John Williams Didn't Think He Was Good Enough for Schindler's List

John Williams revisits some of his most famous themes (for the millionth time) in this interview by CNN.  There are a couple of tidbits that come out in this brief interview that you might never have heard before.  For instance, did you know that John Williams actually didn't think he was good enough to score Schindler's List?  Make sure you don't miss Steven Spielberg's response to this!

Superman and His Music - A Twitter Discussion

With the imminent return of Superman, via Zach Snyder's upcoming MAN OF STEEL, it's a sure bet JOHN WILLIAMS' original themes and scores for late-seventies, feature-film, iteration of Superman will be coming up in many forums and on countless social media platforms.  Add to this JOHN OTTMAN's exciting, recently released score for JACK THE GIANT SLAYER and his past connection to the Superman franchise (SUPERMAN RETURNS) and you get the following twitter conversation between Erik Woods (Cinematic Sound Radio), Christopher Coleman (Tracksounds), Dane Walker (Composer), Mark A. and Doug Adams (Author).

While some feel that JOHN OTTMAN could do more than a serviceable job scoring one of the upcoming STAR WARS films, not everyone agrees.  A large part of that disagreement comes from Ottman's treatment of Williams' well-known, well-loved, original themes for Superman.

Read through.  Judge for yourself.  And chime in!  Do you think John Ottman would make an acceptable choice to score one of the new Star War's films?  Did you enjoy his work for Superman Returns? ...

Composer Garry Schyman Returns: Bioshock Infinite

At long last, the press release confirming what we've long suspected.  Composer Garry Schyman is returning to the remarkable world of BIOSHOCK, from the minds at Irrational Games.  Truly one of the stand-out franchises over the last half-dozen years, BIOSHOCK's mystique owes a lot to the music of Garry Schyman.  Schyman has carved out a distinct, musical place for the game franchise - one that couldn't easily be discarded or shifted.  So who else could really score the next entry?

Sadly, there is no mention of an original score release...yet.  But let us hope Irrational Games is as generous has they have been in the past!

You can listen to a sample and read the full presser below...

BIOSHOCK INFINITE FEATURES ORIGINAL SCORE COMPOSED BY GARRY SCHYMAN

Los Angeles, CA, Feb.25, 2013 - Award-winning composer Garry Schyman has created a unique musical score for the highly anticipated video game BioShock Infinite developed by Irrational Games and published by 2K Games. Recorded with solo string instruments, intimate string ensembles, and experimental percussion, Schyman's raw and intensely emotional score reflects BioShock Inifinite's compelling narrative, following the development of the relationship between the lead characters, Booker DeWitt and Elizabeth, and immersing players in the game's spectacular alternate early Twentieth Century setting. BioShock Infinite will be released for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Windows on March 26th, 2013.

Film, television and video game composer Garry Schyman is one of the interactive medium's foremost composers, renowned for his multiple award-winning score for the original BioShock - winner of Best Original Score from the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, Spike TV's Video Game Award for Best Original Score, G4 TV's Soundtrack of the Year and four awards from the Game Audio Network Guild (G.A.N.G) including Music of the Year, Best Interactive Score, Best Original Instrumental and Audio of the Year.

"It doesn't get any better for a composer than to be able to score a game as remarkable as Bioshock Infinite," says Schyman. "It provided a vast canvas filled with extraordinary and completely unique characters and situations that permitted me to be creative in ways that we composers usually only dream of. Much thanks goes to Ken Levine, James Bonney, and the entire team at Irrational for inventing such an astonishing world and then letting me write music for it!"

BioShock Infinite is planned to launch globally on March 26, 2013 for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and Windows PC.

PRE-ORDER BIOSHOCK INFINITE AT AMAZON.

SoundCast Ep. 56 - 2012 Cue Awards!

2012 CUE AWARDS! The Tracksounds team reveal the official winners and welcome a handful of notable guests who join us live to accept their awards.  The first ever winners of "The Marius" and "The Monkey King" awards are also unveiled.  Please make your way down the red-carpet as the lights are dimming and the show is about to begin...

Episode Highlights

00:37 Introduction to the 2012 Cue Awards
05:47 What is the Genius Choice Vote?
07:08 Record Label of the Year
08:55 Best Original Score for Television
11:12 Best Dramatic Score
23:40 Best Action Score
32:20 Breakout Composer of the Year
35:33 Best Cue
40:17 Special Award: The Monkey King AWard
45:19 Best Animated Score
47:17 Best Video Game Score
62:10 Most Memorable Theme
70:54 Special Award - The Marius

74:30 Surprise of the Year
79:49 Best Overall Score
85:48 Composer of the Year
99:29 Thank You's Galore


Music Selections

00:00 "Cue the Orchestra" (Theme of the Cue Awards) by Marius Masalar
09:30 "Priceless" (Priceless) by Naoki Sato
11:44 "Pi's Lullaby" (Life of Pi) by Mychael Danna
24:08 "Who's Up For An Adventure_" (Journey 2: The Mysterious Island) by Andrew Lockington
27:49 "Lizard Chase" (Journey 2: The Mysterious Island) by Andrew Lockington
32:46 "Apotheosis"(Journey) by Austin Wintory
36:11 "Mysterious Island Main Titles" (Journey 2: The Mysterious Island) by Andrew Lockington
42:47 "Naoki Sato Suite" (Compiled by Richard Buxton) by Naoki Sato
45:43 "Main Titles" (Frankenweenie) by Danny Elfman
47:59 "Heart of Pandaria" (WOW:  Mists of Pandaria) by Brower, Acree, Soule, Cardon, Guidotti
62:54 "Mysterious Island Main Titles" (Journey 2: The Mysterious Island) by Andrew Lockington
71:30 "Indy Game Suite" (Compiled by Marius Masalar) by Various
75:02 "A Forest Adventure" (Metsan Tarina) by Panu Aaltio
80:30 "Who's Up For An Adventure_" (Journey 2: The Mysterious Island) by Andrew Lockington
82:39 "The Treehouse" (Journey 2: The Mysterious Island) by Andrew Lockington
90:00 "Cue the Orchestra" (Theme of the Cue Awards) by Marius Masalar

Additional Notes:

The Official Cue Awards Tumblr

Download the Episode

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The IFMCA Announces its 2012 Winners!

INTERNATIONAL FILM MUSIC CRITICS ASSOCIATION HONORS MULTIPLE FILMS; “LIFE OF PI” TAKES SCORE OF THE YEAR BUT DESPLAT, ELFMAN, GIACCHINO, NEWMAN, VELÁZQUEZ, WILLIAMS ALSO WIN

FEBRUARY 21, 2013 — The International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA) announces its list of winners for excellence in musical scoring in 2012. Unlike in previous years, where one score has taken multiple victories, the main film prizes are split equally between 11 different movies and composers, the greatest spread in IFMCA history.

The award for Score of the Year goes to Canadian composer MYCHAEL DANNA for his score for director Ang Lee’s vivid shipwreck drama LIFE OF PI. Danna’s dramatic and beautiful score made use of a large number of Indian musical elements in addition to a traditional western orchestra, capturing through music one the film’s key ideas, the collision of different cultures to form the large, ethnic melting pot from which the lead character, Pi Patel, originates. This is the first Score of the Year award from the IFMCA for Golden Globe winner and double-Oscar nominee Danna, who had never previously been nominated in this category, although he did receive five previous nominations in genre categories for scores such as BEING JULIA, THE NATIVITY STORY and THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS.

