YOU TUBE FILM MUSIC CUE OF THE DAY

This feature on my blog showcases one of my great loves and personal hobbies:

FILM MUSIC.

I am a passionate fan of film music and my collection of film music is vast but I want to combine that with a visual aspect (which film music should be aligned too) so I'm going to use You Tube to accomplish this goal.

I will search through You Tube and find videos that feature film music and embed those videos on this blog.

I just recently posted my Top Scores for the 2000s and surprised myself with the number of Hans Zimmer scores that I had on the list (see my Top Scores of the 2000s here:  http://mattstarr28.blogspot.com/2014/11/film-music-musings-here-is-on-this-blog_24.html ).

So for the You Tube Film Music Cue of the Day here is a very poignant (and violent) scene from Gladiator with music by Hans Zimmer.  Notice how the music just sort of creeps up and then keeps building and perfectly portrays the utter anguish Commodus is feeling as he feels it necessary to kill his father, the Emperor Marcus Aurelius.

WRESTLETALK

 

CHAMPIONS OF THE GALAXY

 

GALAXIAN WRESTLING FEDERATION

 

 

 

 

 

 

For the past twenty-five years, one of my hobbies has been the Champions of the Galaxy wrestling game.  It is card/dice game that simulates professional wrestling in a future setting including humanoids from all over the galaxy.  Some of the characters that have passed through my fed, the Galaxian Wrestling Federation (GWF), are featured above.  Obviously, after twenty-five years I've played out hundreds and hundreds of wrestling events in my fed and just for some perspective here is the history of the first 3 years of action in my fed.

Year One

Pre-Week 1 –

Star Warrior is named the Galaxian Heavyweight Champion

The Gladiators (Brute/Massacre) are named the Galaxian Tag Team Champions

(Both of the above titles were previously known as Interplanetary Titles of the old IWA)

Tournaments decide the new Deimos & Interplanetary Champions

The Greek Gods & Wolf win the Galaxian Six-Man Tag Team Championship

Krakan wins the Deimos Heavyweight Championship with a tournament final win over Massif

Thantos wins the Interplanetary Heavyweight Championship with a tournament final win also

over Massif

Week 1 - The Greek Gods/Gladiators feud is born as The Greek Gods(Actagon/Proteus) win the Galaxian Tag Team titles from The Gladiators (Brute/Massacre)

Lord Nexus defeats Krakan for the Deimos Title, another great feud is born

The Kings of Wrestling(Exo-King/King Kong) win their debut match over Comander Sam/Massif

Week 2 – Thantos (the I-P Champ) wins a Galaxian title match by DQ over Champion Star Warrior  
(Thantos/Star Warrior I)

Week 14 – Wolf defeats Thantos for the Interplanetary Heavyweight Championship

Week 21 – Thantos defeats Lord Nexus for the Deimos Heavyweight Championship

Week 23 – Krakan defeats Wolf for the I-P title

Week 24 – Wolf wins the I-P title right back from Krakan in their rematch

Week 27 – Thantos (the Deimos Champ) defeats Wolf for the I-P title

Week 28 – Wolf wins the Deimos title with a tournament final win over Massif

Week 31 - Thantos (I-P Champ) defeats Star Warrior for the Galaxian Title ending Star Warrior’s 30-week reign and completing the first ever Triple Crown (Thantos/Star Warrior II)

Week 32 – Exo-King wins the I-P title with a tournament final win over Krakan

Week 33 – Thantos defends the Galaxian title over Star Warrior (Thantos/Star Warrior III)

Week 40 – Thantos defends the Galaxian title over Wolf in a wild No DQ match

Week 43 – Star Warrior regains the Galaxian title from Thantos (becoming the first 2-time Galaxian Champion) (Thantos/Star Warrior IV)

Week 44 - First Neptunian TT Champs are crowned (Pit Viper/Cobra)

Week 45 – Thantos regains the Galaxian title from Star Warrior also becoming a 2-time Galaxian Champion  
(Thantos/Star Warrior V)

Week 47 - The Kings of Wrestling (Exo-King/King Kong) beat The Greek Gods for the Galaxian TT titles ending their 46-week reign

