Looper

Nathan Johnson got his big break on this sound track, He has stuck with independent films up to this point including his first movie (also starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt) Brick. The NPR article says more about him and his style, especially his love for "imperfect music" which fits the world of Looper perfectly. I found some issues with the album as a whole, which I'll mention in the TL;DR section. I need some "traditional" soundtrack next because between The Dark Knight Rises and Looper I am definitely "industrial-synth"ed out.

Beginning on this review I will give a recommendation on which tracks are the best for purchase if you are only looking for some songs. I will bold the track title so that it can be found easily.

Track 1: A Body That Technically Does Not Exist (1:22)

A very industrial sound, the bass is being used to keep the pulse a good introduction of whats to come. But short and even with the short run time there is about 3-5 seconds of dead space at the end of the song.

Track 2: A Day in the Life (1:11)

This is the track that they used in the NPR story. Begins with a very remorseful piano. At 0:27 the pulse returns with violins carrying the melody and builds to its conclusion.

Track 3: Closing Your Loop (2:57)

Hollow metallic drums (car doors?) keep the tempo, while the strings carry the melody. Beginning at 1:01 we get nothing but a steady pulse. This feels like three separate songs not one. 1:38 starts the last segment.

Track 4: Seth's Tale (2:55)

The title refers to a grizzly part of the movie if I remember correctly, but there is nothing here to symbolize that. The sustained strings at the beginning give a slightly unsettled feel, but this song feels more like underscoring than a track to be featured.

Track 5: Run (2:50)

Starting with a sting tremolo gives this song the movement that proves its name. The melodic percussion carry the melody nicely. The track then changes to a free feel at 1:15 and is generally directionless until 1:51, at which point the "chase" really begins. A nice dramatic cue at 2:34 wraps this song up.

Track 6: A Life in a Day (2:22)

Begins with piano and snare drum, the melody and chords from the string section are similar to track two. Noticing that I wonder if the times for the track are intentionally matching track two. Doubled up because it's the second time? or because there are two of the same character now? The titles definitely have a connection I'm curious if the composer put that much thought into that or just a coincidence? The song ends with a nice ballad by the piano, a sign of things to come (eventually).

Track 7: Time Machine (2:41)

A very ominous song. The issue that I had with this was that event though there are a lot of notes and they come at you very fast, there is no sense of motion (like in a chase scene), in this music. 

Track 8: Hunting the Past (2:56)

The percussion intro gives the feeling of an empty urban environment. The strings begin setting a good pulse at 1:15. This is the first time that I notice a brass sound on the soundtrack, even if it is synth.

Track 9: Following the Loop (1:42)

Intensity goes through the entire track here, with the running/chase feel beginning at 0:25. Drums are very heavy here when giving the pulse, a nice unexpected ending.

Track 10: Mining for Memories (1:55)

Very busy song, I enjoyed the new timbre for melody and tempo. The hand bells add a new element to the score, they are not an instrument that would come to mind in a sci-fi movie (horror? Yes.). A nice moment happens at 1:06  where there is a very brief moment of traditional film scoring.

Track 11: A New Scar (2:35)

Nothing special here, very much an underscore track.

Track 12: Her Face (2:38)

Yay! A complete departure stylistically from what we heard earlier. There are some unifying elements (e.g. hand bells) that bring the other tracks into this one. This is the closest we've come to a traditional score so far.We even get to hear an unsynthesized piano (gasp!). Johnson shows how well he can pull off the lyrical. Don't worry though, at 2:13 we are back to the industrial sound that we have grown used to.

Track 13: City Sweep (0:47)

Very intense short piece, a lot of instruments and most feel like they have been untouched by the computers. This gives the song a very clean sound even through the busyness.

Track 14: Revelations (5:13)

A nice, slow piano solo until 1:53 where it get supported by handbells and strings. 2:26 marks a change in tone to a very forboding feel, this holds until 3:31 when a chase breaks out. This song is very representative of the entire soundtrack. There is a truly anxious feel for the first time, though the effort was made before. This song also marks the first time that two songs segue into one another.

Track 15: The Rainmaker (4:26)

Begins with the resolution of Revelations, then moves to a ballad at 1:41 until 2:49. The industrial soud returns with a synth brass instrument (trombone?) playing a new theme at 3:02.

Track 16: La Belle Aurore (1:02)

The first half of this track is more of the same synth with some synth brass. A sudden mood change but the same transition to it.

Track 17: Showdown (1:37)

The first minute just sits there, we get some music at 0:58.

Track 18: The Path Was a Circle (4:52)

This track was looking to be very dissapointing with more of the same sound that we've had for most of the soundtrack, but at 2:58 the resolution is to major FOR THE FIRST TIME! That resolution then transitions into the music from Resolutions. But the newness is short lived because we are back to business as usual at 3:22.

