Soundcast - Episode 83 - Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Episode 83 - Star Wars:  The Force Awakens

The Soundcast returns to a galaxy far, far away!  Author Doug Adams (The Music of the Lord of the Rings Films), Kristen Romanelli (Managing Editor of Film Music Magazine Online) and Eric Woods (Host of Cinematic Sound Radio) joins Marius, Edmund and Christopher for an in-depth discussion about John Williams' most recent score for STAR WARS:  THE FORCE AWAKENS.  They discuss their reactions to the film, the music as a stand-alone listen as well as in context.  They also dive into the new themes Williams introduces and his reprisals of classic themes and moments (some very surprising).  Lastly, they share what their favorite musical moments from the score and film are.

Episode Highlights

00:44 — Welcome and Intros
07:40 — How we watched the film
16:10 — Movie reaction (non-spoilers)
44:04 — Music reaction (Spoilers)
68:42 — The Major Themes (Spoilers)
115:11 — Our favorite musical moments (Spoilers)
135:32 — Final Thoughts/ Burning Homestead (Spoilers)

Music Selections

00:00 — "Scherzo for X-Wings" (Star Wars:  The Force Awakens) by John Williams
15:43 — "I Can Fly Anything" (Star Wars:  The Force Awakens) by John Williams
43:45 — "Kylo Ren Arrives at the Battle" (Star Wars:  The Force Awakens) by John Williams
69:00 — "Rey's Theme" (Star Wars:  The Force Awakens) by John Williams
75:22 — "The Falcon" (Star Wars:  The Force Awakens) by John Williams
80:20 — "Kylo Ren Arrives at the Battle" (Star Wars:  The Force Awakens) by John Williams
82:58 — "Snoke" (Star Wars:  The Force Awakens) by John Williams
85:27 — "Palpatine's Teachings" (Star Wars:  Revenge of the Sith) by John Williams
89:01 — "Main Title/ Attack on the Jakku Village" (Star Wars:  The Force Awakens) by John Williams
99:05 — "March of the Resistance" (Star Wars:  The Force Awakens) by John Williams
100:51 — "The Shark Cage Fugue" (Jaws) by John Williams
102:26 — "The Jedi Steps and Finale" (Star Wars:  The Force Awakens) by John Williams
106:14 — "The Hologram/ Binary Sunset" (Star Wars:  A New Hope) by John Williams
115:24 — "The Ways of the Force" (Star Wars:  The Force Awakens) by John Williams
116:03 — "The Starkiller" (Star Wars:  The Force Awakens) by John Williams
117:08 — "The Falcon" (Star Wars:  The Force Awakens) by John Williams
120:49 — "Han and Leia" (Star Wars:  The Force Awakens) by John Williams
126:47 — "Rey's Theme" (Star Wars:  The Force Awakens) by John Williams
127:45 — "Snoke" (Star Wars:  The Force Awakens) by John Williams
128:18 — "Main Title/ Attack on the Jakku Village" (Star Wars:  The Force Awakens) by John Williams
135:46 — "Burning Homestead" (Star Wars:  A New Hope) by John Williams
140:46 — "The Jedi Steps and Finale" (Star Wars:  The Force Awakens) by John Williams

Notes:

 Follow Doug Adams on Twitter or visit www.themusicoflotr.com
 Follow Kristen Romanelli on Twitter or visit fsmagonline.com
 Follow Eric Woods on Twitter or visit cinemanticsound.net
 Follow Marius Masalar on Twitter
 Follow Edmund Meinerts on Twitter
 Follow Christopher Coleman on Twitter.



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Bonus SoundCast - Remembering James Horner

Bonus - The Soundcast Remembers James Horner

The Soundcast and Tracksounds team come together to talk about composer James Horner.  The team has a bit of a group therapy session as they share their own stories of the first time they each took note of the name, "James Horner," their thoughts on his lasting legacy in the film music genre, the score that epitomizes James Horner's work.  The main points of discussion are divided by clips from some of James Horner's lesser known, yet no less compelling, works.

Episode Highlights

00:00 — Introduction
04:22 — Hearing the bad news
10:09 — Our first James Horner score
21:48 — James Horner's place in history
34:23 — Some personal stories
41:22 — The epitome of James Horner
08:51 — Introduction to special tribute
36:08 — Close

Music Selections

00:00 — "There's No Goodbye ... Only Love" (Perfect Storm) by James Horner
19:48 — "A Far Away Time" (To Gillian on her 37th Birthday) by James Horner
33:35 — "Time Brings All Things To Light ... I Trust It So" (All The King's Men) by James Horner
40:15 — "Fresh Water" (Black Gold) by James Horner
52:33 — "Fallen Friends" (In Country) by James Horner

Support Tracksounds:


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SoundCast Ep. 80 - The 2014 Cue Awards

Episode 80 - The Cue Awards 2014 

The 7th Cue Awards are finally revealed!  Christopher Coleman, Marius Masalar, Edmund Meinerts, Richard Buxton, Thomas Medina, and Steven Sharrat, are joined by award-winning composers and record industry professionals to accept their awards.  All eleven award categories are announced as well as the winners of The Genius Choice Vote!  Additionally, Richard Buxton's spotlight on scores and composers from Asia returns with The Monkey King Award.

