Gotcha! The End - Tracksounds to Shut Down.

GOTCHA! Well, some of ya.

Of course some of you figured out my little April Fools prank, but admit it, some of you wondered if it was true at least a teensy weensy bit. I was just hoping to be the first April Fools Prank you saw on the web this year, because after you've experienced one joke...you're keen to the rest. Mine was the Star Wars film prank from The Movie Blog. Really had me going for a few minutes.

I only get to do the "Our site is shutting down" prank once in a lifetime, so there you have it. Will have to come up with something a little more subtle for another year.

Thanks to all of those who sent me emails and IMs. Glad to know the site means a little something to you. To those of you who were dancing a little jig at my announcement. Sorry...Tracksounds ain't going nowhere...as far as I know.

Truth be told, there are some good things happening with some good people getting involved. You'll be seeing the effects of this in the upcoming months. There's so much to do and so little time. I guess this is a great time to plug our Team Up page. Check it out and let me know if you have any interest.

So...some 21 hours after posting my little joke, I say 'HAPPY APRIL FOOLS DAY' to you all. Thanks for visiting and supporting Tracksounds all these years.

Christopher

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All,

Tracksounds has been online since 1998...really 1997, if you count the original Geocites site! While there are a ton of things left on the table for this site and the vision far from being fulfilled, there have been a number of very recent events that have come together to make it impossible to continue to run Tracksounds. Some of the reasons are very personal, some not, so I'll share what I can.

First off, the current economic climate has forced me into taking a few other projects that are going to dominate my time, like nobody's business, over the next couple of years. Secondly, my recent engagement is going to eat up what little time I have left...but happily so!

I was hoping to keep Tracksounds alive by handing the reigns over to some very capable individuals...much moreso than myself actually, but in the end, the right setup for all parties just couldn't be reached. I believe it to be in the best interest of everyone that Tracksounds simply close its doors.

The site won't disappear immediately, but over the next few months you'll fewer and fewer updates. I haven't decided whether to leave the site up just for reference's sake. We'll have to see there.

I'll definitely still be floating around the net and looking for a new soundtrack home myself. It will quite strange just being a "visitor" again. Seems like yesterday that sites like Filmtracks and SoundtrackNet inspired me to start my own site. Hopefully Tracksounds did the same for a few others along the way.

So...enough of that for now. It's a little depressing having to post this at all. As my own thoughts clear, I will post more.

Thanks for all of your support over the years. I've met and worked with some great people and look forward to continuing those relationships.

Christopher

The Matrix on Blu Ray - Why you might want to pick it up.

Not so long ago, I picked up THE ULTIMATE MATRIX on HD-DVD...as some of you poor souls may have. Then, of course, HD-DVD died (err...was taken out by Sony and some other hidden shooter on a grassy knoll.) Still, I resolved that I would not be buying THE MATRIX when it inevitably came out on the Blue usurper.

Today, Warner released a 10th Anniversary edition of THE MATRIX on Blu Ray. And all of the content contained therein was available in THE ULTIMATE MATRIX COLLECTION released on Blu Ray last year, so I got to asking myself, "Why should I bother with this one?" Thinking that I'd give myself a speedy answer of "There is no spoon...nor a reason. Next." But somehow, I got to staring at that interestingly white packaging and began to find reasons that I (or you) might want to re-invest in the franchise.

There are a few reasons that make this latest release tempting:

1) (For those of you who are in my boat) THE DIGI-BOOK. Collectors salivate over such things...and though I'm not a hard core collector, for a movie as important as The Matrix was and is to cinematic history, I can feel somewhat justified in dropping some additional coin on the same movie. While I can't find a decent description of what is actually in the book (from Warner anyway), it's does look to have some nice pix in it...I suppose.

2) Now, for those of you who don't own the THE ULTIMATE MATRIX or THE MATRIX REVISITED already, then it's a no-brainer. Pick it up. You'll love this baby in dazzling HD and will love the music related special features.

You'll get some awesome commentaries, among them a great commentary by composer DON DAVIS and a rare SCORE ONLY track. Additionally, you'll get a ton, as in 41 tracks, of enough electronica to explode a small moon.


