What is your favorite kind of music? Do you prefer the lighthearted Randy Newman, intense Brian Tyler or Hans Zimmer, classical John Williams, or maybe the strange and bizarre Danny Elfman? These are obviously just a few of the thousands of gifted and noteworthy composers out there. I cannot say for certain which type I am most inclined to listen to, I hear it all! There are times where I feel in the mood for a specific kind of music, but how does one go about discovering that type of music? There are several services out there that offer mood-based radio, but I'm not a big fan because they mix all genres instead of isolating scores.
What genre is your favorite? Are you a soundtrack/score aficionado, or are you a mix of a bunch of genres? My family does not understand why I don't like their "preferred" music, which mostly includes classic rock from the 80's. I have a wide range of music appreciation and interest, but it all lies in the orchestral genres, covering games, films, trailers, etc. even classical music. Whatever kind of music you love wholeheartedly, don't let anyone convince you otherwise. I still have a mixed opinion of rock, but if that is what you love, nothing can change that except for experiences and time.
Now, let me get back to the topic for today, which was...
Alice: Through The Looking Glass did not do so well opening week. I wasn't sure what to think of the film initially since it seemed like a bit of Déjà vu with recurring themes of "Where have you been Alice, it's been a long time?" from the previous film. Regardless, I have not seen it, therefore I cannot give an accurate review, but I can attest to the fact that the score is far superior to the first. This usually doesn't happen, especially in the case of John Powell's How To Train Your Dragon. The first blew us away, and while the second is excellent and consistent with the series, it did not come close to the original.
Danny Elfman's new score is interesting, bizarre, and similar enough to the first in order to continue the main theme and overall feel. Alice's theme is nearly unchanged and the instruments remain the same (take note of the organ in the theme), but there are more interesting themes and sections that I found to be much more interesting.
First impressions are not always the most reliable and accurate source of opinions. When the score for The Amazing Spider-Man 2 came out, I was so excited. I snatched it up and skimmed through the score as I used to do in the day (yeah, it wasn't that long ago). My impressions: "this sucks!"
Okay, now don't go on ranting to me. There are some who would agree with me and others who absolutely love it. It is an acquired taste, and for those who have actually seen the film, there is an extra plus. I believe that one more easily falls in love with a score once they have seen the film because they understand it more. "Why did he do this? Why didn't he do that? What is that?"
I can say that I have listened to this score all-the-way-through! You may think that I'm crazy that less than half the scores I have are from films that I have actually watched. I just love music, and that is why.
When listening closely to the music by the amazing Hans Zimmer and The Magnificent Six, I did actually end up enjoying it. I found it very fascinating with some resemblances to Zimmer's previous work on Inception. There is much more electronic music here, but it gives an epic feel that probably fits what is happening on the screen. I must say that this is very different from James Horner's score from the original film.
Oh, and while I am on the subject, I would like to take a moment and commemorate James Horner. On this day in 2015, James Horner was killed (61) in a plane accident. As one of the most influential film composers of the century, I found it very sad when I heard of this incident. So if you are a fan, listen to the first Amazing Spider-Man today, and the next one tomorrow. I recommend it anyway, since it gives you a good understanding of how different these scores are.
Now, whether it be the captivating Harry's Suite, or the loud and restless Electro Suite, Hans Zimmer and his friends did an excellent job on this score. I would not say that it is my absolute favorite, But I enjoyed it very much. It took me a whole 3 days to listen to it through! I need some alone time. Anyway, if you do not have this score already, Check it out on YouTube or Amazon below.
Do you ever dream of traveling? I grew up with a grandmother who was always telling me about her travels across the world and her experiences facing death at nearly every turn, surviving only because of one "fortunate coincidence." I thought that she was so awesome and wanted to travel with her. I still dream of traveling.
When you listen to Ramin Djawadi's score, close your eyes and just imagine the beautiful landscapes of Africa. It is so peaceful and simple, no worries. Imagine the graceful animals in their natural habitat, or maybe you see that beautiful orange sunset that resides over the grasslands.
African Safari 3D is a documentary with beautiful, soothing music that gives you a moment of true peace. I have wanted to visit Africa for a while, just to experience the beauty of that continent. At this moment, I can only dream, so dream with me. Let Ramin Djawadi's music flow through you and help you forget for a moment why you are so tight and stressed.
