2010 wasn't a huge year for new score releases, but there were definitely a few that I absolutely adore! Now that I've had time to think about it, I've put together my favorites.
So without further explanation, and in alphabetical order, here are my favorite scores from 2011:
Ghost Writer - Alexandre Desplat
Desplat has some great orchestration chops, and for me, Ghost writer was his best score this year. Don't get me wrong, I loved Harry Potter, and The King's Speech... but this score bears multiple listens. Music On Film compared this score to something Bernard Herrmann would have done for Hitchcock, which only makes me like it more!
Favorite cue: "Chase on the Ferry"
How to Train Your Dragon - John Powell
The most Williams-like of my top scores from 2011, this score continues the expansion of John Powell's dominance over my heart. A good movie, this score kicks major ass. A fully orchestral, bombastic accompaniment for a Viking boy who befriends a dragon. Is it just me, or does Powell have, perhaps, the most distinct voice for being an alumnus of Zimmer's school of composition, Remote Control Studios?
Favorite cue: "Dragon's Den"
Inception - Hans Zimmer
This score really surprised me at how cool it was. A beautiful blend of synth and orchestra (minus woodwinds), and built on a beautiful progression, the score makes for great repeat listening. Written to represent dreams and dreamscapes, Zimmer provides a very haunting score, with some very clever musical transformations including getting the big brass stabbing motif from a slowed down version of a song performed by Edith Piaf.
Favorite cue: "Dream is Collapsing"
Predators - John Debney
I know the controversy surrounding Debney's homage score. Using the same theme's and orchestration style as Alan Silvestri on his efforts for Predator, and Predator 2, he took a lot of heat, and some people were not happy that Silvestri didn't receive a credit. Despite all that, I love this score. It sounds very pristine, and I was happy that it was such a huge homage!
Favorite cue: "Free Fall"
Tron: Legacy - Daft Punk (Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, Thomas Bangalter)
I've written about my feelings on this score already, and I still like it a lot. Even with the comparisons to Zimmer and Howard's Dark Knight, I still love this score, and it is still inspiring me for the "next big project (in my head)".
Favorite cue: "Rinzler"
Honorable mention:
The re-recording of Basil Poledouris' Conan the Barbarian.
The only reason this isn't in the top five may be pretty obvious... it is not from a movie released in 2010. It is a re-recording of a movie from 1982. But I have to say that this score really rocks my face off!
Favorite cue: The Tree of Woe / Recovery
Fringe - Michael Giacchino, Chris Tilton, Chad Seiter
One of my favorite shows on television, the score is also super awesome. These composers are super at creating interesting sounds and timbres to fit the Fringe universe... er, universes!
Favorite cue: "Gurney For Your Thoughts" (Tilton)
Human Target - Bear McCreary
Bear has been doing a lot of work lately, whether it was finishing up BSG, Terminator: Chronicles of Sarah Connor, Caprica, The Walking Dead, and now The Cape. Human Target is epic for one reason... in this day and age when it's much easier, cheaper, and time saving to use synth and sample scores, this dude was composing for a full orchestra for this show every week. Very admirable, and something I can only hope to do in the future.
Favorite cue: Honestly, it's too hard to choose from the nearly 3 1/2 hours of music that was released on the CD!
I am now a certified Bachelor of Music in Composition... so I'll take all those composition jobs now, thank you!
You may also notice that whilst earning this degree I did so with great flair as noted by the "summa cum laude".
Good times!
My friend and studio partner Ben L. and I made the trek down to Anaheim, CA for the winter NAMM show, and i have to say that it was a blast!
We saw many cool things, but were absolutely blown away by Electro Harmonix's pedal: V256. Seriously... there was a tiny woman demoing the pedal, and when she activated it, she went from sounding like a small woman to a 6'7" tough guy. There were other effects on the pedal that have put it high up on my list of "things I want for the studio."
I also got to play around with the Moog guitar, and I love it. The infinite sustain (perpetuated by internal magnets) make this a very special guitar. Although it is also on the list, it'll most likely remain there for a while as it is pretty expensive. I also got to play with the Minimoog Voyager. So awesome! I need to start selling some blood because this thing comes in at $4995... but worth it... right? Yes!
Out of everything at the show, the thing that I ordered right away was the Logic Pro cover from KB Covers. It is a plastic cover for your computer keyboard that has all of the shortcuts and macros for the Pro Audio software Logic, or many others. If you are interested in one of these, they have a show discount for 20% off through 1/23. Promo Code: CES2011
While we were down in Anaheim we popped on over to Disney Land and California Adventure (don't worry... I didn't go on more than a couple rides because of my back). Here you can see Ben and I blasting some "astros". I wasn't very good.
Now that Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross have won the Golden Globe for Best Original Film Score, I thought I should try to explore my thoughts about Trent Reznor and Film music.
I read the other day that Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross have been asked to score the US remake of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
SIDEBAR - This is not a post about whether or not a remake should be made at all, only a couple years after the original foreign film was released (2009). Nor is this a review about Jacob Groth's effort on that film.
The first thought I had about the news of Reznor and Atticus was that I wouldn't like their score for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and that maybe Trent should stick with writing his Nine Inch Nails music in his electronica/pop genre, because, in my opinion... he has created a lot of music that I love and have listened to for years!
After, thinking about it, I'm wondering to myself why I have contempt prior to investigation.
I'm still deep in consideration, but here's what I know right now...
Out of all the scores that I've purchased this year, The Social Network is the only one that is almost entirely electronic.
When I first heard who was scoring The Social Network, I was looking forward to hearing it! I knew that Reznor could do many things musical. Combine that with the guy who wrote the very cool score for The Book of Eli, and I don't really see how it could be bad.
Finally I heard it.
The Social Network was a great underscore for the on screen manifestation of Aaron Sorkin's screenplay. I write underscore because, to be honest with you, aside from the electronic version of "In the Hall of the Mountain King", it isn't really all that memorable to me besides being Reznor's first foray into film scoring. And while it was different sounding compared to film scores released around the same time, it isn't a stretch from what I was hoping Reznor could do. And in thinking of things that he's already done like The Downward Spiral, The Social Network just seems like B-side Reznor noodleing. Harsh, but that's how I feel.
If I had to guess, it sounds like Atticus deferred to Reznor. I can hear elements of him buried at sporadic intervals throughout the score, but overall... it feels like Reznor to me.
With all that said, I should also write that their first joint effort does not a voice make. (God that sounds pretentious). I guess I hope that when they do team up again for their next effort, I want them to flex their musical muscles, and blow me away like I know they can.
Okay, the title may have been a little overstated, but i totally did break something in my back. According to those who know and understand these things, i ruptured my L4 disk in my spine.
I can tell you without lying that it hurts, a lot, even though this happened all the way back in October. In the MRI picture, you can see the damaged disk; it's the second from the bottom, and its obscuring the (white) nerve cluster.
So if you're thinking about lifting something heavy, and perhaps heavier than you should lift, consider lifting with your knees and not your back.
This has been your public service announcement for the week (it's mine for life).
Do you want to know what my new year's resolution was?
It was to not do a whole heck of a lot for the first week of 2011, and guess what... I succeeded.
I may have cheated a little bit by having celebrated Christmas a week late with my in-laws. But I'll take it as a win.
So now 2011 can begin, and boy what a year it's going to be (for better or worse).
Among growing my own wings, there's so much in store that I'm not going to write about it (I'm not one for tempting fate).
So if you please, stay tuned and I'll let you know about stuff as it happens.
So enjoy pics of my nephews!
Talk to you next week.