3) The least convincing reason is that you absolutely have to have a digital copy of the movie. That's included in this release.


So there you have it and here you (and I) can get it. So much for my resolution.

The Matrix: 10th Anniversary Edition Blu Ray

More Eastern Promises. More Howard Shore?

The fine folk at Cinematic report that DAVID CRONENBERG will be making a sequel to EASTERN PROMISES. (I don't know about you, but I'm still recovering from the spa fight from the first film.) It was a sleeper hit film that really didn't get it's due...nor did lead actor Viggo Mortensen. Looks like Mortensen will back with Cronenberg as well as writer Steven Knight, which is great news.

Now the next question that must be asked is, "Will HOWARD SHORE return as well?" Will he have time with all of his Hobbitizing? EASTERN PROMISES was certainly one of the most beautiful scores of 2007, so let's hope he has time for it....however...if you must choose Mr. Shore...stick with the Hobbits. They need you even more.

Check the full article here

The Soundcast Interview: Brian Tyler

Podcast People!

We're back...and we're faster and "furiousier" and "dragonballier" than ever! We are proud to deliver to you our recent interview with composer BRIAN TYLER. The prolific composer shares about his most recent projects: DRAGONBALL EVOLUTION, FAST AND FURIOUS, THE LAZARUS PROJECT and answers questions submitted by YOU! He also discusses his fascination for vests, the affect of Jerry Goldsmith's passing, and more! When you're done listening, please vote in our latest poll on our home page.

Also, The SoundCast is now available on iTunes, if that your preferred method of podification.


Episode Highlights

- Introduction: "Podcast People!" (00:00)
- Your busiest 12 months? (03:19)
- Keeping it fresh. (06:25)
- Multitasking (10:25)
- Signing before the film is shot. (12:20)
- What's up with the vests? (18:30)
- Do you think about the soundtrack audience? (21:20)
- Choosing the music to include on soundtracks (23:50)
- How do scheduling changes affect your writing? (28:16)
- How you use percussion. (31:00)
- Jerry Goldmsith's passing (34:35)
- How do you handle rejection? (38:50)
- Partition and Other smaller films (45:55)
- Summon the Conclusion (48:40)

Music Clips (Select musical clips contained in this podcast)

00:10: Fast and Furious: "Accelerator"
02:09: Dragonball Evolution: "The Legend"
18:54: Fast and Furious: "Outta Sight"
21:38: Dragonball Evolution: "Main Titles"
27:40: Fast and Furious: "Memorial"
31:00: Dragonball Evolution: "Fulums"
34:30: Timeline: "Eternal"
37:13: Rambo: "Rambo Theme"
45:40: Partition: "Partition"
48:50: Children of Dune: "Summon the Worms"


For past episodes, feed links, and more on The Soundcast, simply make this jump.

Star Wars: The Old Republic: Galactic Timeline 1 incl. music by John Williams

LucasArts and Bioware just posted a new, quasi-animated short. This appears to be the first of a series of timeline-shorts giving us the all-important "history" and backstory for the upcoming MMORPG, STAR WARS: THE OLD REPUBLIC.

I have to admit I love these simple little stories. I'm not the biggest fan of the particular art style they are going with for this game, site and shorts, but I've scene a lot worse. I am also a sucker for Jedi/Sith "history." It holds far more potential than any "clone-story" ever could.

Admittedly, my first time through this video...I hardly watched at all. Instead, I was listening. No. Not to the narration, but to the music, of course. I have been doing my best to find out who is doing the music for this game, but I have yet to get any answers whatsoever. I was hoping this video might give me a clue.

Sadly, as it turns out...it's all recycled music from JOHN WILLIAMS' prequel efforts. It works well enough for the little animated short, but certainly didn't excite me. This might, in the end, prove to be what they do for the game (recycle Williams' score) which would be a cryin' shame. While Jesse Harlin has proven himself a capable musical editor on previous Star Wars games, the fact is, there are composers out there who would do a great job of holding to the musical tradition of Star Wars, while bringing in something fresh...and I don't mean of The Clone Wars variety either.

So check it out. It's an interesting few minutes of Star Wars history. I think this Galactic Timeline series could hold my attention for a while...if only they'd inject some fresh music into the experience. Tell us what you think of the video, the game, and the music.