Jerry Goldsmith is a legendary film composer and one who will always be remembered. He scored Air Force One in twelve days, and what came out of those days is one of the greatest and most memorable film themes. It gives the film excitement and the feeling of victory. One of the tracks is even featured in the Soarin' wait line.
Randy Newman was the original composer who was rejected a week before the deadline. This is where Jerry Goldsmith came in and went about what he was most excellent at. I cannot go about this without giving credit where it is due, so I must also commemorate Joel McNeely's work in assisting Goldsmith. McNeely's compositions are marked as "additional music" which is not featured in the public soundtrack, but can be found in the Rejected and Unreleased album.
Being a Disney and Pixar film composer who has a natural tendency to write light and fun themes into his scores, it was obvious that Randy Newman would not succeed the way he needed to. His work on his accepted music is very good, and I believe that he has a certain style that he should stay with.
While listening to Randy Newman's music for Air Force One, it isn't all that bad, generally speaking. It just felt like, a cartoon, or a Disney film. Some of the music is just outright horrible and unbearable to listen to, but most of it is fine. It wasn't a total loss for him though. Randy Newman was able to recycle some for his score for Toy Story 3.
Jerry Goldsmith, with the assistance of Joel McNeely, wrote an unforgettable score that shines a bright light on patriotism. He did exactly what the director was seeking. Firstly, the music was much darker which made it feel like an adult film. When the action came, the intensity felt realistic, like something was really wrong. This gave the victorious sections greater power as they released the tension.
The snare drum and brass are the most dominant sounds during the action sequences. The strings create a good shape in theme, but the brass are the source for much of the intensity and the main instruments used for the theme. During the quieter sections the mysterious bass and the piano's lowest keys flood the scene with a sound that leaves us on the edge of our seats, expecting something but not knowing when it will appear.
Among all this intensity, there are sweeping themes that return you to a state of relief from the buildup. The strings are the main focus during these parts with the brass coming in prominently at times. The strings have a beautiful way of giving you a soft sound that just sweep you away and immerse you in their themes. I can say this of all the instruments when played in harmony, but I personally enjoy the strings just a bit more.
I have only seen the TV version of Air Force One, a long time ago. I do not remember all those cues in the score, just the basic story line.
How was your Mother's Day? Did you do something fun, sit around playing video games, stuck at work? Anyway, if you haven't seen Marvel's latest Captain America film, promise to not to spoil anything if you haven't. The track names are vague, so no spoilers there either.
Marvel took the world by storm. Captain America: Civil War was a good film that released just three days ago, yet managed to gross $678,391,000 total as of this writing. Henry Jackman returns, giving this film an intense score similar to his from Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
In this score, you will find that bizarre, electronic sound which is the theme for The Winter Soldier. This is carried from the previous Captain America. Brian Tyler's Marvel Fanfare theme composed for Thor: The Dark World and used in all previous films when the Marvel logo appears in the beginning has been dismissed and replaced. Henry Jackman has given us a good "alternate" version. This makes sense because over time the Avengers are changing throughout the films, so themes will also change.
I enjoyed this score more than the one written for The Winter Soldier because of its greater orchestral qualities rather than a more electronic and ambient take. Civil War feature some interesting spiccato patterns like in the ten minute suite for Captain America in the previous film. It seems simple, but is somehow complex enough that we all love it.
Boot Up has a strange, electronic drum beat type sound in the beginning that I found distracting in the film, but the build up of this lengthy track made up for it. We hear The Winter Soldier's theme further on and it becomes mysterious with "simple complexity" is how I will refer to it now. Henry Jackman's specialty.
A version of the Avenger's theme from Age of Ultron appears to come up, which hopefully will not replace the classic theme from Alan Slivestri's The Avengers when Infinity War is scored. If you go back to when the Hellicarrier rose out of the ocean in The Avengers, focus on that string pattern. That is another one of the themes that is briefly and alternatively heard in Certain Parts. Despite these themes, Civil War has its own unique theme. Standoff, Civil War, and Larger Than Life utilize it noticeably.
Revealed is a well written example of the more orchestral nature of this music when compared to the second film. You hear a nice array of instruments and a choir while the track goes from a sense of sorrow to building intensity, to a victory.
Clash is very interesting with appearances of solo technique (vibrato) heard from the violin and cello giving this a modern sound. This blends right into Closure, which presents a mysterious setting and nears us to the conclusion. There definitely are some regrets about what they had to do, but the somewhat victorious feel in Closure gives us the conclusion that also leaves us hanging. Cap's Promise enlarges this victory theme and makes it more satisfying. We are also treated with a brief theme from the Captain America suite and a version of the Avengers theme from the original film.
