robbie being taken away by the police.
The first part of the soundtrack is written mainly from Briony's point of view, who is an aspiring writer. The music is percussive: it's heavy with piano, contains short, harsh beats from string instruments, and typewriter sound affects. The typewriter indicates Briony's point of view and creates the center for the typewritten letter Robbie writes that will lead to his undeserved downfall. The beats are short and emphatic, which creates a stomping, somewhat anxiety-producing tone that also lends itself to the upper-class 1930s English culture.
Part Two:
This part is told from Robbie's perspective. It's years later ( 7 or 8) and he's fighting in France during WWII. He explains to one of his friends that he was given a choice to stay in prison or join the army, which updates the audience. He and his band are looking for one of the French beaches where the English are supposed to be arriving with assistance. Robbie is injured and as their journey progresses he becomes increasing weaker and more feverish. The climax of this part is when he comes across a neatly-lined row of bodies in a field. When they arrive at the beach, hundreds of British soldiers are milling around waiting for the English. There's only alcohol to drink and at this point, Robbie is going mad with infection and thirst. He and his friend find a place in an alley to bunk for the night where he had a fever-induced dream about Cecelia. This parts ends when his friend wakes him up to tell him that he's been shouting in his sleep.
The music in this part is more somber and devoid of percussive instruments. This part is string-heavy and includes wind instruments. The only inclusion of piano occurs during the climax. The music is more hymnal and introduces a somber, reflective mood for the audience. It also represents a feeling of hopelessness that Robbie feels when they arrive to the beach only find that the soldiers their are as aimless as his band.
The hopeless climax:
The more somber tones.
Part Three and Four:
This part of the movie is told from Briony's perspective. She's older and working as a Red Cross nurse. She understands what she did to Robbie when she was younger and feels great remorse for her actions. She is working on a novel called Two Figures By The Fountain, which is rejected for publication. To make matters worse for her, she is instructed to sit by a horrible injured French soldier who mistakes her for a friend of his. He reminisces about fun and romantic times they had and she plays along tearfully. When she adjusts his bandages, she finds that part of his brain is exposed and realizes that he only has moments to live. As he dies she bursts out to tell him her first name, which goes against Red Cross rules for anonymity but she still receives sad approval from her superior. On her day off, she goes to visit her sister and Robbie to make amends. On the way there she stops in a church and observes a wedding where her cousin is marrying the man who raped her. When she arrives at her sister's flat, Robbie rages at her and then tells her she must bear witness to try to clear his name. However, the man can never be convicted because of their cousin's marriage.
The last part of the movie is told from Briony's perspective as an old woman. She is publishing her final novel before she succumbs to dementia. We find out that this the novel she was writing while stationed with the Red Cross. In her interview, we find out that the meeting between her, Robbie, and Cecelia never happened. Robbie died of septicemia in France, and Cecelia died during the bombing of London when the Underground station flooded. The book she wrote was her atonement where she was able to give the ending that Cecelia and Robbie deserved but could never have thanks to her.
The music is this scene is a combination of the percussive music used at the beginning and the somber tones used for Robbie's story. This is a coming together - a finale of sorts for all of the characters.
Clearly I forgot to update Top Ten Tuesday this week, which probably doesn't bode well for those of you reading this. Fear not! I will not forget next week!
Today I am starting Free For All Fridays which is where I put my iTunes on shuffle and the first soundtrack that pops up gets a blog review dedicated to it. On we go!
Atonement (Dario Marianelli)
The track that popped up was Denouement. Observe:
This particular soundtrack is made up of 15 gorgeous tracks that all clearly indicate the four-part movie.
Part One:
This part of the movie details the introduction of the story and characters and then builds into the rape of Briony's cousin. The rapist is generally unknown, but Briony accuses Robbie (her sister Cecelia's love interest) because she witnessed him and Cecelia having sex against the wall of their father's library. Now, earlier in that day Briony had also witnessed an odd exchange from her window where Cecelia and Robbie wrestle over a vase near the fountain. The vase breaks and Cecelia strips down, dives in, and emerges sopping wet in her now see-through clothes. This creates the sexual awakening between Cecelia and Robbie. Robbie goes home and writes two letters to Cecelia. One is his typed fantasy where he tells her how he longs for her cunt. The other letter is handwritten and a more traditional, heartfelt, love letter. He folds it up and delivers it to Briony, asking her to take it to Cecelia. As she runs off, Robbie realizes that he's given her the typed letter, but it's too late. Briony runs off, reads the letter, and gives it to Cecelia. When Robbie arrives for dinner at their house, Cecelia scolds him about the letter and leads him to the library where they profess their discovered love for each other and hence, have at it against the wall. The first part of the movie ends with Robbie being taken away by the police.