Week 50 - The Great Galaxian Bash

Comander Sam wins his first title by defeating Exo-King for the Deimos Championship

Thantos defeats Lord Nexus in a Galaxian Heavyweight Championship title defense

Week 54 – The Deadly Asps(Pit Viper/Cobra), the Nep TT Champs defeat The Kings of Wrestling for the Galaxian TT titles (the 1^st time this was done)

Week 59 – Wolf defeats Thantos for the Galaxian Heavyweight Championship but…

Week 60 - Thantos regains the Galaxian title from Wolf becoming the 1^st 3-time champion

Week 62 – The Disciples(St. Matthew/St. John) win the Galaxian Tag Team titles from The Kings of Wrestling

Week 66 – Comrade Terror defeats his hated enemy Comander Sam for the Deimos title

Week 71 – The Disciples win the Nep TT titles from The Society of Death

Week 74 - Massif wins his 1^st title by defeating Comrade Terror for the Deimos Championship

Week 76 – Thantos defends his Galaxian title over Star Warrior (Thantos/Star Warrior VI)

Week 77 – Wolf defeats Massacre for the I-P title

Week 81 – The very young team of Pulsar/Nova defeat The Kings of Wrestling for the Galaxian TT titles

Week 83 – Thantos once again defends the Galaxian title over Star Warrior (Thantos/Star Warrior VII)

Week 85 - Hulkstar debuts with a win over Killer Queen

Week 87 – The Gladiators easily win the Galaxian TT titles from Pulsar/Nova

Week 88 – Thantos defends the Galaxian title over Hulkstar handing him his 1^st loss

Week 100 - The Centennial Clash

First Tag Team Gauntlet won by The Beautiful Boys(Killer Queen/Vanity)

Hulkstar wins Galaxian Title from Thantos in a Ring of Fire Match ending his 40-week reign

Wrestler of the Year - Thantos 

Tag Team of the Year - The Greek Gods (Actagon/Proteus)

Thantos and Star Warrior wrestled 7 times this year for the Galaxian Heavyweight Championship with Thantos victorious in 6 of the encounters.

Year Two

Week 113 – Star Warrior defends his I-P title over Thantos by DQ in a match where Thantos bashes Star Warrior over the head with a chair in a particularly brutal match in their feud as they begin to battle more for the I-P title (Star Warrior/Thantos I)

Week 119 – Thantos defeats Star Warrior for the I-P title (Star Warrior/Thantos II)

Week 122 – Star Warrior regains the I-P title from Thantos in their rematch (Star Warrior/Thantos III)

Week 125 - 1st New Year Invasion

The 1^st singles King of the Ring tournament is won by Krakan over Comander Sam in the finals of this 8-Man tournament featuring a 1^st round match between Star Warrior and Thantos which Thantos wins

The 2^nd Tag Team Gauntlet is won by The Greek Gods

Hulkstar defends Galaxian Title against Krakan in a 2 out of 3 Falls Match

Week 142 – Lord Nexus defeats Krakan for the Deimos title but…

Week 145 – Krakan regains the Deimos title from Lord Nexus in their rematch but…

Week 147 – Comander Sam defeats Krakan for the Deimos title

Week 148 – Thantos defeats Star Warrior for the I-P title (Star Warrior/Thantos IV)

Week 149 – Comrade Terror defeats Comander Sam for the Deimos title

Week 150 - The Great Galaxian Bash

Omega wins retirement match over Death Knight

Star Warrior regains the I-P title from Thantos (Star Warrior/Thantos V)

The Killers (Executioner/Assassin) win the Galaxian TT titles from The Greek Gods

Hulkstar defends his Galaxian title over Ghengis Khan

Week 153 – The Neptunian Space-Croppers(Beast-Rider/Renegade) win their 1^st titles by beating The Killers for the Galaxian Tag Team Championship

Week 155 - After 55 weeks as Champ, Hulkstar looses Galaxian title to Thantos

Week 164 – Hulkstar regains the Galaxian Heavyweight Championship from Thantos

Week 168 – Thantos defeats Star Warrior for the I-P title (Star Warrior/Thantos VI)

