How was the initial feeling when you learned that Hans Zimmer was doing his first video game score and that it would be none other than the massive title Modern Warfare 2? For me it was a jumping up and down happy feeling, sort of how you feel after you won a small amount of money actually.

Well the wit is over, the game has been leaked (shame on you people!). What’s also leaked are about 22 minutes of music from the game composed by Hans Zimmer. Excited yet?

Listen to these 3 clips that were taken from YouTube and tell me what you think in the comment section below.

Personally I was a bit disappointed. It sounds like Harry Gregson-Williams or Barton doing their thing, which is fine, don’t get me wrong. I was however expecting something more than fine, rather spectacular. You can definitely hear the Zimmer style choirs in some cues and it’s pretty cool stuff actually, but not satisfying enough. It’s like going to the best restaurant in the world and getting served a good, but not great steak.

I say meh… what say you!? State your opinion in the comment section below.

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Amazon MP3 and Philip Glass has a free album featuring music from Candyman, Cassandra’s Dream and more!

Just thought I’d let you know. US only (Unless you know how to use proxies)

Here is the link: Free Philip Glass album

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Thanks for the comments on my previous Carter Burwell post. I have managed to find 7 tracks I absolutely love from Carter Burwell. When you hear them, you will definitely hear a pattern. They are minimalistic and they all have simple delicate themes.

This is in my opinion when Carter Burwell is best. Most of the time that is forgotten in the quest to fit the movie he scores for. You could argue that his style hasn’t changed much in the last 20+ years when listening to for example Blood Simple and Twilight.

So what!?

Every composer sound like themselves and those who try to reinvent a new style usually fail and eventually revert back to their usual routine.

There’s nothing wrong with that!

Many composers that I love haven’t changed much at all, and I love them for it. Why change when you keep producing wonderful music?

Here’s 7 cues from Carter Burwell that I think is just right… just wish there were more like it.

Blood Simple by Carter Burwell
First up is the cue ‘Blood Simple’ from the 1984 movie Blood Simple. It’s like a simpler version of ‘Bella’s Lullaby’ from Twilight. It has a simple piano motif (light and dark).

[See post to listen to audio]

Early Digs a Pit/Talking about California by Carter Burwell
Next is ‘Early Digs a Pit/Talking about California’ from the 1993 movie Kalifornia. Again, it’s a simple theme, but this is a bit different than the other Burwell cues I have selected. The feeling of it, the sound of it is more desolate than the other cues.

[See post to listen to audio]

Epilogue Pt. 3: Adele’s Message From the Grave by Carter Burwell
I do love that theme, so I will add another one from Kalifornia. It’s called ‘Epilogue Pt. 3: Adele’s Message From the Grave’. It’s even more desolate than the previous cue. Simply beautiful.

[See post to listen to audio]

The end of her day by Carter Burwell
Next up is a cue from the 1997 movie Kiss The Girls. It’s called ‘The end of her day’ and it’s an unused piece with just the right heartstrings. A delicate minimalistic music piece that is really sweet and soft.

[See post to listen to audio]

Prologue by Carter Burwell
The next two cues are from the 2008 movie In Bruges. The theme from In Bruges is really wonderful. Burwell goes back to the piano and it’s simplistic beauty strikes you from the beginning. In ‘Prologue’ we hear  only the piano.

[See post to listen to audio]

I Didn’t Want to Die by Carter Burwell
In ‘I Didn’t Want to Die’ he adds subtle underscoring for that little extra. The theme is the same, except maybe even better with all the other elements added.

[See post to listen to audio]

Lastly we have the one cue that stood out from the 2008 movie Twilight. The rest were kind of meh, but this… this is what I want more of. It’s more orchestral than all the other cues I have selected, but again the simple theme played on a piano is just what the doctor ordered. It’s a hit and if the goal was to convey the feeling of Bella, then this track certainly scores a 10.

[See post to listen to audio]

So there you have it. My selection of 7 cues from the Carter Burwell catalog. What do you think? Do you have any other cues to add or disagree with my findings? Let me know in the comments section below.