Hollywood A-lister DANNY ELFMAN was named Film Composer of the Year for his outstanding body of work in 2012, during which he composed music for such popular and successful films as DARK SHADOWS, FRANKENWEENIE, HITCHCOCK. MEN IN BLACK III, PROMISED LAND and SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK. Elfman’s music in 2012 ran the gamut of styles and genres, from the soft rock of Silver Linings Playbook to the Gothic atmospherics of Dark Shadows and Frankenweenie, to the subtle Bernard Herrmann echoes of Hitchcock, cementing his position as one of the most versatile and sought-after composers working today. This is the second Composer of the Year Award Elfman has received from the IFMCA, having previously been similarly honored for his work in 2008.

The IFMCA’s ongoing recognition of emerging talent in the film music world this year spotlights 37-year-old Colorado-born composer NATHAN JOHNSON, who was named Breakout Composer of the Year for his unconventionally percussive music for the acclaimed sci-fi thriller LOOPER. To create the film’s unique aural atmosphere Johnson took a standard small orchestra, featuring mainly strings and piano, and augmented them with a massive array of sampled sounds and processed percussion effects, ranging from trash can lids, an oscillating fan, and gunfire to hammered PVC tubes and fire alarms. The end result is cacophonous, unsettling, but weirdly fascinating music that somehow manages to bring together these seemingly random and incoherent musical collisions of sounds into a propulsive, exciting score.

Spanish composer FERNANDO VELÁZQUEZ wrote the IFMCA’s Film Music Composition of the Year – “The Impossible Main Title” from director Juan Antonio Bayona’s film THE IMPOSSIBLE, which tells the story of a family caught up in the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Velázquez’s main title is an overwhelming emotional powerhouse, capturing both the tragedy of the situation and the sense of desperation felt by the family concerned. The score was recorded by the excellent string section of the London Metropolitan Orchestra at the historic Abbey Road Studios, and has been praised by numerous mainstream film critics as one of the outstanding elements of the film. This is the first IFMCA Award win for Velázquez, who was previously nominated for his scores EL ORFANATO (THE ORPHANAGE) in 2007 and GARBO: EL ESPÍA in 2009.
The various genre awards were won by JOHN WILLIAMS for director Steven Spieberg’s historical drama LINCOLN, WALTER MURPHY for the raucous comedy TED, THOMAS NEWMAN for his work on the near-universally lauded James Bond film SKYFALL, MICHAEL GIACCHINO for the epic Edgar Rice Burroughs space adventure JOHN CARTER, ALEXANDRE DESPLAT for the whimsical fantasy animation RISE OF THE GUARDIANS, and Finnish composer PANU AALTIO for his music for the beautiful nature documentary METSÄN TARINA.

In the non-film categories, British composer MURRAY GOLD won the award for Best Original Score for a Television Series for his outstanding work on the most recent season of the classic BBC science fiction show DOCTOR WHO, while composer AUSTIN WINTORY won the award for Best Original Score for a Video Game or Interactive Media for his score for the groundbreaking game JOURNEY, which earlier this year made history by being the first Video Game score nominated for a Grammy.

La-La Land Records won the Best Archival Release of an Existing Score award for their magnificent release of Jerry Goldsmith’s classic 1979 score STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE, newly re-mastered and re-released in a lavish 3-CD set. They also continued their monopoly of the Film Music Record Label of the Year category, winning for the third straight year, and solidifying their position at the top of the list of labels specializing in lovingly restoring the greatest film music of the past.

Finally, conductor Nic Raine and producers James Fitzpatrick and Luc Van de Ven won the Best Archival Re-Recording of an Existing Score award for the monumental re-recording of Miklós Rózsa’s score for the epic 1951 film QUO VADIS?, which featured stellar performances from the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra.

=============================================

THE WINNERS

FILM SCORE OF THE YEAR
• LIFE OF PI, music by Mychael Danna

FILM COMPOSER OF THE YEAR
• DANNY ELFMAN

BREAKOUT COMPOSER OF THE YEAR
• NATHAN JOHNSON

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A DRAMA FILM
• LINCOLN, music by John Williams

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A COMEDY FILM
• TED, music by Walter Murphy

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR AN ACTION/ADVENTURE/THRILLER FILM
• SKYFALL, music by Thomas Newman

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A FANTASY/SCIENCE FICTION/HORROR FILM
• JOHN CARTER, music by Michael Giacchino

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR AN ANIMATED FEATURE
• RISE OF THE GUARDIANS, music by Alexandre Desplat

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
• METSÄN TARINA, music by Panu Aaltio

FILM MUSIC COMPOSITION OF THE YEAR
• “The Impossible Main Title” from THE IMPOSSIBLE, music by Fernando Velázquez

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A TELEVISION SERIES
• DOCTOR WHO, music by Murray Gold

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A VIDEO GAME OR INTERACTIVE MEDIA
• JOURNEY, music by Austin Wintory

BEST ARCHIVAL RELEASE OF AN EXISTING SCORE
• STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE, music by Jerry Goldsmith; album produced by Didier C. Deutsch, Mike Matessino, Bruce Botnick, MV Gerhard, Matt Verboys and David C. Fein; liner notes by Jeff Bond and Mike Matessino; album art direction by Jim Titus (La-La Land)

BEST ARCHIVAL RE-RECORDING OF AN EXISTING SCORE
• QUO VADIS?, music by Miklós Rózsa; conducted by Nic Raine; album produced by James Fitzpatrick and Luc Van de Ven; liner notes by Frank K. DeWald; album art direction by GINKO DIGI (Prometheus/Tadlow)

FILM MUSIC RECORD LABEL OF THE YEAR
• LA-LA LAND RECORDS, MV Gerhard, Matt Verboys

Read more at the official site of the IFMCA

Jamie Christopherson Scores Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance

JAMIE CHRISTOPHERSON COMPOSES SOUNDTRACK AND SCORE FOR
METAL GEAR RISING: REVENGEANCE

Featuring Vocals By Artists Including John Bush, Tyson Yen, Free Dominguez
With Contributions by Logan Mader, Maniac Agenda, and Ferry Corsten

Christopherson Will Lead All-Star Band at Launch Party – February 18th
Soundtrack and Score Albums To Be Released - February 19th

(February 15, 2013 -- Los Angeles, CA) Award-winning film, TV and video game composer Jamie Christopherson (Lost Planet 1 & 2, Spiderman: Web of Shadows) was commissioned by PlatinumGames to write both the score and songs for Konami’s upcoming action title developed by Kojima Productions and PlatinumGames Inc., METAL GEAR RISING: REVENGEANCE.  Albums of both will be available on February 19th, the same day that the METAL GEAR RISING: REVENGEANCE video game will be released.  Featuring extremely fast hardcore electronic/heavy metal music, the soundtrack in METAL GEAR RISING: REVENGEANCE marks a clear departure from the music of the previous Metal Gear games.

Christopherson said, "With action-packed gameplay this intense, we knew that the music for METAL GEAR RISING: REVENGEANCE had to be something really special and different from previous Metal Gear Solid games.  In order to accomplish this, we decided early on to have hardcore electronic/metal songs with vocals that would lyrically and sonically mirror the game storyline during boss battles.  Pre-existing licensed songs or traditional orchestral score wouldn't suffice for these sections; the music had to be something fresh and impactful."

To achieve the desired result, Christopherson worked closely with many talented recording artists from across the globe, such as heavy metal producer Logan Mader (former guitarist of Metal Head and Soulfly), electronic remixers Maniac Agenda and DJ sensation Ferry Corsten.  Well-known vocalists such as John Bush (Armored Saint/Anthrax), Tyson Yen (State Line Empire/Drist) and Free Dominguez (Kidneythieves) were chosen to match specific bosses based on the quality of their voices.  Songs start with an instrumental version that increases in intensity as Raiden begins to defeat each boss, eventually transitioning to a full-blown vocal version of the song for the final moments of battle.

