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See! I did bring it back around to THE SWARM 
Perfect. I was just listening to the Prometheus release of the score and am surprised how well it holds up. Great album, good sound.
Anyway, I agree with Nono that this has all been very interesting (very much indeed), and I'd sure have more to add, but forgive me that I won't be as wordy as I'm visiting FSM with my smart phone and typing that much stuff on a phone with just a thumb is really tiresome.
However, to summarize: if 86 - 99% prefer the same type of speaker, it is an evolutionary conclusion that 86 - 99% of the speakers built will one day be that type of speaker. If most people prefer the same, most offers will then be the same (with the rest of offerings catering to the remaining percentages).
Chances are, I fall into the 86-99%, so good for me, most likely.
There will be a few random bumps in the equation, as there are some other factors which will wager in when choosing a speaker which are independent of a blind listening test (price, looks, size of speakers, size of room, etc.), so is the best speaker turns out to cost $500,000.-, not too many people will be able to afford it even if they prefer its sound.
Nevertheless, the logical conclusion is that if there is a speaker that 86-99% of people would choose, that speaker would be a good starting point for any listener to then find out if it fits his own purposes.
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One of the things they discovered is that a bad speaker will sound bad in any room, and a good speaker will sound better in any room. The ranking scores do change, but always relative to one another. In other words:
Bad speaker in a good room - rating 4 out of 10
Bad speaker in a bad room - rating 2 out of 10
Good speaker in a good room - rating 9 out of 10
Good speaker in a bad room - rating 6 out of 10
Oh yes, for sure, I am convinced of that. No doubt about it.
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The Swarm isn't a tone poem (though, yeah, I sure listen to it as divorced from the movie). The "bee sound" in the score is overkill at best, since there is an actual buzzing swarm of bees on screen. So not a useful comparison. The music simply doesn't need to do the work it's doing in the film.
And that's why it was written, not because Goldsmith said, I think I'll write a tone poem about killer bees. So it carries the film with it like toilet paper trailing from the bottom of his shoe.
I like you generally, Sean, so please don't take this as any more than air-sparring, nerd-style:
I'd say that his "bee sound" is only ridiculous if you think of THE SWARM as anything other than..... A Monster Movie.
And for A Monster Movie, it fits. Just like Rosenthal's loud, dissonant, blaster-beam-augmented tutti (when the title character appears in the opening sequence) is perfect for METEOR (yes, it's a Monster Movie!) and Kaper's two, thundering pianos in THEM.
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That, and also, The Swarm is a STUNNING orchestral work by Jerry Goldsmith.
It should be analyzed also apart from the movie, because of its complex orchestrations and very inventive use of instruments. The score is THE thing that adds some excitement and propels an overall bad movie.
This score is the perfect example of the highest professionalism and genius of Jerry Goldsmith. It still blows my mind how he was able to find inspiration to compose music of such good caliber for a movie like this.
Just can't wait to finally receive this CD!
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The Swarm isn't a tone poem (though, yeah, I sure listen to it as divorced from the movie). The "bee sound" in the score is overkill at best, since there is an actual buzzing swarm of bees on screen. So not a useful comparison. The music simply doesn't need to do the work it's doing in the film.
And that's why it was written, not because Goldsmith said, I think I'll write a tone poem about killer bees. So it carries the film with it like toilet paper trailing from the bottom of his shoe.
I like you generally, Sean, so please don't take this as any more than air-sparring, nerd-style:
I'd say that his "bee sound" is only ridiculous if you think of THE SWARM as anything other than..... A Monster Movie.
And for A Monster Movie, it fits. Just like Rosenthal's loud, dissonant, blaster-beam-augmented tutti (when the title character appears in the opening sequence) is perfect for METEOR (yes, it's a Monster Movie!) and Kaper's two, thundering pianos in THEM.
We are in complete agreement, David - it is a transcendent monster movie score. I was rankled by some folks calling the score a masterpiece, that's the only reason I started my counterpoint.
But monster movies are indeed fundamentally ridiculous, even when joyously so. (I direct those who haven't seen it to The Core, which is just that - I love it. Where The Swarm struggles in its absurdity, The Core really digs in to its.)
