Soundtracks

[Johann]

A good soundtrack reminds you of the movie.
Anybody buy soundtracks here? I have some that I can't live without:

Apocalypse Now
Superman (deluxe edition)
2001: A Space Odyssey
A Clockwork Orange (score AND soundtrack)
Eyes Wide Shut
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg
Drowning By Numbers
The Draughtsman's Contract
The Pillow Book
The Baby of Macon
Devdas
The Last Waltz-box set
Pulp Fiction
Bringing Out The Dead
Easy Rider
More
Selma Songs (Dancer in the Dark)
8 Femmes (just bought)

[cinemabon]

I have soundtracks, or original soundtrack scores, by composer. First and foremost, there is John Williams, followed by Alfred Newman, and then Bernard Herrmann. I like Danny Elfman, Howard Shore, Jerry Goldsmith, John Barry, Maurice Jarre, Bruce Broughton, Elmer Bernstein, and Dave Grusin. They comprise the core of the bulk of my collection. Alfred Newman is probably the greatest film conductor of all. Williams has perhaps the greatest number of original themes. Goldsmith and Barry have a wide variety of scores. Elfman, of course with his gothic scores, especially Batman and Spiderman. Broughton's score for "Silverado" is perhaps the greatest western score ever written next to Berstein's "The Magnificent Seven". There are many sites online devoted to film music. I have them all in my browser if you want some really good links. Let me know.

[Johann]

I love Bernard Hermann's stuff. I made tapes of my favorite composers and music from the movies from library radio mats:

John Zorn (tribute to Godard 1985), Nino Rota (La Dolce Vita), Anton Karras (theme from The Third Man), Elmer Bernstein, Vangelis (Blade Runner)- I also taped the score to Get Carter- excellent, (the 60's film-NOT the remake).
Philip Glass and Michael Nyman are incredible. Both have worked with Greenaway, & Nyman's Drowning By Numbers work is especially appealing to me.- He took four bars from Mozart's Sinfonia and morphed it into 92 separate pieces. (reworking the notes over and over) Genius.
John Williams is a legend, and I've planned on picking up the scores to A.I. & Minority Report for a while now. He has so much stuff- After shopping forever for a good Williams disc I picked Superman for it's sheer majesty. (Highly recommended to buy)

Cinemabon- yes, I would love some good film music site info.

[FilmWolf]

I have numerous soundtracks in my collection (most on vinyl, if THAT tells you anything...*lol*) and I usualy collect them according to how they've added to my overall experience of seeing the film. Some are original scores, some are "compilation"-type scores, but all are memorable, in my honest opinion:

1) Beetlejuice - The great Danny Elfman, with an "assist" from Harry Belafonte *grin*

2) The Blues Brothers

3) Gone With The Wind

4) Star Wars

5) JAWS

6) Raiders of The Lost Ark

7) The Sting - The 1st movie soundtrack I ever bought (and which I STILL have)

8) Grease

9) Disney's "Aladdin"

10) Ragtime - The wonderful Randy Newman channeling the spirit of Scott Joplin

11) That's Entertainment - Some of the greatest music from one of the greatest studios EVER...


and MANY, many more...*grin*

[cinemabon]

Here are some of the links that have given me some great insight into the world of motion picture soundtracks:

http://www.moviemusic.com

http://www.moviesounds.com

http://www.classicalrecordings.com

http://www.cinemusic.net

http://www.musicfromthemovies.com/

also there are the base sources like

http://www.imdb.com which is the internet movie database, about the greatest internet movie site on the planet

and of course, the very commercial amazon.com, which does have a very large catalogue of works. I hope all of those links are helpful in some way. I've been collecting film music for many years, but have slacked off in the past decade, mostly due to time. I find that as I grow in age, some things grow less important. I knew a man in Hollywood who dedicate his whole life to film soundtracks. He had an entire room that was filled with recordings most librarians would be drooling over. But I also discovered that despite the fact that having all this made his collection very valuable, he was shallow, very superficial, and lacked practically any redeeming value as a human being. Like "Kane", we can amass all the things we can buy, but cash cannot buy lifelong friends, intregrity, or humility. Hollywood and New York are filled with forgotten "has beens" that lack all of those qualities, because they believed in only themselves, and not in the ideals we all treasure as worth having.

