Categories
Vanilla 1.1.4 is a product of Lussumo. More Information: Documentation, Community Support.
-
- CommentAuthormsia2k75
- CommentTimeDec 30th 2007 edited
I listened to The Kingdom yesterday and it is not as bad as i'd thought. I dont know, i need more listen to make my mind on it, which is will be easy since the album is short enough, but my first impression was OK with it. -
- CommentAuthorbartley
- CommentTimeJan 2nd 2008
Christodoulides wrote
Like? The Kingdom? In the same sentence together?
HA!
Having watche the film only (not buying the score..) that was the only theme that
stuck... barely. The film... had some issues but as a score... it was plain no descript,
except for his ending theme in finale
AND when I remember something... its usually from being worth remembering.
In this case, it was about half worth remembering>
-
- CommentAuthorThor
- CommentTimeJan 2nd 2008
I wonder if the same people who call THE KINGDOM "non-descript" and the like have ever heard any post-rock bands? Do they find that equally non-descript (even though that exact property is one of the features that define it)?I am extremely serious. -
- CommentAuthorDemetris
- CommentTimeJan 2nd 2008 edited
I don't call it non-descript but i call it other things and my musical database is way more varied than just film music, as I truly think it’s the case with the majority of people in here as showcased both in their sayings, reviews and overall comments in the forum.
But THE KINGDOM is just badly constructed music, uninspired, unfocused and plain noise in its vast majority to me; it's not post-rock, it's not trip-hop it's nothing, it's just computer-generated, cheap library noises. A lot of younger composers do this kind of stuff way better and still get tossed and burned under heavy rants by everyone and I really don’t know if anyone would even be commenting about it if it wasn’t by ELFMAN.Love Maintitles. It's full of Wanders. -
- CommentAuthorThor
- CommentTimeJan 2nd 2008 edited
Christodoulides wrote
I don't call it non-descript but i call it other things and my musical database is way more varied than just film music, as I truly think it’s the case with the majority of people in here as showcased both in their sayings, reviews and overall comments in the forum.
But THE KINGDOM is just badly constructed music, uninspired, unfocused and plain noise in its vast majority to me; it's not post-rock, it's not trip-hop it's nothing, it's just computer-generated, cheap library noises. A lot of younger composers do this kind of stuff way better and still get tossed and burned under heavy rants by everyone and I really don’t know if anyone would even be commenting about it if it wasn’t by ELFMAN.
Sorry man, I don't doubt you have a varied musical database, but I don't believe you've ever heard any post-rock if you cannot hear the link in several of the tracks on this album. Peter Berg is a big post-rock fan and used Explosions in the Sky, among others, in his previous film. It's VERY clear that the softer cues on this album are modelled on that. It's a sound he prefers. It's to Elfman's credit that these tracks aren't mere gimmicks, though, but post-rock channelled THROUGH his own textural sound. In addition to that, the album also sports some superb percussive sampling, reminiscent of PLANET OF THE APES (but not FULLY as aggressive and primal) with an "arabic" tinge.
I cannot fathom how these two main ingredients can pass people by. Sure, if you DON'T like post-rock or DON'T like cool percussive samples and loops to begin with, then I understand. But to call this non-descript, anonymous or other such dismissive remarks is really beyond comprehension.
I think this may very well be the most misunderstood score in Elfman's career - at least from film score fans expecting more traditional and less rock/pop-oriented music from him.I am extremely serious. -
- CommentAuthorBregt
- CommentTimeJan 3rd 2008 edited
I like post-rock a lot and I know Explosions in the Sky, and it indeed has a lot of similarities with the music Elfman wrote. Though the calmer music in The Kingdom is all right with me, though I don't like the theme, I find it so typical and cliched, it really annoys me somehow
. I prefer the more richer sound Explosions in the Sky and other bands have.Kazoo -
- CommentAuthorTimmer
- CommentTimeJan 3rd 2008
All the fuss over this score makes me want to hear it.........but not to the point that I'll buy it!On Friday I ate a lot of dust and appeared orange near the end of the day ~ Bregt -
- CommentAuthorfranz_conrad
- CommentTimeJan 3rd 2008
I never heard THE KINGDOM, as the soundclips sounded a bit non-descript. Do I see you saying above that post-rock is a genre of music that intentionally courts the feeling of non-descriptness? Sounds great!