To celebrate the release of METAL GEAR RISING: REVENGEANCE, Konami will be hosting an autograph signing and concert.  Producers Korekado-san and Inaba-san will be available to sign autographs at GameStop at Universal City Walk (1000 Universal Studios Blvd) from 8-10PM on February 18th.

The first 150 fans to attend the signing will also be invited to an accompanying launch party at the Hard Rock Café across from GameStop, directly following the signing. Christopherson has assembled an all-star band to perform the original songs from the game, including Howard Jones (Killswitch Engage), Nita Strauss (Guitarist for Iron Maidens) and many of the performers from the game (including Bush, Yen, and Dominguez).

Christopherson described, "I had a blast working with PlatinumGames and all of the wonderful artists on METAL GEAR RISING: REVENGEANCE.  The culminating result is something I'm really proud of and definitely puts the 'metal' in Metal Gear series."

METAL GEAR RISING: REVENGEANCE Score Tracks, on Sumthing Else, will be available on February 19th.  Also available on that date is the METAL GEAR RISING: REVENGEANCE Official Soundtrack will be available as part of the METAL GEAR RISING: REVENGEANCE Collector’s Edition, from Konami.

METAL GEAR RISING: REVENGEANCE will be available on February 19, 2013 for the PlayStation®3 and Xbox 360® at major retail stores nationwide.

BUY METAL GEAR RISING: REVENGEANCE at Amazon.com

2012 Cue Award Nominees on a Journey

The Cue Awards are back!

For 2012, the idea of "the journey" was dominant.  Both THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY (HOWARD SHORE) and JOURNEY 2: THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND (ANDREW LOCKINGTON) each received a whopping 5 nominations!  Additionally, the PS3 video game, JOURNEY by Austin Wintory received a nomination as did Wintory, himself, for "Breakout Composer of the Year."

MICHAEL GIACCHINO's score for JOHN CARTER earned 3 nominations as did "Breakout Composer of the Year" nominee, GRANT KIRKHOPE's KINGDOMS OF AMALUR: RECKONING.

WORLD OF WARCRAFT: MISTS OF PANDARIA and composer NAOKI SATO each earned two Cue nominations.

In addition to these twelve awards, two special presentations will be made on the official 2012 Cue Awards podcast show (ep. 56 of The SoundCast).  THE MARIUS award will be presented by Marius Masalar for the best original score for an indy video game, while THE MONKEY KING award will be presented by Richard Buxton (@monkeybutlerman) for excellence in scoring originating in East Asia.

Once again, the award show will feature special appearances by many of the winners and promises to be the soundtrack-podcast-event of early 2013.  All winners will be officially announced first on the Soundcast and published shortly thereafter.

Additionally, visitors and listeners can participate in the GENIUS CHOICE vote, where they can make their own winner selection in each award category.  Voting will close at 11:59 PM ET on 2/22.

The complete nominee list, voting instructions, and all Cue Award updates can be found at the awards new official home - CUEAWARDS.COM

Finally! Aliens: Colonial Marines Arrive w/ Score by Kevin Riepl

KEVIN RIEPL SCORES
ALIENS: COLONIAL MARINES

Gears of War
Composer Returns to Sci-Fi Horror Genre

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 7, 2013 - Award-winning film and video game composer Kevin Riepl (Silent Night, ABCs of Death, The Aggression Scale, Gears of War, Resistance: Burning Skies) has created an original symphonic score for the highly anticipated blockbuster ALIENS™: COLONIAL MARINES video game, launching worldwide on February 12, 2013. Developed by critically acclaimed studio Gearbox Software in partnership with Twentieth Century Fox, ALIENS: COLONIAL MARINES is the authentic addition to the ALIENS canon, bringing new levels of bone-chilling suspense and adrenaline-filled action to the renowned franchise.

Continuing the legacy of Jerry Goldsmith's music in ALIEN and James Horner's music in ALIENS, Kevin Riepl's original score for ALIENS: COLONIAL MARINES features all new themes and atmospheric underscores while staying faithful to the franchise's iconic scores of Ridley Scott's and James Cameron's classic sci-fi horror cinema. Infusing his haunting, sweeping and bombastic orchestral score with familiar nods and intense cinematic action music performed by full live orchestra, Riepl draws on his own classical training and film scoring background to create an authentic ALIENS: COLONIAL MARINES score that will immerse players in the definitive ALIENS gaming experience.

Composing music for multiple entertainment genres, Kevin Riepl's engaging and atmospheric scores have enhanced numerous indie films such as ABCs OF DEATH, CLEMENCY, THE AGGRESSION SCALE (Global Music Awards Winner) and the recent holiday season horror feature, SILENT NIGHT. In addition to scoring film festival winners and genre cult films including the emotional sci-fi short HENRI starring Keir Dullea (2001: A Space Odyssey) and Oddball Animation Studios' stunning concept film, RUIN (Global Music Awards Winner), Kevin Riepl is also renowned for composing the epic, signature score for the blockbuster video game GEARS OF WAR. Most recently his sci-fi action score for Sony's RESISTANCE: BURNING SKIES was awarded "Best Original Score for a Video Game or Interactive Media" in the 2013 Movie Music UK Awards.

For more information on Kevin Riepl, visit www.kevinriepl.com

A true continuation to James Cameron's film ALIENS, the story of ALIENS: COLONIAL MARINES takes place after the events of the second film. In ALIENS: COLONIAL MARINES, players are part of a U.S. Colonial Marine squad and must prepare to face an alien assault, more intense and horrific than ever before. Driven by a compelling and original story, ALIENS: COLONIAL MARINES retains the atmospheric look and feel of the original films while creating an entirely new interactive ALIENS experience.

BUY ALIENS: COLONIAL MARINES AT AMAZON.COM

SoundCast 55: 2012 Cue Award Nominees Show

Episode 55: 2012 Cue Award Nominees


2012 CUE AWARD NOMINATION SHOW. New Tracksounds reviewer, Thomas Midena joins Christoper, Marius, Richard and Edmund to proudly announce the official Cue Award Nominees for 2012. Every nominee from all 12 award categories is revealed.



Episode Highlights:

00:38 Welcome back to the Cue Awards
04:23 Surprise of the Year Nominees
14:36 Most Memorable Theme Nominees
30:36 Breakout Composer of the Year Nominees
38:48 Best Dramatic Score Nominees
54:41 Best Action Score Nominees
69:17 Best Animated Score
74:52 Best Score for TV Nominees
79:32 Best Score for Video Game Nominees
93:12 Best Record Label Nominees
96:06 Composer of the Year Nominees
102:31 Best Cue Nominees
108:20 Best Overall Score Nominees
112:15 Special Awards: The Marius, The Monkey King
115:06 What's next?