I apologize for pontificating.

[Johann]

Thanks for the links! Cinemusic is a fine looking site.

[dave durbin]

Purchased:

1. 8 Women (it's fun -a guilty pleasure)

2. Pennies from Heaven (album)

3. Barbarella (album)

4. Paris Blues (CD)

5. Chinatown (CD)

6. Moulin Rouge 1 & 2 (CD's - future classics)

7. Richard Pryor Live! (CD)

8. Lenny Bruce Live at Carnige Hall (CD)

9. Sandra Bernhard Live -I'm Still Here, Dammitt!!! (CD)

10. downloaded John C. Reilly's Mister Cellophane from Chicago (hypothetically speaking of course!)

[Perfume V]

I must admit, my disinterest in classical music keeps me from enjoying a lot of soundtracks, but looking up on my shelf I can see the following:

A Life Less Ordinary - mediocre movie, great soundtrack. Worth owning for Beck's woozy bossa nova 'Deadweight' alone.

The Royal Tenenbaums - a brilliant selection of tracks from all eras, interspersed with Mark Mothersbaugh's jazzy score. Elliott Smith's chilling 'Needle In The Hay' is a standout.

Fight Club - everyone my age owns the movie, and everyone my age owns the soundtrack. And for once, y'know, everyone my age is right.

Mulholland Drive - uneasy listening.

City of God - wisely concentrating on the more obscure tracks at the expense of James Brown and 'Kung Fu Fighting', this is a stunning mix of samba, bossa nova, chilled funk and Blaxploitation score that makes you wish you too were shooting at the pigs with a case full of smack in a clapped-out car in 70s Frisco. Or maybe that's just me.

[Ilker81x]

Top 10 Film Soundtracks:

1) Until the End of the World (U2, Depeche Mode, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Jane Siberry, Lou Reed)
2) Pulp Fiction (Dick Dale, Kool and the Gang, Chuck Berry, Dusty Springfield)
3) Lost Highway (Lou Reed, Rammstein, Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson)
4) Singles (Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, Mudhoney)
5) Highlander (Queen)
6) Jackie Brown (Bobby Womack, Pam Grier, The Delfonics)
7) Mulholland Drive (Sonny Boy Williamson, Rebekah Del Rio, Dave Cavanaugh)
8) Spawn (Prodigy & Tom Morello, Filter & The Crystal Method, Orbital & Kirk Hammett)
9) Splendor (Slowdive, Lush, Everything But the Girl, The Micronauts)
10) The Crow (Nine Inch Nails, The Cure, Stone Temple Pilots, My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult)

Honorable mentions:
The Transformers: The Movie (Spectre General, Stan Bush, Lion, N.R.G., Weird Al Yankovic)
Reservoir Dogs (George Baker Selection, Stealer's Wheel, Blue Swede)
Trainspotting (Iggy Pop, Lou Reed, Underworld, Elastica)
Withnail and I (Jimi Hendrix, King Curtis, The Beatles)


Top 10 Film Scores:

1) Blade Runner - Vangelis
2) Akira - Geinoh Yamashirogumi
3) The Last Temptation of Christ - Peter Gabriel (Passion)
4) Aeon Flux - Drew Neumann (Eye Spy)
5) Conan the Barbarian - Basil Pouledouris
6) Star Trek: The Motion Picture - Jerry Goldsmith
7) Lost Highway - Angelo Badalamenti
8) Terminator 2: Judgement Day - Brad Fiedel
9) The Crow - Graeme Revell
10) The Vikings - Mario Nascimbene

Honorable mentions:
The Transformers: The Movie - Vince DiCola
Dune (1984) - Toto
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly - Ennio Morricone
Batman (1989) - Danny Elfman
The Lord of the Rings - Howard Shore
Legend - Jerry Goldsmith
Catch Me If You Can - John Williams
Predator - Alan Silvestri
Patriot Games - James Horner
The Untouchables - Ennio Morricone
Se7en - Howard Shore
Fight Club - The Dust Brothers

[Johann]

The Royal Tenenbaums soundtrack is killer. Bob Dylan's "wigwam"
is the bomb. Speaking of Bob, his "man in me" from The Big Lebowski was another fine example of his iconic style.

