Senin, Desember 27, 2010

Interview: Danny Elfman

Situs Hot Topic pada tanggal 26 Desember mem-publish video wawancaranya dengan Danny Elfman. Lihat videonya di sini.

Batman Returns: Limited Edition

Tanggal 22 Desember yang lalu, Daniel Schweiger mem-publish artikel CD Review: December Soundtrack Picks di situs Film Music Magazine. Salah satu yang direkomendasikan adalah Batman Returns: Limited Edition, berikut kutipannya:

Why should you buy it?: Though there’s little of the sound of Elfman’s Oingo Boingo songs in BATMAN RETURNS, the oompa-loompa calliope vibe that fueled the band is very much present in the pipe organs, taunting chorus, and rollicking xylophones that embody The Penguin’s Circus of Crime. And that’s not the only tuneful representation of characters here, as Elfman uses his string section to meow, hiss and slink about as it becomes the enticing claws of the Catwoman. Throw these completely oddball approaches in with the familiar, theme-heavy brooding of Batman, and you’ve got a delightfully unbalanced soundtrack that plays like Wagner trying to bash his way out of a Christmas parade from hell. It’s just one of the many merry prankster elements that multiplex audiences in 1992 didn’t begin to get about this cleverly seditious sequel.

Extra Special: La La Land Records follows up their complete Elfman BATMAN album by revealing just how complex Elfman’s seeming madness was. With this double album’s score clocking in at nearly 90 minutes, this bells and whistles presentation adds even more hell-bent-for leather romance to the Catwoman confrontations, an eerie underbelly to the Penguin’s zoo hideout and more thunderous charging that sends Batman to the villains’ lair. Put on numerous alternates and original album versions, plus a cocktail band version of Rick James’ “Superfreak,” and this new, expansive BATMAN RETURNS reveals itself as what could be considered Elfman’s ultimate mock superhero opera.


Baca lengkapnya di sini.

The Next Three Days

Tanggal 19 Desember yang lalu, situs Movie Wave mem-publish review-nya untuk The Next Three Days, rating-nya 3/5. Berikut kutipannya:

The more ambient material is OK for what it is; while few people would pick this piece of Elfman’s bag of tricks as their favourite, he certainly does it well in terms of supporting a film. Sustained strings, synth pads and repeated electric guitar chords are used to good effect. From the album’s point of view, the trouble is that sustained strings, synth pads and repeated electric guitar chords don’t make for the most fascinating listening; and they make up the bulk of the opening 40 minutes. Some of the harmonic progressions are quite beautiful, but they can only do so much. Occasionally the composer opts to stay purely orchestral, as with the excellent, moving “All is Lost”; these passages are impressive. As the album progresses, the pace increases a little and there is slightly more of a feeling of the music going somewhere.
Baca lengkapnya di sini.

Minggu, Desember 19, 2010

CD Review: The Best Scores of 2010

Pada tanggal 13 Desember 2010 yang lalu, Daniel Schweiger merilis daftar score terbaik tahun 2010 versinya di situs Film Music Magazine, termasuk di antaranya adalah The Next Three Days, berikut kutipannya:

There have been far splashier Danny Elfman scores this year with ALICE IN WONDERLAND and THE WOLFMAN, not to mention pictures that did far better at the box office. Yet it’s Paul Haggis’ terrific, and unfortunately neglected film where Elfman delivered what’s arguably one of his most interesting and dramatically effective scores in many a beast-filled moon. Here the accent is on the family noir, as constantly propulsive rhythms move a suburban dad to break his beloved wife out of stir. And we know exactly the kind of anguish, and fatherly love that’s driving his actions in Elfman’s understated music, with remarkably flowing themes binding the score, with all roads leading to the big, relentlessly suspenseful nine-minute breakout that stands as one of the composer’s most remarkable action cues, or pieces of music for that matter. When tender pianos, a gospel voice and a near fairy-tale melody finally reunite a family torn asunder, the effect is one of supremely moving understatement, showing Elfman as much a master of the human condition as he is of the fantastical creatures that are more often put in his scoring crosshairs.