The first part of the soundtrack is written mainly from Briony's point of view, who is an aspiring writer. The music is percussive: it's heavy with piano, contains short, harsh beats from string instruments, and typewriter sound affects. The typewriter indicates Briony's point of view and creates the center for the typewritten letter Robbie writes that will lead to his undeserved downfall. The beats are short and emphatic, which creates a stomping, somewhat anxiety-producing tone that also lends itself to the upper-class 1930s English culture.
Part Two:
This part is told from Robbie's perspective. It's years later ( 7 or 8) and he's fighting in France during WWII. He explains to one of his friends that he was given a choice to stay in prison or join the army, which updates the audience. He and his band are looking for one of the French beaches where the English are supposed to be arriving with assistance. Robbie is injured and as their journey progresses he becomes increasing weaker and more feverish. The climax of this part is when he comes across a neatly-lined row of bodies in a field. When they arrive at the beach, hundreds of British soldiers are milling around waiting for the English. There's only alcohol to drink and at this point, Robbie is going mad with infection and thirst. He and his friend find a place in an alley to bunk for the night where he had a fever-induced dream about Cecelia. This parts ends when his friend wakes him up to tell him that he's been shouting in his sleep.
The music in this part is more somber and devoid of percussive instruments. This part is string-heavy and includes wind instruments. The only inclusion of piano occurs during the climax. The music is more hymnal and introduces a somber, reflective mood for the audience. It also represents a feeling of hopelessness that Robbie feels when they arrive to the beach only find that the soldiers their are as aimless as his band.
The hopeless climax:
The more somber tones.
Part Three and Four:
This part of the movie is told from Briony's perspective. She's older and working as a Red Cross nurse. She understands what she did to Robbie when she was younger and feels great remorse for her actions. She is working on a novel called Two Figures By The Fountain, which is rejected for publication. To make matters worse for her, she is instructed to sit by a horrible injured French soldier who mistakes her for a friend of his. He reminisces about fun and romantic times they had and she plays along tearfully. When she adjusts his bandages, she finds that part of his brain is exposed and realizes that he only has moments to live. As he dies she bursts out to tell him her first name, which goes against Red Cross rules for anonymity but she still receives sad approval from her superior. On her day off, she goes to visit her sister and Robbie to make amends. On the way there she stops in a church and observes a wedding where her cousin is marrying the man who raped her. When she arrives at her sister's flat, Robbie rages at her and then tells her she must bear witness to try to clear his name. However, the man can never be convicted because of their cousin's marriage.
The last part of the movie is told from Briony's perspective as an old woman. She is publishing her final novel before she succumbs to dementia. We find out that this the novel she was writing while stationed with the Red Cross. In her interview, we find out that the meeting between her, Robbie, and Cecelia never happened. Robbie died of septicemia in France, and Cecelia died during the bombing of London when the Underground station flooded. The book she wrote was her atonement where she was able to give the ending that Cecelia and Robbie deserved but could never have thanks to her.
The music is this scene is a combination of the percussive music used at the beginning and the somber tones used for Robbie's story. This is a coming together - a finale of sorts for all of the characters.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Top Ten Tuesday!
It's that time of the week: Time for another Top 10 List!
This week's:
My Top 10 Favorite Soundtracks (General)
This will be a bit tricky because I have to choose from ALL of my soundtracks, and I have hundreds! Most of the TTTs will be more thematic, but this blog is still new and we're getting to know each other. Anyways, onto the list!
10. Twilight (2008) ~ Carter Burwell (No, I'm not a fan of the Twilight series in any way, but the music was super pretty in this movie.)
9. 28 Weeks Later (2007) ~ John Murphy
8. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe (2005) ~ Harry Gregson-Williams
7. The Village (2004) ~ James Newton Howard
6. The Last of the Mohicans (1992) ~ Trevor Jones and Randy Edelman
5. Pocahontas (1995) ~ Alan Menken
4. Atonement (2007) ~ Dario Marianelli
3. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009) ~ Nicholas Hooper
2. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) ~ Howard Shore
1. The New World (2005) ~ James Horner
This week's:
My Top 10 Favorite Soundtracks (General)
This will be a bit tricky because I have to choose from ALL of my soundtracks, and I have hundreds! Most of the TTTs will be more thematic, but this blog is still new and we're getting to know each other. Anyways, onto the list!
10. Twilight (2008) ~ Carter Burwell (No, I'm not a fan of the Twilight series in any way, but the music was super pretty in this movie.)
9. 28 Weeks Later (2007) ~ John Murphy
8. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe (2005) ~ Harry Gregson-Williams
7. The Village (2004) ~ James Newton Howard
6. The Last of the Mohicans (1992) ~ Trevor Jones and Randy Edelman
5. Pocahontas (1995) ~ Alan Menken
4. Atonement (2007) ~ Dario Marianelli
3. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009) ~ Nicholas Hooper
2. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) ~ Howard Shore
1. The New World (2005) ~ James Horner
Monday, May 17, 2010
Robin Hood (2010)
I saw this over the weekend:
The movie was...okay. I've seen better, I've seen worse. It was rather cheesy and at one point felt like a silly homage to any one of the Lord of the Rings films.