The soundtrack runs for 1 hour and 9 minutes, leaving us with one important question: where is the rest, given the film is about 2 1/2 hours? This always happens, and people always get all worked up about missing cues and important parts missed. Please, do not tire yourself out from this lack of music. This is just the way the music industry works, unfortunately.
Abbey Road is the most famous recording studio in the world. It is a very historical building in the music industry. This week I will present to you some music that was recorded at Abbey Road Studios.
The first installment of the Hobbit trilogy was the last film based on J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy world that Howard Shore conducted and orchestrated. He did an excellent job giving us beautiful music. It is easily some of the best music in the film score world. The Lord of the Rings trilogy along with the first Hobbit film was all recorded at Abbey Road.
Doug Adams, a film music journalist, was brought on my Howard Shore to document the work and final product of the music from the Lord of the Rings. If you own the Special Edition of the score for each Hobbit film, you will find that there is included a little notebook with some brief insight on each score as well.
There is such great depth to Howard Shore's music that I could never explain to you. Shore perfectly maintained the unforgettable themes from The Lord of the Rings, but also managed to bring to the table new music, yet still keeping the same feel and sound. If you do not have the score already, track back to my first post to see the booklet pages. I highly recommend adding this to your collection. I always am not sure about writing about scores such as this one because of my limited knowledge.
It feels like a week ago that that I witnessed that teaser trailer of a glass slipper glimmering on a turntable. "Seriously, how is Disney going to re-make Cinderella?" I thought. I am not the only one that is a bit tired of those infinite modern Cinderella stories.
Disney's Cinderella from 2015 was nothing like what I expected. I was quite impressed. Patrick Doyle composed the beautiful score that is rich with exciting and very memorable themes which inherit the traditional, magical Disney sound.
Each track in the score has a unique sound to it that is easily recognized. The main theme is quietly introduced and continued throughout the score and across a range of instruments, but when all the instruments all come together and boldly present the theme to you, is is extraordinary.
The main theme is not heard excessively but is accompanied with other themes that delicately hint at it. This score does express an amount of sorrow, but it is always accompanied or entangled with some form of joyous sound. The main conflict in this film is not just between Cinderella and her new family but with keeping her promise to always stay kind and have courage.
When the resolving end is nearing and finally met, you will find an incredibly satisfying ending. This score is one that can be listened to on repeat, and shuffle if you desire. Whether you need some inspiration or encouragement this week, I hope that this score will help you in that. It lifts my spirit to new heights every time I play it, as I hope it does the same to you.
Alan Silvestri is a master of the flying and space films. Much of his music is featured in the Sorain' ride in Walt Disney World. Alan Silvestri's recent work is from a space documentary called Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey (2014), the sequel to 1980's Cosmos: A Personal Voyage.
This is probably some of my favorite work from Silvestri. Documentaries can have some impressive music, but this music is just outstanding. These complex themes are so good, there are 55 tracks total across 4 volumes.
Being a documentary about space, this is a very calming and peaceful score. I would highly recommend listening to this during work if you are not a J. S. Bach kind of person. Silvestri has perfected the epic, sweeping themes from previous experience in the film industry and mixed all his techniques.
Although the focus is on the usual 4 string instruments and brass, I love his occasional inclusion of some magical sounds of twinkling and strokes of the harp. Silvestri provides enough balance by giving us a few instances of electric sounds that really give the score some character, given the whole idea of space requires high-tech instruments. What I really think is interesting is the slight experimentation of sounds that would not usually be used for films like this as heard in Chance Nature of Existence.
Although this is just the first volume, I hope that you will get the chance to listen to the next three, as I will eventually experience them for myself.
Do you remember the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film? It is so cheesy I'm not sure how it became so popular. I would say the same about Godzilla.
Brian Tyler scored the 2014 film remake with his usual sounds and incredible levels of intensity. Although another great score from one of my favorite composers, this all sounds very familiar. If you pay close attention and with the familiarity with scores for Thor: The Dark World and Iron Man 3, then you will see (or hear) that the sounds and themes from this aren't completely original.