Weeks 170-175 - 1st Tournament of Champions

In Week 175, Hulkstar defends the Galaxian Title over Star Warrior

Week 186 – Thantos defends the Deimos title over Star Warrior (Star Warrior/Thantos VII)

Week 191 - Omega's youngest son (then known as Alpha) pins Thantos for the Deimos Title

Week 193 – Krakan spoils Alpha’s triumph by beating him for the Deimos title for a record 5^th time

Week 200 - The Bicentennial Clash: Champion of the Universe Tournament

Krakan pins Galaxian Heavyweight Champion Hulkstar in the final

During this year: The Greek Gods collected 2 Nep TT and 1 Gal TT title, The Deadly Asps won a Nep TT and Gal TT title, The Disciples won 5 Gal TT titles and 1 Nep TT title, The Killers won 3 Gal TT titles, The Gladiators collected 4 Gal TT titles and 2 Nep TT championships, The Kings of Wrestling won 2 Nep TT titles, The Beautiful Boys won 3 Nep TT titles, and The Neptunian Space-Croppers won 2 Gal TT titles.

In Singles Wrestling: Star Warrior won 3 I-P titles and 1 Deimos title, Massif won 1 I-P title and 1 Deimos title, Wolf won 3 Deimos titles, Lord Nexus won 2 Deimos titles, Krakan won 4 Deimos titles, Mutant won 2 Deimos titles (both from Wolf), and Thantos won 1 Galaxian title, 3 I-P titles, 1 Deimos title, 1 Nep TT title and 1 Gal TT title making him the first wrestler to hold all major titles in 1 year

Once again, Thantos and Star Warrior wrestled 7 times this year – 6 times for the I-P title and once for the Deimos title with Thantos edging out Star Warrior 4 matches to 3.

Wrestler of the Year - Hulkstar 

Tag Team of the Year - The Greek Gods

Hulkstar was named Wrestler of the year holding the Galaxian Heavyweight Championship 91 total weeks out of the year.

Year Three

Many new wrestlers enter the GWF including Mesmer, the Incredible Badger, Bishop Hell, Battering Ram, Spike, Reptillo, Dr. Death, Splatter and new tag teams TitanPower(Lord Nexus/Billy Jo Boxer), The Norse Gods(Man-Mountain/Lightening), and The Masked Marauders (Bullet/Grappler)

Week 202 – Thantos begins the year by winning his 6^th I-P title from Massif

Week 208 – New Gladiator Spike wins his 1^st title, the Deimos belt from Star Warrior

Week 211 - The biggest upset of all time!! Killer Queen defeats Hulkstar for the Galaxian Title

Week 214 – Massif wins his 1^st Galaxian Heavyweight Championship from Killer Queen

Week 219 – Bishop Hell defeats Mesmer for the Deimos title and then…

Week 220 - Bishop Hell defeats Battering Ram for the I-P title

Week 221 – Dr. Death (the new leader of The Society of Death) defeats Comrade Terror in a tournament final for the Deimos Heavyweight Championship

Week 225 - The New Year Invasion

TitanPower defeat The Killers for their 1^st Galaxian Tag Team Championship

Spike defeats Wolf for I-P Title in a Cosmic Cage Match

Killer Queen defeats Massif for Galaxian Title proving that he was no fluke champion

Week 226 – Battering Ram regains the I-P title from Spike in a Cosmic Cage Match as the Gladiator/Ani-Men feud really starts to heat up

Week 227 – Hulkstar regains the Galaxian Heavyweight Championship from Killer Queen

Week 230 – Dr. Death (the Deimos Champ) defeats Battering Ram for the I-P title

Week 232 – The Norse Gods win their 1^st titles, the Nep TT titles from The Greek Gods

Week 234 – The Cetan Warriors(Star Warrior/Alpha) defeat The Norse Gods for the Nep TT titles

Week 236 – The Masked Marauders(Bullet/Grappler) win their 1^st Galaxian TT titles from TitanPower

Week 241 – The Blade Runners(Sting/Rock) defeat The Masked Marauders for the Gal TT titles in a 2 out of 3 Falls match taking the last two falls

Week 247 – The Masked Marauders win their 1^st Nep TT titles from The Cetan Warriors