Track 19: Everything Comes Around (2:39)

The final track on the album is a restatement of Her Face with the difference being that the supporting chords are major not minor. This completely changes the mood, it gives the music a sense of hope that was completely lacking earlier. There is a big Hollywood moment (the marching band director in me says "Company Front") at 1:05 where the cello picks up the melody. Another track with no synth, while the celesta restates themes giving them a new hopeful feel.

TL;DR

I have mixed feelings about this soundtrack. The synth sound started very fresh but quickly dulled in my ears. Almost every track had dead air at the end, and not just one or two seconds but five to seven. I would almost take another track of heavy synth with the amount of time that was empty (almost). Johnson has a great feeling for his ballads. I would not download all of this soundtrack again, in any body of work there will be highs and lows but here there is alot of middle.

Soundtrack Review: The Dark Knight Rises

With the DVD/Blu-ray release of "The Dark Knight Rises"this week, I thought it would be a good time to review the soundtrack. I saw this movie on opening weekend, and was not blown away with it, a good movie but not the best in the trilogy (The Dark Knight set the bar VERY high) but on par with Batman Begins.

As with the previous Batman movies in the Christopher Nolan trilogy the music was scored by Hans Zimmer. I was very impressed with his first two entries and was hopeful for this as well. Zimmer has scored some of the most successful movies in the past fifteen years, including: Gladiator, Black Hawk Down, all three Pirates of the Caribbean movies, and both Kung-fu Panda movies. His writing is varied but frantic and intense. He did an amazing job with the Kung-Fu Panda series adding an element of fun and rock alongside the traditional Chinese sounds. 

I have a hard time summarizing the work of Zimmer because it is so varied and he has sustained success for such a long time. There are few film composers working today with his recent track record of working on successful movies. Even with box-office success comes a modest amount of awards, including eight Oscar nominations and one win (Lion King). There have been issues with the nomination process for Zimmer in the past, (see: The Dark Knight) but he still puts out quality work that will continue to be recognized by the academy.

I found this article about how some of this sound track came together.

I was hoping for an intense ride and was pleasantly surprised. Don't get me wrong there are plenty of intense moments but the tracks that were chosen don't seem to follow the music that I remember from the movie. Let's take a look:

Track 1: A Storm is Coming 00:37
Track 2: On Thin Ice 02:55

For simplicity's sake I have combined the first two tracks as TR 1 is only 00:37 in length. The intro hints at an intense second track but that never comes together, it has some structural elements that we will hear throughout the score but none of that rhythmic drive that we are used to hearing (at least not yet). Great sorrowful feeling and you may notice the "The Dark Knight" theme being played but the supporting chords give a feeling of sadness instead of hope. This is a theme in the movie that is played here in the music.


Track 3: Gotham's Reckoning 04:08

This is the sound that I was expecting from the beginning. A simple rhythmic melody helped with light percussion that drives the song forward. This is the first of many uses of chanting throughout the soundtrack. A sudden change happens at 02:34 when the strings just play a rhythm on a polychord to give an almost percussion sound. The trumpet get a brief moment to up the intensity, and immediately the entire ensemble creeps up chromatically and dynamically. We end this track with our chant returning.


Track 4: Mind if I Cut In? 03:28

This track has a nice minimalist feel to it the three note melody that begins at 00:41 gets augmented and added to. The feel of the melody changes completely based on the accompaniment behind it. The track stays slow until, again, the background changes and the intensity gets ramped up for a bit. Then back to simple nice understated track.


Track 5: Underground Army 03:12

The low synth sound creates the drive at the beginning, as we get into the song you will notice the "Dark Knight" theme come in for the first time at 00:21. I felt like this track was disappointing no new themes or techniques used to make the music, seems more like part of the orchestration not the score.


Track 6: Born In Darkness 01:57

"Born" has a nice understated sorrow to it. A new theme is introduced at 00:08 that we will hear again. I was enjoying the contrast but as the song continued I didn't feel as if it lead anywhere.


 Track 7: The Fire Rises 05:34

We have come back to the intense music that I was expecting for more of this soundtrack. I really enjoyed the moment at 00:15 and again at 00:25 the effect was very surprising. The addition of the low brass at 01:18 was fantastic! The swells kept the excitement building all the way to 01:30. We settle down for a bit until 04:11 when the intensity starts to build again, with a new part from the strings and trumpets. We get a half-time feel at 04:56 that drives this song to it's conclusion.


Track 8: Nothing Out There 02:51

We have another nice ballad here, with a great piano solo at 01:32. The piano is playing over the chords introduced in "Born In Darkness"


Track 9: Despair 03:15

Strings begin the pulse reinforced by a synth "wind?" sound. The "Dark Knight" theme appears often in this track but will take a loooong time to resolve (e.g. 01:08-01:30), the theme doesn't seem to "ring" like it usually will at other points in the soundtrack. I think this is a statement that reflects the characters in the movie and the unwillingness of Bruce Wayne to go back to being Batman. The new theme we heard in "Born in Darkness" is here but presented in a heroic manner not the remorseful one we heard earlier (02:27). My download (Google Play) had some trouble at 02:04,02:06 and 3 seconds of static at 02:22-02:25.