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I woke up this morning and had a thirst for some Carter Burwell , or rather a tune that was stuck in my head that happened to be composed by Carter Burwell. It had nothing to do with his latest score to Where the Wild Things Are (Only heard one cue from there called Lost Fur). It was ‘Bella’s Lullaby’ from his Twilight score if you must know.

After I listened to that I started to wonder about Carter, because I couldn’t remember a single tone of his work. I quickly went to my archive and listened randomly to his music. Not much of it agreed with me, most were passable, indifferent tracks. Still, it’s obvious the man has talents and is best heard (or not heard) in Coen brothers movies. His scores are really excellent in those movies, yet when you take it out of context, it’s nothing special.

He fascinates me though, Carter Burwell. His ability to sneak those notes past you, goes beyond excellence on screen. His similar ability to be quickly forgotten off screen is what makes him an enigma, at least in my eyes (or ears). What I am trying to say is: I really don’t get Carter Burwell!

In my frenetic listening I managed to come across a few gems hidden away in his vast library of scores. What those gems are, I’ll let you know tomorrow.

What do you think of Carter Burwell? Genius or overrated? Lastly, please recommend some Burwell scores in the comment section below this post. Would love to hear your thoughts.

Here’s a clip from Fargo:

Find more videos like this on Soundtrack Fans

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Action fans rejoice!

Solomon Kane, the hunter of all things evil is coming soon and Klaus Badelt is the composer. I didn’t know quite what to expect. I recently heard Le Petit Nicolas and it’s as far from Badelt-action as you can get.

Wouldn’t it be great if old school Badelt came back? You know… the guy from Equilibrium or even better, Pirates of the Caribbean!

I’ll give you one better. Throw in the best of Remote Control Productions and the best of Hans Zimmer and you have Solomon Kane. Enough hype? You can definitely hear Zimmer’s influence from track one, but this sounds spectacular. If you are a fan of RCP action, you will love this (I know I do).

The score is probably going to be download only around December, but I’ll take it in any sort of form and shape. Just listen to the amazing preview:

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Now this is the news I have been waiting for since… forever! Kevin Smith wants Harold Faltermeyer to score his next movie A Couple of Dicks premiering February 26 2010.

If the legend truly returns, what kind of score would it be? Here’s where I fell off the chair and almost fell into a Harold Faltermeyer 80s trance (actually I think I did). Here’s what Kevin Smith says:

“As I’m putting the flick together, I see it as a real throwback to the 80s buddy cop genre,” said Smith, who also edits his own movies. “So I’m putting some music on this scene, see if it works. I take this piece from Fletch, which I’ve always loved, and it works. Now I take this piece of music from Beverly Hills Cop, and it plays the comedy well. It plays the action well. And, after doing those temp cues, I said to a few people, ‘is it crazy to see if Harold Faltermeyer will want to score this movie?’”

“What I’m looking for is that old Harold Faltermeyer sound that I grew up on,” said Smith.

Wait, what!? Fletch, Beverly Hills Cop… Harold Faltermeyer sound? Get on it Kevin! Harold, please say yes. I know it’s not healthy to live in the past, but come on! We (or I) need that classic Faltermeyer sound!

Kevin says further:

“Harold Faltermeyer is watching the movie next week!”

Dear film movie gods, let this one come true!

What say you? Any interest in some new/old Harold Faltermeyer score?

Source: Empire Online

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Rolfe Kent doesn’t get many official releases these days (Why is that?), so that’s why I was very happy when I saw Silva Screen Records will be releasing two of his recent scores Ghosts of Girlfriends Past and 17 Again.

They will both be released on November 9th and here is what Silva Screen Records (and Rolfe Kent) has to say about it:

GHOSTS OF GIRLFRIENDS PAST

Rolfe Kent’s richly textured and diverse scores have graced over 40 feature films including the Golden Globe and Critics’ Choice nominated music for Sideways plus box-office hits About Schmidt, Election and Legally Blonde.

Starring Matthew McConaughey, Ghosts Of Girlfriends Past opened in the US in May 2009, entering the box office chart at number 2.