Is Terje Rypdal / The Chasers part of the post-rock thing? How about Radiohead's Kid A / Amnesiac albums?A butterfly thinks therefore I am -
- CommentAuthorDemetris
- CommentTimeJan 3rd 2008
If i see anyone seriously comparing the KINGDOM to RADIOHEAD's KID A / AMNESIAC (2 albums i totally love) i'll shoot myself!
Love Maintitles. It's full of Wanders. -
- CommentAuthorBregt
- CommentTimeJan 3rd 2008
Mogwai is an excellent example of post-rock.
Sigur Ros is too, but that's even beyond.Kazoo -
- CommentAuthorDemetris
- CommentTimeJan 3rd 2008
Mogwai is ages beyond Elfman's messy electronics in THE KINDOM. How could one compare them?
I am not familiar with Sigur Ros' music athough i've heard about them a lot of times.Love Maintitles. It's full of Wanders. -
- CommentAuthorThor
- CommentTimeJan 3rd 2008
Christodoulides wrote
Mogwai is ages beyond Elfman's messy electronics in THE KINDOM. How could one compare them?
Actually, I wouldn't compare them to the "messy electronics", as you call them, since that is mostly reserved for the more percussive tracks with lots of samples. It's the calmer tracks we're talking about here, with mostly traditional band instruments (and some discrete electronics, obviously). I can certainly hear Mogwai, Sigur Ros and EITS in those tracks. Whether or not they rival the music of those post-rock bands themselves, is another debate, but that they approximate the sound while keeping Elfman's own distinct "texture" voice, is unquestionable.
No, franz, I wouldn't call Terje Rypdal a post-rock artist. He's far more melodic and jazz-oriented, if anything - but he shares the "moody" and cinematic vibe with those bands. The post-rock genre is mostly an outgrowth of 80's indie music while at the same time being completely different from that. And mostly instrumental.I am extremely serious. -
- CommentAuthorfranz_conrad
- CommentTimeJan 3rd 2008
I know Mogwai and Sigur Ros... I guess you learn something new every day.A butterfly thinks therefore I am -
- CommentAuthorBregt
- CommentTimeJan 3rd 2008
That sounds like you're glad with that discovery.
Kazoo -
- CommentAuthorfranz_conrad
- CommentTimeJan 3rd 2008
I am glad. Knowledge is power, after all.
It's not exactly increasing the probability of me purchasing THE KINGDOM, unfortunately.A butterfly thinks therefore I am -
- CommentAuthorbartley
- CommentTimeJan 3rd 2008
By all means... don't buy it.
Overall this soundtrack was very non-descript as I put it... and I don't reccomend it. I just
enjoyed the last track: finale... which showed potential. I am not a fan of ELFMAN beyond this
track... I've got MISSION IMPOSSIBLE... but thats it.
THE KINGDOM- as a soundtrack is not brill. With the film, it works.. thats all.
Brings up a point: there are alot of soundtrack which off the screen don't sound very
significant, and even in some cases, just fooling around with long drawn out synth stuff...
but its awsome fit to film.
An enjoyable soundtrack, in my humble opinion, involves not only fitting to the film, but also seperate
from the film, as on CD... if its really good it should stand out off the screen as well.
Anyone care to comment? -
- CommentAuthorThor
- CommentTimeJan 3rd 2008
Hmmm....actually, I feel the opposite. I feel that THE KINGDOM was only so-so in the movie itself (it worked fine, but it wasn't exactly brilliant), while it's a WONDERFUL listening experience on CD.I am extremely serious. -
- CommentAuthorfranz_conrad
- CommentTimeJan 3rd 2008
bartley wrote
... if its really good it should stand out off the screen as well.
Anyone care to comment?
That is one for the ages. We will not see an answer to that in our lifetime.A butterfly thinks therefore I am -
- CommentAuthordjdave
- CommentTimeJan 4th 2008 edited
I haven't heard enough of Elfman's work to say that it's his "best", but Midnight Run is bloody good. I'd recommend it just for the - ironically enough, considering the name of the site - fantastic Main Titles.
-
- CommentAuthorTimmer
- CommentTimeJan 4th 2008
djdave wrote
I haven't heard enough of Elfman's work to say that it's his "best", but Midnight Run is bloody good. I'd recommend it just for the - ironically enough, considering the name of the site - fantastic Main Titles.
It's a good theme but I'm more than happy enough with the one track on Music For A Darkened Theatre.
