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Film music fans are mostly looking at the past.
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Film music has been largely shit since roughly 2005 or so.
Paging Thor in 3, 2, 1...
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Film music is definitely different. I don't think it's the ability of composers, though.
What we must remember is that a film's music in the heyday of John Barry, Jerry Goldsmith, etc., was just about the best way you could take a piece of the experience of a favourite film home with you.
It made the soundtrack album important in a different way.
I mean, picture this. It's 1965. You've just seen this spectacular film called Thunderball.
You can go home and stream it, right? No! Buy the Blu-Ray? No!
But I want to take a piece of the experience of that film home with me! What can I do?
You can buy the picture book and the soundtrack album!
Given the heightened role of the soundtrack album in those days, it created more of a mandate for the music to be “musical”.
Soundtrack albums no longer fulfil that purpose, and given film music is on average less “musical’ than it used to be, perhaps it's understandable that people aren't necessarily getting into film music in the same way that they once did.
Just my two-penneth, of course.
Cheers
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Posted: |
Dec 9, 2023 - 6:59 AM
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By: |
Thor
(Member)
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Paging Thor in 3, 2, 1...
0! 
Film music is not 'shit' these days, it just depends on where you look, and what effort you put in yourself, to explore outside the Hollywood scene, and across the world. I listen to maybe 1000 new scores a year, and there's SO much good stuff, in all kinds of styles. If you don't put in that effort, it's a bit like Plato's old allegory of the cave, isn't it?
As for new scores not being released on physical format, that's pretty much just a reflection where we're at it, technologically, isn't it? Digital files are easier to put out and distribute. Thankfully, there are still some composers who occasionally put out things on CD and vinyl, catering to our very small niche.
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EXACTLY. Remain curious and open to new music, films, books, etc throughout your whole life. There are people out there being creative and doing interesting things NOW, but you have to be receptive.
Absolutely. Same for the other way too -- be curious about what came before your formative years, or even before you were born. If you're truly in love with the artform, there's no end to the exploration in both directions. Curiousity and openness are virtues.
Indeed...it's the same pattern that happens with each generation as they age out of current culture...and instead of adapting, they get angry at being left behind. They are always welcome to move forward, rather than dig in their heels.
I had a period, about 10-15-ish years ago when I just wasn't "feeling it" anymore with film scores, so I took a break and really explored classical music for a bit. Slowly, I started noticing new scores I really liked again...but, more often than not, they were different in tone from what I'd been primarily listening to (mostly big, epic stuff previously...now more drawn to more intimate drama). Our tastes either change over time or they stagnate.
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Posted: |
Dec 9, 2023 - 12:41 PM
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By: |
Howard L
(Member)
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Film music is not 'shit' these days, it just depends on where you look, and what effort you put in yourself, to explore outside the Hollywood scene, and across the world. I listen to maybe 1000 new scores a year, and there's SO much good stuff, in all kinds of styles. If you don't put in that effort, it's a bit like Plato's old allegory of the cave, isn't it?
A thousand new scores? Then you must be talking about listening to film music on its genre/soundtrack own without having heard the "score" in the film because you haven't seen the film, in MOST cases, verdad?
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Film music is definitely different. I don't think it's the ability of composers, though.
What we must remember is that a film's music in the heyday of John Barry, Jerry Goldsmith, etc., was just about the best way you could take a piece of the experience of a favourite film home with you.
It made the soundtrack album important in a different way.
I mean, picture this. It's 1965. You've just seen this spectacular film called Thunderball.
You can go home and stream it, right? No! Buy the Blu-Ray? No!
But I want to take a piece of the experience of that film home with me! What can I do?
You can buy the picture book and the soundtrack album!
Given the heightened role of the soundtrack album in those days, it created more of a mandate for the music to be “musical”.
Soundtrack albums no longer fulfil that purpose, and given film music is on average less “musical’ than it used to be, perhaps it's understandable that people aren't necessarily getting into film music in the same way that they once did.
Just my two-penneth, of course.
Cheers
Perfectly stated. That’s it exactly.
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We all love the things we grew up with.
We do, but it's dangerous to STOP there.
Taking drugs in dangerous. Listening to only-old-film music is not.
But yes, I guess I see what you mean.
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Posted: |
Dec 9, 2023 - 1:26 PM
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By: |
Thor
(Member)
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A thousand new scores? Then you must be talking about listening to film music on its genre/soundtrack own without having heard the "score" in the film because you haven't seen the film, in MOST cases, verdad?
True. I "only" see about 100-150 new films every year, so not even close. But listening is enough to get an overview of the rich stylistic landscape that exists out there. Whether you like pop-infused scores, electronic scores, traditional orchestral scores, small chamber ensemble scores, jazz scores, what-have-you. It's all out there, you only need to invest a little bit of energy to explore, and not base your judgement on the handful of uninspired Hollywood scores that you've accidentally bumped into.
Simple, to the point and absolutely true. It's an incidental, uninspiring world of OSTs out there. I think Inception, Turbo Kid, TRON Legacy and Oblivion are the newest scores I've gotten. They just don't grab or goose me like they did in the 90's and before.
I think this speaks to what I'm talking about. It seems to be a very limited amount of scores being sampled, from which an entire value judgement is formed, on the whole of global film music. It's weird to me. I know that DJS likes Tangerine Dream and electronic scores, so I could easily list a bunch of great electronic scores from 2023 alone that at the very least would provide some interest. But again -- you have to look outside the mainstream sometimes. Otherwise, you're stuck in Plato's cage again.
Taking drugs in dangerous. Listening to only-old-film music is not.
But yes, I guess I see what you mean.
"Dangerous", in this case, is used in a general sense, meaning that one shouldn't get stuck in one's formative years, or any other period, and then draw these wide, general conclusions based on far too small a sampling amount (or empirical data, as one says in acadamia). It's like having horse blinders on; it's dangeous because it leaves you blind to other aspects of this world. Doesn't only apply to the tiny world of film music, but anything out there. That's very much dangerous.
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