Music Selections:

00:00 "Cue the Orchestra" (Theme of the Cue Awards) by Marius Masalar
05:00 "Requiem" (Halo 4) by Neil Davidge and
07:54 "The Treehouse" (Journey 2: The Mysterious Island) by Andrew Lockington
09:01 "Main Titles" (There Be Dragons) by Robert Folk
09:34 "Main Title" (Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning) by Grant Kirkhope
11:44 "A Forest Adventure"(Metsän Tarina) by Panu Aaltio
15:50 "Main Title - Young Peter" (The Amazing Spider-Man) by James Horner
18:20 "Cloud Atlas Finale" (Cloud Atlas) by Tykwer, Klimek, Heil
23:15 "The Right of Challenge" (John Carter) by Michael Giacchino
26:32 "Misty Mountains" (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey) by Howard Shore
39:24 "Entre La Luz Y El Pecado" (For Greater Glory) by James Horner
42:35 "Overture" (Anna Karenina) by Dario Marianelli
44:26 "The Impossible Main Title" (The Impossible) by Fernando Velasquez
46:42 "The People's House" (Lincoln) by John Williams
50:55 "Pi's Lullaby" (Life of Pi) by Mychael Danna
54:35 "Battle for Madrid"(There Be Dragons) by Robert Folk
55:09 "Rise" (The Dark Knight Rises) by Hans Zimmer
60:05 "Barcelona"(Haywire) by David Holmes
62:26 "Lizard Chase" (Journey 2: The Mysterious Island) by Andrew Lockington
66:40 "The Fight for Helium" (John Carter) by Michael Giacchino
67:59 "Going In" (Prometheus) by Marc Streitenfeld, Harry Gregson-Williams
70:29 "Ted, Audrey And The Trees" (The Lorax) by John Powell
71:49 "Main Titles" (Frankenweenie) by Danny Elfman
72:25 "Wreck-It Ralph" (Wreck-It Ralph) by Henry Jackman
73:43 "In Her Heart" (Brave) by Patrick Doyle
80:15 "Homeworld (Starhawk) by Christopher Lennertz
81:23 "Heart of Pandaria"(WOW: Mists of Panderia) by Brower, Acree, Soule, Cardon, Guidotti
82:19 "Journey Theme" (Journey) by Austin Wintory
87:56 "I Will Watch Over The Ones Who Live On" (Mass Effect 3) by Dikiciyan, Velasco, Hulick, Lennertz, Mansell
91:01 "Cider Time" (Fastfall-Dustforce) by Lifeformed
91:59 "The Makers Theme" (Darksiders II) by Jesper Kyd
104:45 "Out of the Frying Pan" (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey) by Howard Shore
105:54 "Portrait Mr. Boogie" (Sinister) by Christopher Young
106:01 "Cue the Orchestra" (Theme of the Cue Awards) by Marius Masalar


Additional Notes:

The Official Cue Awards Tumblr

Download the Episode

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International Film Critics Association (IFMCA) 2012 Award Nominees Announced

INTERNATIONAL FILM MUSIC CRITICS AWARD NOMINATIONS REVEAL MOST OPEN RACE IN YEARS, WITH MULTIPLE NOMINATIONS FOR DANNA, DESPLAT, VELÁZQUEZ, WILLIAMS

FEBRUARY 7, 2013 — The International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA) announces its list of nominees for excellence in musical scoring in 2012. The largest numbers this year are, for the most part, split evenly between four composers, all of whom received four nominations: MYCHAEL DANNA, ALEXANDRE DESPLAT, FERNANDO VELÁZQUEZ and veteran composer JOHN WILLIAMS.

The nominations for Danna, Velázquez and Williams were each for a single score – director Ang Lee’s vivid shipwreck drama LIFE OF PI, director Juan Antonio Bayona’s harrowing tsunami drama THE IMPOSSIBLE [LO IMPOSIBLE] and director Steven Spielberg’s look at the last months of the life of Abraham LINCOLN, respectively.

Desplat’s nominations were for his body of work in 2012 which included writing IFMCA Award-nominated music for the quirky comedy MOONRISE KINGDOM, the storybook animation RISE OF THE GUARDIANS, and the contemporary war thriller ZERO DARK THIRTY, as well as for the 1970s espionage thriller ARGO, the realistic French romantic drama RUST AND BONE [DE ROUILLE ET D’OS], the Italian satirical comedy REALITY, and the French-language biopic CLOCLO.

The other nominees for Film Score of the Year are the ambitious sci-fi drama CLOUD ATLAS by Tom Tykwer, Johnny Klimek and Reinhold Heil (two nominations), and director Peter Jackson’s epic fantasy prequel THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY by Howard Shore (two nominations).

Danna, Desplat, Velázquez and Williams are also short-listed for Film Composer of the Year along with DANNY ELFMAN, who enjoyed a stellar year composing music for such popular and successful films as DARK SHADOWS, FRANKENWEENIE, HITCHCOCK. MEN IN BLACK III, PROMISED LAND and SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK.

The IFMCA recognizes emerging talent in the film music world, and this year is no exception. The nominees in the Breakout Composer of the Year category include young Spanish composer ZELTIA MONTES for her work on the Spanish feature drama VILAMOR; composer DAN ROMER and composer/director BENH ZEITLIN for their captivating bluegrass-flavored score for the critically acclaimed BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD; JOSEPH TRAPANESE for his work on the animated TV show TRON: UPRISING; NATHAN JOHNSON for his unconventionally percussive music for the acclaimed sci-fi thriller LOOPER; and composer/conductor NIC RAINE, a long time associate of the late John Barry and contributor to Silva Screen and Tadlow Music’s series of re-recordings, who has begun to establish his own musical voice through his score for the German-language thriller WIR WOLLTEN AUFS MEER.

As it has in previous years, the IFMCA takes pride in honoring composers from across the film music world; this year’s international nominees include French composer Philippe Rombi for his work on director François Ozon’s thriller DANS LA MAISON, Finnish composer Panu Aaltio for the beautiful nature documentary score METSÄN TARINA, UK-based Portuguese composer Miguel d’Oliveira’s score for the BBC documentary SHAKESPEARE & US, Argentinean composer Federico Jusid’s music for the Spanish TV series ISABEL, and Japanese composer Naoki Sato’s contribution to the Japanese TV series PRICELESS.

Several composers are receiving their first ever IFMCA Award nominations this year, including JON BRION (Paranorman, Animation), ROBERT FOLK (There Be Dragons – Secretos de Pasión, Drama), PASCAL GAIGNE (Los Mundos Sutiles, Documentary), GRANT KIRKHOPE (Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, Video Game), WALTER MURPHY (Ted, Comedy), FREDERIK WIEDMANN (Green Lantern: The Animated Series, Television), and the team from Blizzard Entertainment led by RUSSELL BROWER and NEAL ACREE (World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria, Video Game).

The International Film Music Critics Association will announce the winners of the 9th IFMCA Awards on February 21, 2013.

=============================================

THE NOMINEES

2012 Film Categories

FILM SCORE OF THE YEAR

• CLOUD ATLAS, music by Tom Tykwer, Johnny Klimek and Reinhold Heil
• THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY, music by Howard Shore
• THE IMPOSSIBLE, music by Fernando Velázquez
• LIFE OF PI, music by Mychael Danna
• LINCOLN, music by John Williams

FILM COMPOSER OF THE YEAR

• MYCHAEL DANNA
• ALEXANDRE DESPLAT
• DANNY ELFMAN
• FERNANDO VELÁZQUEZ 
• JOHN WILLIAMS

BREAKOUT COMPOSER OF THE YEAR

• NATHAN JOHNSON
• ZELTIA MONTES
• NIC RAINE
• DAN ROMER & BENH ZEITLIN
• JOSEPH TRAPANESE

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A DRAMA FILM

• ANNA KARENINA, music by Dario Marianelli
• THE IMPOSSIBLE, music by Fernando Velázquez
• LIFE OF PI, music by Mychael Danna
• LINCOLN, music by John Williams
• THERE BE DRAGONS - SECRETOS DE PASIÓN, music by Robert Folk