Episode Highlights

00:00 — Opening and Welcome to the 2014 Cue Awards
04:08 — How the Cue Awards Work
06:36 — Best Action Score: Cue Award and Genius Choice Award Winner
22:58 — What is The Genius Choice Vote?
23:35 — Best Dramatic Score: Cue Award and The Genius Choice Vote Winner
35:55 — Best Score for Television: Cue Award
38:11 — Best Score - Television: The Genius Choice Winner
45:10 — Best Score - Video Game: Cue Award and Genius Choice Winner
01:03:04 — Best Score - Animation: Cue Award and Genius Choice Award Winner
01:13:37 — Best Cue - Cue Award and Genius Choice Award Winner
01:22:55 — The Monkey King Award
01:26:31 — Record Label of the Year: Cue Award and Genius Choice Award Winner
01:36:06 — Best Theme: Cue Award and Genius Choice Award Winner
01:46:00 — Composer of the Year: Cue Award and Genius Choice Award Winner
01:50:05 — Best Overall Score: Cue Award and Genius Choice Award Winner
01:57:43 — Wrap Up and Spotlight Titles from 2014
02:11:14 — Credits and Thanks

Music Selections

00:01 — Cue the Orchestra by Marius Masalar
06:59 — Sun Wukong, The Monkey King (The Monkey King) by Christopher Young
11:35 — Niu Wo Wang, the Buffalo Demon King (The Monkey King) by Christopher Young
23:59 — Main Title (The Field of Lost Shoes) by Frederik Wiedmann
32:09 — The Imitation Game (The Imitation Game) by Alexandre Desplat
36:17 — Main Theme (Gunshi Kanbee) by Yugo Kano
38:34 — Main Theme (Game of Thrones) by Ramin Djawadi
45:50 — The Seeding (Civ. Beyond Earth) by Michael Curran, Geoff Knorr, Grant Kirkhope, Griffin Cohen
47:06 — Planetfall (Civ. Beyond Earth) by Michael Curran, Geoff Knorr, Grant Kirkhope, Griffin Cohen
47:46 — The Signal (Civ. Beyond Earth) by Michael Curran, Geoff Knorr, Grant Kirkhope, Griffin Cohen
51:49 — Planetfall Ambient Late 2 (Civ. Beyond Earth) by Michael Curran, Geoff Knorr, Grant Kirkhope, Griffin Cohen
54:49 — Xeno Titan (Civ. Beyond Earth) by Michael Curran, Geoff Knorr, Grant Kirkhope, Griffin Cohen
01:03:33 — Dragon Racing (How To Train Your Dragon 2) by John Powell
01:14:06 — The Future of Mankind (Civ. Beyond Earth) by Geoff Knorr
01:17:38 — Flying With Mother (How To Train Your Dragon 2) by John Powell
01:17:38 — Naoki Sato Suite - Arranged by Richard Buxton
01:17:38 — Son of Batman (Son of Batman) by Frederik Wiedmann
01:36:35 — A New Beginning (Civ. Beyond Earth) by Geoff Knorr
01:40:18 — Maleficent Flies (Maleficent) by James Newton Howard
01:46:24 — Opening Titles (Monuments Men) by Alexandre Desplat
01:50:43 — Two New Alphas (How To Train Your Dragon 2) by John Powell
01:50:43 — Should I know You? (How To Train Your Dragon 2) by John Powell

Notes:

Special thanks to:  Albert Tello (Costa Communications), Laura Engel (Kraft/Engel), Maria Klienmann (Walt Disney Music),  Dan Berry (Gorfaine Schwartz Agency)



Support Tracksounds:

You can purchase Marius Masalar's original piece "Cue The Orchestra" on Bandcamp!

Most of the  soundtracks mentioned in this episode can be found at Amazon.  Your purchases through these links help us to keep on keepin' on!  Thank You!

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SoundCast Episode 79 - Oscar Best Score Nominations

Episode 79 - Oscar Best Score Nominations

Yes.  The Oscar nominations have been public for a while, but it takes time for these things to settle in.  The crew assemble (virtually) to discuss each of the five nominees in the BEST SCORE category for the 87th Annual Academy Awards.  We give our predictions as to who we think will win and also who we'd like to see win.  We also share some responses from Twitter and Facebook on the topic.  Also in this episode WHYBLT? is back and Edmund Meinerts gets his chance to lay down his thoughts on Shore's Battle of the Five Armies score and our discussion in ep. 78.

Episode Highlights

00:00 — "Olflactenal Nominations"
00:39 — Intro and welcome
02:04 — WHYBLT?
24:48 — Re-Battle of the Five Armies with Edmund
39:30 — Oscar Best Score Nominations Intro
41:09 — The Grand Budapest Hotel by Alexandre Desplat
49:09 — The Imitation Game by Alexandre Desplat
53:38 — Interstellar by Hans Zimmer
68:20 — Mr. Turner by Gary Yershon
81:09 — The Theory of Everything by Johan Johannsson
90:51 — How to find and follow us
92:12 — Listeners Twitter/Facebook responses:  Who will win?  Who do you want to win?
95:44 — The Final Quesitons: Who will win?  Who do you want to win?
24:48 — Re-Battle of the Five Armies with Edmund
39:30 — Oscar Best Score Nominations Intro
41:09 — The Grand Budapest Hotel by Alexandre Desplat
49:09 — The Imitation Game by Alexandre Desplat