BTW, I tend to like you specifically, David, so I'm one up there. 
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We are in complete agreement, David - it is a transcendent monster movie score. I was rankled by some folks calling the score a masterpiece, that's the only reason I started my counterpoint.
Masterpiece...well, that is in the eye of the beholder. But I would rank THE SWARM rather high on the scale of film music, it works terrific as pure music. The schlocky movie of course makes it difficult to use the word "masterpiece" in the context of THE SWARM. However, I first heard the score in the 1980s (on the Warner LP) before I had ever seen the movie, and I thought, WOW, yes, that is how a monster bee movie should sound.
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Some empty beehives judiciously placed in a room can improve its acoustic.
I had missed the Prometheus release of The Swarm at the time, which will be easier to find now. I'll probably try the La-La Land at some point too, especially since it was mastered by Bruce Botnick.
At least, it's a curiosity.
Be warned, that release mixed the LCR 3-track as LRC (Left-Right-Center), so the stereo balance is thrown off. That's audible and demonstrable without the use of waveform screencaps.
Okay, thank you Neil. So I'll just own the La-La Land.
The Prometheus sounds quite good, especially if you consider the mixup with the channels (how does this stuff ever happen? The first Varèse release of THE COWBOYS had left and right switched as well, IIRC).
I am curious about MQA as a format, as I never heard anything in that format. Not even sure how it works (yeah, I will read up on it). I'm wondering... a lossless rip of the CD should still provide the MQA sound when streamed to an appropriate DAC, I presume?
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....Masterpiece...well, that is in the eye of the beholder. But I would rank THE SWARM rather high on the scale of film music, it works terrific as pure music. The schlocky movie of course makes it difficult to use the word "masterpiece" in the context of THE SWARM. However, I first heard the score in the 1980s (on the Warner LP) before I had ever seen the movie, and I thought, WOW, yes, that is how a monster bee movie should sound.
Well, Nicolai, I can finally say that you are completely right. And frankly, that was my experience. I too memorized the album (on cassette, one of my favorite car listens) long before I saw the movie. I loved the way he integrated the bee sounds into the score, so smartly done.
I may be allergic to Irwin Allen (and I really am, haven't even been tempted by the Williams disaster box), but I can hardly wait to get my copy of this - it's supposed to be delivered today. Mutant is making me jealous!
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(I direct those who haven't seen it to The Core, which is just that - I love it. Where The Swarm struggles in its absurdity, The Core really digs in to its.)
Ooooo! I wondered if this was another FANTASTIC VOYAGE sort-of piece of cheese. It sounds promising. I'll check to see if it is in the library to watch. Thanks, Sean.
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Uploaded this into Apple Music last night, and listened to the album presentation early this morning while stockpiling groceries.
Man, is that a snappy album! Though I do wish that Jerry had not had the tendency to end the score suite with a quiet number before the big finish. I really love the way actual score builds and builds and suddenly gets so much more upbeat.
But who am I kidding - as others say, this is one of his best albums ever.
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Posted: |
Mar 13, 2020 - 12:27 PM
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By: |
jackfu
(Member)
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The discussions that some of you have had (John, Nicolai, Nono, et. al.) have been very instructive, inspiring and enjoyable, thanks!
They also make me very nostalgic for the wonderful times I enjoyed back in the 70s when you could actually find brick-and-mortar audiophile stores, with listening rooms, decent acoustics, various hardware, equipment, devices, etc.
I don't currently have a functional stereo system - I have the components, but my AR-15 speakers (1979) need new caps and to be refoamed - so, I have to listen over some decent bluetooth earbuds. I can't really tell any significant audible difference between my Prometheus and my new LLL scores, and that's okay.
I do love Goldsmith's The Swarm. One thing that stands out to me is that it is such a "transitional" score, IMO.
There's elements of past and future scores: In Harm's Way, Patton, Alien, First Blood, etc., and that is a good thing!
For some reason, I have a special place in my heart for transitional work. Some of Williams' such scores such as Midway and Black Sunday are some of my most highly regarded scores as well.
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