The original soundtrack is now hard to find.On Friday I ate a lot of dust and appeared orange near the end of the day ~ Bregt -
- CommentAuthordjdave
- CommentTimeJan 4th 2008 edited
I bought my (new) copy from Amazon at the back end of last year. Cost over £30 but was well worth it. I like the Main Titles to Mars Attacks so it is on my mental to buy list. -
- CommentAuthorThor
- CommentTimeJan 4th 2008
Yeah, MIDNIGHT RUN is a gem. Arguably the closest he has been to his Boingo sound, although it doesn't really sound like that either (it's more bluesy). The "Time to Believe" song is pretty good, too...almost a gospel song!I am extremely serious. -
- CommentAuthorThor
- CommentTimeJan 5th 2008
God, I'm listening to FLUBBER now...this must surely be one of the most tiresome scores of all time. Drives me up the wall. Insane brass screaming and mamboing. Only reason I'm listening to it is that I'm going through my Elfman collection chronologically, and the period between MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE and up to HEARTBREAKERS is one of my least favourite periods in his career (with a few notable exceptions, such A SIMPLE PLAN and FAMILY MAN).I am extremely serious. -
- CommentAuthorSouthall
- CommentTimeJan 5th 2008
I love Midnight Run!
In general though I think Elfman's best stuff has come in the last few years. Planet of the Apes, Spiderman and its sequel. I've even become rather fond of Hulk, which didn't impress me much at first. -
- CommentAuthorAntineutrino
- CommentTimeMar 25th 2008
STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE
Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Music Composed by Danny Elfman
Is it possible for a photograph to change the world? Photographs taken by soldiers in Abu Ghraib prison changed the war in Iraq and changed America’s image of itself. Yet, a central mystery remains. Did the notorious Abu Ghraib photographs constitute evidence of systematic abuse by the American military, or were they documenting the aberrant behavior of a few bad apples? We set out to examine the context of these photographs. Why were they taken? What was happening outside the frame? We talked directly to the soldiers who took the photographs and who were in the photographs. Who are these people? What were they thinking? Over two years of investigation, we amassed a million and a half words of interview transcript, thousands of pages of unredacted reports, and hundreds of photographs. The story of Abu Ghraib is still shrouded in moral ambiguity, but it is clear what happened there. The Abu Ghraib photographs serve as both an exposé and a cover-up. An exposé, because the photographs offer us a glimpse of the horror of Abu Ghraib; and a cover-up because they convinced journalists and readers they had seen everything, that there was no need to look further. In recent news reports, we have learned about the destruction of the Abu Zubaydah interrogation tapes. A cover-up. It has been front-page news. But the cover-up at Abu Ghraib involved thousands of prisoners and hundreds of soldiers. We are still learning about the extent of it. Many journalists have asked about the smoking gun of Abu Ghraib. It is the wrong question. As Philip Gourevitch has commented, Abu Ghraib is the smoking gun. The underlying question that we still have not resolved, four years after the scandal: how could American values become so compromised that Abu Ghraib and the subsequent cover-up could happen?
Written and Directed by Errol Morris, this probing documentary features an original score by composer Danny Elfman.
Winner of the Silver Berlin Bear Award at the 2008 Berlin Film Festival.
Sony Pictures Classics opens Standard Operating Procedure on April 25.
Varèse Sarabande Catalog #: 302 066 897 2
Release Date: 05/06/08 -
- CommentAuthorAnthony
- CommentTimeMar 25th 2008
I wish Varese would actually tell us about the SCORE and not the movie!
-
- CommentAuthorDemonStar
- CommentTimeMar 25th 2008
Did anyone listen to Mars Attacks? IMO it was not very good but I really liked some of the synth effects implied for the aliens. It sounded pretty fitting to me, along with some of the action music towards the end. -
- CommentAuthorDemetris
- CommentTimeMar 25th 2008
Anthony wrote
I wish Varese would actually tell us about the SCORE and not the movie!
No, it's better if they don't say anything about the scores they release; believe meLove Maintitles. It's full of Wanders. -
- CommentAuthorAnthony
- CommentTimeMar 25th 2008 edited
I liked the over the top nature of it, but there wasn't much to remember once it had finished (about Mars Attacks).
But Varese's score descriptions were comical. I want them back!
They essentially read ''buy us! Robert Townson needs more money!'' -
- CommentAuthorSouthall
- CommentTimeMar 25th 2008
DemonStar wrote
Did anyone listen to Mars Attacks? IMO it was not very good but I really liked some of the synth effects implied for the aliens. It sounded pretty fitting to me, along with some of the action music towards the end.
I love the main theme. Some nice Herrmann homages in there too. Must give that one another listen.