Baca lengkapnya di sini.

Danny Elfman talks to Young Hollywood

Situs Cheekopek Hollywood mewawancara Danny Elfman sehubungan dengan Elfman-Burton Music Box. Baca dan lihat video wawancaranya di sini.

Danny Elfman Talks Tim Burton Scores, Bernard Herrmann's Influence and More

Pada tanggal 14 Desember yang lalu, situs Artist Direct mem-publish wawancara dengan Danny Elfman mengenai Elfman-Burton Music Box. Berikut kutipannya:

Do you have particular memories about the Sleepy Hollow score?


Yeah, it was just really fun. I didn't really know exactly what I was going to do with it. Once again, the main theme of "The Headless Horseman" wasn't The Horseman's first theme that I wrote. It became "Ichabod Crane's Childhood Theme." I ended up with this theme for him as a child and it started just following him. I just learned somewhere along the way never to argue with those impulses because they're doesn't have to be rhyme or reason. Nothing has to make sense. In fact, sometimes it's better that it doesn't. I'll look back later and go, "Well, I could see psychologically how this would've fit with this." At the time, I'm not thinking that way at all. It just kept coming back.

I loved The Headless Horseman. I was incredibly proud of Tim because it's the first time he did a villain that was really a villain. He had no redeeming qualities. Normally, we love Tim's villains. They're usually the characters we associate with. The Headless Horsemen just cut off heads. There was no sense like, "Oh the poor guy, look at him stumbling around his house knocking everything over because he can't see anything while he's trying to make his cereal in the morning." [Laughs] He was a monster. When he killed that family and pulled up that little kid from under the planks, I was so proud of Tim [Laughs].


Baca lengkapnya di sini.

Elfman finds challenge in 'Wonderland'

Pada tanggal 15 Desember, Jon Burlingame di situs Variety menurunkan tulisan mengenai pembuatan musik Alice in Wonderland dan The Next Three Days oleh Danny Elfman. Berikut kutipannya:

Scoring "The Next Three Days" with director Paul Haggis "was really quite opposite," Elfman says. The Russell Crowe action film had a limited music budget, "which I turned into something positive," he adds. "I was happy to have a smaller ensemble."

He added piano and strings to his own studio-created percussion and other sounds and was surprised to discover that Haggis preferred the smaller string grouping (13 or 14 players) for its more intimate sound. "It was a dream," he says.


Baca lengkapnya di sini. Baca juga mengenai Academy Awards Music Branch di sini dan mengenai lagu-lagu yang bisa masuk nominasi untuk best song di sini.

Kamis, Desember 16, 2010

The 68th Annual Golden Globe Awards

Danny's nominated, yay. Third time's a charm? Engga kali ya.. Alice in Wonderland dinominasikan untuk Best Original Score - Motion Picture, ini adalah yang ketiga kalinya. Sebelumnya adalah The Nightmare Before Christmas tahun 1993 dan Big Fish tahun 2003. Kategori lengkapnya adalah sebagai berikut:

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE – MOTION PICTURE
The King's Speech - Alexandre Desplat
Alice in Wonderland - Danny Elfman
127 Hours - A. R. Rahman
The Social Network - Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross
Inception - Hans Zimmer

Baca kategori lainnya di sini.

