Game Music Heads-Up!
Hi there, how have you all been?
Just wanted to share the latest Game Music Bundle around, with some terrific work for just only $1. Yeah, unmissable, I know. :)
Right now I’m listening through the awesome Lufthausers soundtrack by Jukio “Kozilek” Kallio… And there’s still much more to dig. Stay with that tune and dare not to go for it. :)
See ya, take care!
Two Birds With One Stone
Hi there, how have you been?
As a subscriber of La Blogothèque I’m used to every now and then be surprised by something above average reaching my mail inbox–specially when great production values are guaranteed there–but this week was simply astounding. :)
Just wanted to share two absolutely terrific voices I just got to know thanks to them: Bill Callahan and Ella Eyre. Check them out for yourselves and dare to disagree. ;)
See ya, take care!
Still ‘Goldsmithing’: The Art of Remaining Quiet
Hi there guys, how are you doing?
Back to the Goldsmith studies, the movie of the week was the already-classic (arguably :P) Sci-Fi Total Recall (90) by Paul Verhoeven.
As far as the movie goes it was interesting to re-watch the groundbreaking (at the time) visual effects and some of them hold up surprisingly well even for today standards. Also, Sharon Stone was indeed THE undisputed sex symbol of the 90s. lol But talking about the music score…
I don’t really think it lives up to the novelty of the movie to be honest. It still sounds like a ten-years-old soundtrack, it’s still based on action movies clichés… Yet there’s something to learn here just like in any other Jerry Goldsmith’s soundtrack: silence is gold. :)
This feature caught my attention in Chinatown, but it makes a good deal of sense here too: Mr. Goldsmith leaves room for the dialogues to stand out. New composers frequently think they should provide a barrage of music to fill every single gap with sound… when, like in most cases in art and pretty much everything else, less is more.
Despite not being that remarkable the soundtrack of Total Recall can teach us this lesson–as valuable as any other. :)
See ya, take care!
April 1st?
Just take this as my treat. ;)
See ya, take care!
A Nice Find On Vinyl
Hi there, how have you been?
This week while visiting an antiquarium my girl decided to pick an old Chico Buarque vinyl to inaugurate our new-old record player… :P And despite being a generic compilation there was a nice, unexpected find in it.
Chico has composed a song–along Roberto Menescal–called Bye bye Brasil to be a part of the homonym movie by Cacá Diegues late in the 70s; and re-recorded it one year later for one of his official albums. The fact is the original movie’s recording was never released again in digital format (even in the late Cacá Diegues music compilation the version there is the wrong one as far as I know) and could only be found in the original (and rare) soundtrack records.
Needless to say how happy I was to find out that the version in that compilation was the older one. I’m pretty sure it was included there by mistake since the sleeve notes talk about Chico’s personal album… :P Lucky me, I guess. :)
Here you can give both versions a listen–I’ve uploaded mine to YouTube. :) The original has more of a black music, 70s mood to it, while the other in more leaned towards latin rhythms.
Enjoy ’em, take care!
12 Years A Slave: Sound Design
Hi there, how have you all been?
First of all I must state it makes me sad to belong mankind. Of course, the movie brings nothing new to the table, but facing the fact we can (still nowadays, mind you) be so absurdly grotesque to each other kills a part of me everytime I do it.
That said…
Aside the story, the brutality itself and the strong acting what really makes the movie land its punches in my modest opinion is the sound design–even more than the music score, which would be a more usual emotional artifice in that regard.
Music in such a movie can become a cheap trick if misused; the strenght needed to pass the feelings on lies on being realistic, in… immersing the spectator in sorrow. Seeing blood spilling can be shocking for sure, but hearing whiplashes tearing flesh apart is just plain terrifying–more than anything else. And there’s plenty of loud-and-clear pain to be heard here.
Here’s a trailer but that doesn’t do the sound design any justice, really. I hope you watch the movie and, aside taking technical notes, it serves the purpose of making you ponder on everyone’s deeds and how to make things better for generations to come.
See ya, yake care.
The Perfect Songwritter and His Ideal Interpreter
Hi there, how have you been?