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A COMEDY FILM

• MOONRISE KINGDOM, music by Alexandre Desplat
• SALMON FISHING IN THE YEMEN, music by Dario Marianelli
• THE SESSIONS, music by Marco Beltrami
• SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK, music by Danny Elfman
• TED, music by Walter Murphy

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR AN ACTION/ADVENTURE/THRILLER FILM

• THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, music by James Horner
• DANS LA MAISON, music by Philippe Rombi
• THE DARK KNIGHT RISES, music by Hans Zimmer
• SKYFALL, music by Thomas Newman
• ZERO DARK THIRTY, music by Alexandre Desplat

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A FANTASY/SCIENCE FICTION/HORROR FILM

• CLOUD ATLAS, music by Tom Tykwer, Johnny Klimek and Reinhold Heil
• THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY, music by Howard Shore
• JOHN CARTER, music by Michael Giacchino
• PROMETHEUS, music by Marc Streitenfeld, additional music by Harry Gregson-Williams
• SINISTER, music by Christopher Young

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR AN ANIMATED FEATURE

• BRAVE, music by Patrick Doyle
• FRANKENWEENIE, music by Danny Elfman
• PARANORMAN, music by Jon Brion
• RISE OF THE GUARDIANS, music by Alexandre Desplat
• SECRET OF THE WINGS, music by Joel McNeely

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

• KINGDOM OF PLANTS, music by Joel Douek, Freddy Sheinfeld and Elik Alvarez
• LOS MUNDOS SUTILES, music by Pascal Gaigne
• METSÄN TARINA, music by Panu Aaltio
• SAMSARA, music by Lisa Gerrard and Michael Stearns
• SHAKESPEARE & US, music by Miguel d’Oliveira

FILM MUSIC COMPOSITION OF THE YEAR

• “The Cloud Atlas Sextet for Orchestra” from CLOUD ATLAS, music by Tom Tykwer, Johnny Klimek and Reinhold Heil
• “The Impossible Main Title” from THE IMPOSSIBLE, music by Fernando Velázquez
• “John Carter of Mars” from JOHN CARTER, music by Michael Giacchino
• “Pi's Lullaby” from LIFE OF PI, music by Mychael Danna and Bombay Jayashri
• “The Peterson House and Finale” from LINCOLN, music by John Williams

Other 2012 Categories

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A TELEVISION SERIES

• DOCTOR WHO, music by Murray Gold
• DOWNTON ABBEY, music by John Lunn
• GREEN LANTERN: THE ANIMATED SERIES, music by Frederik Wiedmann
• ISABEL, music by Federico Jusid
• PRICELESS, music by Naoki Sato

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A VIDEO GAME OR INTERACTIVE MEDIA

• JOURNEY, music by Austin Wintory
• KINGDOMS OF AMALUR: RECKONING, music by Grant Kirkhope
• RESISTANCE: BURNING SKIES, music by Jason Graves and Kevin Riepl
• STARHAWK, music by Christopher Lennertz
• WORLD OF WARCRAFT: MISTS OF PANDARIA, music by Russell Brower, Neal Acree, Sam Cardon, Edo Guidotti and Jeremy Soule

BEST ARCHIVAL RELEASE OF AN EXISTING SCORE

• BEN-HUR, music by Miklós Rózsa; album produced by Lukas Kendall, Mike Matessino and Neil S. Bulk; liner notes by Jeff Bond and Frank K. DeWald; album art direction by Joe Sikoryak (Film Score Monthly)
• CONAN THE BARBARIAN, music by Basil Poledouris; album produced by Nick Redman and Douglass Fake; liner notes by Nick Redman; album art direction by Joe Sikoryak (Intrada)
• HOOK, music by John Williams; album produced by Didier C. Deutsch, Mark G. Wilder, MV Gerhard and Matt Verboys; liner notes by Daniel Schweiger; album art direction by Jim Titus (La-La Land)
• STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE, music by Jerry Goldsmith; album produced by Didier C. Deutsch, Mike Matessino, Bruce Botnick, MV Gerhard, Matt Verboys and David C. Fein; liner notes by Jeff Bond and Mike Matessino; album art direction by Jim Titus (La-La Land)
• STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES, music by Alexander Courage, George Duning, Jerry Fielding, Gerald Fried, Sol Kaplan, Samuel Matlovsky, Joseph Mullendore and Fred Steiner; album produced by Lukas Kendall, Neil S. Bulk, Jeff Bond, MV Gerhard, and Matt Verboys; liner notes by Jeff Bond; album art direction by Joe Sikoryak (La-La Land)

BEST ARCHIVAL RE-RECORDING OF AN EXISTING SCORE

• THE ADVENTURES OF DON JUAN/ARSENIC AND OLD LACE, music by Max Steiner; conducted by William Stromberg; album produced by William Stromberg, John Morgan and Anna Bonn; liner notes by James V. d’Arc, Ryan Brennan and Curt Hardaway; album art direction by Jim Titus (Tribute Film Classics)
• NOTRE DAME DE PARIS – THE MUSIC OF MAURICE JARRE, music by Maurice Jarre; conducted by Nic Raine; album produced by James Fitzpatrick; liner notes by James Fitzpatrick and Frank K. DeWald; album art direction by Damien Doherty (Tadlow)
• QUO VADIS?, music by Miklós Rózsa; conducted by Nic Raine; album produced by James Fitzpatrick and Luc Van de Ven; liner notes by Frank K. DeWald; album art direction by GINKO DIGI (Prometheus/Tadlow)
• THE RED HOUSE, music by Miklós Rózsa; conducted by Allan Wilson; album produced by Kevin Kaska and Douglass Fake; liner notes by Dan Robbins and Frank K. DeWald; album art direction by Joe Sikoryak (Intrada)
• WINGS, music by J.S. Zamecnik; conducted by Peter Boyer and Ira Hearshen; album produced by Dominik Hauser, Jeannie Gayle Pool, Dan Goldwasser, MV Gerhard and Matt Verboys; liner notes by Jeannie Gayle Pool; album art direction by Dan Goldwasser (La-La Land)

FILM MUSIC RECORD LABEL OF THE YEAR

• INTRADA RECORDS, Douglass Fake, Roger Feigelson
• LA-LA LAND RECORDS, MV Gerhard, Matt Verboys, Neil S. Bulk, Dan Goldwasser
• MOVIESCORE MEDIA, Mikael Carlsson
• QUARTET RECORDS, Jose M. Benitez
• TADLOW MUSIC, James Fitzpatrick

Read more about the IFMCA and past award winners 

Nobody Walks (Soundtrack) by Fall on Your Sword - Review

"Everybody Listens"

Review by Thomas Midena

Led by Will Bates and Philip Mossman, FALL ON YOUR SWORD is an electronic band making a name for themselves through their scores for independent films. NOBODY WALKS is one of their most recent albums, accompanying the dramatic American independent film of the same name directed by Russo-Young. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2012, and due to its limited release not many have seen it - including myself. Therefore I will be approaching this soundtrack by FALL ON YOUR SWORD as a collection of music without any specific context. Does it hold up? Let’s see ...

The initial assumption is that an indie score by an indie band such as this will blend a modern musical sensibility with a risqué stable of unusual styles to achieve a mood which is feel-good with a constant reminder of its disturbing dramatic centre. As it happens, this is essentially what you’ll find in NOBODY WALKS.

READ THE FULL REVIEW

SoundCast Bonus: Talking Top 10 James Newton Howard Scores

Bonus Episode:  Talking Top 10 James Newton Howard Scores

Christopher Coleman and Helen meet, face-to-face, for the first time and discuss Christopher's Top 10 scores from the prolific composer, James Newton Howard.