There are some wild soundtrack choices here. Transformers? An animated film? The music moved you that much? wow.

Lynch soundtracks are something to behold. My favorite scenes in Mulholland Dr. were the auditions. Those sugar-coated songs from the 60's are surreal. And how about that mind-blowing version of Orbison's "Crying"? It stopped me in my tracks. It
reminded me of a scene in a foreign film called "Testamento".

[Ilker81x]

I wouldn't say "The Transformers: The Movie" soundtrack moved me exactly. Just that it is a damn good soundtrack. The bands may have been obscure, but they were great songs that just fit perfectly in the scenes they were in (especially "Instruments of Destruction" by N.R.G., the perfect song to play when the Decepticons are slaughtering the Autobots, hehe...okay, I'm an '80's cartoon dork, what can I say?). Vince DiCola's score was great too because he came up with some really cool themes that, again, fit the movie perfectly. I count it in my top ten because I love the movie, and I think the music score and soundtrack were great.

Lynch soundtracks are always awesome yes. "Mulholland Dr." was great for me because it was quintessential David Lynch/Angelo Badalamenti. The use of 60's pop songs is always a good touch of American surrealism, and yes Rebekah Del Rio's performance of "Crying" is beautiful. That's my favorite scene in the movie, next to the scene when the hitman keeps screwing up. "Lost Highway" is still my favorite because it's a successful foray into post-modern industrialism for Lynch, as opposed to his other films which posses industrial atmospheres, but still hark back to his conservative 50's-60's mentality that shows up in "Mulholland Dr." and "Blue Velvet." And with that soundtrack...you're in that world. Listening to that soundtrack CD, you're in that world of strangeness and mistaken identity. It is becoming a rarity for a soundtrack REALLY take you into that world the movie took you to.

BTW...why so surprised that I included an animated film (or two since I also mentioned "Akira." As well as "Aeon Flux," although that's a TV series. I think a good number of animated films have much to offer in the way of serious scores and soundtracks. In Japan, Hiroyuki Namba won the award for best cyberpunk soundtrack for his music for "Armitage III." It IS a great cyberpunk soundtrack, a good mixture of techno, electronic, rock, and traditional score music. I think animated films are given a bad rap because they are animated, as if they must not be serious, but really...they are a lotta times as serious (if not more so) than live action films.

[Johann]

[QUOTE]
BTW...why so surprised that I included an animated film (or two since I also mentioned "Akira." As well as "Aeon Flux," although that's a TV series. I think a good number of animated films have much to offer in the way of serious scores and soundtracks. In Japan, Hiroyuki Namba won the award for best cyberpunk soundtrack for his music for "Armitage III." It IS a great cyberpunk soundtrack, a good mixture of techno, electronic, rock, and traditional score music. I think animated films are given a bad rap because they are animated, as if they must not be serious, but really...they are a lotta times as serious (if not more so) than live action films. [QUOTE]

I knew you would spot my lapse into laziness. I was just picking on your liking Transformers. Animated films often do have great soundtracks. Case in point: "Heavy Metal" & "Yellow Sub"

[Perfume V]

*L* I grew up on Transformers too. I remember when I first watched Boogie Nights and I made a little squeal of joy when Mark Wahlberg started singing 'The Touch'.

[oscar jubis]

JACK JOHNSON (feat. Miles Davis)
THE HARDER THEY COME
RUDE BOY (feat. The Clash)
GUYS AND DOLLS
VERTIGO
MURMUR OF THE HEART (Malle)
THE CIVIL WAR (Burns)
ROCK 'N' ROLL HIGH SCHOOL
LA TRAVIATA (Zefirelli)
2001
BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB
DAZED AND CONFUSED
BACKBEAT
ANATOMY OF A MURDER
JIT-THE MOVIE

Runners Up: Do The Right Thing, Stop Making Sense, Mandela, Popeye, Mulholland Drive, Jailhouse Rock, Umbrellas of Cherbourg, Un Coeur en Hiver, Goodfellas, Judgement Night, Something Wild, Amores Perros, Hilary and Jackie, The Decline of Western Civilization, La Bamba.