On-the-other-hand, the rest of the music that is original is very good. Brian Tyler used some techniques heard in his score from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and some similar sounds from the the Terra Nova theme in Brotherhood. He may borrow from himself often, but his work is excellent and irreplaceable. I couldn't think of another composer who could have pulled off Brian Tyler's work on the Marvel films better than him (maybe Steve Jablonsky, since he shares a similar sound).
Brian Tyler has a very noticeable sound to his scores. Much of his recent work shares the same sound, not necessarily the same theme. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles seems so sum up his works in one package. We will not see him return for this year's sequel, as Steve Jablonsky will be picking it up. Listen to the score below and send me your thoughts.
Yeah, I know. Your ears are probably bleeding from hearing Let It Go incessantly since Frozen exploded the big screen. Let me relieve this undesirable burden from you by not making you listen to any of the songs with lyrics. Yes, they are well made, but we need to stop and listen to the music behind the scenes, the stuff that you kind of catch during the movie.
There is some really great themes written by Christophe Beck that are easily missed for the way too popular lyrical songs. For starters, this has that classic Disney sound to it that all other Disney music has. With believable action and magical themes, I enjoyed this more than I expected. I have listened to this before, but given the chance to really focus on the music, I am able to really appreciate it.
The album begins with the track Elsa and Anna, a happy and light theme that incorporates the action/conflict theme (heard slightly in the beginning) gradually transitions from fun to intense. A new theme is introduced with The Trolls, one that I think is the most unique in the album. Excitement rises in Coronation Day and the party begins in Winter's Waltz, which gives us a glance of a theme from Olaf's song, I believe it is.
Like every other Disney movie, you get quite a bit of pizzicato which helps at lightening the mood and creates a great transition to lean on before or after some action. I enjoyed the more intense parts more than the quieter parts, as I feel they were slightly more interesting. Another thing that I would recommend is to go through the list of songs (either by listening to them all or skipping though) and listen to the instrumental version of Let It Go, the Idina version.
The part that I think is the most impressive about this is the piano work. I personally love the sound of the piano, so it is easy to appeal to my ears this way. It is a well assembled song that is quite impressive. All that is hiding behind those lyrics and aren't heard too easily with them. The theme is not screaming in you face either.
The Epilogue is a great summary of the whole album which contains most of the themes from the songs that you can sing. This mash of everything flows very smoothly and leaves the listener with that classic Disney feeling. The deluxe edition has some great extras (instrumental) like score demos and tracks not present in the standard edition. If you do have this soundtrack already in physical form, chances are you have the deluxe edition because I haven't seen a single standard copy even at Disney in Florida.
James Cameron has an adventurous spirit, taking us movie-goers into his imagination of crazy things. Be is the director that brought us The Abyss and Titanic. Today's score is written by James Horner who worked on Titanic and another one of James Cameron's prized work: Avatar.
Avatar still holds the worldwide box office record at $2.7 billion. This surreal adventure of flight and blue people is one amazing experience. James Horner's excellent score truly enhances the entire experience, and whether you are watching the film or just listening to the music, there is no doubt that you will experience this massive and epic, one-of-a-kind adventure.
James Horner incorporates an interesting African-esque sound, sweeping themes, and a relaxing and delicate solo voice. I have listened to this score almost five times and haven't caught up with it yet. Sometimes you just need to keep pressing play to really get everything, just like a movie. I have seen Lord of the Rings about five or six times and have a new experience each time, realizing something new each viewing.
If you are looking for something to listen to during work (if your work allows it), this would be a must have. Its somewhat minimal in that you don't get a ton of action, but more of that jungle theme as the Avatar world is being discovered. This is combined with an amazing, delicate performance of the string instruments. Everything just flows naturally.
The last track (that doesn't have lyrics) titled War is a whole ten minutes, and includes a good balance of action from the final showdown and the resolve. Dissonances appear after the action signifying sorrow from the losses in battle which is a big transition from the light and tranquil atmosphere from previous tracks, but gradually fades into a beautiful resolve and satisfying ending.
When I look at modern art, I have no idea what to think. The first thing I do is question why it is worth as much as it is and then try to figure out what it is the artist tried to express. It is very odd.
Alexandre Desplat's score for Argo is what I would place in that category. Although the cinematic feel is very immersive, the bizarre, "panting" I guess, of people makes the music new and, well, modern. While listening to the score I kept thinking how bad their hiccups must have been afterwards.