Music Selections

00:00 —  "Clippers Discoteque Break" (Pan Am - The Sound of the 70s) by Yoshinori Sunahara
02:17 —  "1st Movement" (Jupiter Ascending) by Michael Giacchino
03:36 —  "Save This World"  (Phantasy Star Universe) by Hideaki Kobayashi
06:38 —  "2002 FIFA World Cup Official Anthem" by Vangelis
08:37 —  "Big Hero 6" (Big Hero 6) by Henry Jackman
18:00 —  "Roman Fanfare" (Coliseum) by Marc Timon Barcelo
19:22 —  "Sands of the Coliseum" (Coliseum) by Marc Timon Barcelo
23:03 —  "Ecstasy of Gold"  (The Book of Life) by Gustavo Santaolalla
38:07 —  "The Return Journey"  (The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies) by Howard Shore
39:03 —  "The Darkest Hour" (The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies) by Howard Shore
41:12 —  "Mr. Moustafa" (The Grand Budapest Hotel) by Alexander Desplat
49:10 —  "The Imitation Game" (The Imitation Game) by Alexander Desplat
53:39 —  "First Step" (Interstellar) by Hans Zimmer
81:12 —  "Cambridge, 1963" by Johan Johannsson
92:23 —  "M. Ivan" (The Grand Budapest Hotel) by Alexander Desplat
95:44 —  "Where We're Going" (Interstellar) by Hans Zimmer
105:35 —  "Moonshine (Traditional)" (The Grand Budapest Hotel) arranged by Alexander Desplat

Notes:
The Video Game Music Database (http://vgmdb.net/)
Blizzard "Overwatch" Announcement trailer: http://youtu.be/UXCNNDHboho

Support Tracksounds:
Most of the  soundtracks mentioned in this episode can be found at Amazon.  Your purchases through these links help us to keep on keepin' on!  Thank You!

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Soundcast Ep. 75 - Top 10 2014 Summer Scores!

Ep. 75 - Top 10 2014 Summer Scores!

Christopher, Marius, Richard and Edmund reconvene to countdown their top ten scores from the very ripe, 2014 Summer movie line up!  It's been a few months, but we're back with  almost two-hours of episodic vengeance!

Episode Highlights

00:00 - Summer Countdown Mix
01:00 - Intro and How We Spent Our Summer Vacation
09:31 - #10
27:35 - #9
37:10 - #8
45:08 - #7
64:49 - #6
73:10 - #5
76:07 - #4
80:00 - #3
93:19 - #2
97:14 - #1
99:31 - Scores that didn't make the list

Music Selections

00:04 - "The Pod Chase" (Guardians of the Galaxy) by Tyler Bates
09:55 - "Dochi Theme" (Kundo:  Age of the Rampant) by Jo Yeong-wook
12:56 - "You Understood Us" (Earth to Echo) by Joseph Trapanese
16:38 - "Guardians United" (Guardians of the Galaxy) by Tyler Bates
21:00 - "The Kylin Escape" (Guardians of the Galaxy) by Tyler Bates
23:14 - "TMNT March" (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) by Brian Tyler
30:38 - "Son of Zeus" (Hercules) by Fernando Valezquez
37:21 - "Training Dusty" (Planes 2: Fire and Rescue) by Mark Mancina
40:45 - "Godzilla!" (Godzilla) by Alexandre Desplat
45:14 - "There He Is" (The Amazing Spider-Man 2) by Hans Zimmer et al
52:03 - "Main Titles" (The Giver) by Marco Beltrami
56:49 - "Enough Monkeying Around" (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes) by Michael Giacchino
58:41 - "Level Plaguing Field" (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes) by Michael Giacchino
65:01 - "Hiten-Kyoto" (Rurouni Kenshin - Kyoto Inferno) by Naoki Sato
66:55 - "End Title Suite" (A Million Ways to Die in The West) by Joel McNeeley
69:17 - "Main Titles" (Belle) by Rachel Portman
73:16 - "Trajectory of a Miracle" (Magical Sisters Yoyo and Nene) by Go Shina
77:07 - "Dragon Racing" (How to Train Your Dragon 2) by John Powell
80:15 - "Hassan Learns French Cooking" (Hundred Foot Journey) by A. R. Rahman
82:52 - "Maleficent Suite" (Maleficent) by James Newton Howard
89:00 - "Main Titles" (X-Men: Days of Future Past) by John Ottman
93:34 - "Marnie" (When Marnie Was There) by Takatsugu Muramatsu
98:05 - "Opening Title" (Stand By Me Doraemon) by Naoki Sato
100:02 - "The Unspeakable Has Happened" (The Boxtrolls) by Dario Marianelli
103:12 - "Angel of Verdun" (Edge of Tomorrow) by Christophe Beck
105:34 - "Toothless Found" (How to Train Your Dragon 2) by John Powell

Support Tracksounds:

Most of the  soundtracks mentioned in this episode can be found at Amazon.  Your purchases through these links help us to keep on keepin' on!  Thank You!

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How to Train Your Dragon 2 (Soundtrack) by John Powell

How to Score a Sequel
by Edmund Meinerts

JOHN POWELL took the film music world by storm when his utterly fantastic score for DreamWorks’ best film, the atypically mature and ambitious HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON, hit shelves in early 2010. It netted an unlikely but thoroughly deserved Academy Award nomination (why it didn’t win – especially considering what did that year – is beyond me) and set the bar into the stratosphere for the film music of the 2010s, a bar that hasn’t been reached by any score since. The score represented the high point of a period of very strong production for POWELL, with both 2010 and 2011 excellent years for him. Since then, however, he has only produced a handful of passable, but comparatively lackluster animated scores, followed by the further bad news that he would be taking a sabbatical from film music. One can only hope that he won’t end up like DON DAVIS did after his break: an enormous talent sadly neglected by Hollywood.