[Ilker81x]

oscar jubis...

Good choice on "2001: A Space Odyssey." Gyorgy Ligeti's music was prety eerie in that movie, not to mention that all-too-easy-to-make-fun-of piano line he wrote for "Eyes Wide Shut."

I think Kubrick's movies always have good music to make them up, and of course Wendy Carlos' synthesizer-bsed arrangements of classical music made "A Clockwork Orange" and "The Shining" all the more enjoyable. Incidentally, "The Shining" is one of two movies that always frighten me no matter how many times I watch it, and part of that is due to the music.

"The Exorcist" is the other movie that still scares me, and the music for that movie was pretty eerie too. I'm not just talking about "Tubular Bells," but also those incidental ques like when the Exorcist arrives at the house, or those shrieking violins that pop up every now and again...the music-less moments in that movie were the scariest as well, and I think a lot must be said for a movie taht dares to have a soundtrack that is next to nothing.

[Perfume V]

Though it's not strictly a 'soundtrack', I always thought the sound effects in The Exorcist were the most unsettling part of the movie. Just little things like gusts of wind and leaves rustling seemed to take on such a new dimension.

I was amused when I went to see Solaris recently and heard 'Riddle Box' by Insane Clown Posse playing on the soundtrack in Jeremy Davies' room. I'm not entirely sure whether people in the distant future will still be listening to ICP, but it fitted the scene surprisingly well. Also, in light of the twist, the fact that the whole conversation between him and Clooney was underscored by the line "The joke's on you!" was nicely ironic.

[Perfume V]

Wow! What a find! I was just in HMV and I came across an import copy of the long-deleted soundtrack to one of my all-time favourite movies, Repo Man!

If you've seen this film, you'll understand why I'm so happy. The Repo Man soundtrack is a perfectly chosen compendium of the 80s East Coast punk scene. It has a crashing, specially written theme tune by Iggy Pop, tracks from Black Flag and Circle Jerks and one song with the immortal chorus line "Pablo Picasso was never called an asshole". Can one really progress in life without having heard this?

[Johann]

I looked high and low for a copy of the soundtrack to FRANTIC, but I have never found it. It's out of print, and I'm not about to pay an outrageous sum on the net for it....

[oscar jubis]

Originally posted by Perfume V
Wow! What a find! The Repo Man soundtrack is a perfectly chosen compendium of the 80s East Coast punk scene. It has a crashing, specially written theme tune by Iggy Pop, tracks from Black Flag and Circle Jerks and one song with the immortal chorus line "Pablo Picasso was never called an asshole". Can one really progress in life without having heard this?

It's pretty special alright, but these are California bands for the most part (Black Flag, Circle Jerks, Fear, Suicidal Tendencies,etc). I love the line:"Pablo Picasso was never called an asshole, NOT LIKE YOUU!!" Is it the original by Jonathan Richman and The Modern Lovers? THEY are from the East coast. I would recommend the soundtrack of THE DECLINE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION to you, in case you haven't heard it.

[Johann]

If you want a musical sedative that is really original, listen to John Lurie's Fishing With John soundtrack. I was dying with laughter when I saw the "film" of the same name. Had to get the soundtrack. Dry dry dry

[rocketrogerhood]

purple rain

[cinemabon]

I have heard this music so much lately it is driving me crazy!

What is the name of the music they used under the AFI tribute to Robert DeNiro last night?

The same music was also used by Chuck Workman for his short "100 years of Cinema" seen occasionally on TCM.

This is driving me INSANE! Please don't let me go insane...

I know my knowledgable friends at filmwurld always have the answer!

I think it might be something Bill Conti wrote but I can't be sure...

[HorseradishTree]

If you want a great soundtrack, you should get Danny Elfman's Music for a Darkened Theater collection. It includes all of his best stuff (up to 1996) and it's on two volumes. I'm awaiting a third due to the fact that he's done a lot since '96 (e.g. A Simple Plan, Spider-Man, Red Dragon, Hulk, Sleepy Hollow, etc.). I'm mad that he still hasn't released the Theme to Army of Darkness, one of his personal bests.

