Aggie's Music

Post-tonal Theory

2008-11-13T06:39:00.000-08:00

Ooooo, I haven't updated in a loooong time!

I'm going to have a debate next week in my post-tonal theory class in regards to this topic:

"That which is identified as 'atonal music' should be promoted and performed."

I am con, even though I wanted to be pro... my poor heart. :P But it gives me a chance to look at both sides of this.. I would say.. musically-controversial statement. You think about it for a bit and I will provide my personal insight next week.

Bye!

She wore bluuuuuuuuuuuuuuuue velveeeeeeeet................

Little Poseidon talk

2008-02-14T10:35:00.001-08:00

I’ve been learning a lot from my film classes lately, and the idea of remakes always bugged me. Why do them? Well, the main reason is obviously spectacle; studios now have better technology and they can make King Kong look more realistic, along with the plane crash and island scenes. However, when you only concentrate on the visual spectacle, you leave out a lot of important things such as the emotional interaction between characters. Things such as motifs and symbols become lost and the story is simple and filtered. I started thinking about this after watching The Poseidon Adventure (Ronald Neame, 1972).

As much as this was a funny disaster film to watch (for my generation at least), there is a lot of symbolism along with the conflict of authority and religion. It’s not something you typically think about when you want to watch a disaster film... maybe that’s why this film was nominated for so many Academy Awards. It was just filled with human sympathy and religion. If you followed the Reverend, you would be safe. If you followed the ship authorities, you would die. Um, yikes? The cinematography used to establish the two on different levels is also interesting.

I’m not sure I want to see the new Poseidon (Wolfgang Petersen, 2006). I saw a clip where the ship was tipping from the wave, and looking at all the new technology made me feel uncomfortable. The way the ship was controlled, the elevators, etc... it just seemed too exaggerated. And I hear the film lacks the human connection from the 1972 version. So, you get your spectacular visuals, but lack of everything else. Well... maybe I should watch it to see if there’s any symbolism, but I doubt they will be religious. Just had to spill that out. :P

Oh! For some reason, I found it HILARIOUS that John Williams scored the 1972 Poseidon film! Anything he does post-Star Wars gets me curious for some odd reason...

Pop-tarts!

2007-12-16T19:56:00.001-08:00

Yaay, I'm back home for the holidays... no more classes or exams for quite a while... such a good feeling. I can now catch up to my reading, and I know I'll have LOADS to post after I go through them.

But, of course, being back for Christmas means I have to be careful about over-eating. In the past few months, I've become a health nut and exercising a lot more.. however.. I was unable to foresee my newest obsession...

POP-TARTS!! Yeh, I am a little late.. and I have no excuse.

When I was a little girl, my older sister would eat these every morning. I think I ate a few, but I was never fascinated by them, partly because they were in boring flavours like "Strawberry" and "Blueberry".

So, obviously, the main reason Pop-tarts are so popular is because NOW they come in all these fun flavours... Smores, Chocolate Fudge, Brown Sugar Cinnamon, Hot Fudge Sundae.. aaand the list goes on. They're just sooo fun to eat and even collect.. like Pocky! The only smart thing Kellogg's can do is continue making crazy flavours, like "Neapolitan Nonsense".. ooor "Tropical Zing"... they should just keep going!

I think the main reason I got into them was because my diet is very boring... Pop-tarts and their bright-coloured boxes make me happy now. :) I wish they kept making the one that's below!!

Movie palaces!!

2007-10-17T20:32:00.000-07:00

Here's ONE reason why I wish I was born in the first half of the twentieth century.

People got to watch films in THESE kind of venues!!! I bet the floors weren't sticky either. I got the first image from this website: http://www2.hawaii.edu/~angell/thsa/gl-levin.html. Be sure to check it out! Lots of other beautiful pictures, including exteriors!

German Expressionism

2007-09-27T20:33:00.000-07:00

This week, in my Film History class, we have been learning about German Expressionism in film. My God... I am SO interested in this movement now.

We watched The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (Robert Weine, 1920) and I was completely in awe with the buildings, windows and scenery. I find it ever so fascinating that, even after WWI, the rise of Hollywood, and the Treaty of Versailles, German filmmakers were still able to express themselves without others automatically identifying their films as Nazi propaganda. Just look at the detail in the pic above! Even the ceiling looks like it has a mind of its own! :P

What bothers me (you know.. just a TINY bit..) is the lack of information regarding film music during this movement. I mean... they must've had some accompaniment, right? This film was made in 1920... it was young, but definitely there. I'm currently reading Miguel Mera and David Burnand's "European Film Music". I finished reading the first chapter that had to deal with film music in Germany, but only during 1927-1945, so it's practically all about Nazi propaganda. Not one thing about expressionism, which developed in the early 20s.

Hmm.. yah, that actually bugs me quite a bit. BUUUUT....

I'm going to borrow Metropolis from the library and watch it during (Canadian) Thanksgiving!! Yay! I hear Gottfried Huppertz's score is mind-blowing. :)

Back to school!

2007-09-19T18:40:00.000-07:00

COFFEE!!!!!! I've gotten into the habit of drinking coffee on my most dreadful day of the week... Wednesdays. Why hump day? I have SEVEN courses on the day. Yikes! It's because I took Film History as a non-music elective. My father suggested I drop it, and it would've made my term a bit easier, but honestly... the stress is worth it. Because I want to be a film composer, I have decided to take as many film studies courses as possible... I want to learn as MUCH about the history of film (beginning to now) as I can. It fascinates me so... almost as much as music (but not quite there!). The other film course I'm taking is Hitchcock and Modernity, which I find interesting because we are looking at not only Hitchcock's popular works, but also at his very early works.. before he moved to Amerrr-i-ca! All of this is amazing.

I just wanted to blab since I haven't posted on here in so long. Hmmm.. what else can I talk about...

