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Looking forward to Thor list.
50 films..forty languages. .39 unpronounceable composer names. ...
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The Shape Of Water (Desplat)
The Post (Williajms )
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (Giacchino)
A Boy Called Po (Bacharach/Bauer)
Viceroy's House (A R Rahman)
Wind River (Cave/Ellis)
The Promise (Yared)
Breathe (Sawhney)
Blade Runner 2049 (Zimmer)
Dunkirk (Zimmer)
It (Wallfisch)
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My favorite scores (in order of release):
-Get Out
-A Cure for Wellness
-Logan
-Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2
-War for the Planet of the Apes
-The Dark Tower
-It
-Blade Runner 2049
-Thor: Ragnarok
-Murder on the Orient Express
-Star Wars: The Last Jedi
-The Post
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Posted: |
Jan 17, 2018 - 4:26 PM
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By: |
Washu
(Member)
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My list includes one television score.
My top 10 of 2017:
1. Naotora: The Lady Warlord - Yoko Kanno
The score is one of Kanno's finest scores to date and also one of the best television scores ever written. There is nobody alive in world of media scoring writing on this level or higher aside from Williams.
2. Star Wars: The Last Jedi - John Williams
Despite being the weakest Star Wars score written by Williams, it is still quite easily the best film score of the year (not the score of the year - that honor goes to Naotora).
3. Our Time Will Come - Joe Hisaishi
It has some of the most lovely scoring heard in a movie recently.
4. Blade Runner 2049 - Hans Zimmer & Benjamin Wallfisch
Despite being intimidated by Vangelis's 80s synth masterwork, they managed to conjure a soundworld (with the help of Vangelis's original score) that sound remarkably compelling and assured.
5. Phantom Thread - Jonny Greenwood
I wish I connected to the score more emotionally, I respect it more than enjoy it. On the other hand, there is no question that this is one of the most intellectually engaging scores of the year.
6. Good Time - Oneohtrix Point Never
The score contains some of the finest electronic music heard in a movie recently.
7. Get Out - Michael Abels
It is one of the freshest film scores of recent memory - it is a contemporary, open-eared, knowing-but-reverent take on classic Hermannesque scoring.
8. Star Sand - Ryuichi Sakamoto
There is very little music here, but what's there is pretty stunning and ranks up there with the best highlights of the year.
9. Tripoli Cancelled - Qasim Naqvi
The score contains some of the best electronic film music of the year.
10. The Post - John Williams
Even if it is one of Williams's weakest scores of the 21st century so far, it is still among the finest scores of the year.
The ranking switches I have to say and will most likely change if you ask me again in a few weeks, but I am posting this now without me changing something around again.
Composer of the Year: Yoko Kanno wins because Naotora is one of her best scores in addition to being one of the best television scores of all time. Williams is the runner up.
Breakthrough composer of the year: Oneohtrix Point Never with Michael Abels as a really close runner up.
It was the weakest year of the millenium so far.
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All I heard were recycles. The Zimmer/Newton-Howard DK thing is beyond beaten into the ground.
Nothing.
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All I heard were recycles. The Zimmer/Newton-Howard DK thing is beyond beaten into the ground.
Nothing.
Did you listen to the ones I mentioned?
I went back and checked out a couple of things I hadn't heard. My opinion remains the same. Zero.
However, that is just my sole opinion. I respect others'.
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All I heard were recycles. The Zimmer/Newton-Howard DK thing is beyond beaten into the ground.
Nothing.
Did you listen to the ones I mentioned?
I went back and checked out a couple of things I hadn't heard. My opinion remains the same. Zero.
However, that is just my sole opinion. I respect others'.
To say that every score in 2017 was a recycle of the Zimmer/Newton-Howard DK thing seems deliberately obtuse to me.
That's not what I meant. What I meant was I hear a LOT of it. I should have been more specific.
The things that aren't recycled Zimmer/Newton-Howard sound like recycled something else. The biggest problem for film composers today is the fact that many of them are just copying others' sound to make quick money. Nothing wrong with that...everyone needs to make money. However, it's apparent that what people call the minimalistic style today is just a euphemism for severe dumbing down, not an artistic drive.
There wasn't a single score released this year that I've heard that didn't sound so derivative as to be trite, and to be fair that goes for the lion's share of film music in the past eight or so years. Nobody takes chances anymore; play it safe and dumb it down is the name of the game. There were rudimentary scores in the past, however the phenomenon seems more predominant that ever. I should also mention that the presence of sample libraries and one finger synth patches are making it easier than ever to make dumb music...very bad news for people who love music for music.