Week 250 - The Great Galaxian Bash

1^st Lords of the Rings Tag Team Tournament won by TitanPower (with victories over The Gladiators, The Greek Gods, The Masked Marauders (the Nep TT Champions) and a final victory over Ghengis Khan/Executioner (The Society of Death)

Wolf defends his I-P title over Massacre in a Ring of Fire Match

Hulkstar defends his Galaxian Heavyweight Championship over Splatter (in his singles debut)

Week 251 – The Lords of the Rings, TitanPower defeat The Masked Marauders for the Nep TT titles

Week 257 – Splatter wins his 1^st title defeating Wolf for the I-P belt

Week 261 – The Mighty Men(Massif/Nelson) make their tag team debut with a win over The Society of Death

Week 264 – The 6’10”, 325 lb. masked Assassin (tag partner of Executioner in The Killers) pulls off a major upset by defeating Hulkstar for the Galaxian Heavyweight Championship

Week 268 – Assassin defends the Galaxian Heavyweight title over Wolf in a great match

Week 269 – The Mighty Men defeat The Galaxian Royal Court(Killer Queen/Bishop Hell) for the Galaxian TT titles

Week 272 – After winning the Deimos Title Tournament of Champions in a final over Wolf, Sting defeats Executioner for the title

Week 274 – The Mighty Men continue undefeated by beating the Galaxian Tag Team Tournament of Champions winners, The Gladiators after they had defeated The Cetan Warriors in the tournament final

Week 275 - In one of his greatest performances, Wolf wins the Galaxian Title Tournament of Champions in a final over Rock and then defeats Assassin for the Galaxian title

Week 277 – Sting (the Deimos Champ) defeats Splatter for the I-P title

Week 278 – Dr. Death wins the Deimos title in a tournament final over Comander Sam but then…

Week 279 – Comander Sam wins the Deimos title from Dr. Death but then…

Week 282 – Dr. Death regains the Deimos title once again from Comander Sam

Week 283 – Massacre achieves his greatest victory by defeating Wolf for the Galaxian Heavyweight title

Week 285 – Comander Sam wins the Deimos title from Dr. Death for the 5^th time

Week 286 - Sting completes the Triple Crown by ascending through all 3 singles titles to become

Galaxian Champ with a win over Massacre

Week 287 – Hulkstar wins the I-P title with a tournament final win over Thantos

Week 289 – The Masked Marauders hand The Mighty Men their 1^st defeat in winning the Galaxian TT titles from them

Week 300 - The Tricentennial Clash

In the 2^nd Lords of the Rings Tag Team Tournament, Bombsquad(Comander Sam/Adam Blast)

win with a final victory over The Gladiators (with wins over Comrade Terror/Assassin, The Neptunian Space-Croppers, and The Masked Marauders)

Battering Ram defeats Executioner for the Deimos title

The Disciples win the Nep TT titles by defeating The Galaxian Royal Court(Killer Queen/Bishop Hell)

In a Cosmic Cage Match, Thantos/Massacre defeat Mesmer/Wolf

The Cetan Warriors defend their Gal TT titles over The Kings of Wrestling

In the Main Event, The Blade Runners & Hulkstar (Sting is the Galaxian Champ, Rock is the

(now-defunct) Stellar Champ, and Hulkstar is the I-P Champ) win the Galaxian Six-Man Tag Team Championship from The Society of Death(Dr. Death/Krakan/Splatter)

Wrestler of the Year - Wolf

Tag Team of the Year - The Cetan Warriors (Star Warrior/Alpha)

Sting was very close to winning Wrestler of the Year due to the fact that he held all the major championships this year (excluding the Nep TT title)

However, Wolf had a great year winning 2 I-P titles and his 2^nd Galaxian Heavyweight Championship

AMATEUR ANGELOLOGIST 2

 

ARMORED ANGELIC WARRIOR

 

So my post on Angelology (link is here:  http://mattstarr28.blogspot.com/2014/11/amateur-angelologist-metatron-i.html ) has gotten some attention therefore here is another little post.