I LOOOOOOVE THE MARX BROTHERS!! They made my summer very enjoyable. I watched a LOT of early films during my summer break, and the first Marx Brothers film I came across was 'A Night at the Opera'. It was the first film that I borrowed that centered around comedy, so I was quite surprised at its liveliness. Jokes were told here and there.. I almost couldn't keep up! It got me interested, and I watched a few more... the most recent I saw was 'Monkey Business' which had me on the floor. I'm going to save up some money to buy this -->> http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002MHDYW/ref=wl_it_dp/102-3849476-1368960?ie=UTF8&coliid=I1CYGK29FBJ8Z2&colid=SMLA43BWOL1G <<-- because it's so damn worth it. Also, I recently learned how to compose for Harp, so Harpo's instrument solo is always a pleasure to watch.. he uses a lot of extended techniques! :D

Elton John

2007-08-02T16:40:00.001-07:00

Taken from Perezhilton.com. Don't laugh. :P

“The internet has stopped people from going out and being with each other, creating stuff. Instead they sit at home and make their own records, which is sometimes OK but it doesn’t bode well for long-term artistic vision. It’s just a means to an end. We’re talking about things that are going to change the world and change the way people listen to music and that’s not going to happen with people blogging on the internet. I mean, get out there - communicate. Hopefully the next movement in music will tear down the internet. Let’s get out in the streets and march and protest instead of sitting at home and blogging. I do think it would be an incredible experiment to shut down the whole internet for five years and see what sort of art is produced over that span. There’s too much technology available. I’m sure, as far as music goes, it would be much more interesting than it is today. I don’t have a mobile phone or an iPod or anything. I am such a Luddite when it comes to making music. All I can do is write at the piano. In the early Seventies there were at least ten albums released every week that were fantastic. Now you’re lucky to find ten albums a year of that quality. And there are more albums released each week now than there were then.”
- Elton John

Amen!

I work at a movie theatre during the summer, and the guys decided to play a CD with different "current" music (Rihanna, Mika, lots of emo, etc.)... I was going to barf because almost every song was similar to each other in chord progessions and lyrical structure. Come on people.. can you at least TRY to think up some groundbreaking music instead of looking at the pile of green on your desk?

Rest in peace.

2007-07-31T06:36:00.000-07:00

R.I.P. Ingmar Bergman

R.I.P. Michelangelo Antonioni

A very sad two days. Antonioni is one of my favourite directors, and one day I will explain why he's so unique and miraculous. In the meantime, please watch their films... Blow-Up especially.

Robert Redford in The Natural - The Final Homerun

2007-07-04T14:10:00.001-07:00

Randy Newman is one of the few modern film composers that I admire, and The Natural is one of my favourite scores. It's not complicated, and the horns are powerful.. they stick to your head easily.

It's the main theme of the film, and I belive it was played elsewhere in the film, but this is where it really gives the scene life. Sure, there are pretty sparks flying around the screen, and everything is in dramatic slow-mo, but it's the music that really sets the magic.

Polanski's protest fizzles

2007-05-21T10:09:00.001-07:00

An article that I found interesting:

http://www.thestar.com/article/216018

*Polanski fan*

HAPPY VICTORIA DAY! *fireworks!*

BOOKS!

2007-05-10T08:01:00.000-07:00

OH yays! The books I ordered from Chapters are in! Last night, I had a nightmare about explosions and dead body parts, but now I feel a lot better knowing my mailbox ate this beautiful package!!

"Tunes for 'Toons", by Daniel Goldmark. Yay! I jumped when I saw this book on Amazon! It spans the cartoon times of the 1930s-50s. There are a lot of classic cartoon books, but not a lot on the music! It talks about Carl Stalling, Scott Bradley, Silly Symphonies, and the JAZZ times! This is one field of music that I'm really getting interested in.

"The Art of Film Music", by George Burt. I was trying to find some more film music books that dealt with the classics (e.g. "Film Music: A Neglected Art", by Roy M. Prendergast) and I found this book! It's around 200-250 pages, but it's crammed with scores by Hugo Friedhofer, Elmer Bernstein, and Alex North. I think the set-up of this book might be better than "A Neglected Art" (it is more recent), but we'll see!

"Deep Listening: A Composer's Sound Practice", by Pauline Oliveros. Pauline came to one of my composition seminars last term. Her philosophy, and this book, greatly revolves around the idea that any kind of sound can be interpreted as music. It is something that requires meditative practice, and it was one of the contemporary musical practices and I found interesting. The book is small, but is filled with short and rather simple steps/lessons to help you hear the world. Oooooooo.

Oh noes, which one should I read first?????

Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959)

2007-05-03T19:55:00.001-07:00

I watched Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959) a while ago. The score to the film is by Bernard Herrmann. He’s better known for his work with Alfred Hitchcock (Psycho, Vertigo, North by Northwest) so I decided to look at some of his work outside of Hitchcock, but still around the same time. It was a pretty fun film!

“I decided to evoke the mood and feeling of inner Earth by using only instruments played in low registers. Eliminating all strings, I utilized an orchestra of woodwinds and brass, with a large percussion section and many harps. But the truly unique feature of this score is the inclusion of five organs, one large Cathedral and four electronic. These organs were used in many adroit ways to suggest ascent and descent, as well as the mystery of Atlantis.” (Herrmann)

Indeed, he made the music’s relation to the film seem more natural than human. I loved the organs! It was really haunting, most of it in lower register. Harps were used to signify anything colourful or delicate in the movie... such as when the crew enters the Mushroom Forest. It seemed a bit contrasting at first... very melodic and pretty compared to the low brass and harps, but I suppose Herrmann wanted to accomplish a broader range while still making the idea of going inside the earth somewhat dark and horrific.

