Change We Can Believe In: 2008 Scores In Review

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It was not a great year for mainstream film scores.  A good year, for sure, since I had 23 scores getting an 8 or higher, but only one major Hollywood score earned a ten, and only one other from that pack got a nine, a severe dropoff from last year’s 8 (and 13 total including foreign and video game scores).  James Horner released three disappointing efforts while John Powell only pulled two strong scores out of the six(!) he did (though only Jumper was a clunker).  Indy 4 wasn’t the equal of its predecessors, nor did Desplat take any of his scores as high as his score for The Golden Compass had gone (don’t take that as major criticism since all three of those scores are still fine efforts).  The three most talked about scores of the year ended up being Slumdog Millionaire, which, while decent, is so song-dominated that I don’t know how one grades it as a “score”; Iron Man, a guilty pleasure that managed to break less ground in the superhero genre than Batman Begins did; and The Dark Knight, probably the most divisive score since Titanic, and for my money a massive disappointment (oh, the comment sniping that shall ensue!).

I think this year represents both how I have changed and the transition period that film music as a whole is in.  When one starts out, it’s always the big name composers you look to for the your truly great scores, but that path isn’t as solid anymore.  Williams supposedly had his last hurrah while Zimmer keeps saying he’ll go on hiatus soon, just to name a few cases.  Yet my film music interest never ballooned until I broke outside the standard mainstream, delving into composers like David Arnold, Don Davis, Alexandre Desplat, and Michael Giacchino.  Similarly, this year required that kind of branch out to truly gain appreciation as I picked up my first scores from Joe Hisaishi and Trevor Shapiro, finally delved into television music, and really started to appreciate Brian Tyler.  We were treated to strong mainstream debuts from Andrew Lockington and Tuomas Kantelinen.  And the international sphere, whether British, French, or Japanese, gave us some of the year’s finest.  So, while the year was not great, it was not a massive disappointment either, and I see much promise in the future.  With that musing, here’s the top ten on the year.

10.  Quantum of Solace

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Yes, it’s Arnold’s weakest Bond score.  Yes, the song is not “classic 007.”  Still, the work is still strong and is probably his most consistent listen.  Action cues delight as per any Arnold score, but it’s the density and texture that’ll impress most.

9.  Hellboy II: The Golden Army

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Grand return to Elfman’s gothic stylings.  Wide spectrum of sounds from the pounding brassy action to the gorgeous fiddle work and the emotional choral finale.  Strong texture slightly impeded by lack of strong main thematic identity found in its predecessor, but still an impressive return to form

8.  The Incredible Hulk

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The score that’s too smart for its source material, Armstrong’s music is both tender and menacing.  Light piano work and an appropriately restrained love theme contrast well with the three-note bellowing and constantly propelling action material.  Certainly one of the best examples of duality in a superhero score

7.  Wanted

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Pinnacle of a quality year for Elfman.  What do you choose to get enjoy most?  The Slavic stylings of the fantastic Success Theme?  The superb fusion of electronics and orchestra?  The addictive bass of “Exterminator Beat?”  The great vocals in the Fox cues?  The superb action rhythms that never let up?  Tons of fun and never stale, the score we all wanted Mission: Impossible to be.

6.  Speed Racer

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Sure, it veers all over the place and will probably wear most listeners down.  But Giacchino does so many different things with the original Speed theme that you’ll find a new one each time.  There’s a consistent retro cool here exemplified by a strong bass presence.  “Casa Cristo” is a rush, while “Let Us Drink Milk” will stun with its choral majesty.  Best heard in the complete score.

5.  Doctor Who Series 4

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Contains the most wonderous material of the year, with “Voyage of the Damned Suite” and “The Greatest Story Never Told” maintaining their majesty for lengthy running times.  The action is driving and fun, while the softer moments stretch from fine string work to enrapturing choral passages.  A shocker for a TV score, and with a real thematic identity it could’ve been a classic.

4.  Eagle Eye

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A relentless thrill ride, the rare score that can hammer you for so long and yet have you begging for more.  Tyler’s relentless action is taken to its most powerful heights with rampant brass and a superb percussive and electronic layer.  Simple themes indeed, but Tyler permutes them in so many ways you don’t care.  Think an angry fusion of the best of Media Ventures, the Bourne scores, and Don Davis.

3.  Mongol

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It requires the most patience of any score on the year, but it’s one of the most rewarding.  Fantastic slow buildup of the main theme leads to powerful statements in the final cues.  A dazzling array of ethnic orchestrations and chanting vocals can bring about a meditative lull like few other scores while thrilling you in equal measures (“Joy in Mongolia”).  A real wonder of an epic score that has only minimal (though still fine) action.

