In the Days of Pirate Knockoffs

How many versions of Hans Zimmer's Theme for Pirates of the Caribbean have you heard?The trailer music industry are the biggest culprits. I must say though, they all have done an excellent job in making it unique, but it still screams PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN!!

Okay, now for the list. To begin, let's just go back to the beginning with Gore Verbinski's 2003 film that introduced us to Captain Jack Sparrow. Despite the score giving the main credit to Klaus Badelt, it was Zimmer who wrote the theme. It was Badelt (and several other top composers) who took the sketches and ran with them. 

There are two variations to this theme, which you can listen to below.

First we come to the version that everyone remembers. This takes place at the end of the film, but I feel it is the easiest and most effective way of representing the theme.




Next is the alternate version that takes place just before a ship battle.

After listening to both of these, you will get a basic, well rounded understanding of the theme. Now, the first artist that I am going to mention is Two Steps From Hell. One of the most popular names in the trailer music industry. The song Racketeers, which debuted in their industry album Dynasty, has shown incredible similarity to Hans Zimmer's theme. This piece is composed by a lesser known name: Troels Folmann. I find his piece exciting and still somewhat unique despite the similarities. It is the closest to the original theme that I have found. Listen to it below.




Buccaneer Island by Brand X Music sends us thinking about Pirates of the Caribbean, but not in the same way as Racketeers. I feel it projects us further into the future of the series. It is more like Dead Man's Chest (the sequel) in that the theme is not so heavy and intense but lighter. The inclusion of a choir creates At World's End vibes (the third installment) since it is a more vocal score in general when compared to the previous ones.




Now, are you ready for a bonus?

I was listening to a film score one time and was thinking "Woah, this sound like Pirates of the Caribbean." It is so similar it is crazy. The funny thing is it is written by the same composer as Pirates of the Caribbean. Take some time, don't scroll all the way down, see if you can guess the film.


The 2000 film Gladiator saw a spectacular theme written by the infamous Hans Zimmer, but wait, it seems he revisits this theme years later in POTC? Okay, I will give him credit, he was working on this while working on another project, and it is ever so slightly different that it is justified. Plus, who doesn't like the theme for the Jack's adventures?

Forget the beginning of this post and just focus on the music and remember it came first. If you don't care to listen to the entire 10 minutes, skip right to 5:50 and you will hear the theme loud and clear. It is as if Zimmer took the skeleton of the theme and updated it. Here is the track.




Do you have any other songs that come to mind that are similar to this theme? I'm sure there are a few more out there somewhere. 

Brief Continuity in Assassin's Creed

One of the best things that can be brought to a game or film series are the various aspects that connect them all. While the idea of a continuing story counts to a certain level, it goes (and should go) much deeper than that. When I think of Star Wars or Indiana Jones, John Williams comes up. He created the incredible continuity of both of the franchises, and he continues to work on them.

This continuity helps immerse us, draw us closer, and allows the audience create a special bond with the film or game. The consistency of the writing the script is just as important as themes. When some writers may get replaced, someone else takes one a new role, etc. there is risk of falling away from the original project and stray from the path intended and paved from the beginning. 

While my experience with the Assassin's Creed series of video games is lacking, I have noticed that there has been some amount of continuity. Ubisoft created a whole world that attempts to tell a story that took place from the beginning of time and progressing through history until present day. While interesting, it is a bit far fetched. 

One of Ubisoft's most recent installments to the franchise is a trilogy that is deeply integrated into the story. The first begins in China, resumes in India, and ends in Russia. They are so well connected, yet take place several years apart from each other. 

There are subtleties found in the games. The original Assassin's Creed theme written by Jesper Kyd appears in Assassin's Creed Chronicles China, but it is possible to miss. It is heard during one level, but instead of an instrument playing it, you hear on of the guards whistling the tune while you sneak past him. This same theme is re-composed as the theme for Assassin's Creed Rogue. It is fairly simple, but is very catchy and memorable. 