I like how Herrmann puts so much thought into orchestration. A lot of films these days call for strict full orchestra, aaaaand that’s a bit weird. I’ve been reading articles about how a director can really limit the composer’s imagination, whether it is tampering with the orchestration itself, timing, etc. Bernard Herrmann is a perfect example of really pushing his ideas.

Yay for the summer! I have more time to watch lots of movies! :D

Classic cartoon music!!

2007-03-28T21:05:00.000-07:00

Finally, I’m going to talk about music in classic cartoons! This’ll be sooo much fun! I’ll start off with Scott Bradley, since he’s quite iconic in this field. He did a lot of Tom and Jerry shorts. Check out the one below!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FnGGmP5kFU

This clip is lively and fun. Why? Because the music is CONSTANTLY taking effect: the little orphan mice toddling along, Tom patting his head after one of the mice pulls his hair, the little Indian badminton birdies popping out from the fence, and loads more. Some people think that if you put too much music as effects, the entire cartoon will not sound as a whole... it will be scattered. That’s untrue, because Bradley constantly weaves reoccurring themes (e.g. the ‘uno, dos, treis amigos’ theme) throughout the cartoon, keeping it together in a smooth fashion. You’ll notice that the clip is slightly off with the music because it is that precise. You could do the same in a silent black and white film from the 1910s and 20s. It can’t be done with film anymore because people will just laugh at it. I believe that this kind of accuracy is timeless in cartoons. It just depends on the quality of your cartoon, I suppose. I’ll get into more of that later. Right now, onto more cartoons!

Scott Bradley is the first name you’ll hear from the classic times of cartoon music. However, there are a lot of others who I think are even greater. Winston Sharples! He did over seven hundred cartoon shorts from the 1930s to the 60s, primarily for Felix the Cat. I added a link to one of the shorts below. I loooove Felix! Mucho jazzy fun!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHwF1WpzAeU

Carl Stalling, whose known for scoring a lot of Looney Tunes shorts, does a great job on the Road Runner and Coyote cartoons. He can really exaggerate some scenes effectively. Link below!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6W_SH3N2ezg

Has anybody ever heard of Bill Lava? He did a few Looney Tunes shorts as well, but I really can’t get into his stuff. Watch the clip below. When the Road Runner does hopscotch... doesn’t the music seem unnatural for that kind of movement? Stalling would’ve done a much better job. The animation is not as great as the previous clip either (Zoom and Bored was done in 1957, this one in 1965). I almost see a parallel decline in skill. I really couldn’t find anything good in it music-wise, sorry!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jndDIk3ddJM

If you watch any kind of cartoon today, you’ll notice that none of them can have music scored in this kind of manner anymore. You can’t even envision it. Music always played a vital role in cartoon shorts, but now you can easily make a synthesized melody and paste it anywhere. I would principally watch classic cartoons for their music, because it brought every single second of animation to life. Not all music in cartoons are terrible these days, but they certainly aren’t as fun and enjoyable as ones from Felix the Cat or Tom and Jerry. If somebody were ever to bring these kinds of shorts back to life, I would absolutely love to write music for them, because it’d be a million times more fun!

That was fun to write. Maybe I’ll blab more!

Our Town (1940)

2007-02-26T18:32:00.000-08:00

Oh wow. I watched the 1940 film Our Town yesterday because I want to write an essay on the film’s score by Aaron Copland, a growing favourite of mine. Copland made a roughly 10-minute suite from the score, which is wonderful to listen to on its own, and even better in the film itself.

Our Town was more homey than I could ever imagine. Every character has their own story, and it was brought out in a way that’s hard to describe. It’d be great if I could find somebody who has also seen this film. It has a human narrator, as in one that moves throughout the story, being characters inside the film, and not just a voice. He explains every single character, main or minor, and does it in such a simple yet special way. I’m honestly in a pickle with trying to explain it... I’m sorry!

But Copland’s score for Our Town was fantastic. Such a simple theme for the town itself; it just weaves through the story so smoothly. My favourite scene, which almost brought a tear, was when the narrator walks through the cemetary, getting deeper into the story. The harmonic chords that play as he says “there’s something eternal about every human being” were so beautiful, and the continuous build-up is even better. If you rent this movie, watch for that scene. I was just in awe at how well the words and music came together... contemplative!

If you’ll check out the film, don’t stop there! Listen to the suite! It is simple, but delicate with its melody and even when it grows. Let me know what you think! :)

Film Music: A Neglected Art (review)

2007-01-26T19:45:00.000-08:00

My first intention was to buy the most recent books on film scoring so I would get more information of the genre as a whole, but it turns out I was going at it the wrong way. The earlier film books (during the time when the art itself wasn’t as popular as it is now) will concentrate on scores made in the 1940s and 50s, which is an excellent time to study. Recent film score books are good, but will take a lot more time to understand because of the expansion of technology beginning in the early 80s. These early books, such as Film Music: A Neglected Art (written by Roy M. Prendergast) are a great gift to present film composers.

Because this book was published in 1977, the door of the room filled with rapid synthesizer technology, huge-budget special effects films, and John Williams is immediately slammed shut on us. And trust me, it feels ever so peaceful. It’s like taking a drive out of the fast city and stopping by in a town filled with priceless memories. I’ve never read a film music book that really highlights the growth of scoring from the 30s-50s. This was the sparkling age of film scores. You had the really cool guys like Franz Waxman, Bernard Herrmann, Elmer Bernstein, Miklos Rozsa, and David Raksin... to name a few.

I don’t want to go too deep into what the book gives you, but I’ll point out a few things that caught my interest. The book not only strikes key significances in film music, but also in the entire film industry... its highs and lows and its struggle with television's rising popularity. One chapter briefly mentions the effectiveness of Wagner’s leitmotif (from Ring des Nibelungen), which is still constantly used in film music today. One other fact I found very interesting was the ‘trade’ of prestigious composers (such as Arnold Schoenberg and Igor Stravinsky) for more advanced American recording equipment.

