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This thread here is inspired by the thread "A fascination that evades me" here, where Thor ponders about why some FSM-lers have such an outright fascination for the TECHNICAL details of old soundtrack albums. ( https://www.filmscoremonthly.com/board/posts.cfm?pageID=1&forumID=1&threadID=17410&archive=1 )
The thread is interesting, and I'm pondering what it actually is that we come here for to discuss. I mean, yeah, when I first arrived at the first incarnation of this board in the past millennium (wow, that sounds long ago), obviously, it was interesting to be able to discuss and share the passion for film music AT ALL. I mean, I was lucky enough to have had people in my life who love music, classical and film scores, but I know how rare they are, and some folks here never met anyone else who shared their passion. So it was great virtually meeting all these people from different worlds who love film music.
But now that's a long time ago, many of the things -- our favorite scores, composers, recordings, films, film music stuff we feel passionately about, scores that are great but unfortunately unreleased, etc. -- have been discussed, usually many times over.
So what is it that brings you here? What topics interest you? I find this interesting. Personally, I decide on a whim if I click on a topic to see what's inside (obviously, I don't read all the threads), or if I even reply.
But Thor's question inspires an interesting general question: What type of discussion do you come here for? What topics do you favor? What type of discussion would you like to see more of here at FSM? Technical discussions? Announcements for new soundtracks from specialty labels? Different editions of soundtrack albums? Collectibles? In depth discussion of film scores? Cue by cue analysis? Alternative cover art? Film score chit-chat? Upcoming movies and composers?
What are your favorite FSM tropes?
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Posted: |
Sep 28, 2020 - 9:42 AM
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By: |
Thor
(Member)
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I prefer to discuss aesthetics -- what a score does in a movie, or the musical content of an OST album. Doesn't have to be advanced musical terminology. In fact, preferably not. We can come a long way with just adjectives!
Alas, over the last 15 years or so, things have changed. If you start a thread on a score now, the discussion will be dominated by call-outs for expanded releases or missing music. The old-school aesthetic discussion is on the wane. Which is a shame, but it also makes it easier to get an overview whenever I log on, because there are so many threads I ignore. Back in the late 90s and early 2000s, I used to read basically EVERYTHING; now I pick and choose.
In this landscape, I've actually come to embrace something I didn't care for back then - LISTS!
There's a lot of stuff that doesn't interest me, that is very popular here. I don't care for James Bond or Star Trek. I have no interest in expanded release discussion. My knowledge of old US (or British) television is severely limited. I know a bit about Golden Age cinema and scores, but not on the level of many here. Sometimes, I'm eager to learn, other times I'm more keen on talking about what I know.
But "meta topics" like this will always interest me. 
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Posted: |
Sep 28, 2020 - 6:24 PM
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By: |
Howard L
(Member)
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I went to FSMessageboard because I wished to certify a passion, to front only the essential facts of film music, and see if I could not learn what this place had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not known anything. I wanted to dig deep and suck out all the marrow of the art form, to tear it apart and reassemble as to put to rout all that was taken for granted in cinema life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive film-with-music into a corner, and reduce it to its most simple cause for celebration.
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Posted: |
Sep 29, 2020 - 5:59 AM
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By: |
OnyaBirri
(Member)
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I prefer to discuss aesthetics -- what a score does in a movie, or the musical content of an OST album. Doesn't have to be advanced musical terminology. In fact, preferably not. We can come a long way with just adjectives!
Alas, over the last 15 years or so, things have changed. If you start a thread on a score now, the discussion will be dominated by call-outs for expanded releases or missing music. The old-school aesthetic discussion is on the wane. Which is a shame, but it also makes it easier to get an overview whenever I log on, because there are so many threads I ignore. Back in the late 90s and early 2000s, I used to read basically EVERYTHING; now I pick and choose.
In this landscape, I've actually come to embrace something I didn't care for back then - LISTS!