Watch THE TREATY OF CORUSCANT here

Brian Tyler Interview Question Contest Winners!

Winner Announcement #1 - Brian Tyler Interview Question Contest on 12seconds.tv




Winner Announcement #2 - Brian Tyler Interview Question Contest on 12seconds.tv

If you want the thrill of the suspense watch the two videos above. If you want to cut to the chase to see if you won, then just read on.

Thanks to everyone who submitted questions. There were some good ones. Unfortunately, we didn't have time for them all, even though Brian Tyler was very gracious with his time. So the finalists (as at least one of their questions were asked during the interview) were:

Kevin C
New York

Thomas H
Anchorage, Alaska

Aitor C
Spain

Michael C
Kentucky


And the two winners are: THOMAS H and AITOR C! Each of you will be contacted by email to find out which prize soundtrack, DRAGONBALL EVOLUTION or FAST AND FURIOUS, you'd like.

Thanks again everyone who participated!

You can follow me at 12seconds.tv posts here.

Updated! Ask Composer Brian Tyler and Win!

UPDATE (3/26/09) - The question submission period has now closed! Thanks to all who sent in such great questions. Watch this spot for more details on the interview and the contest winners!


UPDATE (3/24/09) - Now, you could be ONE of TWO WINNERS of either DRAGONBALL EVOLUTION or FAST AND FURIOUS original soundtracks by Brian Tyler. Simply enter as instructed below. The winners will be drawn at random from those whose questions get asked during the interview. Winners will be posted on this blog and will have to verify, by email, the question(s) they originally submitted along with their shipping information.

*Each soundtrack is a promo edition and NOT the final packaged soundtrack from Varese Sarabande.


BRIAN TYLER, composer for two big, upcoming films, DRAGONBALL EVOLUTION and FAST AND FURIOUS, will our special interviewee in a few short days!

Right now, you have a special opportunity to finally ask the question(s) you've been dying to ask. Here's how:

1) You can send up to 3 questions.
2) Best questions would relate to DRAGONBALL EVOLUTION or FAST AND FURIOUS, but you are not limited to these two projects.
3) Please include: your questions, your first name, your state our country.
4) Questions will be taken until NOON (12 PM ET), Thursday, March 26, 2009
5) You may submit your questions in one of three ways:

1. By email: scoreman AT tracksounds DOT COM (enter this exact title in the subject field "Ask Brian Tyler" *Your email address will not be used for any other purpose or sold to any third-parties.
   
   
   
2. By voice mail: Simply click the GOOGLE VOICE button below. Enter your number (keep it private if you like). Wait for GOOGLE VOICE to call you back. Leave your voicemail. Remember to include your first name, state and/or country. *You phone number will not be used for any other purpose or sold to any third-parties.
   
   
   
   
3. By Twitter: PRIVATE MESSAGE me at http://twitter.com/tracksounds. You can put each question in a separate PRIVATE MESSAGE.

Submission of questions does not guarantee they will be asked or ultimately published with the interview. Remember all questions must be submitted by 12 PM ET, Thursday, March 26, 2009.

A portion of the interview will be featured in an upcoming edition of THE SOUNDCAST, later to be followed by a fully transcribed edition on the website.


So get to askin' already!

The Gene Generation by Scott Glasgow + Signing at Dark Delicacies

Along with several other key Varese Sarabande releases comes composer SCOTT GLASGOW's latest effort, THE GENE GENERATION. As you'll remember, we reviewed his score for ROBOTECH:THE SHADOW CHRONICLES and interviewed the composer about the experience in 2007. You can pre-order your copy of the soundtrack now - scheduled for release on March 31, 2009. More info on The Gene Generation is available below.


Dark Delicacies Signing


Additionally, SCOTT GLASGOW along with MARCO BELTRAMI and CHRISTOPHER BECK will be at a signing at DARK DELICACIES this Saturday at 2:00 PM PT. Check here fore more deets.