The book is filled with excerpts from scores such as Laura, Psycho, The Best Years of Our Lives, The Heiress, and The Man with the Golden Arm. Some scans are easier to follow, but others are a bit... scribbly, heh. Still, better scribbles than Beethoven’s rough work... oh man.

I really enjoyed the chapter regarding music in animated film and cartoons. It deals a lot with Chuck Jones’ approach to music on paper, the relation between cartoon music and opera buffa (18th-century opera), and the goods delivered by Scott Bradley. I’ll go into more depth on this chapter in my next post (with scans and clips) because I like making musical comparisons, and this particular topic (cartoon animation) astounds me the most.

I’m telling you, this book took my new-found love for classical film scores to a whole new level. I learned a lot of nifty stuff, and am recommending it to those who are interested in that particular period as well. I put an amazon link below; it’s at an extremely sweet price. Buy it and learn about the REALLY good stuff!

http://www.amazon.com/Film-Music-Neglected-Critical-Films/dp/039330874X

A quick concern from yours truly.

2007-01-18T20:22:00.000-08:00

I always thought a symphony concert was better than a rock concert for a few reasons:

(1) You get around twenty times the amount of players and instruments on stage compared to that of a rock band.
(2) With #1 said, despite the greater amount of instruments on stage, I can still keep at ease with the fact that my ears will remain virgin while speakers on a band stage will penetrate them enormously.
(3) With all that noise and damage, rock concerts still don't have classy intermissions to give our ears a break. They don't serve wine either.
(4) I don't get a damn program after a rock concert. Instead, I have to buy a 40 dollar t-shirt to remember that I was even there in the first place.

Yeh, I'm really concerned with the ears of our children. It's not only all those concerts, it's also the abuse of volume control on CD Players, iPods, etc. My simple message is this: once you damage your ears, they will never heal. They're not like skin cells. Beethoven got away with amazing work because he already had such a heavily trained inner ear... his inner ear is better than the majority of the world's who can hear a tune. Nevertheless, you will not be the next Beethoven. I'm not saying rock is bad (or maybe I am), but I want to know that music will forever be heard. Be good to your ears.

Just a little vent.. perhaps a big exaggerated, but I also needed a new post here... baaadly. I watched a lot of classic films over the holidays, though. I can't wait to kill some time and write all about their scores. Bye!

2006-12-05T06:43:00.000-08:00

Psycho - Main Title scare

It's pretty pathetic, but funny when I look back at this memory.

Years ago, I was flipping through the channels one late night and found this playing. When I figured out it was the intro to Psycho, I thought it would be a good opportunity to finally see the film. However, Bernard Herrmann's sharp music gave me chills... I couldn't even watch the entire title scene. I just turned off the television and went to sleep in my safe bed. Hahaha, I was such a chicken. Listening to this right now, I can remember how scared I was... the music was loud, fast, and it just kept on going. It doesn't stop... the beat is constant and quick. I felt trapped inside the music.

A great score, nevertheless. I don't turn ghost white at Hitchcock films anymore. I don't think I'll ever go into detail with this score... it's too well-known.

On The Track

2006-11-28T14:22:00.000-08:00

Apparently, I was soooo good this year that ol' Santa gave me my present a month in advance! I'm very excited to sink my brains into it...

On The Track

Revised Second Edition by Fred Karlin (2004)

I've been trying to find a recent film score book for a while now, and it looks like this is the closest. It's a big ass book (a little over 500 pages) so I'll probably spend most of my time reading it during the winter holiday. I've been hearing that this is like the bible for aspiring film composers. I sure hope so.

I only read the forward so far, written by John Williams. I'm not a big fan of the man, but his words do want me to continue reading. Alas, exams are coming up. Maybe a few pages per night. :)

Basil Poledouris (1945 - 2006)

2006-11-11T21:54:00.000-08:00

I didn't know about this a few days later, but considering all the stress this past week has piled on my chest, I suppose it was best that way.

A great film composer left us on November 8th. He goes by the name of Basil Poledouris. He did a load of work, but you may know him best for his work on Conan the Barbarian, Hunt for Red October, and Starship Troopers. I would remember him for his work on Free Willy, which is in my collection.

He was one of those composers that I was excited to meet in the future. He appeared at the Ubeda Film Music Congress 2006 in Spain between July 20th and 23rd. It peeved me that I would be visiting Spain two months earlier, therefore missing the opportunity to meet the man. I was encouraged to obtain the chance next year, but now I know it's too late to see this film composer.

Rest in peace, Basil. I'll be sure to catch up on your work in the past. Thank you.

David Newman - Part 2 (most likely the last part)

2006-11-02T20:35:00.000-08:00

“It’s also one of the only scores where I’ve been able to follow my muse, because Jerry, Willard and Tom believed in choosing people who they felt were talented, and then let them work with no interference. Anastasia and Ice Age were much more ‘managed’ than this. The Brave Little Toaster is my score. And I think the film has stood the test of time because it’s real. It’s sincere.”

If you’re curious, Jerry was the director, Willard the executive producer, and Tom the producer of The Brave Little Toaster. This excerpt (taken from the score booklet) holds a lot of truth, and hopefully, after I finished this David Newman analysis, I can get into detail about the relationship between the director and film composer.

Since I’ve already blabbed about David Newman’s best score (The Brave Little Toaster) in my previous post, I will fast-forward ten years to when his score for Anastasia was made. Here, we have an entirely different take on the music. You know how you can tell when a score was composed by James Horner just by listening to two... maybe three seconds of music on the screen, no matter what year it is? This definitely isn’t the case.