Fortunately, the prospect of returning to the same fruitful pastures that produced his career-best score seems to have nudged POWELL into making exceptions for this series; not only has he returned to score the sequel, but interviews seem to indicate that he’ll be along for the ride on a third and maybe even fourth film in the series. For film score fans, there can be no better news, because enough beating about the bush – HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 is every bit the triumph that its predecessor was. It does what every good sequel score ought to do and which so few actually do: it takes the themes and musical foundation from the first score, builds on it rather than taking the easy route of rehash, and adds several new themes to the mix. The result is undoubtedly the richest score of POWELL’s career so far – thematically-speaking, at least.

READ THE FULL REVIEW

Soundcast Ep. 74 - Summer Catch Up

Ep. 74 - Summer Catch Up

The Soundcast crew reconvenes with guest, Kristen Romanelli (Film Score Monthly), to get caught up on the first half of the Summer of 2014 big movies and big move scores:  The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Godzilla, X-Men: Days of Future Past and Edge of Tomorrow.

Episode Highlights

00:00 - Summer Catch-Up Mix
00:55 - Welcome to the Summer
08:10 - Feelings about the first-half of the Summer
13:22 - The Amazing Spider-Man 2
25:00 - Godzilla
44:30 - X-Men: Days of Future Past
60:39 - Maleficent
72:45 - Edge of Tomorrow
86:17 - What's left of the Summer
96:00 - Find and Follow

Music Selections

00:00 - "There He Is" (The Amazing Spider-Man 2) by Hans Zimmer
00:25 - "I'm Spider-Man" (The Amazing Spider-Man 2) by Hans Zimmer
13:45 - "I'm Electro" (The Amazing Spider-Man 2) by Hans Zimmer
20:27 - "The Electro Suite" (The Amazing Spider-Man 2) by Hans Zimmer
25:01 - "Godzilla!" (Godzilla) by Alexandre Desplat
29:57 - "Golden Gate Chaos" (Godzilla) by Alexandre Desplat
44:08 - "The Future (Main Titles)" (X-Men: Days of Future Past) by John Ottman
45:01 - "Hope" (X-Men: Days of Future Past) by John Ottman
46:15 - "Time" (Inception) by Hans Zimmer
46:58 - "Hope" (X-Men: Days of Future Past) by John Ottman
47:37 - "Time in a Bottle" (X-Men: Days of Future Past) by John Croce
56:26 - "Time's Up (Orig. Version)" (X-Men: Days of Future Past) by John Ottman
58:54 - "Time's Up (Film Version)" (X-Men: Days of Future Past) by John Ottman
60:40 - "Maleficent Suite" (Maleficent) by James Newton Howard
66:38 - "Maleficent is Captured" (Maleficent) by James Newton Howard
72:54 - "Angel of Verdun" (Edge of Tomorrow) by Christophe Beck
98:47 - "The Queen of Faerieland" (Maleficent) by James Newton Howard

Notes:

Follow Kristen Romanelli on Twitter - @kbfornow

Support Tracksounds:

Most of the  soundtracks mentioned in this episode can be found at Amazon.  Your purchases through these links help us to keep on keepin' on!  Thank You!

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Soundcast Ep. 71 - 2014 Film Music Preview

Episode 71 - 2014 Film Music Preview

Allison Loring who recently published the article "The 15 Most Anticipated Movie Soundtracks and Scores of 2014" at FilmSchoolRejects.com and Kristen Romanelli (Film Score Monthly) join, Christopher, Marius, Helen, Richard and Edmund to talk about what 2014 potentially holds for the soundtrack-genius.  We also get into WHYBLT? for the first time in 2014.

Episode Highlights

00:00 - 2014 Preview Mix and Intro
06:30 - WHYBLT? Harwood, Hoffman, Olaf, Monuments, Kanbee, Kantelinen
16:50 - How to contact us
18:12 - 2014 Film Music Preview
94:54 - Where to find out more about 2014 film score releases
95:38 - The wrap up

Music Selections

00:00 - "Police Academy Acceptance" (Ride Along) by Christopher Lennertz
00:42 - "Crazy Cody" (Ride Along) by Christopher Lennertz
06:49 - "Toccata Capricciosa, Op. 36 (Rozsa)" (Composing Without the Picture) by Richard Harwood
10:13 - "Whiteout" (Frozen) by Christophe Beck
11:40 - "Opening Titles" (The Monuments Men) by Alexandre Desplat
14:42 - "Hercules and Hebe" (The Legend of Hercules) by Tuomas Kantelinen
17:51 - "Police Academy Acceptance" (Ride Along) by Christopher Lennertz
20:59 - "Title Card" (Robocop) by Pedro Brommfman
26:25 - "The Chimes at Midnight" (The Best Marigold Hotel) by Thomas Newman
43:45 - "On Its Head" (Moneyball) by Mychael Danna
46:37 - "Trailer Music" (The Amazing Spider-Man 2) by Hans Zimmer
60:35 - "Test Drive" (How To Train Your Dragon) by John Powell
62:49 - "Autobots" (Transformers) by Steve Jablonsky
71:45 - "Aletheia's Last Vision" (God of War: Ascension) by Tyler Bates
88:15 - "Following Frankie" (People Like Us) by A.R. Rahman
98:50 - "Police Academy Acceptance" (Ride Along) by Christopher Lennertz
91:44 - ""Beyond the Forest" (TH: The Desloation of Smaug SE) by Howard Shore

Support Tracksounds:

Most of the  soundtracks mentioned in this episode can be found at Amazon.  Your purchases through these links help us to keep on keepin' on!  Thank You!