Listening to the most recent soundtrack release to the series, Assassin's Creed: The Best of Jesper Kyd, I noticed the theme appearing frequently. Having never really heard the scores for the first few installments I was unaware of this theme. The first time I heard it was during the score for Rogue, then in Chronicles China by means of whistling as mentioned above. 

Since Jesper Kyd scored the first bunch of games in the series, he had plenty of time to solidify this theme in the series enough to make it significant. It makes sense for Ubisoft to have this theme mentioned in the Chronicles Trilogy since they take place around the same time as the first few games where it first appeared. 

There have been several composers that have broken up this continuity, writing their own unique themes and sounds into it. For this reason The togetherness of the games fades away the closer they are to present day. 

The Assassin's Creed series has been a product of excellent music, and with all that said, I must say that it features some of the best game music I have heard. What is your favorite Assassin's Creed soundtrack?

The Monuments Men, Heartbreaking Yet Uplifting

Usually when a theme gets stuck in someone's head it is the main theme, but oftentimes I realize that the more I listen to scores the less this applies to me. I am beginning to find that even small, intricate themes can easily plague my present thoughts in a continuous manner. Thus, this brings me to today's score: Alexandre Desplat's beautiful score for WWII film The Monuments Men. 

Since this is a film during the Second World War, military sounding techniques and instruments are not scarce, but aside from the heroic main them, there are a few smaller parts that offer more delicate, smaller themes. The one I have an incredible memory of at this moment can be heard in "The Letter."

I have yet to listen to a Desplat score that isn't just pleasantly extraordinary. The Monuments Men is full of references to the main theme which is played in several different ways. Certain areas of the score produce a mysterious sound, and during the military inspired parts there is a sense of intensity which is both delicate and strong. These parts are usually when they are being chased, have little time, or are in danger in general. The more emotional scenes are very clear and obvious, as I believe that Desplat does these parts most excellently. 

The album ends with Nora Sagal singing "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," which I personally think is a creative way of wrapping it all up despite inconsistencies in the order when compared to the film itself. 

While this film is heartbreaking yet uplifting, and ends in an exciting victory, wherever you are today I truly hope that you can find peace despite life's junk. Take a listen to Alexandre Desplat's score and forget it all!

The Technical Aspects of a Music Collection

What does your collection look like? Are you very particular when it comes to track titles, or do you just care about what the music tags are? If you use iTunes for either your iPod or iPhone then I would expect no less for you to expect your collection to look nice and organized, but not everyone has the time to go through it all. Some of us have more than we can fit onto our mobile devices. 

Regardless, if you spend an amount of time everyday with your collection, I encourage you to organize it so that it doesn't cause more harm to your well being. I have a love/hate relationship with iTunes. Since I have an iPod, it is necessary for me to use it (I'm not particularly interested in dabbling around in third party options, though I know they exist). Regardless, I have come to enjoy and take advantage of the simplicity and powerful tools that it has to offer. 

While it may cause some headaches, others might never experience my issues. Some including sorting issues like Brian Tyler in the artist pane being at the very bottom as if it were a number, even the same composer in the composer pane appearing anywhere between 5-20 times in a row. One fix for the composer issue is to directly edit the files in iTunes, changing the composer. I feel iTunes has difficulty reading tags that it hasn't created itself. Now, a suggestion for the artist sorting, try to convert the file to another codec, OR turn on iTunes sorting which copies everything you drag-and-drop in the iTunes Media folder so that iTunes can automatically organize it all. 

Anyway, there are some tips. If you are having issues with iTunes, send me a message and I might just be able to help, or you could hit the Apple Support forums. 

Recently I started a thread that asked users how they managed their collection. Many use third party players, others said they are very interested in editing everything from tags down to the file names. Some were set on perfectly square album art (which is not at all unreasonable), others didn't really care too much about all that. Audiophiles I feel are more concerned with the quality of their collection, but then again some are but are not so obsessed with having everything in FLAC. 

Is it time for some spring cleaning in your collection? Even if it is 5 albums a day, or 10 each Saturday, I would say that this is progress. I do suggest allowing iTunes to manage the files automatically if you use it the most, but the sorting and tags are all on you.