The film in general doesn’t strike me as one of great beauty... it’s definitely not one of my favourites (the grandmother's facial movements literally scare me), but I’ll give props for naming the bat, Bartok, after a great contemporary composer (or so is my guess...). I found it pretty difficult to watch different scenes a second time in order to get a better feel of the music, because the sound effects are so friggen loud... especially in the finale. Don't you hate it when you've practically got a war going on screen and you can't hear the action of the music? Why make the score in the first place? I had to listen to the score on its own, but I shouldn’t need to do that.

In any case, what can I say about the music? It’s very melodic and tonal. I know, that’s pretty much the definition of the majority of film scores done in the past... what... three to four decades? The main theme is pretty simple... two notes going back and forth and not a great development from that. You see, when I have trouble giving a review for a score, that’s not a very good thing. I usually try to go for things that stand out, but this could’ve passed as an Alan Menken-ish Disney score in the end. Maybe that’s what Fox was going for. The most amusing track was ‘The Nightmare’, where you’ve got two melodies (a major and minor) weaving past each other in order to give the right colour to the scene – Anastasia’s pretty dream turning into a nightmare. It doesn’t come close to The Brave Little Toaster’s emotional impact and richness. The reason could be related to the quote I posted at the top.

I don’t think I have the strength to get into David Newman’s score for ‘Ice Age’, so I might just leave it at that. I really want to get into the whole film director blab. Maybe at the end of November... it’s getting pretty busy at university.

Has anybody seen Mozart’s ‘Don Giovanni’? What a wonderful opera! It’s basically about an assertive pimp in the eighteenth century. How can you NOT love that? :)

Oh, P.S.! Check out David Valdez' jazz blog; it's quite interesting!

David Newman - Part 1

2006-09-29T22:42:00.000-07:00

I wanted to talk a little bit about current film composers before I dive into the past. I’ll start with David Newman, who is one of my favourites... well, sort of. I’m not a fan of all his stuff, but whatever I like... I REALLY like. He has some amazing work, which I’ll get into.

I wanted to do this in a timeline, because it’s hard to find film composers who hold on strong as they become more popular. In my opinion, film composers like John Williams and James Horner are getting weaker, and sadly, I have to put David Newman in the category. I’ll go into his earlier work first.

The Brave Little Toaster (1986) is one of my favourite film scores of all time. It is incredible how rich this score is, with a good balance of heavy and light music. Have you ever heard those really simple, tonal melodies from Horner’s ‘A Beautiful Mind’ or ‘Titanic’? Yeh, sure, they sound very nice to the ear, but it doesn’t use enough of the notes. Sometimes, it feels empty, no matter how many performers you have. David Newman’s ‘The Brave Little Toaster’ is far from empty. I remember reading a review to this score, where the critic was like, “it’s just filled with notes!” Haha. It really does, but in a good way.

If I knew how to cut a clip from my DVD and paste it into youtube, I’d show you how wonderful it sounds, but I guess a track will have to do.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/l0zdoj

The track is called ‘The Storm’ (my favourite from the score), played when the appliances are caught up in a storm and Blankey gets blown away. It starts with a high note, just trilling in the air, waiting for the horns to announce themselves. After four notes are played by the violins (as if beginning the scene), everything takes action with great low dissonance. It sounds so chilling, and then the horns come in, belting a minor third, the high strings accompanying them. Thirty-five seconds into the song, everything just goes crazy (more from the horns than the strings). It quiets down for a bit and gives a nice, almost reassuring melody, and then BAM at fifty-eight seconds. It contains so much energy and eerie excitement. The strings hold an unresolved note (with the horns playing around it) when lightning hits the sky, and they start moving again when the lightning strikes Lampy. Silence is established the instant he hits the ground unconscious. It freaks me out just typing about it.

Other tracks that show great richness are ‘Vacuum Rescues The Group’, ‘Into The City’, and ‘Finale’ (Finale is cool because it does a tremendous build-up, but ends on a loud, unresolved chord, making you want to shout, ‘damn!’ That, or you won’t be able to exhale. Luckily, ‘End Title’ does a great job of wrapping it up).

I’m pretty much convinced that this is his greatest work. I really think this should be in the collection of any aspiring film composer. Amazon has it, and the CD comes along with a great booklet filled with pictures, interviews, and interesting information which shines in comparison to the lack of anything in the DVD.

http://www.amazon.com/Brave-Little-Toaster-David-Newman/dp/B000A2H1XW/ref=sr_11_1/102-3849476-1368960?ie=UTF8

I’ll talk more about David Newman in my next post. I have a lot of university work to do.

2006-08-21T16:19:00.000-07:00

The Magnificent Seven

Sorry about the lack of posts in the past month.. I currently have two summer jobs to deal with and in the middle of August, I went for a needed week-long vacation to Tennessee to visit my pregnant sister and her husband. Loads of fun.

Anyways, I watched The Magnificent Seven the night before my vacation, so I thought I'd discuss the score a little bit. I couldn't find any clips from the film on YouTube so this 1960's cigarette commercial will have to do. It has the main theme played in the background. I hope I don't get any of you hooked!

So, this score was done by a growing favourite film composer of mine.. Elmer Bernstein. He's probably one of the most exciting, colourful, and flat-out fun film composers ever. He's got his more delicate scores of course (eg. To Kill A Mockingbird), but the energy he puts in his action film scores is amazing.

Here's a link for samples of his themes and you'll see what I mean: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/samples/B0007XTQ14/ref=dp_tracks_all_1/102-3849476-1368960?ie=UTF8#disc_1

I'd say that the 50s and 60s were Bernstein's strongest years. He made great themes in those two decades besides The Magnificent Seven... you had The Buccaneer (not as popular, but excellent music), The Ten Commandments, and The Great Escape. My favourite work of his (so far) would be The Magnificent Seven because that theme just sounds so alive. All the instruments can be heard, and the horns have a fun tempo that stands out. When heard with the title, you already know you're in for a fun western film.