Buy Soundtracks at Amazon.com



Other notes:


Read Alisson Loring's "The 15 Most Anticipated Movie Soundtracks and Scores of 2014"

Follow Allison Loring on Twitter

Follow Kristen Romanelli on Twitter

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The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (Special Edition Soundtrack) by Howard Shore - Review

Buried Treasure
by Edmund Meinerts

After getting off to a somewhat uneven start with AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY, Peter Jackson’s tripartite adaptation/expansion of J.R.R. Tolkien’s THE HOBBIT seems to have found slightly more secure footing in THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG. Although some of the issues that plagued the first entry continue – there really never was enough material in the source novel to justify three lengthy films, and the subsequent Jackson-inserted subplots, extra characters and protracted action sequences are hit-and-miss – at least the jarring tonal shifts between the brooding foreboding material and the more cartoonish episodes in the first entry have been smoothed out.

Also present, of course, is the score by Middle-earth court composer HOWARD SHORE. His music for AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY, despite still being among the very best of its year, was treated poorly in the film. Plenty of fantastic new material made it onto the albums, but much of it was replaced in film by tracked-in or re-orchestrated music from THE LORD OF THE RINGS, occasionally to the point of apparently glaring thematic incongruence – particularly aggravating in a series that has been otherwise meticulous in its leitmotivic attribution. It is a relief to report, therefore, that these issues don’t seem to be present in THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG; although some of what is heard on album has been dialed out in film – quite disconcertingly during the Forest River action scene – at least there is no tracked-in material, and certainly no thematic headscratchers. And neither is there any significant divergence between the standard and special editions this time (i.e. no “Roast Mutton” fiasco or the like, thankfully).

That aside, however, this is probably the weakest score in the series so far. Considering what a high bar that is, perhaps there need be no shame in that – and make no mistake about it, this is still a HOWARD SHORE Middle-earth score through and through, with all of the richness and depth of thematic attribution that entails, and it still stands head and shoulders above most of the competition of its year, just as its predecessors all do. Indeed, THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG introduces us to over half a dozen new themes and motifs, as well as reprising and developing many other existing ones. But what this entry lacks is a core, a central theme that seems to hold the work together and make it unique, as well as fitting within the larger context of the series. The three LORD OF THE RINGS scores each had one: the Fellowship theme for FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, the Rohan theme for THE TWO TOWERS and the Gondor theme for RETURN OF THE KING.

READ THE FULL REVIEW

Soundcast Ep. 70 - The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Episode 70 - "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" 

Author and musicologist Doug Adams joins Christopher, Marius and Edmund to discuss Howard Shore's latest score from Middle-Earth, THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG.

Episode Highlights

00:00 - Intro: The Movie Goes On and On ...
02:20 - Guest: Doug Adams and his upcoming book
08:46 - General reaction to the film
22:03 - Spoiler film discussion
43:47 - Music as heard in the film (spoilers!)
58:42 - Music as heard on soundtrack (spoilers!)
89:08 - Final thoughts on The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Music Selections

00:11 - "Bag End" (LOTR: Fellowship of the Ring SE) by Howard Shore
00:36 - "Wilderland" (TH: The Desloation of Smaug SE) by Howard Shore
08:30 - "Smaug" (TH: The Desloation of Smaug SE) by Howard Shore
21:33 - "Mirkwood" (TH: The Desloation of Smaug SE) by Howard Shore
43:22 - "The Forest River" (TH: The Desloation of Smaug SE) by Howard Shore
45:42 - "Over Hill" (TH: An Unexpectd Journey SE) by Howard Shore
47:06 - "Durin's Folk" (TH: The Desloation of Smaug SE) by Howard Shore
54:50 - "Flies and Spiders" (TH: The Desloation of Smaug SE) by Howard Shore
57:49 - "Feast of Starlight" (TH: The Desloation of Smaug SE) by Howard Shore
61:24 - "Weathertop" (LOTR: Fellowship of the Ring) by Howard Shore
69:52 - "Smaug" (TH: The Desloation of Smaug SE) by Howard Shore
78:16 - "Moria" (LOTR: Fellowship of the Ring) by Howard Shore
91:44 - ""Beyond the Forest" (TH: The Desloation of Smaug SE) by Howard Shore

Support Tracksounds:

Most of the  soundtracks mentioned in this episode can be found at Amazon.  Your purchases through these links help us to keep on keepin' on!  Thank You!

Buy The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Buy Soundtracks at Amazon.com



Other notes:

Visit Doug Adam's site - The Music of the Lord of the Rings

Follow Doug Adams on Twitter

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Thor: The Dark World (Soundtrack) by Brian Tyler - Review

Thunderous

Review by Edmund Meinerts

Another day, another Marvel film…With no end to the superhero craze in sight, THOR: THE DARK WORLD sees the hammer-swinging thunder-god’s home, Asgard, under threat from the Dark Elf Malekith, wielding a strange and evil force known as the Aether, and things become so desperate that Thor has to turn to his imprisoned brother (and eternal fan-favorite, who once again gets to smirk behind bars) Loki for help. The first film was directed by Kenneth Branagh and brought with it a strong but divisive PATRICK DOYLE score that has been hailed by some as a successful update of the composer’s style into the modern Hollywood blockbuster arena, and derided by others as a dumbing-down and repression of said style. With Branagh replaced by Alan Taylor for this sequel, the odds of DOYLE returning were slim; initially, CARTER BURWELL (of all people) was announced as his replacement, but he was ultimately replaced with the far safer choice of BRIAN TYLER, fresh off of his own Marvel excursion with IRON MAN 3...