More on The Gene Generation:

In a futuristic world, Michelle lives everyday battling with DNA Hackers who use their skills to hack into people's bodies and kill them. She is an assassin, battling her past demons and trying to keep her younger and extroverted brother, Jackie, out of trouble. When Jackie gets involved in a petty crime of robbery, he propels himself into the world of DNA Hackers, Shylocks (Loan Sharks) and Gang Fights. Wanting the respect that the world has never given to him only makes it harder for Jackie to peel himself away from the underground trades, against the hopes of his sister, Michelle. Michelle always wanted to leave the city and lead a calm and quiet lifestyle. As emotions and gunfire get into the way, Michelle and Jackie soon find themselves battling between their lives and finding out that in an immoral world, love can still survive. Blood is thicker than water. Summary written by Pearry Reginald Teo.


The Score:


The score of GENE features ethnic instruments and intense gothic styling. It features Zhonghu (Chinese Cello), Viola de Gamba (Medieval Cello), Flutes, & vocals by Melissa R. Kaplan (K-Pax, Riddick, Robotech).


Composer's Note:


When I first started to think about the score to THE GENE GENERATION, I knew I wanted to keep it as a small group of exotic instruments with none coming from the tradition symphonic orchestra group on top of my own studio work. Initially, my list was much longer than the final group of players however as the score grew I felt I didn’t need a live Pipa player or Guzheng player. One of the other changes came with the flute. Initially I planned to only use ethnic flutes but during the recording I realized that the intonation and general nature these exotic flutes make it a little hard to do on the spot so I switched to standard concert flute. I think it works better in the end anyways.

One thing I knew from the start was I wanted to work with Melissa R. Kaplan for the vocals on this score. I had worked with her before on a score called ROBOTECH:THE SHADOW CHRONICLES (also released by Varese Sarabande 302 066 702 2). Her unique stylings were a must for this exotic world I was working with. One of the interesting aspects with the vocals on this score was that the director had created his own alphabet for the film. I took this alphabet and created vowel sounds for Melissa to sing. On top of that I knew Melissa would do her Bulgarian style singing but I wanted to mash it together with other ethnic singing style. So I asked her to start with Bulgarian phrasing maybe switch to Indian ‘raga scales’ and end with Cantonese opera melismas, ultimately creating a “pan-ethnic” style of singing. I think it comes out really different and works well in this future world the director created with this film.

My work on this score was to bring the intimate contrast to the in-your-face industrial songs but also to bring the gothic darkness to the film. I hope I have achieved that and a great listening experience filled with contrast for you.


Scott Glasgow
Hollywood, CA 2009

Under-Rated! Thirteen Days

Under-Rated! is a new blog feature where I will occasionally post about a film and/or film score that has somehow been lost in the ever-thickening haze of mediocrity...and then, if available, point you to our review of the original score.

Our first entry goes all the way back to the year 2000. THIRTEEN DAYS was simply a phenomenal effort by director Roger Donaldson to recreate the nearly-two-week-ordeal that almost brought the USA into nuclear war. The writing and acting are both sharp. The faithful recreation of the West Wing is stunning and director Donaldson is somehow able to build a lot of tension even though we all know the outcome of the story. What is so poignantly conveyed is just how close we came to mass destruction during those days. If you, like me, weren't alive or were too young to remember those events, after viewing this film, the title "Cuban Missle Crisis" will never ring the same.

When it comes to TREVOR JONES' score, all that needs to be said is that it matches the tone and tension and film to a "T". Back in early 2001, this score truly got my attention and after seeing the film, was one of my cinematic highlights of the year. I originally gave this score an 8/10...and that rating easily holds to this day.

Check out our original soundtrack review for THIRTEEN DAYS here.

3typen's "Fire" set to Killzone 2 Video

Fire (Killzone 2) | 3typen from 3typen on Vimeo.

Just got a heads up from 3typen on their latest musical creation, "Fire (Killzone 2)." Since I'm playing through the game right now, I have an immediate connection to the images and the feel of the music. As good as JORIS DE MAN's score is, 3typen's electronica cut works equally well with this nicely edited video montage. You can check out some of their other work at the links above.

WALL*EMEN : The Impact of a Little Music Change

I recently saw this on Firstshowing.net. It's a great little mashup of Wall*E and Watchmen of all things! Of course, what makes it great is that most of us would never think of trying to "mash" those two things together. Still...