Calvera (the villain) has a strong, minor theme. The banging of tambourines with the orchestra lets you know something is up. So, if you haven't seen the film yet, be sure to rent it.

Elmer Bernstein died two years ago on August 18th. Although I'm a few days late, I'm dedicating this post to him. I can't wait to listen to more of his scores.

Oh, P.S. Let me know if there's a specific score that you want me to review. No guarantee that I've seen the film, but I don't mind going to the local Blockbuster if it's worth it, hehe.

The Composer Expo, August 4th

2006-07-27T09:11:00.000-07:00

I'm just going to quickly plug the Composer Expo that's happening at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel on August 4, 2006.

http://www.tcmcomposerexpo.com/

"The artistry and technical craftsmanship of film, television and multimedia music will serve as the focus of the inaugural COMPOSER EXPO, a first-of-its kind event being held Friday, Aug. 4, in the Academy Ballroom of the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. Presented by Turner Classic Movies and Film Music Magazine, this 12-hour symposium of seminars, panel discussions, networking and learning opportunities will bring together the best and brightest composers, music supervisors and other industry professionals."

I was planning on going, but due to finding this out at the last minute and my molar extraction a week earlier, I'm going to have to pass it. I hope it does well so it can be an annual event; I would definitely go next year. Man, I'm gonna miss David Newman.

2006-07-20T19:23:00.000-07:00

Post related to random things #1

Can you ask for anything hotter? The way Elvis sings the word 'witchcraft'... ooooooooh yes! If I get into them harmonizing, I'll faint so let's just move on...

THIS is now in your local music/DVD stores. I'll give you an opinion on it when my mailbox gets it (it'll be in random post #2), but the trailers on John's blog have easily bought me... like witchcraft! Get this DVD now and support more Ren and Stimpy episodes in the future!

I recently bought the score to The Natural (by Randy Newman). I'll review it after I see the film in August with my sissie and bro-in-law. Note: Don't be stupid and review a score without watching the film, okay?

I'm working on a score with an independent Toronto studio called Pinebender Films. I love calling the two guys a 'studio'... hahaha... it sounds big. It's going to be different from what I usually do, but I'm doing what I can to give them the sound they want.. it's their film after all. I might post samples when all is sweetly done.

Enjoy your weekend, fellas.

Listening to Movies: The Film Lover's Guide to Film Music

2006-07-19T12:08:00.000-07:00

Listening to Movies: The Film Lover's Guide to Film Music.

Written by Fred Karlin, Foreword by Leonard Maltin

I bought this book in late '05/early '06 in a second-hand bookstore. The price was sweetly cut in half. I finished reading it during my cottage trip a few weeks ago... I'm pretty impatient when it comes to reading... it actually takes a bit of effort now. Maybe if people wrote better novels/stories...

If you're looking for an in-depth analysis on film scoring, this isn't the book you're looking for. Wait until my review for Complete Guide to Film Scoring (by Richard Davis). This is more of a 'jolly good' read for film lovers... anybody, even if you're not musically trained, can understand it. The book deals with a lot of issues when making a score, such as the planning, recording, and mixing.

I'll stress it out now that this book was published in 1994, so it's not up to date with the technology used in studios today. However, I did have a nice time reading the 'flashbacks' of the scoring timeline. Some film composers are more highlighted than others (examples include John Williams, Miklos Rozsa, and Bernard Herrmann) and while that's not necessarily a bad thing, I was hoping to get more info on those who aren't as well-known.

The book is filled with so many examples involving what the great film composers went through, that it makes you feel like you haven't watched enough movies or listened to enough film scores. There's an entire chapter dedicated to analysing eight specific films. I haven't seen a single one of those films, so I had to skip the chapter. They're on the 'to watch' list now.

The book's around 400 pages, but you won't be reading that much. The last half of it holds a short chronology of films (basically quotes and reviews), personal profiles (not that many), and a long list of credits that including many film composers and their films (a star beside a film means it was nominated for an Oscar/Emmy, two stars means it won). I like looking up the list in order to find certain scores, and am currently highlightning the ones I have and putting a dot next to the ones I need to buy eventually.

For the most part, I enjoyed reading it. I'll most likely take quotes from it (like the Herrmann one from the Vertigo post) because they're funny. If you're a film lover and are curious about the process a film composer goes through, maybe you won't mind spending 10 bucks on it. It's pretty old, but covers a lot of basic things. Here's the Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0028733150/sr=1-2/qid=1153336980/ref=pd_bbs_2/102-3849476-1368960?ie=UTF8&s=books

"It is almost impossible to make movies without music. Movies need the cement of music. I've never seen a movie better without it. Music is as important as the photography."

-Bernard Herrmann, composer

2006-07-17T19:33:00.000-07:00

Ben Hur clip, and a little discussion

What a scene... the way the music runs with the beat of the hammer... catching up to it as it goes faster and faster. This clip is from Ben Hur (1959)... the score was by Miklos Rozsa, another favourite.

Lately, I've been growing more and more of a fan of the classical film composers. Some of the main film score geniuses are Bernard Herrmann, Franz Waxman, and Miklos Rozsa. I have yet to decide on Alfred Newman... I'll need to hear more of his work.

These guys in particular had a lot more knowledge than current composers... strangely enough. I can imagine how much research Rozsa had to go through when he worked on the score for Ben Hur. What's great about them is, simply, their style. They all had something that pretty much no other film composer has today, and a lot of it has to do with their classical approach. I'll need a fresh new post to discuss it in detail.

There's no point in becoming a film composer if you haven't mastered classical music theory... it's oh so important, and I've only finished my first year! With these guys (Waxman, Herrmann, etc.), it's like listening to Beethoven or Dvorak... even greater geniuses! I don't know what happened in the latter half of the 20th century that made this kind of film scoring disappear...

Some exceptions are Randy Newman, David Newman (during the 80s, anyway), and Patrick Doyle... I think they understand the term 'phone-in' better than most film composers, and how to avoid it.

