Don't Let the Music Stop...

I have mentioned before that I am an enthusiastic collector of film and folk music. Well, as it happens, due to the fact that I do not get an allowance and CDs are awfully expensive in the first place, I only own twelve. But those twelve are some of the best I have ever heard.

 

 Sorry, I forgot to use my flash, but these four are LOTR: Two Towers, LOTR: Return of the King, Master & Commander, Far Side of the World, and Braveheart. The lotrs and Braveheart I actually snapped up from an online swapping site, so they didn't come with complete boxes. Master & Commander I bought for myself with Christmas money, and subsequently lost the box it came in, so I keep them all in a folder now.

You may remember that I said I love Celtic music. Well here's my very own personal collection. Classic rowdy party songs by the Clancys (fyi, greatest folk act ever...:D), The Clancys in concert in New York, and the first two releases by the High Kings, a contemporary group who sing classic songs.

And back to films... The Dark Knight Rises, Serlock Holmes, Game of Shadows, Cristiada: For Greater Glory, and Thor. These four and the Celtic acts above were gifted to me for Christmas b/c I asked for them.

I expand my collection at every oppurtunity. The next albums I have in mind are The Piano Guys 2 (we own their first one, but it's not mine personally.) and Man of Steel, which hears to be one of Hans Zimmer's best from the trailers alone. (due to personal circumstances, I only request albums that are distinctive to me. The 8 film scores I own are similar in a couple of inconspicuous ways that make them fit my style. What do you think they are?)

There are reasons only four guys have composed all my favorites besides what may seem obvious.

Hans Zimmer is the go-to guy for action movies that sometimes pretend to be epics. His work is usually loud, repetitive, and fairly easy to pick up by ear.

James Horner is the king of the dead-guy-movie score. I have listened to at least five different notable-to-famous scores by him and found several others, and nearly every notable film he has done ends with the death of the main character. (i.e. Braveheart, Cristiada, Titanic) If the MC survives, their buddy dies (i.e. Windtalkers, Avatar) So, just as Sean Bean's casting is a spoiler that a significant character will die, James Horner writing the score is a tip to accept a bet that the main character and/or their sidekick will be dead by the time the credits roll.

Patrick Doyle writes scores for films trying to be dramas which include flashes of action. He has done Thor, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, HP and the Goblet of Fire,  Pixar's Brave, and the widely ignored book-to-film bomb Eragon, which, nevertheless, has cool music.

I include Howard Shore only because he did some of the best music ever, LOTR (and The Hobbit). I do not know what else he normally does, and in the recent past his name has only come up in connection to Twilight movies. I am definitely not buying that music...

In case you were wondering, I have never wanted and never intend to want anything by John Williams. It was only this year I realized he uses a synthesizer when others use a national orchestra, so that's a downside. Also, his themes are so monotonous they are impossible to forget. Not to mention that his Superman theme and his Indiana Jones theme are merely the same music at different tempos, or that his HP theme sounds eerily similar to those others if you think about it too much. So, to the wrath of all Jedis, I say that I don't think John Williams is the man. (note: I actually requested the Episode 4 score from the library once and tried to listen to it, but I did not get through the 3rd track. On a similar note, I do not own the score for Sherlock Holmes one because I can discern no difference between tracks. It sounds like a loop.) I do enjoy the Imperial March, Duel of the Fates, and Battle of the Heroes. Oh and the Jurrasic Park theme is fun too, but like most of his work, it's a loop...:(

Thanks for reading,