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The 25th Reich (Soundtrack) by Ricky Edwards - Review

Darth Hitler
by Edmund Meinerts

A low-budget Australian-made homage to the pulp B-movies of the 40s and 50s, THE 25TH REICH details the time-travelin’, Nazi-punchin’, robot-smashin’, spaceship-crashin’ exploits of five World War II-era OSS agents who are recruited to go forward in time and stop a future Nazi alien invasion. The jury’s still out whether that’s the most ridiculous or the most awesome premise ever, but the 3.1 rating on imdb speaks volumes for itself. IRON SKY, in comparison, has a 6.0 and is apparently the superior of the two Nazis-from-space movies that came out in 2012. The most important thing to take from that is we now live in a world where two Nazis-from-space movies came out in one year. My life is complete.

The score for this opus, released a year after the fact by the ever-diligent MovieScore Media, comes courtesy of one RICKY EDWARDS, an orchestrator for DAVID HIRSCHFELDER with only a few TV credits to his name. Things get off to an eyebrow-raising start with “The 25th Reich March” (1), which immediately slaps you over the head with an outrageous homage to the ultimate theme of evil, JOHN WILLIAMS’ “Imperial March,” right down to the first three harsh brass notes blasting on key. Given what kind of film this is, it’s safe to assume that it’s all done with a huge wink and a nod, especially when the interlude sequence throws in a theremin for good measure. You can’t help but smile despite (or perhaps because of) the obvious influence.

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Ender's Game (Soundtrack) by Steve Jablonsky - Review

Oh Bugger.

Review by Edmund Meinerts

It’s taken long enough, but Orson Scott Card’s classic sci-fi novel ENDER’S GAME – about a school where gifted children are trained to become ruthless commanders in a war against an alien menace – has finally made the leap to the silver screen. The film has had to struggle through a thicket of production problems, not to mention controversy over the author’s, shall we say, less than enlightened politics. One thing you often see when a film is going through issues like this at a late stage is a rejected score, simply because it’s one of the last things to be completed on a film and is therefore one of the only things that can still be changed. And that is apparently what happened with ENDER’S GAME, with JAMES HORNER leaving the project (ostensibly before he was able to record any material) and being replaced with one of the film score community’s favorite whipping boys, STEVE JABLONSKY. Reactions to this news were, to put it mildly, rather displeased.

Not all of the criticism heaped on JABLONSKY has been entirely fair – he is undoubtedly a talented composer, as his outstanding score to STEAMBOY continues to prove – but he is so rarely allowed to use the full extent of his musical muscles. He is the epitome of hit-and-miss, and with each score he puts out, you simply have no idea whether it will be a hugely enjoyable, thematic guilty pleasure along the lines of TRANSFORMERS, or rather a vicious, noisy, intellectually bankrupt assault on the ears a la BATTLESHIP (we can take STEAMBOY out of the equation as it looks less and less likely that JABLONSKY will ever revisit that sort of writing, sadly). ENDER’S GAME exists somewhere in between those two ends of the spectrum, but unfortunately it resides far, far closer to the latter than the former.

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Soundcast Episode 68 - Gravity

Episode 68 - "Gravity" 

Kristen Romanelli (FSM) rejoins the Tracksounds team to talk about Alfonso Cuaron's weighty, masterpiece, GRAVITY, including composer Steven Price's compelling original score.  WHYBLT? is back with mentions of Doctor Who: Series 7, Lost Planet 3, and Beyond: Two Souls.

Episode Highlights

00:00 - Gravity's Silhouette Remains
00:31 - Welcome and the lost recording
02:20 - Reintroducing Kristen Romanelli
03:00 - WHYBLT?: Man of Steel, Hocus Pocus, Lost Planet 3
13:59 - WHYBLT?: Doctor Who (Series 7), Summer in February, Beyond: Two Souls
24:43 - Gravity: General Reaction
35:05 - How we watched Gravity: 3D, Atmos?
39:21 - Is Gravity truly "sci fi?"
51:17 - Gravity: Spoiler time
63:55 - The score as heard in film
86:50 - The score as a stand-alone listen
98:40 - Is the Gravity score a sure-thing come Oscar noms?

Music Selections

00:00 - "Gravity" (Continuum) by John Mayer
01:47 - "Gravity" (Gravity) by Steven Price
03:24 - "Oil Rig" (Man of Steel) by Hans Zimmer
05:53 - "Main Titleu" (Hocus Pocus) by John Debney
07:22 - "Garden of Magic" (Hocus Pocus) by James Horner
09:44 - "Hoedown Showdown" (Lost Planet 3) by Jack Wall
14:07 - "The Speeder" (Doctor Who: Series 7) by Murray Gold
16:33 - "Lamona" (Summer in February) by Benjamin Wallfisch
18:56 - "Dawkin's Suite" (Beyond: Two Souls) by Lorne Balfe
24:12 - "Above Earth" (Gravity) by Steven Price
62:40 - "Tiangong" (Gravity) by Steven Price
67:40 - "Debris" (Gravity) by Steven Price
75:26 - "Gravity" (Gravity) by Steven Price
79:33 - "Above Earth" (Gravity) by Steven Price
94:49 - "Above Earth" (Gravity) by Steven Price
97:26 - "Debris" (Gravity) by Steven Price
102:29 - "Gravity" (Gravity) by Steven Price

Support Tracksounds:

Most of the  soundtracks mentioned in this episode can be found at Amazon.  Your purchases through these links help us to keep on keepin' on!  Thank You!