These days, a lot of film melodies are recycled. Take James Horner, for example. I remember, back when I was a kid, I loved his work... had a lot of respect for him. Nowadays, I hear two or three notes of music in a film and I know it's him. It's boring now. I yawn at anything 'new' from him, and that's just... sad. Alan Menken also had that going for a while with Disney in the 90's (eg. Beauty and the Beast – The Hunchback of Notre Dame).

Yay, I left this discussion wide open. Now I can just point at a paragraph and expand on it on a later day. I'm just too lazy right now.

2006-07-11T19:45:00.000-07:00

Vertigo

A positive thing about having a part-time job during the summer (besides the moolah) is it keeps me from unnecessary drinking. Man, I'm bad.

Anyways, this clip is the opening scene from Hitchcock's "Vertigo". The score is done by one of my favourite film composers, Bernard Herrmann... the genius.

Vertigo is one of his best works, even though people will easily put it behind his score for Psycho. Here's a funny exerpt from a film score book I'm currently reading:

As specific as he was, Hitchcock expected his wishes to be taken seriously. Bernard Herrmann, however, followed his own sensibilities. When he saw powerful dramatic values in the edited version of Psycho, he realized it could be a special film. "Hitchcock... felt it didn't come off," Herrmann recalled. "He wanted to cut it down to an hour television show and get rid of it. I had an idea of what one could do with the film, so I said, 'Why don't you go away for your Christmas holidays, and when you come back we'll record the score and see what you think.....?' 'Well,' he said, 'do what you like, but only one thing I asked of you: please write nothing for the murder in the shower. That must be without music.'"
(taken from Listening to Movies: The Film Lover's Guide to Film Music, by Fred Karlin)

Of course, we know the outcome. Sometimes a director will put too much pressure on a composer, with temp scores, personal taste, etc., but Herrmann definitely kept his independence. That's probably the only time I'll talk about Psycho. Back to Vertigo.

The score, at times, can be very complicated classically (the film itself is a lot harder to follow then, let's say, Rear Window), so I'll only talk about the main title scene, which is easily the 'prettiest' part of the score... yes, I'm including all those 'amour' moments. This track has a dizzy-like motion... you don't just hear it... you feel and see it through the spirals on the clip. And then you see the title is Vertigo and you think, 'holy shit, of course!' And after a quick major version (cue the 'prettiness'), the harp comes in and eventually goes faster and faster, spinning almost out of control. It hits you right from the beginning... that's what film scores are supposed to do.

I bought the score to Vertigo about a week after watching the film. If you don't like the prices in the real world, you might like the Amazon price a lot more: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000014WI/qid=1152671376/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/102-3849476-1368960?s=music&v=glance&n=5174

I'll talk more about it in a later post. I wish youtube had some clips from The Natural... oh well. Maybe Requiem for a Dream.

The Study of Orchestration, by Samuel Adler (3rd ed.)

2006-06-27T17:03:00.000-07:00

If you're looking for a good orchestration book, this is the one I use. I recommend it.. not highly, but it does the job. You and I know you're not going to learn how to play every single instrument, and for those who are trying, jeez...

My composition teacher recommended this book when dealing with orchestration. My university bookstore was selling those tiny 1o-dollar orchestration booklets, but you really don't want those. You want an advanced book that you can keep for many years. I Amazon'd this thing and although it costed me around 50-70 bucks, I like it. I'm not going to buy the CD booklet, which costs a lot more seperately, because that's a waste. I don't think you necessarily need both.

It gives you the ranges not only of the instruments, but also those that have a particular family (e.g. the oboe). It gives examples along the way. If you reaaally need to listen to these examples, buy the CDs, but I seriously wouldn't. I've used the book in a few of my compositions so far and I'm slowly getting comfortable with it. I'll get into much more detail on a later post.

Apparently, John Lasseter is trying to bring 2-D animation back to Disney. What I'd give to score for them... I might need to 'pretty please??' Alan Menken to step away for a while. :P

Randy Newman's score for "Cars"

2006-06-24T19:50:00.000-07:00

I might as well start off with a soundtrack review, since I haven’t been able to finish reading that film music book I briefly talked about in my last post. I’m just not much of a reader. Maybe by the end of the summer...

Anyways, I’m going to review Randy Newman’s new score for ‘Cars’. Yes, the songs on the soundtrack are really good (my top favourites being Sheryl Crow’s ‘Real Gone’ and Rascal Flatts’ remake of ‘Life is a Highway’), but I want to concentrate on the score since not a lot of people have done that.

But first, and most importantly, I must impose on all of you to see this movie. Not the fact that my review contains spoilers, but because this is a VERY good film. I’d rather see Cars again then go to the opening of Pirates of the Caribbean or Superman Returns. It is a remarkable movie and I wish these words could pop out of the screen and slap sense into you in order to see it. Oh, if you have seen it, then that’s good. You’ll know my reasons for this paragraph.

Now, onto the review. Oh, wait.. I almost forgot..

THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS TO THE MOVIE 'CARS'. READ AT OWN RISK!

Man, that looks ugly, but I’m a nice girl. Okay, here we go.

I am a fan of Randy Newman’s scores and songs. Not a lot of people are turned on by his voice or way of narration, but I simply love him. Makes me wish I lived my years in the 70s. I’ll admit I’m a new fan.. I got into him thanks to his musical work on the Toy Story films, A Bug’s Life, and Monsters, Inc. I was very excited to hear that he was doing the score for Cars, although it’s expected since John Lasseter used him for every Pixar film he directed.

The Cars soundtrack is easy to overlook. Lemme check my soundtrack... without the songs, Randy Newman composed around 20 minutes of work. That sounds whimpy compared to the average amount of time for a film score. But then again, Gustavo Santaolalla wrote almost the same amount for Brokeback Mountain. But I won’t go into that effortless score.