2.  Journey to the Center of the Earth

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I emerged from the film exclaiming “Who wrote that awesome music?”  Lockington’s smashing mainstream debut is a classic adventure effort, with its soaring brassy main theme (dig that “Building the Raft”), moments of choral, sweeping wonder (“The Center of the Earth”), and rampant, richly orchestrated action (“Storm”).  Fans of David Arnold’s epic scores in the 90s will be dazzled by what orchestrator Nicholas Dodd adds.  A surprise treat and hopefully a sign of things to come.

1.  Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea

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WOW.  Any score that is a certainty to climb into my top 20 after a first listen is…well, a REALLY amazing feat.  Ponyo contains so much wonder and joy in each cue you think it’s about to explode with childlike exuberance.  A score climbs the whole emotional ladder from sorrow to amazement to high-flying brilliance.  With no truly unsettling or boring moments, it’s the rare score that appears to have universal appeal.  So wrenching it is to pick highlights, but the rich tapestry of “Deep Sea Ranch”, the soulful operatic solo in “Mother of the Sea”, and the racing brass segwaying into a grand Ride of the Valkyries salute in “Ponyo of the Fish of the Wave.”  A great way to get into Joe Hisaishi, which I will spend the next month doing now that I’ve closed the book on last year.

20 Pieces of Required Listening
Building the Raft, Storm – Journey to the Center of the Earth
Casa Cristo, Let Us Drink Milk – Speed Racer
Clutch Then Shift – Eagle Eye
Deep Sea Ranch, Mother of the Sea, Ponyo of the Fish of the Wave – Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea
Jungle Chase (Extended Rip) – Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Mountain Chase, Horton Suite/A Big Ending – Dr Suess’ Horton Hears a Who!
Roar! (Cloverfield Overture) – Cloverfield
Scooter Chase – Bolt
Shifu Faces Tai Lung – Kung Fu Panda
Success Montage – Wanted
SUV Chase – Hancock
Voyage of the Damned Suite, The Greatest Story Never Told – Doctor Who Series 4

Six “Next Year, Baby!” moments
1.    A relative breather for John Powell.  Only two scores on the year instead of six.  Will it result in more consistency?
2.    Andrew Lockington has no assignments yet.  WHY?!  I exuberantly look forward to whatever he gets.
3.    Alexandre Desplat will score the Tree of Life, the new film by Terrance Malick.  As Hans Zimmer and James Horner can testify, scoring a film by this director can be a chop-shop ordeal.  A project where the drama is almost as interesting as the score
4.    Brian Tyler’s April.  Dragonball:Evolution and Fast and Furious are released within 5 days of each other.  Given his three robust efforts for 2008 (all getting 8 or 9 from me), I’m salivating.  Time to go pick up Tokyo Drift for a refresher course
5.    Avatar.  Yes, James Horner had a down year, but given that he was working on Avatar the whole time, that should bode well for this.  Need I remind y’all of what happens when he works with James Cameron?  Aside from fighting?  Or maybe I should point out what happens when Horner and sci-fi gets together.
6.    Giacchino is going to be huge.  Land of the Lost.  Up, from the animation factory that always gets his best film work.  Oh, yeah, and that little thing called Star Trek.

Four “For Sure” projects (feel free to tell me to look elsewhere)
1.    Medal of Honor.  Two published, two more written, plenty more quality to go!
2.    Star Trek movies.  Will be finished just in time for the film
3.    Star Wars.  Films and related video games that we haven’t reviewed yet
4.    Go back over 2007’s list and see if I’ve changed.  Reviewing does change how you listen.  Was I right on all accounts?  Ultimately I’ll expand this to every score, but I will at least publish my changes for that year once I’m done

Two problems I need to amend for 2009 scores.
1.    I listened to only one video game score on the year, a travesty given the exceptional heights achieved in 2007 (Lair, Halo 3, MOH:A).  Time to get back on the wagon.
2.    More TV music.  I like Lost’s score as heard in show.  Doctor Who: Series 4 was awesome.  Bear McCreary gets more hyped by the month.  Clearly I need to expand my horizons.

Suggestions?  Criticisms?  Debates?  Fire away.

Other articles of interest:

• Just Announced: International Film Music Critics Awards 2007 Award Nominations
• The Annie Awards 2009 Nominees for Best Music in a Feature Production
• Fresh New Film Scores on Spotify!
• John Williams Has A Special Message For You!
• Score Of The Day 0001: Fight Club (1999)

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