Episode Highlights:


00:31 Intro and sitting down with Helen San
04:12 Top 10, 9, 8, 7 and Helen Hatin' on M. Night.
11:17 Top 6, 5, 4 - Newton Howard and Kevin Costner
15:55 Top 3, 2, 1 -
32:02 Helen's Picks
34:18 After Earth, "the dip," Green Lantern
37:59 Wrapping it up


Music Selections:

00:00 "Horn of Plenty" (The Hunger Games) by James Newton Howard
00:57 "Gnomeo & Juliet" (Gnome & Juliet) by James Newton Howard
03:34 "Beautiful" (King Kong) by James Newton Howard
04:47 "Noah Visits" (The Village) by James Newton Howard
06:46 "The Great Eatlon" (Lady in the Water) by James Newton Howard
08:20 "The Egg Travels"(Dinosaur) by James Newton Howard
09:47 "Visions" (Unbreakable) by James Newton Howard
11:23 "Main Titles" (Signs) by James Newton Howard
13:27 "Main Title" (Wyatt Earp) by James Newton Howard
14:22 "Main Titles" (The Postman) by James Newton Howard
16:02 "Flow Like Water" (The Last Airbender) by James Newton Howard
28:08 "End Titles" (Snow Falling on Cedars) by James Newton Howard
36:05 "Drone Dogfight" (Green Lantern) by James Newton Howard
38:29 "Visions" (Unbreakable) by James Newton Howard



Helen's additional picks:

1. RESTORATION. One of my fav JNHs. I used to listen to this cue (Fire) ALL the time. This rivals Flow Like Water.
http://youtu.be/Xr3Wo1-u5DM

2. PRINCE OF TIDES. Sweeping romantic. I forget how versatile he is.
http://youtu.be/mJVEPxGN8jY

3. DAVE. Again, versatile.
http://youtu.be/bKhFa-4Je9w


Helen's Honorable mentions:

OUTBREAK.
http://youtu.be/a5OdcdYZtMs

SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN
http://youtu.be/Ol55atpyCes

DEFIANCE
http://youtu.be/hhfy7VkR3ws

MICHAEL CLAYTON
http://youtu.be/MGZTrE070tk

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Top Ten James Newton Howard Scores

Top Ten James Newton Howard Scores
by Christopher Coleman

Once upon a time, I didn't think The Postman was a great score, nor any of James Newton Howard's scores...to be honest.  I can still hear the cries and wailing of the offended as I would share this bit of my taste.

But that was a long time ago and tastes do mature over time.  Don't they?

James Newton Howard has become a true favorite of mine over the last 10 years.  When given the chance, he can wring out more emotion from a handful of notes than anyone working in the business.  His range is wide, writing scores for animated features, sci-fi, horror, historical dramas, and even date-movies.  There's little wonder he remains busy year after year.

So below you will find my current top ten list of James Newton Howard scores.  Once again, like my Hans Zimmer Top 10,  you will not find collaborative efforts like The Batman/Dark Knight Trilogy.  And let me just break some hearts right away, two scores that fell just outside of my top ten were:  Atlantis and Blood Diamonds, so you won't be finding either of them below.  You may find some of your favorites listed here, but hopefully you'll discover some James Newton Howard score you may have overlooked until now.

Here we go:

#10 - The Village

While M. Night was still getting a collective pass due to his coming-out party of THE SIXTH SENSE, James Newton Howard continued to show that he gives his A-game regardless of the material.  The mystical, beautiful main theme stands out among Howard's most intoxicating uses of strings in any of his works, even if it is a bit derivative of some of his other works...some that you might just find later on in this list.


#9 - Lady in the Water

Another unfortunately maligned film from M. Night Shyamalan, LADY IN THE WATER, finds itself offering some of Howard's most poignant musical moments of his career.  The simple animated prologue set audiences up for a fairy-tale adventure that the rest of the film arguably did not deliver upon.  Whether one "got" the movie or not, the closing sequence containing the cue "The Great Eatlon" is undeniably a powerhouse of film music and continues to deliver goose-bumps to those who listen to it.


#8 - Dinosaur

As Disney moved into world of 3D animation, they continued their collaborative relationship with James Newton Howard.  Having scored ATLANTIS and TREASURE PLANET,  there's little wonder that they went with Howard for their big, 3D-adventure, which followed a group of migrating dinosaurs.  Howard's ability to bring the images on screen to life through music was never demonstrated any better than in the track "The Egg Travels."  The animated playfulness gives way to African rhythms and vocals before the brass and strings bring the piece into the era of the unforgettable.


#7 - Unbreakable

What would Mr. Shyamalan do without Mr. Howard?  Not much apparently.  The director's second feature didn't receive the praise of his death-sensing rookie effort, but should have.  Bringing a level of "cool" to this effort is ... no, not Samuel L. Jackson's involvement, but Howard dropping the popular (at the time) rhythmic-hook into the movies main theme.  While the piece ascends from a mysterious darkness, the rhythm keeps the piece driving forward with a bit of funky-determination.  It's true that this very element does date the score (it has been 12 years afterall), but evenso UNBREAKABLE remains distinct among Howard's distinctive portfolio.


#6 - Signs

This unfairly maligned entry from M. Night Shyamalan offers one of Howard's most suspenseful scores of his career.  SIGNS is pensive cross between John Williams work for Close Encounters and Bernard Herrmann and goes a long way to helping the film establish and maintain it's moment-to-moment chills.  Newton Howard's work here is almost a character unto itself.  While not the icon that Williams' 5-note motif from Close Encounters eventually became, Howard's 3-note ostinato certainly remains with viewers long after the film has ended and is nearly as effective.


#5 - Wyatt Earp

James Newton Howard's wonderfully, warm, Americana score for Kevin Costner's epically long film, which focuses on the life of the Wyatt Earp; a soldier, turned criminal, turned sheriff, offers one of his most unforgettable title themes.  The theme has been adopted and implemented in trailers, television and radio programs.  Wyatt Earp was produced during Hollywood's Western revival of the 1990s, which afforded some of the most unabashedly heroic and sweeping scores of any era since.  Of course that trend has long since ended and so far less opportunities exist to deliver such rich music.  In Howard's case, there is a specific "grandness" to his score here that continues to make it a stand-out-effort amidst his extensive portfolio.


#4 - The Postman

Yes. Yes.  I agree the movie was another Costner-post-apocalyptic-stinker, but as with Waterworld (a good score, but not good enough to make this here list), Newton Howard was clearly able to transcend the on-screen...limitations.  He does what he does best once again: adventure and romance in spades.  His title theme is unashamedly heroic (even patriotic) romp that, when played with the images on the screen can certainly induce a spasm from our internal, musical-cheese-rejectors, but when divorced from the screen are just as inspiring many of his other similar pieces.  Add to this another goosebump-laden, love theme and there's almost no way The Postman can be omitted from anyone's top 10 list.


#3 - The Last Airbender

Say what you will about how bad the film was (and I'd probably agree with you), but there's no denying that Howard provided a score well-fitting the epic that THE LAST AIRBENDER could have, no, should have been.  While Shyamalan's grade might have bottomed out here, Howard's powerful, yet passionate score reminded us that he's still got the massive, symphonic music coursing through his veins.  From start to finish this score entertains and scintillates and, if not for 2010's How To Train Your Dragon (John Powell), this would have been my top score of the year.