It’s difficult to get into the score right at the beginning. Sheryl Crow’s ‘Real Gone’ blasts through the speakers as the cars are racing around the oval track. You get so typed up with that in addition to the animation, you don’t feel Newman’s first track, ‘Opening Races’, get into place. It’s dumbed down so you can hear the sound effects.

Right from the beginning, you can tell Newman had fun bringing horns into this film, like he did in A Bug’s Life. Forget the strange guitar rock moment in the first track... I can’t really explain that part... I can only giggle at it. Not a bad opening though.

That’s not the only track that seems to get lost into the music. The scene before McQueen gets lost, when the sexy cars come in with their music and that Kenny G. song to lull Mack to sleep, is acting like it did with the first track. But, luckily, it’s a completely different scene and you can sort of feel the tension through the music of ‘McQueen’s Lost’. Quiet at first, but then transforms into a fun melody that guides McQueen through the road.

I’ll explain a few tracks in one paragraph... the ones that involve country style. I’ve never heard Newman do a take on country, but man does he nail it. I’m talking about ‘Bessie’, ‘New Road’, and ‘Tractor Tipping’. The latter is so much fun to listen too, even by itself. Every crowd that I’ve been to in theatres laughed at that particular scene.

One of my favourite tracks is ‘McQueen and Sally’, because this is the place where the animation hits your heart instead of your eyes. The racing scene was very lovely, but when McQueen sees that waterfall and those horns hit the high note (I almost felt like they were gonna miss the note... I think it’s pretty high for a brass instrument) and the orchestra joins in, you feel all warm inside. Not a lot of people think of the horns as a "warm" instrument.. string instruments usually come to mind. Hahahaha.

My favourite track, which, sadly, isn’t on the soundtrack, is when McQueen goes into Doc Hudson’s office and is in awe when he finds a Piston Cup.. the one thing he longs for more than anything in the world. It’s a simple track, but it truly brings that scene alive, the second McQueen sets his eyes on that cup.

Remember my last paragraph, because I’ll bring it up later on. One of the things that I adore about scores is when a melody is reused in a later scene of a film. If you think I’m talking about a ‘motive’ (like the theme to Star Wars or Jaws... funny that I used John Williams’ scores as examples), that’s not it. Motives are one thing, but when there is a melody that isn’t quite a motive, yet it is used in a later scene to remind someone of the earlier scene when it was first used, it can be very powerful. Newman sets a perfect example.

At the final scene, where the three race cars (including Lightning McQueen) face off in one race, there is some anticipating music. It’s about as predictable as anticipation music gets, but Newman’s still good at it. The best track during the final scenes is the last one, ‘The Big Race’, where an exciting major-minor melody really gets you into the mood. Now, here’s where the ‘reused melody’ idea comes in. One of the race cars (Chick Hicks) totals The King and when McQueen sees this on the big screen while driving, the music goes silent and he stops in his tracks... right before finishing the race of his life! He looks at the damaged race car, and is reminded of the image that Doc Hudson showed him when he was in a big crash after winning all those Piston Cups. A solo horn is played as McQueen goes back to help The King (Chick Hicks has passed the finish line by then), and it’s the same melody played during the scene where McQueen discovers Hudson’s Piston Cups.. but only with one instrument. This melody reminds us of that scene, and more importantly, connects those two scenes together. McQueen was dreaming of winning the Piston Cup his whole life, and in the end, he realizes that it’s just an empty cup.

That’s one of the things I really loved about this score. Melodic connection. It’s not just about the story fitting together, it’s the music as well. I loved the fact that Newman decided to use only one horn to reuse that melody, because it shows that even a single instrument can set the mood.

To be honest, this is the only score that I was looking forward to this year. I might as well go back in time and pick on some of the best. A few of my favourite film composers of all time are David Newman, Randy Newman, James Horner, Bernard Herrmann, and Jerry Goldsmith. They’re very distinct and I’ll be sure to explain why in future posts. I reaaally have to figure out how to post music on here like youtube does. If anybody can find me youtube clips of the Cars scenes I’m talking about, that’d be awesome. Thanks... I’ll try and post sooner than last time.

What I'm doing with this blog

2006-06-05T20:11:00.000-07:00

I've decided to use this blogspot as a teacher for those who want to get into the field of film music.. badly. I'm not experienced just yet, but with my kind of determination, I think I can give you guys the right kind of advice. Plus, I'm doing my best to start at a young age. I'm 19 now.. hoping for the big guns at 25.

So, if you want to be a film composer and you don't know what to do over the summer, I suggest you go to the nearest bookstore and find some damn books. There isn't much on the subject, but they're out there.. the more recent, the better. I'm reading one at the moment (an old one, I'll admit) and I'll post a review once I've closed the book.

In the meantime, bookmark this page. I'll also be suggesting some wicked composers that you may never have heard of before.

Wake up.

2006-03-15T13:53:00.000-08:00

Time to start typing on this BS (I mean BlogSpot, freaks).

I started one two years ago, but I thought I'd start fresh. Here's what's going on with me..

-I'm now in university (finishing first year).
-Studying music
-I want to be a film composer.
-I'm working on my first film score for an independent film.
-I own an iPod mini (and an iDog.. new feature.. ruff ruff!)
-I'm still a Disney freak (oh, and Pixar too. Cars comes out June 9th. Mark your calendar.)
-I'm trying to draw more in my spare time (expect stuff to be shown here).
-I was a vegetarian for a week.
-I've been dreaming more about missiles.

No fooling. Big, long missiles. One of my dreams had two in the air, and when one of them hit the ground it created a huge pile of smoke that formed into the shape of a castle which reminded me of one I saw during my trip in the UK.

I'm tired and hungry for some sort of dinner.. too bad the food on campus sucks. Don't forget me.