Jumat, Desember 10, 2010

Video Game Soundtrack Sampler

Tanggal rilis album: November 19, 2010 (MP3)
Label: Sumthing Else Music Works

Track list:
1. Finish the Fight - Martin O'Donnell & Michael Salvatori 2:27
2. Fable Theme - Danny Elfman 1:42
3. Darksider's Theme - Mike Reagan and Cris Velasco 3:51
4. Theme from Dark Void - Bear McCreary 2:56
5. Gears Of War - Kevin Riepl 4:30
6. Mass Effect Theme - Jack Wall & Sam Hulick 2:21
7. Apocalypse - Jesper Kyd 4:33
8. Enter Skag Gully - Raison Varner 2:48
9. The Theme Of Umbrella Chlonicles - GHM Sound Team 1:59
10. Welcome to Bright Falls - Petri Alanko 4:26
11. Mr. Bones - Steve Ouimette 3:22

Label Sumthing Else Music Works merilis album sampler untuk musik-musik video game-nya, termasuk Fable Theme yang dibuat oleh Danny Elfman. Sebelumnya main title dari Fable hanya bisa didapat dari soundtrack dari game-nya, tapi skarang bisa di-download di sini. Tapi lagi, buat yang tinggal di Indonesia, ngga bisa tu, so only for those who live in certain countries, klik di sini.

20th Century Fox: 75 Years Of Great Film Music

Tanggal rilis album: 7 Desember 2010
Label: Varèse Sarabande

Track list:

Disc One 1935 – 1960

1. 20th Century-Fox Fanfare
(with CinemaScope extension) (:19)
Alfred Newman
2. All About Eve 1950
Main Title / The Award (2:17)
Alfred Newman
3. How Green Was My Valley 1941
The Family and Bronwen / Finale / End Title (8:10)
Alfred Newman
4. The Song of Bernadette 1943
The Vision (4:16)
Alfred Newman
5. Laura 1944
Main TItle (2:17)
David Raksin
6. The Ghost And Mrs. Muir 1947
Prelude / Local Train / The Sea (3:54)
Bernard Herrmann
7. Captain From Castile 1947
Conquest (4:08)
Alfred Newman
8. Twelve O’Clock High 1948
Main Title (1:52)
Alfred Newman
9. The Day The Earth Stood Still 1951
Prelude / Outer Space / Radar (3:45)
Bernard Herrmann
10. Viva Zapata! 1952
Gathering Forces (3:24)
Alex North
11. My Cousin Rachel 1952
Main Title (2:23)
Franz Waxman
12. The Robe 1953
Main Title / Caligula’s Arrival / Finale (4:23)
Alfred Newman
13. Prince Valiant 1954
Main Title / King Aguar’s Escape (4:53)
Franz Waxman
14. Untamed 1955
Main Title (2:35)
Franz Waxman
15. The Rains of Ranchipur 1955
Main Title (2:18)
Hugo Friedhofer
16. How To Marry A Millionaire 1953
Street Scene (5:36)
Alfred Newman
17. The Seven Year Itch 1955
Main Title (3:13)
Alfred Newman
18. Three Coins In The Fountain 1954
Prelude / Rome (4:27)
incorporates “Three Coins In The Fountain” written by Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn
Victor Young
19. Love Is A Many-Splendored Thing 1955
Main Title / God Has Been Good / Finale (7:05)
incorporates “Love Is A Many-Splendored Thing” written by Sammy Fain and Paul Francis Webster
Alfred Newman
20. The Long, Hot Summer 1958
The Long, Hot Summer, Lyrics by Sammy Cahn, Performed by Jimmie Rodgers / Two Butterflies (5:02)
Alex North
21. From The Terrace 1960
Love Theme (1:29)
Elmer Bernstein