THE ARCHANGELS

MICHAEL

 GABRIEL

RAPHAEL

URIEL

  

Pictured above are the four most common archangels that every angelologist identifies when they list the archangels.  What I like about these pics is that they show these angels with 6 pairs of wings which is characteristic of Isaiah's description of the seraphim in the Bible.  Now all the archangels aren't actually seraphim but I think these pics are really cool.  Also its interesting to note that Gabriel is depicted as a female which is somewhat common (along with the angel Ariel) but angels, as heavenly beings, may be beyond our concept of male/female.

Below are a few of the most well-known lists of archangels and comparisons can be made as to who the archangels are.  It is most important to note that all the lists contain Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and Uriel.

 

Enoch (the earliest reference to the 7)

Michael Gabriel Raphiel Uriel Raguel (Ruhiel, Rugagel, Ruahel) Zerachiel (Araqael) Remiel (Jeremiel, Jerahmeel)

Christian Gnostics

Michael Gabriel Raphael Uriel Barachiel (Baraqijel, Barakel) Sealtiel Jehudiel

Gregory the Great

Michael Gabriel Raphael Uriel Simiel Orifiel Zachariel

Pseudo-Dionysius

Michael Gabriel Raphael Uriel Chamuel (Camuel) Jophiel Zadkiel

TWITTER PIC OF THE DAY

If you got to know me a little, you would find out that I'm one of the few regular people that is on Twitter.

One thing that I like about Twitter is that you can get sent all kinds of interesting and funny and amazing pics, so I'm going to be posting those pics that I find interesting or funny or amazing.

So

without futher ado here is the

TWITTER PIC OF THE DAY

UNDERWATER WATERFALL?

 

TWITTER PIC OF THE DAY

If you got to know me a little, you would find out that I'm one of the few regular people that is on Twitter.

One thing that I like about Twitter is that you can get sent all kinds of interesting and funny and amazing pics, so I'm going to be posting those pics that I find interesting or funny or amazing.

So

without futher ado here is the

TWITTER PIC OF THE DAY

MODERN CRUISE SHIP VS THE TITANIC

WOW!!!

 

I can't help but think of the eternal question, "Does size really matter?"  Heh-heh!!

 

 

YOU TUBE FILM MUSIC CUE OF THE DAY

 

This feature on my blog showcases one of my great loves and personal hobbies:

FILM MUSIC.

I am a passionate fan of film music and my collection of film music is vast but I want to combine that with a visual aspect (which film music should be aligned too) so I'm going to use You Tube to accomplish this goal.

I will search through You Tube and find videos that feature film music and embed those videos on this blog.

I was talking today with a colleague of mine (Hello Frank!!) about the scores of the 1960s and I mentioned that I greatly admired the opening titles to Spartacus (yes, a Stanley Kubrick movie) with music by Alex North, which probably should have won him the Academy Award that year but he faced stiff competition from Tiomkin's The Alamo, Elmer Bernstein's The Magnificent Seven, Previn's Elmer Gantry, and the eventual winner Ernest Gold's Exodus (What a year for scores!!)

That being said, here is the opening titles for Spartacus with music by Alex North.  Enjoy!!

And just for kicks since I mentioned Gold's Exodus score, here is Noah Stewart singing This Land is Mine, the main title from Exodus.

 

YOU TUBE FILM MUSIC CUE OF THE DAY

 

This feature on my blog showcases one of my great loves and personal hobbies:

FILM MUSIC.

I am a passionate fan of film music and my collection of film music is vast but I want to combine that with a visual aspect (which film music should be aligned too) so I'm going to use You Tube to accomplish this goal.

I will search through You Tube and find videos that feature film music and embed those videos on this blog.

 

As it says above, this is Nick Pitera's One Man Disney Movie Medley.  Its really amazing as he sings all the different parts in all the correct octaves.  Pretty Incredible!!

 

AMATEUR ANGELOLOGIST

 

 

METATRON

 

I recently bought Doreen Virtue's book, Archangels 101 due to my interest in Angelology (the study of angels and angelic beings).  I haven't read the book yet but am planning to do so very shortly in the future.

In case you don't know about Metatron (in the pic above), he has two legends attached to his origin.  