I have never seen the film or have any idea what it is about, so I cannot criticize it, but even if I did, there is something about this score that is very interesting. Reading one of the track names with this "panting" it makes some sense even if I don't know the story. The track is called "Scent of Death" and is when this new technique first appears.
Now let me do something that I have never done here. I am going to try to guess the basic plot based on the feel of the music and the names of the tracks.
At first, I thought it sounded a little Mexican, but the story must take place in the Middle East. It is about a covert mission, which ends in Iran. The artwork has the main character's eyes concealed with shredded paper behind him. It is all about secrecy, spies. It is rated PG-13.
Well, I sucked. Firstly, it is rated R. The story is about the CIA and American hostages in an Iranian airport. You can read more at Wikipedia.
Anyway, time for you to actually listen to this score.
Jurassic Park was a great movie, and so was the score. John Williams scored the first two films and gave us one of the most memorable themes. Unfortunately, we are unable to listen to what John Williams would have composed in the third installment due to a job he was working on. On-the-other-hand, I should trust his recommendation of Don Davis and listen to the score sometime.
The series reboot from 2015 saw Michael Giacchino as the composer. I honestly was not sure what to expect, but being one of my favorite composers, I just had to listen to his take on the series. The film itself was good, but I absolutely love the music. I enjoyed it slightly more than the previous ones that I listened to.
I find his themes rich and catchy, especially the first six tracks. He beautifully incorporates Williams' theme throughout and at the perfect moment. He doesn't rely too much on it, but has created a vast array of original music while still maintaining the sound and feeling from the original film.
I am going to listen to 1 album each day, going through my entire collection and whatever I can get my hands on through my music streaming service. Today, I listened to "007 Classics: The Music From James Bond."
This is something that is just fun to get your hands on. It brings you through the themes throughout the years and really just sweeps you off you feet. It has that somewhat cheesy sound to it since it is the older themes, but really is not serious at all.
This is great if you are needing to relax and need something to cheer yourself up.
You can listen to this album with an Amazon Prime membership, which I highly recommend.
Thanks to some generous donation, I have received an acceptable quality specimen of track 18 which is the theme from The Great Whales. You can download this below and replace it with the current file. This new file is 320 kbps mp3 and has all the proper tags for the album. Enjoy!
Finally, after nearly a year, I have finished collecting all the tracks that are featured in the ride Soarin' found at the Walt Disney World Resort. I have not looked into whether or not this is valid for Disneyland, but I'm sure that it is. Unfortunately it has been announced that Disney will be changing Soarin', which means re-composing the music in the ride. I do not know if this will affect the cue music, and there is a slight possibility that the music will remain the same. Until then, Jerry Goldsmith's theme for the ride will most likely be much better that the new theme.
A few interesting things you will notice in this album is that nearly all of the songs are from a film that was released during the 1980's, and all of them appeared before the 21st century except for tracks 33, 34, and 35. Another thing that you will notice is that you will find that the "J" composers appear more often that others, such as James Horner, James Newton Howard, Jerry Goldsmith, and John Williams.
All of these relaxing and sweeping melodies some to a close when track 35 is reached, which is the theme that is played in the ride when that seemingly infinite line is no longer in front of you. The epic conclusion and finale that leaves us all in that happy Disney feeling.
Whether you are a fan of this ride or would like a sample of some excellent music, this album is excellent. Don't forget to scroll to the bottom of this post to catch the link to download this for yourself until March 31, 2016.
Further work on this album would allow me to produce this album in a consistent lossless quality. Unfortunately this may take years and a significant amount of money. Anyway, here is the finished album in high quality mp3, for the most part. Some files are in a slightly lower bitrate and some tracks sound slightly incomplete, either in the beginning or at the end.
If you notice an issue with the track, please tell me and I will work on fixing it. I will also gladly accept a donation of either a replacement track in mp3 or a lossless one in flac so that I can present the final copy of this great collection and wrap up this project quicker.
Here is the full track-list and custom album art:
Playback: 02:45:32
Size: 385 MB
1. End Credits (from "Contact") - Alan Silvestri - 07:58 - 320kbps mp3
I was greatly intrigued by A.R. Rahman’s score for the Hundred Foot Journey. I loved how he took two completely different sounds for the Indian and French and united them under one profound and memorable theme. The suite that is found in the beginning of the album is an enjoyable summary of the journey that Rahman has taken his listeners on.