It definitely wasn't as good as:
OR
But this is not a movie review blog, so let's move on.
The music in the movie was all right. While watching, the music faded into the background and did not stand out too much. Occasionally the strings would swell loud enough with decent emotion to make itself known and there were occasional bouts of choral backings in it during the battle scenes. The music was nothing unique or too special, but it fit the movie well. I managed to get the soundtrack a couple of days before the movie was released and I can easily say that this is one of those cases where the music is much better on the soundtrack than in the film. (Like The New World from 2005).
Observe:
See? This is some nice music that will go well in my Work Music playlist on iTunes.
The movie was...okay. I've seen better, I've seen worse. It was rather cheesy and at one point felt like a silly homage to any one of the Lord of the Rings films.
It definitely wasn't as good as:
OR
But this is not a movie review blog, so let's move on.
The music in the movie was all right. While watching, the music faded into the background and did not stand out too much. Occasionally the strings would swell loud enough with decent emotion to make itself known and there were occasional bouts of choral backings in it during the battle scenes. The music was nothing unique or too special, but it fit the movie well. I managed to get the soundtrack a couple of days before the movie was released and I can easily say that this is one of those cases where the music is much better on the soundtrack than in the film. (Like The New World from 2005).
Observe:
See? This is some nice music that will go well in my Work Music playlist on iTunes.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
A Top Ten For You
According to my last.fm chart, my soundtracks get a lot of play. And since I'm the Soundtrack Aficionado, I thought it would be wholly appropriate to provide you all with a list of my favorite and most listened-to composers. Because I'm lazy and hate to choose favorites (it's like picking my favorite child after all), here are my top 10 favorite composers with a sample track according to my last.fm profile:
10. Trevor Jones
9. Harry Gregson-Williams
8. Alan Menken
7. Danny Elfman
6. Hans Zimmer
5. John Murphy
4. Trevor Morris
3. Nicholas Hooper
2. James Horner
1. Howard Shore
10. Trevor Jones
9. Harry Gregson-Williams
8. Alan Menken
7. Danny Elfman
6. Hans Zimmer
5. John Murphy
4. Trevor Morris
3. Nicholas Hooper
2. James Horner
1. Howard Shore
Monday, May 10, 2010
Let's Get Started, Shall We?
I saw Iron Man 2 over the weekend, but this post isn't about its soundtrack. Honestly, the score was rather bleh and therefore I don't even remember what the music sounded like. In fact, the movie itself was bleh so let's not talk about that anymore.
Instead, allow me to point you to the new Inception trailer I saw over the weekend before Iron Man:
The music is awesome! Do you hear how the rumbling bass swells underneath the main score? It's dark, it's different, it's awesome. And the score itself! Epic and full of emotion. You can hear the keyboards and strings swell with intensity as the scenes build in order to entice the audience to preorder tickets. This is like a neat mixture of The Bourne Ultimatum, Shutter Island, and The Dark Knight. Just when the music swells to its apex, the bass blasts again for one final resounding evil HURRAH. I'm not sure who the composer is (be it film composer or trailer composer), but it would be neat if it were an unknown in the soundtrack world. Soundtrack.net does not have Inception in its database yet so it remains a mystery. Based on how the trailer music sounds and how the movie looks, I will wager a guess at Hans Zimmer (Sherlock Holmes, The Dark Knight, Gladiator).
This music increases the intensity of the trailer. It makes the movie more intriguing and you can feel the bass reverberating inside of you, which is a nice movie-trick to get your heart thumping. This makes me want to see the movie even more than I did before.
Introduction!
Hello all.
I like writing stuff and I also like soundtracks, particularly the instrumental ones. So I figured, "Hey, why not write about them? Share your love for them!"
So here I'll be basically reviewing movie soundtracks, posting up youtube videos, song clips, pictures, and my own personal lists of stuff I like.
I studied music for 6 years (piano and voice) but I am not a pro. I really don't know much theory and when it comes to tunes I tend to be quite aesthetic about my preferences. Since I studied classical voice and piano, I have a heavy leaning to enjoy soundtracks with lots of percussion and vocals. EPIC soundtracks, as I call them. My opinions are my own and if you don't agree, well...that's why this is my blog, not yours.
A little about me:
I'm getting my MA in history and I'll be graduating in December. This means I know lots of useless information and I can successfully walk my parents through every episode of The Tudors. This summer I'll be interning, writing my thesis, studying and taking the GRE. In between all of that I will be seeing many movies and harshly judging their soundtracks. Come fall I'll be applying to Ph.D. programs so the snark may abound in my entries as my amateur ears judge music.
My motto: A movie is only as good as its score!
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