The first is that he is the Jewish patriarch Enoch as mentioned in the book of Genesis that was taken to heaven by God due to his righteousness (it is thought he never died but was literally taken to heaven bodily while alive) and then transformed into the "Chancellor" and "Scribe" of Heaven (as in, he keeps The Book of Life) and is known in some Jewish belief as the "Lesser Yahweh" (Yahweh being the Jewish name of God) and the geometric shape above his head is known as "Metatron's Cube".  In Greek, the words "meta thronan" mean "Behind the Throne" so it is possible that Metatron's name is of Greek origin and was adopted to describe this heavenly being whose place is behind the very throne of God.

The second legend is that he was the angel Hadraniel (which means "Majesty of God") and he delivered the decisive blow (along with his twin brother Illaniel, both were said to be standard-bearers in Michael's angelic legions) to Lucifer just as Lucifer was about to strike a fatal blow to Michael during Lucifer's rebellion in heaven against God (supposedly taking place on the second day of creation).  And due to his valor, Hadraniel was transformed into Metatron (so transformation is shared by both legends) along with his twin brother who was transformed into Sandalphon (the leader of the heavenly choirs continually praising God and said to be, in all sources, Metratron's twin).

Just as Metatron was said to be Enoch, it is also said that Sandalphon, his twin, was the prophet Elijah who was also taken up to heaven and didn't die and then was transformed into Sandalphon.  The theory comes full circle as many believe that Enoch and Elijah will be returned to Earth as the two witnesses that are mentioned in Revelation during the tribulation or end times and that they will be martyred (as it says in Revelation), lie dead in the streets of Jerusalem for three days and then miraculously will be raised from the dead and ascend into heaven. (Hey, don't look at me like that - that's what the good book says)

Metatron and Sandalphon are also accorded special titles in the heavenly hierarchy as Metatron is known as the Supernal and Sandalphon is known as the Illumination and are counted among the 12 Angels of the Presence along with Michael and Phanuel (which means "Face of God" and could be the original legend for the voice of God - not Metatron like in that Kevin Smith movie, Dogma).

Lucifer (whose original angelic name was Sammael which means "Severity of God" before his fall where he served as the Angel of Death (later to be assumed by the Archangel Sariel (also known as Saraquel) in Christian lore or Azrael in Islamic lore) and the chief accuser to God (kind of like a prosecutor of angelic wrongdoing) or more commonly known as "Satan" (which means accuser or adversary).  Lucifer is said to have been the ruler of the fifth heaven known as Mathey and said to be the "Southern Seat of God" (whatever that means) (in angelic lore, there are seven heavens, or rather, seven layers of heaven) and he was served by two million angels, most of which turned with him and fought against God and therefore fell with him in his defeat (Sandalphon is now said to be the ruler of the fifth heaven).

Here is a pic of Lucifer:

Lucifer (which means "Light-Bringer" and "Morning Star") was aided by another archangel named Barachiel. It is also a legend that when Barachiel fell with Lucifer he then changed his name to Beelzebub, which means "Lord of the Flies", and became the Prince of Hell (he was also known as Baraqijel or Barakel and was identified as one of the Nephilim - the fallen angels mentioned in the book of Genesis) 

In the beginning, before Lucifer's rebellion, there were 12 archangels - Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel, Chamuel, Zadkiel, Jophiel, Barbiel, Jehudiel, Jeremiel, and the aforementioned Sammael (Satan) and Barachiel.  After the war in heaven that number was decreased to seven archangels as God established a new hierarchy of the angel "choirs", as they are known, into the seven heavenly hosts (seraphim, cherubim, thrones, dominions, virtues, powers, principalities, archangels, and angels) but no one knows exactly who the seven archangels are as the sources vary but the first four are always mentioned in every list of archangels.

One of the things I love about Angelology is the art that angels inspire.

Here is some other art work of the four main Archangels:

MICHAEL

"HE WHO IS LIKE GOD"

 

GABRIEL

 "THE STRENGTH OF GOD"

 

RAPHAEL

 "GOD HEALS"

 

URIEL

 "THE FIRE OF GOD"

 

TWITTER PIC OF THE DAY

If you got to know me a little, you would find out that I'm one of the few regular people that is on Twitter.