In the film, an Indian starts up a restaurant right in front of a very formal and popular French one. There is much conflict between them because of their differences, but later on become good friends. This is heard throughout this first song as the main theme splits paths, first visiting the calm and humble Indian theme while gradually fading into simpler themes.
Rahman returns to the main theme, right before confronting the persuasive French with a familiar and convincing classical sound. This final push sends us into a calm end where the tempo begins to decline, predicting the great resolve in the end of the film.
Rahman’s score for The Hundred Foot Journey is a beautifully blended score with memorable themes. There is not much “filler” music, especially in the first track, but joy and excitement found throughout each song.
I briefly listened to Hans Zimmer's most recent score for Interstellar. First Impressions: it is definitely not what I was expecting at first. You can hear an organ play throughout it, which is why one person said made it "spiritual." It is not all music, but includes sound effects as well which is interesting. You may listen to the entire score below.
Even though it wasn't exactly what I was expecting, I ended up enjoying it. Here is a very interesting interview with Hans Zimmer found on denofgeek.us.
Den of Geek: The organ is probably my favorite instrument ever, so when I heard the organ filling up the Chinese Theater a couple of weeks ago that was very exciting to me.
Hans Zimmer: Was it unexpected?
Yes. It was unexpected.
Because what I really, really, really, really tried to do and we nearly slipped up on our first teaser because we had a little bit in there. And then we decided I didn’t want anybody to hear what we were doing until they saw the movie. Commercially I have completely shot myself in the foot by not releasing the soundtrack two weeks ahead which is what everybody does. But I so believe in that idea that you would walk in and you didn’t know what to expect and, you know, at the end of the day I make this for the audience. And so I wanted you to have the sort of "what is this?" experience. A lot of people I just don’t think realize what it was.
This is the fifth time you and Christopher Nolan have worked together. What is the process like at this point?
Well look, I shouldn’t say this and he’s probably going to kill me. There are two Chris Nolans. There’s the Chris Nolan that you might encounter in an interview or you hear him speak publicly. He’s very deliberate and very thoughtful. I’ve created this environment in my studio which is very rock and roll and very collegial and, you know, musicians float in and out and people pick up instruments and start playing. And so when Chris comes down he’s part of the band. I mean people say, "Why do you write such good scores for Chris Nolan?" Well it’s really simple. The answer is Chris Nolan and the way we work together. We get breathless with throwing ideas at each other and we cross all the lines. It’s like Chris will be talking about music and I'll be talking about story.
There was a point where Chris was running some of the (scoring) sessions alone because we had too much. I mean we just decided very early on that this whole thing was going to be about throwing caution to the wind. We had a really strong idea of how we wanted this to sound and we wanted to go and experiment. So we were working on the one hand with the organ and the string section going on in Temple Church and on the other end of town, as far away as you can get, was pianos and brass going on. So we just had to go and share the burden of who was running the sessions. Very often Chris would end up running the organ sessions at Temple Church. And it was quite infuriating when I would get back and he got far more work done that if I had been there, you know.
And that's now part of the way you work together?
The only way I can describe it is it’s very much like having a band. And yeah, I write the notes but what is really important to Chris is I try to set up a place for him to feel completely free and candid and he can say any idea however preposterous it is. Because that’s how we get to the thing. All the good ideas you hear in the room usually start with somebody saying this might be a really bad idea but together we figure out what the thing is itself. And for Chris it’s really, really important to set up an environment for me to work in where my imagination isn’t constrained by the mechanics of filmmaking.
This time, he just gave you a scene to read before you started composing.
Exactly. Without telling me what the movie was about. And we just kept that sort of shape going, you know, whereby I would be working simultaneously while he was shooting in Iceland. I locked myself away. It was like method composing. I locked myself away in my apartment in London. I just wouldn’t go and see anybody. It was very much like I was out in space and the rest of the world was very, very far away. I’d just be working on these ideas and there were scenes he would describe to me over the phone and I’d just go and write them.
I remember one scene in particular where I was going, "You know, Chris, I don’t think I can just write this because the timing is so critical on all these. I have to hit this, I have to hit that, I think you better send me over the footage." And he said, "No, you know, we’ve been so in sync in our storytelling over the years and our sensibilities. Just write it -- if we have to adjust it later we’ll just adjust it later." And I wrote it and I sent it over to him. And I said, "So how is it? He goes, "It hits right to the frame. It hits everything to the frame. Then he paused and he said, "Yesterday when I said to you we seem to have a similar sense of temper and timing, you know, afterwards I actually thought that was really reckless."