Another great listen is Howard Shore's Lord of the Rings stuff. I have the piano sheet music and it's really fun to play.

There's actually a great soundtrack for Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, the best of the Batman films. It's an animated movie that sadly was tokened as a "kiddie film." If you see it you'll know that it's anything but. The score is NOT by Danny Elfman, sadly, but it sure still is kickin'.

And for those not into scores, I say the best music soundtrack is The Matrix (NOT Reloaded). I could jam to that stuff for hours.

[cinemabon]

I listened closely to the opening of "Batman: Mask of the Phantasm" over and over again, trying to figure out what language the chorus was singing. Was it Russian? Then I did a little research on the internet and went to Shirley Walker's web site.

She recounts a hilarious tale of intrigue. The words are not sanskrit or anything. They are the people who helped her in recording and putting together the music for Batman. She took everyone's name, and put the letters in reverse! THAT is what the chorus is singing. True Story! And one of my favorite soundtracks, thanks to Shirley Walker. I wish she composed more often. Great stuff.

Now can someone, PLEASE answer my last post above. PLEASE!!! It's still driving me crazy!

[HorseradishTree]

Con sarnit! I just can't find that music, my cinnamonny friend. I've been scouring the web for some time now, and it doesn't look like I'm getting anywhere! Maybe if I had actually watched that thing...Oh, and what the crap is up with De Niro getting a life achievement award? He stopped achieving things a LONG time ago. *sigh*, bad day.

[Ilker81x]

Well sure DeNiro hasn't achieved much in the last few years, but it's a LIFETIME achievement award. Think of all the achievements he's had up to now...quiiiiiiite a few. "The Deer Hunter," "The Mission," "Taxi Driver," "The Godfather, Part II," "Awakenings," "Casino," "Goodfellas," "Heat," shall I go on? The man's churned out some of the best film and theatre performances EVER in the span of his career...I'd say that in spite of whatever sub-par stuff he's done in the last five or six years, he still deserves it.

Speaking of "Heat," THAT is an incredible soundtrack! Brian Eno, Lisa Gerrard, Moby, Einesturzende Neubauten, Elliot Goldenthal's wonderful score with the Kronos Quartet...now THAT's a soundtrack.

[HorseradishTree]

Elliot Goldenthal? GAH!

I think the guy's a phony. I watched Final Fantasy: the Spirits Within recently, with music by old Eli. Soon later, after suckering myself into buying the Batman legacy box set of DVDs, I viewed Batman forever again. Whilst the main themes were different, Goldenthal uses the EXACT SAME side themes.

[Ilker81x]

To each their own opinion. James Horner does this too. Hell, James Horner uses bits from his score for "Aliens" in "Patriot Games." He uses a few bits of Jerry Goldsmith's score for the first movie in "Aliens," as well as a que that is very similar to the ballet from "2001." They used a bit of James Horner's score from "Aliens" as the end music que in "Die Hard," even though the rest of the score was by Michael Kamen.
Musicians tend to repeat themselves very often. GREAT musicians find ways to do this without being obvious. BRILLIANT musicians always come up with something different. I don't even rate the Batman movies Goldenthal scored because they were directed by Schumaker...and those movies brought out the worst in EVERYBODY who worked on them (except Jim Carrey). So I forgive Goldenthal for that. But I love his other scores. But if you don't, s'okay...your preference is your own. But overall, you have to admit the music on "Heat" is great...if not the score, at least the rest of the soundtrack. Excellent choices of music on Michael Mann's part.

[HorseradishTree]

Geez, I don't even remember the music from "Heat."

Oh, and since we WERE talking about it, the Terminator has a theme that could be stuck in your head for decades.

[Ilker81x]

Damn straight! The soundtrack to "Terminator 2" was my first ever CD. That says it all.

[HorseradishTree]

Did you notice that in trailers everyone uses each other's musical scores. I think it's getting annoying because they keep using the same ones. ESPECIALLY the score from Dragonheart. Damn, that's been overplayed.

[Ilker81x]

James Horner's scores are overused in trailers too...especially the music for the nuclear blast at the end of "Aliens." That's been used waaay too much. Not so much these days, but for about five years in the '90's, I was hearing it ALL over the place.

Either use your own scores or come up with new music for the trailers I say.