#2 King Kong

With creative differences between director Peter Jackson and composer Howard Shore severing their collaboration for the 2005 edition of KING KONG, James Newton Howard was called upon to step in at the 11th hour.  Amazingly, he delivers one of the most well-rounded and entertaining  scores of his career.  The music contains all of the mystery, action, thrill and romance one might hope for in a Kong-flick.  Perhaps the greatest and most pleasant surprise of the score (and film) is the level of heart injected into it.  Ann Darrows starry-eyed, but heartbroken piano-lead theme is only surpassed by Newton Howard's "beautiful" theme.  Just as everyone, save Darrow, could not see or imagine the heart and intelligence of "the beast," so most anticipating this film could expect quite this level of feeling. Of course, as we would definitely expect, Newton Howard delivers the goods when it comes to hellacious action-scoring and unforgettable, heroic fanfares.  It bears emphasizing that our composer had less than two months before the movie was to release to write and record this score.   While the music itself puts it into #2 position, this fact ensures its position and even curried the thought of moving it to number one...but not quite...


#1 - Snow Falling on Cedars

What can I say about this film and score?  How has it reached the #1 position?  The moody, yet immaculate images of director Scott Hicks and cinematographer Robert Richardson are matched, if not elevated, by James Newton Howard's forceful score.  Whether its the solitary bell tolls, yearnful strings, weighty taiko drums or suddenly sublime choir, few of Newton Howard's scores can rival the diverse excellence here.  Several, more commercially well-known, scores from his massive portfolio went on to feature similar elements, but none of them eclipse what he has done here.  Newton Howard brings heft and heaven together for Snow Falling on Cedars and if there is one soundtrack to start your JNH-collection with, this must be the one.


--------------------------


So there it is...all the James Newton Howard goodness one list can contain.

The most unfortunate thing about this post is that no work from James Newton Howard composed in the last couple of years has made this list (The most recent being The Last Airbender).  His recent scores, while mostly adequate for their respective films, have lacked the most all of the verve and beauty of any of these listed here.

Be on the lookout of a bonus edition of The SoundCast where I sit down (literally) and talk with Helen San about this very list!

Do you have another title you think should have made my list?  I dare you to post it in comments below.   If you need further convincing of the brilliance of this list you can listen to the selections from all ten here in our special Youtube playlist.

SoundCast #54 - The Hobbit: A Game of Themes

Episode #54 - The Hobbit: A Game of Themes


Author Doug Adams returns to the SoundCast to talk about Howard Shore's score for part one of THE HOBBIT trilogy.  Find out which Tracksounds staffer has yet to see the film, how the presentation format of the film effected our experience, how the score caused some headscratching, and how this whole thing is just a huge "game of themes."

Episode Highlights

00:00 Blunt the Opening and Doug Adams Intro
05:46 What we were expecting from this film
19:58 General reactions and comparing to Lord of the Rings
11:45 Reacting to the film and it's music (spoilers)
31:21 Headscratching: Reacting to the score
49:56 A Game of Themes?
78:50 Wrapping it up


Music Selections

00:00 "Blunt the Knives" (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey SE) by Howard Shore
00:40 "The Adventure Begins" (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey SE) by Howard Shore
05:23 "The World is Ahead" (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey SE) by Howard Shore
19:25 "Warg-Scouts" (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey SE) by Howard Shore
31:04 "A Thunder Battle" (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey SE) by Howard Shore
50:40 "The Crack of Doom"(LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring) by Howard Shore
57:41 "Out of the Frying-Pan" (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey SE) by Howard Shore
59:40 "The Breaking of the Fellowship" (LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring) by Howard Shore
72:47 "02_Old Friends (Extended)" (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey SE) by Howard Shore
76:58 "Radagast the Brown (Extended)" (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey SE) by Howard Shore
83:29 "Dreaming of Bag End" (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey SE) by Howard Shore

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The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Soundtrack) by Howard Shore - Review

An Expectedly Exceptional Journey
by Edmund Meinerts

Normally I don’t break form and talk about my personal feelings, but here I’ll make an exception, because Peter Jackson’s THE HOBBIT is probably my most anticipated film, and score, of all time. I’m what you might call a Tolkien nut – I’ve read the books, watched the films and listened to the scores over and over again; in fact, the latter are in no small part responsible for kindling my interest in film music to begin with, and in my humble opinion, HOWARD SHORE’s music is a strong contender for the title of greatest film score of all time.

For THE HOBBIT’s score, therefore, any choice other than SHORE would have been unthinkable. His sound has engrained itself irreversibly into Middle-earth, and fortunately Jackson was able to put aside whatever KING KONG-related differences he may have still had with the composer. SHORE responded with a score that, in its idiosyncratic “ancient” sound and meticulous attention to thematic and motivic detail, picks up where RETURN OF THE KING left off. In truth, the score feels just a little bit smaller and is a little bit less complex, but that’s relative to the previous three (and, furthermore, appropriate for THE HOBBIT’s lighter tone – this is just a treasure hunt, after all, not a quest to destroy evil); compared to the average blockbuster score of 2012, it’s still a behemoth, boasting about a dozen new themes alongside a whole host of recurring ideas from the RINGS trilogy.

READ THE FULL, SUPERSIZED REVIEW

SoundCast: Les Misérables (Bonus Episode)

Bonus Episode:  Les Misérables

Christopher Coleman and Helen San tackle the latest incarnation of Les Misérables by director Tom Hooper, which is currently raking in the accolades and bucks! Do they love it? Hate it? Is it getting so much praise because of what the movie offers or because of Victor Hugo's powerful story and Schönberg and Boublil's unforgettable music?


Episode Highlights:

00:30 Opening and Welcome
02:48 Our History of Musicals and Les Mis
10:00 What we were expecting from this film
11:45 Reacting to the film and it's music (spoilers)
16:15 Actor by Actor
23:47 Movie or Musical and Hiring Stars
30:24 Evaluating this as "a film"
44:07 How about the official soundtrack release?
47:05 The new song: "Suddenly"
51:26 Final thoughts and close
08:48 The score. Where's the point?


Music Selections:

00:00 "The Bishop" (Les Misérables) by Claude-Michel Schönberg, Alain Boublil
00:50 "At The End Of The Day" (Les Misérables) by Claude-Michel Schönberg, Alain Boublil
16:00 "Look Down" (Les Misérables) by Claude-Michel Schönberg, Alain Boublil
18:04 "Valjean's Soliloquy" (Les Misérables) by Claude-Michel Schönberg, Alain Boublil
21:48 "Master Of The House" (Les Misérables) by Claude-Michel Schönberg, Alain Boublil
24:46 "In My Life - A Heart Full Of Love" (Les Misérables) by Claude-Michel Schönberg, Alain Boublil
47:05 "Suddenly" (Les Misérables) by Claude-Michel Schönberg, Alain Boublil
52:46 "Epilogue" (Les Misérables) by Claude-Michel Schönberg, Alain Boublil


Additional Notes:
Watch the 25th Anniversary Concert in full on Youtube
Watch the 2000, 2-Part Series on Netflix Watch Instantly
Buy or Rent Les Miserables: The 25th Anniversary Concert [Blu-ray] (2010) from Amazon
Buy the Original Soundtrack from Les Miserables: The Musical Phenomenon at Amazon
Buy the Les Miserables Complete Symphonic Recording at Amazon
Buy the 1998 Les Miserables Blu Ray (Liam Neeson) at Amazon


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Three Preview Tracks from the Upcoming Tron: Uprising Soundtrack Release

This upcoming release contains 20 tracks, including new songs from David Hiller, Opiuo, Cole Plante and more!  Here's a special 3-track playlist from Disney Records to keep you plugged-in until it releases.  