It sounds like there’s a tremendous amount of trust there between the two of you after ten years.
Well it has to be, you know. This journey he sent me off on, from that first day of writing, was about my relationship to my children. When you and I speak right now we’re speaking in words and I hide behind them. When I play you a piece of music for the first time it truly is from the heart -- the only place I know how to write from. I have no musical education. And so I was emotionally very fragile when I played this piece for the first time...I wrote it, I phoned him, he came Sunday night, 9:30 at night, you know. It wasn’t business hours. It wasn’t about that. It was just two friends meeting and me playing him this piece going, "Well what do you think?" And him going, "Well I'd better make the movie now." Then I asked him what the movie was.
So you wrote this piece of music without knowing what the full movie was about, just knowing what emotions Nolan wanted to channel.
But by having this piece of music as an anchor, he actually said to me, "I now know what the heart of the movie is." That was the conversation we would always return to. So it’s like, that set the tone and subtext for everything.
What I love about the use of the organ is that it's both mournful and spiritual. Mournful in the sense that it’s sort of mourning the possible end of humanity. But also it’s got that spiritual feel because you’re entering this church of the universe in a sense.
And it’s amazing technology. It’s amazing science and I was thinking how great, you know, centuries ago there were huge human endeavors to build things to sound magnificent, to build amazing musical instruments. They invested an amazing amount of time and effort to make something sound beautiful. And then the other thing which I thought was that a big pipe organ does look like a rocket.
That's a great metaphor.
The image fit the subject. But also, the only way it can make a sound is if there’s air going through it, if it breathes. And I just loved hearing that. You know even when Roger Sayer wasn’t playing you just hear it. It’s like the giant asleep under the Earth. You just hear the air pushing up against the pipes. So it’s a magnificent beast that just waits to be unleashed. And at the same time you can get these incredibly intimate and, as you say, mournful sounds out of it.
I have this crazy theory about science fiction. I think all science fiction movies are inherently nostalgic. I think Blade Runner is one of the most nostalgic movies you can think of. Gattaca is incredibly nostalgic somehow. So with this nostalgia, they become weirdly personal. And that got me back to where we were starting which was by going as far away from humanity and Earth as we possibly could in this movie. Every moment needed to remind us of who we are or question of who we are or make us an ache for who we left behind.
I think as the movie goes on...I’m trying to celebrate all that’s good about humanity. I’m trying to celebrate scientists. I mean I love that Chris was making a movie where scientists were front and center. They were the stars. They weren’t the geeky sidekick. That’s my world. My dad was a
scientist. I want on my tombstone, "He was a geek, he was a nerd and he loved it."
That band vibe you spoke about, is that in your DNA from being in bands early on? (Zimmer started his career with groups like Krakatoa and, most famously, the Buggles of "Video Killed the Radio Star" fame.)
Absolutely. Plus there’s this other thing. You know, I’m a foreigner everywhere. I mean we speak in English right now and really my mother tongue is German. But I’m not German anymore, you know. I mean I left when I was 13 so I’m sort of on this endless journey where I've gone to places like Africa and Slovakia where we didn’t have words in common but we could just sit down, start playing and four hours would go by and we’d think it was 10 minutes. We had these amazing conversations without using words. Sometimes language isn’t as important to us as just the experience you get to have, you know.
What are some of your favorite science fiction scores?
Well, Blade Runner. I love Sunshine. I think John Murphy is such an underrated composer. I just love that score. I think it’s really hard to beat Alien just for its sheer elegance and what Jerry Goldsmith did. Brazil, you know. But weirdly I mean one of the things was I couldn’t watch any of these movies for the last two years because I needed to make our movie. Yes we talked a lot about 2001 and 2001 was really daunting to me for a while.
The thing about 2001 is when the audience first saw it they probably knew “The Blue Danube.” They knew that piece of music. A great percentage of them might have known “Also Sprach Zarathustra” even though they couldn’t pronounce it. But the rest of the music, none of them had heard before. And so I just thought what Kubrick did very successfully was that he just went, "I just need good music for this." I remember saying to Chris at one point that what made this job hard was not that 2001 and all these things have happened before us. It’s just the simple mandate. You’ve got to write good music.
You’re going back into the world of superheroes with Batman v Superman, and I just read that you're getting Junkie XL involved. So what can you say about the approach to this one?