Buy Soundtracks at Amazon.com


Other notes:

Kristen Romanelli on Twitter

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A Single Shot (Soundtrack) by Atli Örvarsson - Review

Atonal for Your Sins

by Edmund Meinerts

A dark psychological thriller, A SINGLE SHOT sees Sam Rockwell playing John Moon, a down-on-his-luck hunter who accidentally shoots and kills a girl, finds a large sum of money on her person and ends up on the run from criminals who are after that money. The music for this difficult story is provided by Icelandic composer and Remote Control “graduate” ATLI ÖRVARSSON. Ordinarily, the combination of thriller and RC composer tends to result in largely electronic (and, frankly, largely awful) scores of drones and drum loops; his concurrent score to EVIDENCE is exactly such an effort. For A SINGLE SHOT however, at the urging of director David Rosenthal, the composer was led down an entirely different and even more challenging path.

ÖRVARSSON likens his time working on A SINGLE SHOT to a master’s course in modern classical music, citing ARVO PÄRT, GYÖRGI LIGETI and JOHN TAVENER as some of the composers whose music he researched. Make no mistake about it, this is extremely difficult music to stomach on an album which is completely devoid of warmth. Essentially, the curiously structured MovieScore Media/Kronos album can be divided into two portions: the stark, lonely “thematic” material in the first three and final cues, and the outright atonal suspense contained in the three lengthy “John Moon Variations” (4-6) in the middle....

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Colette (Soundtrack) by Atli Örvarsson - Revioew

Örvarsson's Emerging Voice

Review by Edmund Meinerts

A love story set against the horrific backdrop of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, the Czech film COLETTE would seem to be the last place you’d expect to find a composer bred from HANS ZIMMER’s ubiquitous Remote Control studio; ordinarily one finds them on all sorts of B-rate thrillers and action movies. And while ATLI ÖRVARSSON has scored his fair share of those, he now seems to be branching out considerably, with 2013 turning out to be a varied and prolific (if not a little hit-and-miss) year for the Icelandic composer.

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Soundcast Episode 66 - 2013 Fall/Winter Movie Score Preview

Episode 66 - 2013 Fall/Winter Movie Score Preview

Erik Woods (Cinematic Sound Radio) and Kristen Romanelli (Film Score Monthly) continue their guest-visit to take a peek into the upcoming film scores of 2013.  Find out who's tired of Howard Shore's Lord of the Rings-style music, who's not all that excited about the potential in John Williams score for The Book Theif (or Star Wars 7) and find out who thinks Gravity could be this year's Social Network.

Episode Highlights

00:00 - "Rain May Fall/ Winds May Blow" Mix (feat. Fast Five by Brian Tyler)
01:05 - Intro and Welcome ... back
04:16 - Fall/Winter Preview: Romeo and Juliet, Gravity, 47 Ronin
17:00 - Fall/Winter Preview: Desolation of Smaug, 12 Years a Slave, Enders Game
30:44 - Fall/Winter Preview: Thor: The Dark World, Jack Ryan, A Long Walk to Freedom
39:27 - Fall/Winter Preview: Frozen, Captain Phillips, The Hunger Games, Rush
47:30 - Fall/Winter Preview: The Book Thief, Adore, Yurusarezaru mono,
58:37 - Fall/Winter Preview: Snowpiercer, Agents of SHIELD, Saving Mr. Banks
65:22 - The Wrap Up
69:56 - "Rain May Fall/ Winds May Blow" Mix - Reprise

Music Selections

00:01 - "Now You See Me (Spellbound Remix)" Now Your See Me by Brian Tyler
03:30 - "Adore" (Adore) by Christopher Gordon
05:06 - "Six Hours" (W.E.) by Abel Korzeniowski
17:06 - "Axe and Sword" (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey) by Howard Shore
23:22 - "Time" (Inception) by Hans Zimmer
25:32 - "Let Us Quest" (Your Highness) by Steve Jablonsky
30:52 - "Terra Nova Theme" (Terra Nova) by Brian Tyler
36:12 - "Thunderstorm" (Indochine) by Patrick Doyle
39:33 - "Dyslexia" (Percy Jackson/ Lightning Thief) by Christophe Beck
42:00 - "Michelle's House" (Stop Loss) by John Powell
43:10 - "Katniss Afoot" (The Hunger Games) by Marco Beltrami
49:02 - "Remembering Willie" (Lincoln) by John Williams
44:10 - "Main Title" (Red 2) by Alan Silvestri
49:23 - "Pacific Rim" (Pacific Rim) by Ramin Djawadi
56:04 - "Adore" (Adore) by Christopher Gordon
56:45 - "In Loneliness" (Red Cliff) by Taro Iwashiro
57:25 - "Morning of Beginning" (Ni No Kuni) by Joe Hisaishi
58:40 - "This is the Beginning" (Snowpiercer) by Marco Beltrami
59:45 - "Human Target Theme" (Human Target) by Bear McCreary
63:58 - "Amen" (The Help) by Thomas Newman
67:25 - "Fast Five" (Fast Five) by Brian Tyler

Support Tracksounds:

Most of the  soundtracks mentioned in this episode can be found at Amazon.  Your purchases through these links help us to keep on keepin' on!  Thank You!