Track 10: Fear Will Find You 03:09

Intense, very frantic we hear a shuffle of "Gotham's Reckoning". The "Dark Knight" theme, the "chant", the ascending chromatics, and the trumpet part come at you within the first 45 seconds. The quarter note triplets make an interesting transition to the music that I came out of the theater singing (00:45-01:09). I thought that there would be more of this music and feel throughout the soundtrack. I like the low strings carrying things and if you listen VERY carefully you'll hear the "Dark Knight" theme at 01:38, and a few other times towards the end of the song.


Track 11: Why Do We Fall? 02:03

My first listen to this track I wasn't impressed but listening to it again I don't know why. It starts with low volume and energy and just cranks it up continuously. The "Dark Knight" theme makes it's first grand entrance.


Track 12: Death By Exile 00:24

I don't quite understand why this "song" was included. No melody, no pulse, if they wanted an introduction to the next song, just combine them.


Track 13: Imagine the Fire 07:26

Here we have a completely new song, very little seems to be borrowed from the songs before it. The violins are doing something new to drive the song (it puts me in mind of Mega Man). While the violas and cellos are keeping the pulse. New theme introduced at 01:25 in the horns. The heavy synth in the new section at 02:42, was a nice contrast. The middle part of the song had upload problems again, skipping like a scratched CD. A very subtle addition of the "chant" is back at 04:22. The last section of this song is transitioned to by using the sounds from "A Storm is Coming", I like the lows with the melody again in the last section. They give a nice power and when the high voices come back it really adds to the intensity. A brief quote from the "chant" closes this song.


Track 14: Necessary Evil 03:17

This song restates the theme from "The Fear will Find You" that I feel was played all over the last act of the movie. The legato section is very nice but I don't feel like it went anywhere.


Track 15: Rise 07:16

A very chaotic beginning with the "Dark Knight" theme entering almost immediately. For the first time in this entire soundtrack we hear a female voice at 01:03 singing on a neutral vowel. 03:09 Begins an ascending line that continues for over a minute, representing "Rise" quite well. The feeling of hope is very prominent throughout this song and for the first time resolves into a major chord at 06:31. At 06:36 the "Dark Knight" theme is heard for the final time. I find it very interesting that the entire soundtrack would end in almost silence.


TL;DR

I like this soundtrack the music has a great deal of range and is different from most of the other soundtracks in movies today. However, I don't feel that this album is the movie music "distilled". There was a higher percentage of slow, lyrical moments than were in the movie. The intensity of the movie did not match the CD. Zimmer played on his music from his previous Batman music and took it somewhere unexpected. Was is great? Yes. Was it what I expected? No. Would I buy it again? Not the entire soundtrack but some of the songs.

Big Screen Review: Wreck-it Ralph

I'm not going to lie, my wife and I were looking forward to seeing this movie with our 3-year old. Since I was having trouble finding time to watch a newly relevant old movie(e.g. re-release of Blade Runner on Blu-ray), I thought this would be the perfect opportunity for the first post.

The original music in this movie was written by Henry Jackman a man whose work I am not familiar with at all. As I look through his credits I can see why, he is new(ish) to the scene, and the movies that he has written for (Kick-Ass, Gulliver Travels, X-Men: First Class) I have not seen. He has made the jump to movie scoring with an assist from Hans Zimmer, after leading with his synthesizer work on some of the more popular movies and scores of the last decade.

As an old-school gamer I was looking forward to this movie for the visual, and hopefully musical references. I did my best to stay focused on the music, however the movie did a nice job of drawing me in. To that end I never really noticed the music, which could have been the goal. There were many moments when I thought that there should have been music where there wasn't, such as any time there was sadness on the part of the main character. (As I think about it this is not unusual in childrens' movies, think Toy Story). Toy Story did use minimal scoring during those moments, but Ralph seemed to use none. This is very indicative of another composer which worked on The Dark Knight with Zimmer, James Newton Howard. Howard does a nice job of knowing when to not write something. I think that Jackman was playing on this as well.

The music that was prominent was very well done and quite appropriate. The real-life game Halo was the obvious inspiration for the in-movie game Hero's Duty and the music plays that part very well. However, the "kiddie go-kart game" Sugar Rush (inspired by Mario Kart?) did not have any memorable melodies for the emotional moments or the exciting moments. Any music that was there did not have any musical ties to one another.

Overall, the score was too sparse but well written. Nothing exceptional, nothing to take you out of the experience of the movie. There was nothing musical to keep you in the movie either.

Quality of Music 1.5/2.5

Appropriateness of Music 2.0/2.5

Musical Moments 1.5/2.5

Purchasing Power 1.0/2.5

Total 6.0/10