After recalling the interesting soundtrack for Allen’s Midnight in Paris and giving it another listen I couldn’t help being knocked back by Mr. Cole Porter once again. It’s still shocking for me to realize how absurdly rich in content his lyrics were even when restrained–no, I should say potentized–by nothing less than impeccable metrics and intonation. What saddens me is to see people these days emulating that sonority by simply being mellow without getting even close to the real thing when it comes to words, packing nostalgia in a goofy wrapper as if it was always like that. But that’s not my point, actually. :P
My point is… Man, songs can get heavenly (or hellish, if we take malice into account lol) when you got such a voice to bear ’em. If you really want to dig Cole Porter go straight to Ella Fitzgerald‘s songbook:
The otherwordly instrument she had at disposal was the perfect way for every hidden secret inside those songs to unfold. The tremolo, the breathing, the glissandos, the sudden drops… Everything matches the needs of each song–without losing a single hair of fun in the way.
Take my favourite one from that batch, “Let’s Do It“, which can be proud of showing lyrics like this:
Romantic sponges, they say, do it Oysters down in oyster bay do it Let's do it, let's fall in love Cold Cape Cod clams, 'gainst their wish, do it Even lazy jellyfish, do it Let's do it, let's fall in love
See ya, take care!
The Sound of The Shining
This weekend I had the chance to watch Kubrick’s “The Shining” in a theater… And despite having seen it before it was even more terrifying now than it was in the first time I saw it. Of course, I underestimated the big screen… and Bartok. :)
Take a listen to this post from Hope Lies At 24 Frames Per Second to know what I’m talking about. ;)
Take care, see ya!
When John Williams first read the screenplay for Schindler’s List, he expressed his doubts to Steven Spielberg: “You need a better composer,” he said. “I know,” the director replied, “but they’re all dead.” Spielberg’s approach was normal of film directors – to get the best film composer he could find to write an original soundtrack for his film. The approach taken by Stanley Kubrick was different.
Kubrick was rare among film directors in his knowledge of the art world outside of music. He was an experienced photographer, and many of his films were adaptations of works by the great writers of his day. But he also had a deep knowledge of classical music, both historical and of his own time. This can be seen throughout his films, in the famous scenes from A Clockwork Orange and 2001: A Space Odyssey with music by Beethoven, Rossini and Strauss, but…
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Gremlins!
Hi there, how have you been?
Back to the already-famed :P Goldsmith studies I watched Gremlins (1984) to give its soundtrack a thoughtful listen… and this is a tricky one for sure.
From the start if you check the IMDb page for the movie you’ll see where it’s filed: under “Comedy/Horror”. Those are two absolutely diverse genres regarding the mood a soundtrack should aim for, so scoring for such an aberration can’t be simple in the slightest. :)
Mr. Goldsmith starts nailing it for the easier (in theory) side: the main theme. It sure is remarkable and fitting and could give any arranger enough material for a good development. But that’s not the only issue: there’s still the setting (Xmas), the pace (“Adventurous”), the content (“Fantasy/Mystery”)… Too much for an average joe to handle. Masterfully the man pretty much wraps it all up in a single under-2:00 piece, presented in one of the first important scenes of the movie, before the main theme really shows up.
It hints at everything yet to happen in the movie–even the main theme–while merging absurdely well with the current scene and scenario. Truly a sign of who is the craftsman behind it. :)
Check this and the main theme out and enjoy the ride. :)
See ya, take care!
Bleeding Fingers Contest!
Hi there, how have you all been?
Well, it seems Mr. Hanz Zimmer wants us. :) I’m taking part in a contest held by Bleeding Fingers to make a remix on an original theme by the man and just putting the thing together was a good time. :)
From the first moment I listened to the original piece I imagined the main voice floating over a more acoustic, slow-paced ground… It’s a very beautiful and delicate melody. My take on it was to mess a good deal with the harmony (making it Major to start) and after that developing a more “organic” epicness–if I can put it that way–by recording real percussion.
Here’s the work. I hope you like it, and if you do I would appreciate a vote or “favorite” from you dear visitor. ;)
http://www.hanszimmerwantsyou.com/tracks/4015
See ya, take care!
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