[HorseradishTree]

Oooooh, and the theme from Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story, that's used a lot too. I watched the teaser trailer for Sleepy Hollow on the DVD, and saw that they used Danny Elfman's Darkman on a chunk of it. I ought to stop watching trailers. They really don't do any good for me. My brother has already the sense to not do this. If he sees a trailer for a movie he wants to see, he'll cover his eyes and ears for the duration. I sadly cannot bring myself to do this.

[cinemabon]

The composers who are most guilty of repeating themselves, are the ones who score pictures every year. John Williams is one of the most guilty. While many of his scores are brilliant with original themes. There are some that lift directly from other films he's done, like "The Witches of Eastwick" or "The Accidental Tourist" or "1941". His work in the late 70's and early 80's is his best. Then he started borrowing from himself and went downhill. Elfman has done that, too.

My big beef on trailers is that everyone uses the classical music piece, "Carmina Burana" by Carl Orff... it's so over done its been used in everything from selling aftershave to cars to every "cult" or "terror" movie this side of "The Exhorcist". They've got to stop or my brain will explode if I hear it again!

"I've got to concentrate... trate... trate... trate...." from "Airplane"

[Ilker81x]

I never understood why they couldn't just use music FROM the movie being advertised. "Pi" did that. "Heat" did that. I'm sure people will say it's because a familiar piece of music helps people get in a certain mindset to see a movie, but I think if you're going to advertise the movie...ADVERTISE the movie. Don't just use scenes and dialogue from the film, use the music too. Granted Clint Mansell's score for "Pi" was appropriately enticing and paranoid, immediately interesting because it was both cool and scary, and while not all scores are like that, I think it will help sell the validity of the movie since every movie makes some attempt to be original...even movies that are copycats...there's always something. Try to sell the movie on its own merits, and that means use it's music too.

[cinemabon]

touche... well spoken! Or is that spoken well? Anyway, that sums it up for many of us!!!

How vain of me to waste valuable space like this...

[HorseradishTree]

I think I've finally reached a conclusion as to why I don't like John Williams' music that much.

I believe that with his scores, he makes it seem as though the movie itself is almost entirely revolving around the music. It should be vice-versa. Film music is meant to guide the story along, not make itself stand out on its own. This is an issue that should be brought up with musicals. For you can't just have these songs totally dominating everything. I think that's why I disliked Joseph.

[Ilker81x]

Interesting theory. I guess you're right that it is hard to think of "Star Wars" without thinking the themes, and they do tend to dominate in certain areas. One could defend that and say it's a result of the classical idea behind themes for different characters and events, but...it's a little too much with John Williams.

As for musicals...I guess I can understand that too. I do like "West Side Story" mainly for the combination of good dialogue WITH good songs, as opposed to it being entirely musical.

Good thinking HorseradishTree.

[HorseradishTree]

I personally have grown tired of the Star Wars themes, especially because the same stuff is used in every media it invades.

Star Wars Galaxies, a massively multiplayer online computer game, was recently released. It annoyed me so much to hear that bloody soundtrack all over again. While I am very tired of the score, it bugged me even more to hear the themes misused. Whenever you start a gunfight or brawl with someone, the theme from the asteroid field begins to play. Oi vey...

[Ilker81x]

Lucas said that? Why Scorcese didn't just beat him to a bloody pulp right then and there I'll never understand.

[Stomper]

Just decided to check out these boards at the suggestion of my friend Johann...

Lucas said that? All those special effect laser beams must have done something to his brain. Talk about delusions of grandeur...

Chariots of the Gods. How's that for a soundtrack? It's a rather obscure 1960s film on the subject of aliens being the first race on earth. A bit pretentious maybe but you gotta wonder. Plus it's the most unique music-lots of ethnic stuff.

Amadeus. One example where the soundtrack is as good as the movie.

Pulp Fiction. And Reservoir Dogs! Tarantino sure can pick the tunes.

Gladiator. Sorry, i'm a sucker for these big epic historical films. Hold the line!

Can't think of anything else right now, I got to listen to the Pokemon soundtracks courtesy of my nephews this summer, for this i think i deserve at least a few hours out of purgatory.

Peace!