In 2007, Kent received an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Main Title Theme Music for the hit Showtime series “Dexter.”

“For me Ghosts Of Girlfriend’s Past was an opportunity to do some big dramatic symphonic things; the story has some real drama to it, and lots of motion. I loved working on it” – Rolfe Kent

17 AGAIN

Rolfe Kent’s richly textured and diverse scores have graced over 40 feature films including the Golden Globe and Critics’ Choice nominated music for Sideways plus box-office hits About Schmidt, Election and Legally Blonde.

Starring Zac (High School Musical) Effron, 17 Again opened in the US in April 2009 and topped the box office.

In the UK the DVD release topped the chart and has sold close to 300,000 copies.

In 2007, Kent received an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Main Title Theme Music for the hit Showtime series “Dexter.”

“The music called for a full orchestra, and the players delivered such magnificent and dynamic sounds it really was a wonderful experience” – Rolfe Kent

Here’s the coverart:

Source: Silva Screen Records

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So, it’s confirmed by none other than Nicholas Hooper himself in an interview with FSM Online.

Here’s what he had to say:

FSMO: You may not be at liberty to say this, but are you planning on returning on the final films? Has that been decided?

NH: I actually decided I wouldn’t. It impinged on my life and my family too much to do it again. We managed to cope with two of them, and I just felt it was time to hand it on. I’ve always felt in my heart that a certain composer whose name you know well should do the last one anyway, since he started it off. As for the penultimate one, I don’t know. But sadly, no. I felt I needed to withdraw at this point.

And with that little nugget of information… let the speculation begin! John Williams to return? Patrick Doyle? Someone new to the franchise? What do you all think?

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Warner Sunset/Reprise Records announced that there will be a score and soundtrack release of the movie on March 3rd according to Movieweb.  The music is composed by Tyler bates who also scored the movie 300. There will also be a Vinyl edition which is slated for release march 17th.

And if that isn’t enough. There will also be a Watchmen Music Collectors Edition 7″ Box Set which will be released on March 24th. This box set will contain 7 picture discs of each Watchmen character, My Chemical Romance’s “Desolation Row” and 13 tracks by Tyler Bates.

Below is the tracklist for the soundtrack and the score.

Music From The Motion Picture Watchmen tracklist

1. Desolation Row – My Chemical Romance
2. Unforgettable – Nat King Cole
3. The Times They Are A-Changin’ – Bob Dylan
4. The Sound Of Silence – Simon & Garfunkel
5. Me & Bobby McGee – Janis Joplin
6. I’m Your Boogie Man – KC & The Sunshine Band
7. You’re My Thrill – Billie Holiday
8. Pruit Igoe & Prophecies – The Philip Glass Ensemble
9. Hallelujah – Leonard Cohen
10. All Along The Watchtower – Jimi Hendrix
11. Ride of the Valkyries – Budapest Symphony Orchestra
12. Pirate Jenny – Nina Simone*
* – used in the end credits of the “Tales From The Black Freighter” DVD.

Watchmen Original Motion Picture Score tracklist

1. Rescue Mission
2. Don’t Get Too Misty Eyed
3. Tonight The Comedian Died
4. Silk Spectre
5. We’ll Live Longer
6. You Quit!
7. Only Two Names Remain
8. The American Dream
9. Edward Blake – The Comedian
10. The Last Laugh
11. Prison Fight
12. Just Look Around You
13. Dan’s Apocalyptic Dream
14. Who Murdered Hollis Mason?
15. What About Janie Slater?
16. I’ll Tell You About Rorschach
17. Countdown
18. It Was Me
19. All That Is Good
20. Requiem (Excerpted from Mozart’s Requiem)
21. I Love You Mom

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Watchmen is the latest project by Zack Snyder and also an eagerly awaited film. For the music they hired composer Tyler Bates who also scored the movie “300″. A movie also helmed by Snyder.  Apparently one song from the original motion picture is available for listening on Amazon. The track is called Prison fight. A loud and intense action track.  It’s only one track but the score won’t be released until february 24th.

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