Coming from a music graduate, trust me: it's all pretty much the same. Film composers today need to go back and study up on the non-film music composers of the past. Even many of the people calling themselves "composer-composers" today are showing their sampling cracks; many of these social media-created "composrs" are seemingly talking themselves into believing that just because they took a licensed phrase sample and put a synth patch and percussion to it it's their own composition. Bottom line: if you can't notate and/or write the midi out in something you wrote, then you didn't write it.
Don't shoot the messenger, this is as much a musicological perspective as it is subjective. This year is a lot like many of the years this century: stagnant.
You might not agree, and there's nothing wrong with that. It had to be said.
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Posted: |
Jan 18, 2018 - 8:58 AM
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By: |
The Mutant
(Member)
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I posted a similar thread a while back. Here’s my list:
Bladerunner 2049:
-2049
-Flight to LAPD
-Pilot
-Mesa
-Sea Wall (probably my favorite)
-All the Best Memories are Hers
Sea Wall in particular is just incredible. Listening to that while driving late at night is an experience. They really concocted a thick, dynamic sound that dominates that scene and almost resembles the massive waves that are crashing and smashing throughout. It’s a brilliant pairing of music and visuals that stuck with me after the first viewing.
Spider-Man Homecoming:
-Webbed Surveillance (favorite)
-Monumental Meltdown
-A Boatload of Trouble 1&2
-Ferry Dust-Up
-Fly-By-Night Operation
I’m pretty hot and cold with Giacchino, but I thought he wrote one of his best scores for Spider-Man Homecoming. Probably my favorite cues are for The Vulture scenes (Webbed Surveillance) but I also really liked his theme for Peter Parker and Stark. Each one is unique and instantly identifiable. He really helped sell the “scariness” of the Vulture in those scenes. I’ve been playing this a lot. The action stuff is great. I tend to skip the high school antics cues. He also is great at writing music that feels like a whole sequence rather than a bunch of scenes and moments stuck together. His music for the monument scene is a great example. He carries that tempo through the entire scene making it feel “whole”, if that makes any sense.
Thor Ragnarok:
-Where am I?
-Grandmaster’s Chambers
-Go
-What Heroes Do (awesome)
-Flashback
-The Revolution has Begun
-Sakaar Chase
I was pleasantly surprised to hear some fresh synth-pop in this one. It’s mostly in the scenes that occur on the planet Sakaar and I find those the most interesting. There’s even a nod to Escape from New York. The orchestral Asgard stuff doesn’t quite grab me.
Alien Covenant:
-The Covenant
-Sails (really nice stuff)
-Spores (love the second half as they discover the derelict)
-The Med Bay (brilliantly tense)
-Dead Civilization
-Cargo Lift (my favorite action cue of the year)
-Alien Covenant Theme
I am a big, big fan of this movie and I truly hope Scott continues this story. Many people dismissed this score because of the Goldsmith quotes, but Jed Kurzel’s original material is excellent. From the serene, classically orchestral “Sails” to the unnerving and unrelenting synth beats that build and build in “The Med Bay”, his music fits this movie like a glove. It also contains some nice homages to Jerry’s music. And “Cargo Lift” is superb action writing.
Star Wars:The Last Jedi:
-Main Title and Escape
-The Fathiers
-The Resistance is Reborn
-“Chrome Dome”
-A New Alliance
-Holdo's Resolve
-The Battle of Crait
-The Spark (awesome)
-The Last Jedi
-Finale
I’m still familiarizing myself with this one, but I really liked what I heard in the theatre, and yes, I enjoyed the film despite a few very weird moments. Probably my favorite moment in the score (and film) is the build-up to Luke walking out and facing down the First Order (The Spark). Williams really knows how to build up to a big moment like that and maximize my excitement. Another moments that almost moved me to tears was hearing the original Tie-Fighter music in “The Battle of Crait”. I wasn’t expecting that and it brought a huge smile to my face. And it went beyond a simple needle-drop, he really weaves it in with the new material quite nicely.
That moment overshadowed any of my problems with the rest of the film.
Dunkirk:
-The Mole
-The Oil
-Supermarine
-End Titles
Saw this one with my folks on opening night in 70mm. That was an experience. You could cut the tension in that theatre with a knife, and Zimmer’s score was a big part of that. The ambient stuff is great, really illustrating the nightmarish reality of those poor souls stuck on that beach. The action stuff is my favorite part though. There is a moment in “The Oil” that was such a good payoff after all that buildup - all seems lost and the music is at a fever pitch - then Hardy’s plane swoops into the frame to save the day and Zimmer lays down the most satisfying synth line at that moment. The audience cheered, and again I had a big dumb grin on my face. Unfortunately I think the film version is a little different than what’s on the CD. Great cue regardless.
I also really liked the “Logan” score but I haven’t picked that up yet. I really liked that ominous pitch-bend thing he used for the bad guys.
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