One thing that I like about Twitter is that you can get sent all kinds of interesting and funny and amazing pics, so I'm going to be posting those pics that I find interesting or funny or amazing.

So

without futher ado here is the

TWITTER PIC OF THE DAY

A REAL TWILIGHT

 

Forget the terrible books!!

Forget the terrible movies!!

This is what twilight is all about!!

 

FILM MUSIC MUSINGS

 

Here is the  feature on this blog that is akin to the You Tube Film Music Cue of the Day, in that it deals, once again, with one of the great passions of my life:  FILM MUSIC.

I have a huge document called My Top Scores List in which I have picked the Top 5 Film Scores for each year since 1980 along with some commentary on my choices.

You can imagine that by now the list is fairly long and contains a lot of info that I think is blog-worthy so I'm going to start publishing excerpts from the list right here on my blog.

So,

without further ado

Here is Film Music Musings

Best Scores of the 2000s

Its finally time to reveal my Best Scores of the Decade for the 2000s.  Surprisingly it has taken me four years to compile this list and my only excuse is that my life has been rather topsy-turvy since 2010 and I just haven't taken the time to evaluate the decade as a whole.

So now here goes.

First, here are a couple of Honorable Mentions that almost made the cut:

National Treasure - Trevor Rabin - 2004

Quote from my Top Scores List for 2004

 "Now we come to the most surprising and perhaps troublesome score on the list and that is Trevor Rabin’s score for National Treasure. I loved this movie!! It was one of my favorite movies of the year and the score is all Media Ventures. So, how can I put it on the list? Perhaps my love of the movie is overwhelming my better judgement but I think this is a fine score that actually has cohesion (which a lot of modern electronic/orchestral/Media Ventures scores seem to lack). To me, this is what Indiana Jones would sound like if it wasn’t a period movie. And this score has led me on an appreciation tour of the Media Ventures world, that I have up to this time ignored, which is a good thing to broaden my horizons. This score featured a moving melody for the treasure and the Gates family and some good electronic inspired action music."

Batman Begins - Hans Zimmer & James Newton Howard - 2005

Quote from my Top Scores List for 2005

"The score that I’m adding [to the list] is Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard’s Batman Begins. Now, I didn’t like the movie at all. It simply did not connect with me; I didn’t like anything about the conception and rendering of the movie. And, at the time, I simply dismissed the score as a part of a bad mix, but now, I’ve revisited the score and I must admit that this is some really fine music with true moments of beauty and excitement within it. I originally thought it was a bit formless and uninteresting consisting of pounding ostinatos and bland themes. I was wrong but the CD itself doesn’t do itself any service by having all the track names named after different species of bats. This severed the music’s connection with the film as I couldn’t tell where the music fit in with the movie. It wasn’t until I found alternate track names that I began to place the cues in context and could really appreciate this score."

10. Casino Royale - David Arnold - 2006

Quote from Top Scores List for 2006

"And speaking of adventure, it doesn’t get much better than James Bond as David Arnold continues his journey of scoring this storied franchise and turns in his best effort for a Bond flick. The score is constructed marvelously with all the thematic material deriving from the title song and even that deriving from the bass line of “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” and the song also serves as an ancestor of the James Bond theme. All in all, this score is a masterful piece of musical construction and deservedly goes on the list."

9. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - John Williams - 2008

Quote from Top Scores List for 2008

"John Williams returns to the world of Indiana Jones, just as he returned to the galaxy of Star Wars earlier in the decade, and delivers a top-rate score for an Indiana Jones movie that was a disappointment to many (the movie not the score) and even I thought it was a bit overly-complex and hard to follow (once again, the movie not the score) but the score is right up there with his best."

8. Sherlock Holmes - Hans Zimmer - 2009

Quote form Top Scores List for 2009

"The real gem of this year (2009) is the completely original score to Sherlock Holmes which is probably the most original score Hans Zimmer has ever composed. Gone is the throbbing ostinati and it is replaced by a variety of sounds and themes that perfectly capture the spirit of the film. It’s also, like the film, a lot of fun and full of humor and sardonic wit."