Disc Two 1961 – 1985

1. Cleopatra 1963
Main Title / Cleopatra Enters Rome (9:37)
Alex North
2. The Sand Pebbles 1966
Overture / Main Title (5:08)
Jerry Goldsmith
3. Planet Of The Apes 1968
Main Title / The Hunt (7:18)
Jerry Goldsmith
4. Patton 1970
Main Title / German Advance (5:37)
Jerry Goldsmith
5. Tora! Tora! Tora! 1970
Main Title (3:02)
Jerry Goldsmith
6. The French Connection 1971
Main Title / This Is It (4:15)
Don Ellis
7. The Poseidon Adventure 1972
Main Title (2:11)
John Williams
8. The Paper Chase 1973
End Title (2:32)
John Williams
9. Conrack 1974
Main Title (6:00)
John Williams
10. The Omen 1976
Ave Satani (2:32)
Jerry Goldsmith
11. Magic 1978
Main Title (2:02)
Jerry Goldsmith
12. The Fury 1978
For Gillian / End Title (4:27)
John Williams
13. Alien 1979
Main Title (4:09)
Jerry Goldsmith
14. Norma Rae 1979
It Goes Like It Goes (3:01)
Lyrics by Norman Gimbel
Performed by Jennifer Warnes
David Shire
15. Author! Author! 1982
Main Title (1:58)
Dave Grusin
16. Max Dugan Returns 1983
End Title (2:23)
David Shire
17. Romancing The Stone 1984
End Title (5:28)
Alan Silvestri
18. Commando 1985
Prologue / Main Title (3:56)
James Horner

Disc Three 1986 – 2010

1. Predator 1986
Main Title (3:51)
Alan Silvestri
2. The Fly 1986
Main Title (1:54)
Howard Shore
3. Lucas 1986
Main Title (2:43)
Dave Grusin
4. Raising Arizona 1987
Way Out There (1:54)
Carter Burwell
5. Wall Street 1987
Bud’s Scam (2:48)
Stewart Copeland
6. Big 1988
Opening (2:50)
Howard Shore
7. Broadcast News 1987
Young Jane / Main Title (2:44)
Bill Conti
8. Die Hard 1988
The Nakatomi Plaza / Gruber’s Arrival (5:29)
Michael Kamen
9. The Abyss 1989
Bud on the Ledge (3:14)
Alan Silvestri
10. Hoffa 1992
End Credits (8:00)
David Newman
11. Mrs. Doubtfire 1993
Main Title (3:00)
Howard Shore
12. Speed 1994
The Rescue (4:03)
Mark Mancina
13. Cast Away 2005
End Credits (3:45)
Alan Silvestri
14. Unfaithful 2002
Unfaithful (2:37)
Jan A.P. Kaczmarek
15. Ice Age 2002
Opening Travel Music (1:18)
David Newman
16. I, Robot 2004
End Credits (3:15)
Marco Beltrami
17. Fantastic Four 2005
Main Titles (2:33)
John Ottman
18. Night At The Museum 2006
Night At The Museum (2:36)
Alan Silvestri
19. Horton Hears A Who! 2008
Horton Suite (7:40)
John Powell
20. Independence Day 1996
End Credits (9:07)
David Arnold

20th CENTURY FOX
75 Years Of Great Film Music

All About Eve
The Robe
The Seven Year Itch
Three Coins In The Fountain
Love Is A Many Splendored Thing
Planet Of The Apes
Patton
The French Connection
The Paper Chase
The Omen
Predator
Night At The Museum
and many more

Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment paints the town diamond white with the release of the Twentieth Century Fox 75th Anniversary Gift Set, a 75-film, three-volume set, highlighting a remarkable, rich and unparalleled heritage of classic films, Academy Award® winners and box office smashes.

To join in the celebration, Varèse Sarabande will release a deluxe 3CD set saluting 75 Years Of Great Film Music at Twentieth Century-Fox, featuring some of the greatest composers ever to work in Hollywood: Alfred Newman, Bernard Herrmann, Alex North, Jerry Goldsmith, John Williams, Alan Silvestri, and many more.


Harga 24 dolar hmmmm! Lihat di situsnya di sini.

Minggu, Desember 05, 2010

'Extra' Exclusive: Danny Elfman on Tim Burton

Situs Extra (dari extratv.warnerbros.com) mem-publish video interview-nya dengan Danny Elfman. Klik di sini untuk melihat wawancaranya.