It’s not even like I’m being secretive. It’s just when Zack (Snyder) said to me, "I’m going to have Batman in this one..." -- people forget that what we do isn’t careers. It’s our life. Chris and I spent nine years of our lives invested in that character of Batman and treating it with great respect. And suddenly I’m going, "So I need to go chuck all this out and sort of reinvent it." But I don’t want to go betray our last nine years. And that’s how it felt to me -- like I was going to betray Christian Bale in a funny way by going, "Whatever you did, that was just my practice run." But it wasn't. It was nine years of my life.
So I thought, just like on the first one, Batman Begins, where I had James Newton Howard come in and it became this collegial thing, let me bring someone else in. And I’ve been working a lot with Junkie over the last couple or so years. And the thing that I know that you guys don’t know I’ve heard some of his Mad Max: Fury Road work and it’s phenomenal. So I said to him, you’ll have a completely new fresh slant on this. Let me deal with all the other characters. And Zack loved the idea because Zack loves Junkie.
So he’s working more on Batman.
I’m going to confine him to the Batman side and since there might be some conflict between the two characters I’m going to be quite adversarial while we’re doing it. You’d better watch out.
I saw a poster outside of Regal Cinemas a while ago advertising Into The Storm. I don't think that I will see the film, but I can expect that Brian Tyler's music is going to be epic, and it was (and still is).
Into The Storm begins very mysterious and a little creepy. The massive, killer tornadoes in the film sure are scary. This theme sets the mood for the film: a little sad, some intensity, and very interesting. It makes me a little curious. The theme makes me think that the film will end in a total disaster with an unsatisfying ending.
Atonement continues the theme, but with much more intensity. The instruments (and the characters) are racing.
Fate saddens things a bit more. How would you feel if you were constantly being hopelessly attacked by a killer tornado (or tornadoes)?
I found this music very interesting. You may listen to the rest of the score below through the "Megatron" player! It is big enough for you to see the people trying to not get sucked into the tornado.
I find the theme for Brian Tyler's score for The Greatest Game Ever Played is very compelling and interesting from beginning to end. Tyler composed this piece with a classical sound to it, evoking much joy. There are two different songs in this album that play the main theme very well.
Main Title Overture
My favorite part in this whole piece begins at the 1:31 mark. I just love themes like this when I need cheering up.
End Title Overture
I like this piece just as much as the first. It is very similar to the Main Title Overture, but it begins with more strings and a piano. Some of it may sound the same, but there are distinct differences. It is almost like an alternate version of the first.
is a master of the flying and space films. Much of his music is featured in the Sorain' ride in Walt Disney World. 
's recent work is from a space documentary called 
(2014), the sequel to 1980's Cosmos: A Personal Voyage.
. Documentaries can have some impressive music, but this music is just outstanding. These complex themes are so good, there are 55 tracks total across 4 volumes.
has perfected the epic, sweeping themes from previous experience in the film industry and mixed all his techniques.
sounds similar to parts of his 
score, but with enough differences that it would not be too similar. The same goes for 
, which has hints of 
.
.
film? It is so cheesy I'm not sure how it became so popular. I would say the same about 
.
scored the 2014 film remake with his usual sounds and incredible levels of intensity. Although another great score from one of my favorite composers, this all sounds very familiar. If you pay close attention and with the familiarity with scores for 
and 
, then you will see (or hear) that the sounds and themes from this aren't completely original.
. 
from 
has a noticeable theme in a few parts that are impossible to miss. They are nearly identical to 2013's 
main theme which was in fact composed by 
despite the credit going largely to 
.
did in fact compose the music for 
and 
, so it is not terrible, just slightly disappointing. The music is very similar.
used some techniques heard in his score from 
and some similar sounds from the the 
theme in 
. He may borrow from himself often, but his work is excellent and irreplaceable. I couldn't think of another composer who could have pulled off 
's work on the Marvel films better than him (maybe 
, since he shares a similar sound).
has a very noticeable sound to his scores. Much of his recent work shares the same sound, not necessarily the same theme. 
seems so sum up his works in one package. We will not see him return for this year's sequel, as 
will be picking it up. Listen to the score below and send me your thoughts.
exploded the big screen. Let me relieve this undesirable burden from you by not making you listen to any of the songs with lyrics. Yes, they are well made, but we need to stop and listen to the music behind the scenes, the stuff that you kind of catch during the movie.
or streamed through 