There's a lot of stuff that doesn't interest me, that is very popular here. I don't care for James Bond or Star Trek. I have no interest in expanded release discussion. My knowledge of old US (or British) television is severely limited. I know a bit about Golden Age cinema and scores, but not on the level of many here. Sometimes, I'm eager to learn, other times I'm more keen on talking about what I know.
But "meta topics" like this will always interest me.
I lean very much into your camp. I have in recent years attempted to start threads on more philosophical issues regarding film music and album presentations. The threads usually die quickly because I'm not talking about superhero blockbusters.
The threads with endless lists don't interest me much, although I have participated.
As we discussed in one of our Zoom chats, I wonder if the fact that so many people are on phones has resulted in such brief posts.
I also stick around to learn about new releases or old releases I missed.
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I joined the forum back in the day mainly to connect with kindred souls – it was exhilarating to find so many people who loved film music. Not the only fan in the Village! Finding the forum triggered my semi-dormant collecting habit back into full gear.
It was also surprising to connect with so many owners of labels, producers, and the composers themselves.
I especially enjoyed the discussions of how certain scores enhanced and strengthened the films for which they were written. I had then, and still have now, a deep-seated prejudice in favor of original scores over needle-drop or “adapted” scores. But that prejudice has waned over the years.
I was also looking for simple validation, if I am honest with myself. It was affirming to find so many articulate and amazing people who could discuss the “art of the score” without disparaging the music and/or the films for which the music had been written.
As I age-out I have also grown to like lists – compiling a list helps sort out my current set of values, and I am often surprised by sea-changes in my likes and dislikes. As a snotty twenty-to-thirty-something I had a set of aesthetic principles set in stone. More like Jello now.
I don’t post that often anymore – just when I read something and that internal “voice” seems to want to say something. I do miss the aesthetic discussions, but still read with amazement the eternal microscopic examinations of every individual release. So many people with so much specific knowledge -- it still astonishes me.
The forum is still my favorite place on the world-wide-web.
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Posted: |
Oct 23, 2020 - 8:47 AM
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By: |
Jim Phelps
(Member)
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Most "discussion" on these boards consists of people arguing over the politics of film score releases aka "How the Sausage is Made", rather than enthusiastically discussing the music itself in its original context.
Remember Deputy Riley? As far as film score preferences go, he and I have precious little in common, but I always read his posts because he expressed himself well and made me think twice about those scores for which he showed so much excitement; I wish more of you would do that.
My favorite "trope": the music, how it works within the film, and how said music evokes the era in which it was made. I also enjoy the personal stories of how someone discovered such-and-such a score and what it means to them. These are what Thor might refer to as "meta" topics.
One of the oddest FSM characteristics is how so many here only like original score recordings, yet show no interest in the films themselves. These same people often have no interest in classical, pop, jazz, or any other kind of music. It's as though film music is just contemporary enough that they like it in of itself but without caring about its original context.
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LOL. No, I did not in the least neglect this thread. Quite the contrary, I was happy to see it bumped. And I'm happy to see and read the replies. But I am just sincerely interested in your favorite FSM tropes. It was not necessarily my intent to debate or dispute them. Also, I'm not here every day.
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I'm an amateur musician who has spent some time in the recording studio and has done some very basic recording on my own so I personally love tech talk. I find the history of music recording fascinating--music has been around for sooooo long but we've only had the ability to recall it instantly within the last twenty years.
I also love to read about stories from the session musicians. Any threads that talk about performing or recording a score are big draws for me.
But beyond that, I get my soundtrack news from this site. As other's mentioned, the fact that the labels use this forum and will actively respond to your questions is incredible considering the major labels would have never given this site a second glance. It really feels like a community of fans.
We're all into scores but it breaks down into so many sub-topics within the concept of "film scores" and that's what's really interesting. I've learned a lot about not just film music but music in general from this site and that's why I keep coming back.
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Obviously, a thread that is inquiring rather than debating doesn't get as many (heated) replies (as quickly) as a more controversial topic would get, but that's ok. I enjoy the replies and I'm happy to see it bumped now and then.
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