53rd Annual Grammy Awards

Danny Elfman kembali mendapat nominasi Grammy Awards, yay! Berikut kategorinya:

82. Best Score Soundtrack Album For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media
Award to Composer(s) for an original score created specifically for, or as a companion to, a current legitimate motion picture, television show or series or other visual media.

Alice In Wonderland
Danny Elfman, composer

Avatar
James Horner, composer

Inception
Hans Zimmer, composer

Sherlock Holmes

Hans Zimmer, composer

Toy Story 3

Randy Newman, composer

Ini nominasi kesebelasnya (dan salah satunya menang untuk "The Batman Theme" untuk film Batman tahun 1989). Pengumuman pemenangnya akan diadakan pada tanggal 13 Februari 2011. Baca lengkapnya di sini.

Confirmed: Hans Zimmer Is Scoring Zack Snyder's SUPERMAN! Promises A "Reinvention"!

Tanggal 1 Desember yang lalu, situs Ain't It Cool News mengkonfirmasi bahwa Hans Zimmer akan membuat musik Superman yang baru untuk Chris Nolan. Berikut kutipannya:

“It's a hard one,” mused Zimmer, “but I followed one of the most iconic things on 'Batman' with Chris as well, and it's the same thing. You are allowed to reinvent, but you have to try to be as good or at least as iconic and it has to resonate and it has to become a part of the zeitgeist. That's the job. On 'Gladiator' I remember people always talking about 'Spartacus' and I kept telling them, 'When you saw "Spartacus" and how it affected it you, that's how I want a modern audience to be affected by what we do now.' So I think ultimately you're supposed to reinvent.”

Baca lengkapnya di sini.

Morning Becomes Eclectic: Danny Elfman

Tanggal 30 November yang lalu Chris Douridas dari Radio KCRW mewawancarai Danny Elfman termasuk memutarkan rekaman Danny Elfman ketika mendapat ide untuk The Jar. Klik di sini untuk mendengarkan wawancara ini.

Space Battleship Yamato Original Soundtrack

Studio: Tokyo Broadcasting System
Sutradara: Takashi Yamazaki
Composer: Naoki Sato
Tanggal rilis film: 1 Desember 2010 (Jepang)
Tanggal rilis album: 1 Desember 2010
Label: ?

Track list (courtesy of Google Translate):
1. Space Battleship Yamato Opening Title
2. Dirty Man
3. Vessels of Hope
4. Launch Wave Cannon
5. Gamilas Fleet
6. Feedback
7. Gamirasuroido (??)
8. Instruction
9. The Disappearance of Enemy Fleet
10. Moment of Silence
11. Comfort
12. Beautiful Blue Planet
13. Crisis
14. Convictions
15. A New History
16. Cosmo Zero Launch
17. Radioactivity Removal System (??)
18. Committed Future
19. Earth
20. Dessler Revenge
21. Things to Protect
22. The Final Salute
* Theme song is not included

Belum dengar musiknya tapi hampir pasti tema lama Yamato karya Hiroshi Miyagawa tetap ada dan diaransemen ulang; tema lama Yamato terlalu iconic dan memiliki top-of-mind awareness yang terlalu kuat untuk tidak digunakan sebagai selling point. Klik di sini atau di sini untuk membeli score album ini.

Kamis, Desember 02, 2010

Love Lives

Composer: Steven Tyler
Tanggal rilis film: 1 Desember 2010
Tanggal rilis album: 24 November 2010
Label: Sony Music Japan

Track list:
1. Love Lives
2. Love Lives (Acoustic Version)
3. Love Lives (Piano Version)
4. Love Lives (Instrumental)

Theme song dari Space Battleship Yamato, film live-action tahun ini, dibuat oleh Steven Tyler dari band Aerosmith sebagai solo effort pertamanya. Seharusnya dilaporkan minggu-minggu lalu saat artwork dari cover-nya muncul tapi karena satu dan lain hal... Eniweis samples-nya bisa didengarkan di sini.