On Film Scores

Possibly the most surprising aspect of my life is that I really don't listen to much music. I grew up listening to ... well, I honestly don't really remember. Ours wasn't a home in which there was always music playing. I remember listening to the album my mom made with her band (surprised?!). Once I got into my teens, I spent most of my time listening to film scores and Christian rock. As anyone who knows me could probably guess, I gave up Christian rock a bunch of years back.

But film scores have stuck with me. They were there while I became familiar with scores of musical theater scores. They were there while I learned every word and bass line of bands like Yes, Rush, Styx, Pink Flloyd, and Journey as well as, of course, Billy Joel. They were there as I grew into jazz and swing. And they were there as I transitioned most recently (read within the last five years) into folk/bluegrass/Appalachian music.

In the last two years, as I've sluffed off music for books on CDs, NPR, and podcasts, the only music that seems to always resurface is film scores. Now don't get me wrong - I'm not an expert. I've only heard about 15% of scores written; and I only own about 1%. Nonetheless, those scores that I do own mean so much to me.

These scores are somehow transcendent to me. They lift me up and out of wherever I am and transport me to a memory. Dear God that sounded ridiculous! I mean it, though. I really think they trigger a visceral, gut feeling in me. If you care to know which ones mean the most, please read on.

E. T. The Extraterrestrial - John Williams
Henry Thomas (Elliot) and I are the same age. I saw E.T. in the theater when I was ten. I can still remember laughing and crying my head off. There is probably not a single movie experience since that has affected me so deeply as that movie did at that time. To this day I cry when E.T.'s life signs return; I cry when Elliot sees him lying lifeless on the gurney; I cry (yep) when their bikes suddenly launch over the police cars; and I cry when E.T. tells Elliot to "be good." And I have no doubt whatsoever that the largest part of the reason is that score. The Flying Theme is simply one of the most wondrous, exciting pieces of music I know. (Amanda, do you know how I could imbued a short, streaming mp3 here?)

Hook - John Williams
This movie doesn't touch me nearly as viscerally as E.T. And I bet most people look on it with a bit of disdain. But John Williams' score is whimsical and delightful. I know it (like I do all of these scores) by heart.

Raiders of the Lost Ark - John Williams (noticing a theme, yet?)
I mean, come on! Does it get any more exciting, romantic, or epic (musically speaking)? A fun, blazing score. The woodwinds work over time, the string players develop carpal tunnel syndrome, and the brass kick some serious ass.

Beetlejuice - Danny Elfman
I love this score (Harry Belafonte notwithstanding). Quirky and playful, once or twice kind of frightening, and really cool.

The Shawshank Redemption - Thomas Newman
I consider this a brilliant score. It's restrained and full of melancholy. A nice touch on the CD is the addition of source music that adds some nice flavor.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind - John Williams
This is easily my favorite Spielberg movie. It's simultaneously cynical and naive (sorry, don't know how to add that little accent thingy). Although I love the playful (and quite neo-modern) oboe/bassoon exchange between the spaceship and Earth, my favorite part of this score is the last cue (over 25 minutes long) that begins not long after that scene and pushes into the credits. It fulfills all of the musical pieces that he's left for us earlier and sums things up with a sweeping, other-worldly feel that is incredibly exciting.

There's more, of course. I make no excuses for what my knowledge of film music doesn't include. I don't own any Hermann or Korngold. I don't own any Goldsmith (really) or Bernstein. My collection (and knowledge) is extremely limited. But those that I do own I adore. These are CDs that I will probably always listen to - certainly long after the CDs themselves are obsolete and I'm listening to them through the wireless receiver implanted in my ear.

I respect these composers (along with Silvestri, Waxman, Shore, Howard, the other Newmans, and all the other great composers) because I feel that what they do is a close relative to what I do in theater music. Unlike concert composition, film composition is necessarily a collaborative art. Film scores cannot be written alone at a piano. There's a give and take between the director and the composer - not to mention the writer, editor, actors, and characters. I have an immense amount of respect for these composers and their work.