7. The Da Vinci Code - Hans Zimmer - 2006

Quote from Top Scores List for 2006

Next we move onto the most elegiac score of the year in Hans Zimmer’s The Da Vinci Code which features an overabundance of material in a quasi-religioso vein. The final cue is, understandably, the best as the code is finally solved in locating the tomb of Mary Magdalene.

  

6. The Last Samurai - Hans Zimmer - 2003

Quote from Top Scores List for 2003

"From my favorite movie this year is Hans Zimmer’s The Last Samurai which is a bit surprising as I am not a huge Zimmer fan but this score is wonderfully evocative and absolutely nails the film in every way. It reminds me of a James Horner score in its melodic content and orchestration but it bears the stamp of Zimmer with its subtle electronics and Japanese instruments and vocals."

Mid-List Observation:  Wow!!  Did anyone else just notice that I just put three Hans Zimmer scores right in a row?  Hans Zimmer!!!  Well, it just goes to show you that he can compose a great score just about every three years or so.

Now on to the Top Five:

5. Spider-Man - Danny Elfman - 2002

Quote from Top Scores List for 2002

"Elfman revisited his Batman territory for the SpiderMan score and many people found it derivative but if you think about it they are really similar characters formed by tragedy and riddled with angst."

I don't think I did this score justice with only one sentence in my Top Scores List because this is a great score that really defines the sound of Spider-Man with a great main title theme and great action cues from Danny Elfman.  Back in 1989, Elfman defined the sound of Batman and in this movie he defined the sound of Spider-Man.  When I think of Spider-Man, I think of this movie and its music.

  

4. Alexander - Vangelis - 2004

Quote from Top Scores List for 2004

"Oliver Stone’s Alexander score by Vangelis. Vangelis’ score is definitely the best thing about the movie and it seemed that Vangelis really loved this movie because he scored it with some of the biggest and inspiring moments of the year in film music. For a scene of young Alexander riding a horse Vangelis scores an inspiring cue that is rapturous. He loved this movie and in turn I love the score that he gave the movie."

 

3. Fellowship of the Ring - Howard Shore - 2001

Quote from Top Scores List for 2001

"Its one score to rule them all (okay, everyone is making that joke but I still like it). Howard Shore, after an undistinguished career that includes such movies as Silence of the Lambs, The Cell, and Dogma, Shore pops up with a masterpiece. Nearly as powerful as another trilogy beginner a couple of decades ago. The Mines of Moria sequence is as good as it gets. A great score, destined to be one of the best of the decade."

2. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - John Williams - 2001

Quote from Top Scores List for 2001

"John Williams' Harry Potter which I found to be rather uninspired but is still of quality (his other score of the year, A.I. was an unfortunate miscalculation). There are moments of greatness but I kept hearing a lot of Star Wars and Schindler's List with a healthy dose of Hook in the score. It just seemed that Williams was on automatic with this score but its hard to deny him because he is still the best."

Whoa!!  What was I thinking with this entry?  This score began the Harry Potter movies and defined the sound of a beloved literary character and ushered in a series of movies that would set the box office on fire for most of the decade.  Williams provides a signature sound and theme for the character but there is alot of music here (as is usual for Williams) and all of it is magical (pun intended) and of high quality.  Harry Potter joins Indiana Jones as having a signature theme that anyone would hum on demand if asked.

List Observation #2:  It is interesting that most of the scores I picked for this list feature thematic scores for a single character or the main character of the film:  James Bond, Sherlock Holmes, Spider-Man, Alexander the Great, and Harry Potter.

Now onto #1:

 

1. Attack of the Clones - John Williams - 2002

Quote from Top Scores List for 2002

"John Williams continued the Star Wars saga with Attack of the Clones (still not a great title) which featured the tragic love theme for Anakin and Padme. As I wrote in my diary of the year, “the real crux of this score is the love theme, and what a theme it is. It is one of Williams’ greatest melodies, both bittersweet and romantic, perfectly capturing the doomed romance of Anakin and Padme. It’s a theme for the history books with all the pathos of Beethoven or Mahler.” Simply incredible."

There you have it.

The Best Scores of the Decade.