About

Soundtracks:

Writing is one craft that I know I am relatively good at, but it is something that I have not practiced much for over a year now. As my creative writing is not yet ready for the world to see (probably due to sheer cowardice as much as lack of skill and polish), I thought I'd take a shot at writing about one of my passions: Film music. I'm not talking about Disney musicals, though I do like some of those. I'm referring to tunes like the Star Wars theme and the James Bond theme.

I know my tastes are considered eccentric, and lurking about in film music forums (Yes! They do exist!) reveals the sometimes weird and combative nature of certain film score fans. I hold the possibly unpopular opinion that Hans Zimmer, the one film composer that most people on Youtube have orgasms about, is NOT the Holy Savior and the Greatest Composer Of All Time Who Makes Every Other Composer And I  Mean Every Other Composer Look Like A PortaPotty (he has written some pretty great stuff, though). Yet I enjoy film music for the variety of sensations and emotions it can create, from ball-busting excitement to unmitigated horror; from grand, soaring adventure to the very depths of pathos. As this purple prose illustrates, music can describe what words fail to, and it doesn't always require lyrics. 

Another thing I love about film music is its variety, both overall and within the oeuvre of individual composers. Being a fan of film music means that I can enjoy classical orchestral anthems alongside swinging jazz licks and contemporary electronic rhythms. And even within these three mentioned styles are further sub genres too numerous to mention (plus I'm too lazy to list any more). Also, I have always been fascinated by artists who are adept at different styles within their craft. I marvel at Spielberg's proficiency with high-octane action in Raiders of the Lost Ark, and his equally assured handling of Schindler's List. While many musicians in other genres have a wide range, film composers have to deal with writing music for very different films. Those who only know Danny Elfman's quirky, dark music for films such as Alice in Wonderland and The Nightmare Before Christmas may be surprised at his ability to write subtler music in films such as Milk and Good Will Hunting. Yet Elfman, like the best of composers, is still able to maintain his own style. Style, that deuced characteristic of music and all art that can be so hard to articulate or describe, and is often hidden beneath many other layers.

Warning: what follows is potentially tedious personal history. I could say that the seed for my love of film music was planted when I was a wee lad and saw the original Star Wars trilogy for the first time. The triumphant, brassy blast of the main titles; the melancholy horn preceding the surge of strings as Luke watches the twin suns of Tatooine set; Darth Vader's menacing yet fun march of doom; the unearthly, unsettling choir as Luke attacks Vader and cuts off the Sith Lord's arm. No, I didn't geek out about it like I just did here. But I slowly began to realize music in movies that I enjoyed listening to, even if I didn't buy soundtracks yet. The next big burst of interest was when I saw two Disney movies with awesome music: Dinosaur and Atlantis, both by the same composer! So when I read that this guy, James Newton Howard, was doing the music for Treasure Planet, I knew I was going to like it (the music, though I do think the film itself is underrated).

It was the year 2004 that I slowly started to actually buy soundtracks myself. It started with Michael Giacchino's debut feature score for The Incredibles. I remember how hyped I was for the movie itself, and how it exceeded my very lofty expectations. The Incredibles is still my personal favorite film and I think Brad Bird is a filmmaking genius, but that's another story. Anyway, that was before I had an iPod, and I subsequently wore out the portable CD player (though luckily not the CD itself). Danny Elfman's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was another early purchase, which I bought for the wild Main Titles alone. I began to discover more and more composers, and began getting soundtracks to films I had never watched. Specialty CD labels like Film Score Monthly, Intrada, and La-La Land discovered my wallet and began vacuuming accordingly. My iPod became my friend.

All was not roses and teddy bears, however. I found out that not all film music is made equal, and some of my favorite new films had scores I didn't particularly care for. (One soon learns that the quality of the film and the quality of its music do not always correlate; I have numerous wonderful soundtracks to real stink bomb films). What's worse, the recent years have shown a homogenization of what kind of music producers expect and ask for in a film, and it's not a style that I'm particularly fond of. For example, Christopher Nolan is a great filmmaker, but I believe that the music in his films is not only boring as a standalone listen, but adds nothing to and sometimes detracts from the films themselves and is not as innovative or groundbreaking as the composer thinks. Then, there is the inevitable discovery that not all composers are perfect every time, especially when they have to write so much music so quickly and with so many outside demands. I mentioned before how I knew the music for James Newton Howard's Treasure Planet was going to be good. It was, but his score for Green Lantern was quite disappointing (Howard's still one of my favorites, though.) 

But in all, it's been a rich, rewarding, and musically spectacular ride, one that I expect will continue until I'm dead or go deaf. I should add that I'm not a musicologist, and my knowledge of music theory is very basic. I did play clarinet in middle and high school so I can read music in the most rudimentary sense, especially if I've played it before or there are others playing with me. But show me a sheet and I won't be able to sing to you what it sounds like. If I hear it at the same time I can follow along, but that's about it. I am content to just appreciate this wonderful art form in all its glory, and I hope I can write a bit about it, if only to exercise my own intellectual muscles (of which I do not claim to possess in particular abundance). And about the name of this blog: I've always liked praying mantises. I know they're related to the cockroach, but they look awesome, they can turn their heads, and they have fantastic-looking wings. And the females of certain species have to bite the heads off the males in order for their mating to be successful, which is neat, but I hope does not reflect my own sexual future.


Other Media:

I love writing, especially about interests such as films, animation, theme parks, and literature.

I apparently started reading at an early age, and I have enjoyed doing so ever since. Silent reading periods in elementary school may have been torture to some, but those were the times in school when I was happiest. Early favorites included Tolkien and T.A. Barron. In high school, Orwell's 1984 and Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities were influential. At certain times in my life, I have done more rereading of old favorites than exploring new material, but I have recently begun to rectify that, as well as other certain inequities. In any case, reading will always remain my first love.

I don't know how old I was when I first went to Disneyland, but my appreciation for it only increased as I obtained the courage to go on the E-ticket rides like Space Mountain and Splash Mountain (though I can boast of riding Indiana Jones Adventure the year it opened). My interest in the park soon extended to curiosity at how the rides worked and the history of this unique entertainment destination. I gained an appreciation for serious roller coasters, and Six Flags Magic Mountain has become my amusement park (non-themed) of choice. I also love some of the rides at the Universal parks and finally had the opportunity to visit Walt Disney Land. Or is it Roy Disney World? Michael Eisner Universe?

I was introduced to film through animation, mainly Disney. I have absolutely no drawing talent, but I love the art form and enjoy reading all the juicy, behind-the-scenes stories. I was lucky to grow up during Disney's so-called "second Renaissance," and I also love most of Pixar's films. This led to an appreciation of film in general, though I realize there are MANY classics, especially pre-Jaws, that I have not seen. Some of my favorite filmmakers working today are Steven Spielberg, David Fincher, Matthew Vaughn, Edgar Wright, Quentin Tarantino, Joss Whedon, Charlie Kaufman, Tim Burton, Ridley Scott (particularly as a visualist), James Cameron (especially pre-True Lies) and Martin Scorsese (though I do need to see lots more by him). Past masters who I am a fan of include Alfred Hitchcock and Sergio Leone. (Again, I realize that there is much I have yet to see.)

But my favorite filmmaker is Brad Bird. He deserves his own paragraph.

More ramblings on faith can be found at http://mantismiscellany.blogspot.com