Buy Soundtracks at Amazon.com


Other notes:

Erik Woods on Twitter

Kristen Romanelli on Twitter

Download the Episode

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Star Trek: Music from the Video Games (Soundtrack) Produced by Dominik Hauser

Games: The Final Frontier

Review by Edmund Meinerts

When the music of STAR TREK is discussed, generally speaking, chances are that the film scores are the subject of that discussion – either that or ALEXANDER COURAGE’s legendary theme for the Original Series. Occasionally the music for the TV episodes proper gets a mention too, though usually only by the truly hardcore fanatics, those who shell out on those lavish Film Score Monthly box sets. Even less discussed are the scores to the series’ innumerable video game adaptations and spinoffs, which date back as early as 1971. Now, obviously, a text-based game from the 70s wasn’t exactly equipped with such modern features as a score, but as early as the mid-90s, composers were being hired to provide proper orchestral (in composition, not necessarily rendering) scores for STAR TREK games, often composers with considerable experience in the universe such as RON JONES and DENNIS MCCARTHY. Thanks to this release from BSX, some of this obscure music has now finally seen the light of day.

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SoundCast Episode 65 - 2013 Summer Movie Score Recap

Episode 65 - 2013 Summer Movie Score Recap

Erik Woods (Cinematic Sound Radio) and Kristen Romanelli (Film Score Monthly) join the crew to take a look back at the 2013 Summer of movie scores.

Episode Highlights

00:00 - Summer mix 2013
00:58 - Intro and Welcome: Erik Woods and Kristen Romanelli
02:34 - WHYBLT? The Great Gatsby, The Ultimate Life, Superfish: Endless Journey
09:48 - WHYBLT? Snowpiercer, Wyatt Earp (3 Disc)
19:37 - Summer Movie Score Recap 2013: General thoughts
30:40 - Summer Movie Score Recap 2013: The Disappointments
54:30 - Summer Movie Score Recap 2013: Our Favorites
84:29 - The Wrap Up

Music Selections

00:02 - "Now You See Me (Spellbound Remix)" Now Your See Me by Brian Tyler
02:47 - "Buchanan Mansion and Daisy Suite" (The Great Gatsby) by Craig Armstrong
03:55 - "Shared Dreams: The Gift Of Friends" (The Ultimate Life) by Mark McKenzie
07:09 - "Manttanza" (Superfish: Endless Journey) by Taro Iwashiro
10:02 - "Blackout Fight" (Snowpiercer) by Marco Beltrami
12:30 - "Cosmopolitan Hotel (Synth Mockup)" (Wyatt Earp) by James Newton Howard
14:30 - "It's a Boy/ JNH Speech" (Wyatt Earp) by James Newton Howard
19:17 - "Finale" (The Lone Ranger) by Hans Zimmer
25:09 - "StarWaves" (Oblivion) by Anthony Gonzales, Joseph Trapanese
30:52 - "Look to the Stars" (Man of Steel) by Hans Zimmer
32:27 - "Heaven and Earth" (Elysium) by Ryan Amon
37:54 - "The History of Man" (After Earth) by James Newton Howard
42:17 - "Abduction" (The Wolverine) by Marco Beltrami
43:28 - "Thalias Story" (Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters) by Andrew Lockington
44:10 - "Main Title" (Red 2) by Alan Silvestri
49:23 - "Pacific Rim" (Pacific Rim) by Ramin Djawadi
57:24 - "Rapture on Melrose" (This Is The End) by Henry Jackman
59:02 - "Spock Drops, Kirk Jumps" (Star Trek Into Darkness) by Michael Giacchino
63:31 - "Finale" (The Lone Ranger) by Hans Zimmer
65:22 - "Ringo No Kiseki" (Kiseki No Ringo) by Joe Hisaishi
66:19 - "Asu Ni Sasageru Seisen" (Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet) by Taro Iwashiro
67:06 - "The Opening" (The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones) by Atli Orvarrson
74:35 - "We Shape Everything" (Savannah) by Gil Talmi
75:38 - "Sunrise" (Winnie Mandela) by Laurent Eyquem
76:36 - "Only God Forgives" (Only God Forgives) by Cliff Martinez
77:48 - "Hermes" (Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters) by Andrew Lockington
81:27 - "Dusty and Ishani" (Planes) by Mark Mancina
84:22 - "Planes" (Planes) by Mark Mancina

Support Tracksounds:

Most of the  soundtracks mentioned in this episode can be found at Amazon.  Your purchases through these links help us to keep on keepin' on!  Thank You!

Buy Soundtracks at Amazon.com


Other notes:

Erik Woods on Twitter

Kristen Romanelli on Twitter

Download the Episode

Subscribe and More Info

Leisure Suit Larry Reloaded (Soundtrack) by Austin Wintory - Review

A Leisurely Listen
by Edmund Meinerts

LEISURE SUIT LARRY: RELOADED is a remake/reboot/belated continuation of an ancient series of point-and-click adventure games about a loser computer programmer in his 40s who experiences a sudden sexual awakening and heads off to the city of Lost Wages (guffaw) in an attempt to seduce any woman who will have him. All very high art, I’m sure. The game got off the ground thanks to a Kickstarter fundraiser started by the original games’ creator, AL LOWE, and it therefore seems surprising that the music for this game comes from none other than AUSTIN WINTORY, fresh off of making history with the first ever Grammy-nominated game score, JOURNEY.

On WINTORY’s Bandcamp page, the score is described as “featuring obsessive use of AL LOWE’s original theme” for the original games. This catchy little tune does indeed crop up in fragments throughout the score and WINTORY gets a lot of mileage out of it, but it’s not nearly as omnipresent as that statement suggests. The entertaining but brief opening cue does immediately presents that theme in its original 8-bit format before adapting it into the dominant style of the rest of the score: big-band jazz. It’s certainly a good match for Larry’s exploits. The score is pretty much a series of stylistic vignettes, with only the LOWE theme and the umbrella genre of jazz acting as anchors; not quite a “theme and variations” score, but in that neck of the woods.

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