With some nice editing of WALL*E footage and music (and voice over) from the WATCHMEN trailer, we have a totally different experience created. Of course the music is The Beginning is the End is the Beginning by Smashing Pumpkins. Most of the insanely dark tone felt in this mashup comes from this song...making the insanely cute Wall*E footage suddenly ooze with the morbid weight found in Watchmen.

What a great example of the power of music in film.

The SoundCast - Episode 3

After a bit of a hiatus, we're back with an all new episode of THE SOUNDCAST. In this cast, I'm joined by Jeron Moore, who joins in the discussion about the recent release of WATCHMEN and it's original score by TYLER BATES.

We also share about what movies we've been watching, games we've been playing, and scores we've been listening to. (as if we had time for anything else.) This is a special extended-play edition at over 1 hour, so enjoy your little hearts out this weekend.

We're also proud to tell you that you can now SUBSCRIBE to THE SOUNDCAST! Don't miss one exciting episode and subscribe today. Also, you can check out our podcast's new home at the Tracksounds site, right here.

As always, your feedback is always welcome and valuable to us, so don't hesitate to post your comment here, by sending me an email (scoreman AT tracksounds DOT com) or by tweeting me at http://twitter.com/tracksounds!

Blacklight - Movie, Comic Book and Game Under Development

We all know the pitfalls of making games out of films and films out of games. Most often, the end result is one level of a disaster or another. It was only a matter of time before someone figured it out. Now, Fox Atomic along with Zombie currently have a brand new property under development. BLACKLIGHT is going to be a comic book, a feature film and a military-strategy video game!

Ok. This sounds promising. We could actually get both a decent flick and a decent film. In Variety's Cut Scene interview tone of BLACKLIGHT is compared to CHILDREN OF MEN! A militaristic version of Children of Men? I could go for that! Now, there are a couple questions that I must ask:

"Who will compose the music?"

"Will the same person compose the music for both movie and game?"


So are you excited about the potential for both a decent film and game here?

Variety's Cut Scene recently posted a very intriguing interview with some of the key players of this new venture. You can check it out here.

Watchmen (Soundtrack) by Tyler Bates - Review

Not being a fan of the original comic series, I come to the WATCHMEN feast without the unbearable weight of over 20 years of fandom and expectation. It seems the majority of faithful fans have received the film with open arms...actually pleasantly surprised with Snyder's fidelity to Alan Moore's original story, themes, and characters. Taking the film on its own (as I must do), it is a nearly three-hour exercise of superhero depth, rawness, and brutality unlike any other superhero film to date. The story is so dense and the themes so many that one viewing can hardly do it justice. Movies hardly ever capture all of the layers of character of a well-written novel, even a graphic novel, but WATCHMEN, the film, succeeds at giving the unacquainted audience a solid moviegoing-experience while clearly indicating that there is much more to these characters and to this story than is being portrayed on screen - not an easy feat.

When it comes to the music of the film, my feelings are mixed. The music for WATCHMEN was publicized months in advance of the film's theatrical release; touting special edition vinyl, picture discs, and various editions. One could hardly not build up some expectations for the final music experience would be. WATCHMEN's soundtrack features a combination of period pop selections and original score by TYLER BATES. The eclectic mix of the two helps to brand WATCHMEN as another, unique Zack Snyder creation. While there is a completely separate soundtrack release (thankfully) of these songs, their appearance and contribution to film bears a brief mention here. Perhaps it was the audio mix or perhaps the songs themselves, but most of the pop selections are a little too "on the nose." With the exception of the brilliantly juxtaposed "Unforgettable" by Nat King Cole, the other songs pulled me right out of the scene...calling too much attention to themselves rather than enhancing the mood or visuals. With such period-icons such as "I'm Your Boogie Man," "99 Luft Balloons" or "The Sound of Silence" unashamedly making their presence known, it may have been the director's intention, then, for TYLER BATES' score to balance this out.


Read the full review here

Composer Tom Salta (Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X.) Interview

Veteran game composer TOM SALTA shares about his foray into the world of video game music composition and his most recent project, the highly anticipated, TOM CLANCY'S H.A.W.X. Check it out below via Gametrailers.com