The problem with movie music is that… well… quite frankly it’s ‘typecast’.
Modern composers such as John Powell and Jesper Kyd are hidden behind a curtain, when they could be basking in well-deserved glory with the likes of Dennis DeSantis.
Just listen to this track from Mr. and Mrs. Smith… try to push out the image of Brad and Angelina prancing around in an unflattering ‘action-packed romantic comedy’… YUCK.
Luckily the music is much more sophisticated, Powell’s use of modern percussion styles mixed with more traditional orchestral scoring is an amazing musical juxtaposition that fits oh so nicely. Suspended cymbal builds layered into percussion patterns are reminiscent of modern electronica, while the strings, flutes and horns all give an amazing emotional body to the song.
John Powell – The Next Adventure
Also, may I add, I had a primary school teacher named John Powell, and he was a complete asshole. fuck you John.
Filed under: Electronica, Movie Music | Tags: Daft Punk, Daftpunk, Electronica, Legacy, OST, Soundtrack, Tron, Vangelis
So I’m in the US of A right now! I haven’t quite got a chance to see Tron Legacy yet, but I have had a chance to get the OST. Music is so cheap here It’s great! I found a store flogging albums by Fatboy Slim and The Avalanches among many others for $2 a pop! I’m going to have trouble fitting it all in my bag on the way home.
Anyway, back to Tron. The soundtrack of-course, is by electronic gods Daft Punk. I haven’t had the chance to listen to it properly yet, so I may have to eat my own words later. But from during my skim through it, it’s a little disappointing. Before you start flailing wildly in your chair and shout how DARE you insult DAFT PUNK let me explain.
I expected something different. I wanted a soundtrack that broke the barriers of ‘movie music’. I expected Tron to work as something like Interstella 5555. But it seems that Daft Punk have gone the way of Vangelis. The Tron soundtrack could be likened to the music from Blade Runner. Infact, Track #7 entitled Rinzler sounds as if the french electro duo have sampled Vangelis’ famous Blade Runner bass synth sequence.
Don’t me wrong, the album is not at all bad. It’s really quite great. But the fans expecting another Homework or Discovery style album to accompany the filmwill be disappointed. It should be warned that they worked closely with film music composer Joseph Trapanese (who did the score for seasons 3+4 of Dexter) and a-lot of the music is dominated by large orchestral strings and brass doing the typical DUNN DUNNN DUNNNNNNNNNN DRAMATIC EPIC DRAMATIC.
The Daft Punk fans will appreciate tracks like Derezzed, which was widely promoted (and you can see why). But don’t expect the rest of the album to be the same.
Since every boy, girl and their respective pets already has a copy of Derezzed (probably scammed off some low quality youtube downloader), I’m going to hit you up with another one of the more Daft Punk-y tracks from the album- the End Credits.
Daft Punk – TRON Legacy (End Titles)