Sounds quite promising to us!  Are you excited for this release?  The soundtrack releases on January 8th and  below the videos you can pre-order yourself a copy.

PRE-ORDER TRON: UPRISING AT AMAZON

PRE-ORDER TRON: UPRISING AT iTUNES

Bonus SoundCast - The Hobbit: An Unexpected Reaction

Bonus Episode: The Hobbit - An Unexpected Reaction

Christopher Coleman knocks out this bonus “solo-cast” and shares his reaction to seeing The Hobbit in a Dolby Atmos, the film itself and the score as heard in context.

Episode Highlights

00:17 Where and when I saw The Hobbit

01:28 Comparing The Hobbit to LOTR

04:04 The Greatness of the Fellowship

05:42 I hear George Lucas' voice in my head

07:20 Meandering?

08:48 The score.  Where's the point?

Music Selections

00:00 "The White Council (Extended)" (The Hobbit: AUJ) by Howard Shore

04:05 "Khazad-Dûm " (LOTR: Fellowship of the Ring) by Howard Shore

11:16 "12_Roast Mutton (Extended)"  (The Hobbit: AUJ) by Howard Shore

14:55 "08_The World is Ahead" (The Hobbit: AUJ) by Howard Shore

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Silver Linings Playbook (Soundtrack) by Danny Elfman - Review

Neither Cloud Nor Lining

Review by Edmund Meinerts

A romantic comedy with a dramatic twist, SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK sees Bradley Cooper’s character released from a mental health facility only to find that his wife has left him. While trying to reconcile with her, he meets Jennifer Lawrence’s character and forms a bond with her due to their shared neurotic disorders. Balancing comedy against a topic as serious as mental health is a precarious tightrope act, but done right it can be very rewarding (and, come the end of the year, awarding). Director David Owen Russell seems to have pulled it off with aplomb, the film gathering significant acclaim and generating a fair amount of Oscar buzz.

As one might expect for a romantic comedy, the film’s soundtrack is dominated by song placements, but nevertheless, DANNY ELFMAN was hired to fill in the gaps with a short original score, easily the least substantial of his impressive six assignments of 2012. Ditching the orchestra, ELFMAN opted to assemble a light rock ensemble for the project, augmented by piano, some synthetic overlays and – most notably – his own vocal talent layered several times on top of itself to create a small oohing-and-aahing choir in much the same way BRIAN TYLER has occasionally done for early and/or low-budget projects. That choir lends a definite and somewhat cheesy 60s-retro vibe to SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK, equating the psychedelia of that decade to the confused state of the protagonists’ minds.

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2012 Golden Globe Nominees for Best Score

The 70th Annual Golden Globes Nominees have been announced.  As we do here at Tracksounds, we present the most important category for the soundtrack-genius right up front!  You'll likely find this year's nominees fairly predictable.  Zero Dark Thirty might be the more intriguing score from Desplat this year, but it was inevitable that he'd get at least one of his scores nominated.  Below the original score and original song nominees, you'll find all the rest of this years noms.  Let us know what you think.  Do you think some other score got slighted here?

ORIGINAL SCORE

• Life of Pi - Mychael Danna
• Argo - Alexandre Desplat
• Anna Karenina - Dario Marianelli
• Cloud Atlas - Johnny Klimek, Reinhold Heil, Tom Tykwer 
• Lincoln - John Williams

ORIGINAL SONG

"For You" from Act of Valor

"Not Running Anymore" from Stand Up Guys

"Safe and Sound" from The Hunger Games

"Skyfall" from Skyfall

"Suddenly" from Les Miserables

...and some of the other major categories...


MOVIES

Best Picture, Drama:

• “Argo”
• “Django Unchained”
• “Life of Pi”
• “Lincoln”
• “Zero Dark Thirty”

Best Picture, Musical or Comedy:

• “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel”
• “Les Misérables”
• “Moonrise Kindgom”
• “Salmon Fishing in the Yemen”
• “Silver Linings Playbook”

Best Director:

• Ben Affleck, “Argo”
• Kathryn Bigelow, “Zero Dark Thirty”
• Ang Lee, “Life of Pi”
• Steven Spielberg, “Lincoln”
• Quentin Tarantino, “Django Unchained”

Best Actress, Drama:

• Jessica Chastain, “Zero Dark Thirty”
• Marion Cotillard, “Rust and Bone”
• Helen Mirren, “Hitchcock”
• Naomi Watts, “The Impossible”
• Rachel Weisz, “The Deep Blue Sea”

Best Actor, Drama:

• Daniel Day-Lewis, “Lincoln”
• Richard Gere, “Arbitrage”
• John Hawkes, “The Sessions”
• Joaquin Phoenix, “The Master”
• Denzel Washington, “Flight”

Best Actor, Musical or Comedy:

• Jack Black, “Bernie”
• Bradley Cooper, “Silver Linings Playbook”
• Hugh Jackman, “Les Misérables ”
• Ewan MCGregor, “Salmon Fishing in the Yemen”
• Bill Murray, “Hyde Park on Hudson”

Best Actress, Musical or Comedy:

• Emily Blunt, “Salmon Fishing in the Yemen”
• Judi Dench, “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel”
• Jennifer Lawrence, “Silver Linings Playbook”
• Maggie Smith, “Quartet”
• Meryl Streep, “Hope Springs”

Best Supporting Actress:

• Amy Adams, “The Master”
• Sally Field, “Lincoln”
• Anne Hathaway, “Les Misérables ”
• Helen Hunt, “The Sessions”
• Nicole Kidman, “The Paperboy”

Best Supporting Actor:

• Alan Arkin, “Argo”
• Leonardo DiCaprio, “Django Unchained”
• Philip Seymour Hoffman, “The Master”
• Tommy Lee Jones, “Lincoln”
• Christoph Waltz, “Django Unchained”

Best Screenplay:

• Mark Boal, “Zero Dark Thirty”
• Tony Kushner, “Lincoln”
• David O’Russell, “Silver Linings Playbook”
• Quentin Tarantino, “Django Unchained”
• Chris Terrio, “Argo”

Best Foreign Language Film:

• “Amour”
• “A Royal Affair”
• “The Intouchables”
• “Kon-Tiki”
• “Rust and Bone”

Best Animated Feature:

• “Rise of the Guardians”
• “Brave”
• “Frankenweenie”
• “Hotel Transylvania”
• “Wreck-It Ralph”

TELEVISION

Best Television Comedy or Musical:

• “The Big Bang Theory”
• “Episodes”
• “Girls”
• “Modern Family”
• “Smash”

Best Television Drama:

• “Breaking Bad”
• “Boardwalk Empire”
• “Downton Abbey”
• “Homeland”
• “The Newsroom”

Best Actress, Television Drama:

• Connie Britton, “Nashville”
• Glenn Close, “Damages”
• Claire Danes, “Homeland”
• Michelle Dockery, “Downton Abbey”
• Julianna Margulies, “The Good Wife”

Best Actor, Television Drama:

• Best Actor, TV Drama Steve Buscemi, “Boardwalk Empire”
• Bryan Cranston, “Breaking Bad”
• Jeff Daniels, “The Newsroom”
• Jon Hamm, “Mad Men”
• Damian Lewis, “Homeland”

Best Miniseries or Television Movie:

• “Game Change”
• “The Girl”
• “Hatfields & McCoys”
• “The Hour”
• “Political Animals”

You can find the rest at the Official Golden Globe Award Site