Soundtracks

Films are nothing without their soundtracks. The music of the piece, while not always consciously noticed, can raise and lower the mood of the viewer to fit with the scene. It can excite them in scenes of joy and bring them to tears in moments of sadness. Often films, unlike TV shows, use music composed specifically for that film, rather than using songs from different bands that the viewer may already have heard.

Generally the soundtracks composed for films are classical however this is not always the case, for instance the music to Disney's Tron Legacy was written by Daft Punk and featured an electronic soundtrack to fit the film. In this post I'll discuss the official soundtracks to a few different films.

The Lord of the Rings- composed by Howard Shore.

Howard Shore was given the task of writing the music to Peter Jackson's epic trilogy of adaptations of Tolkien's original fantasy novel. For a saga of such grand proportions the soundtrack was going to have to match the story in terms of its grandeur and power. Composed for an orchestra the music has a classical feel to it, but fits very well with the films. For instance one quality of a soundtrack such as this one is its ability to tell the story without the film itself as a visual aid. An example of where this is present in Shore's work is during the song Uglúk's Warriors which is played during the part of the film where the Uruk Hai are seen at the beginning of the film The Two Towers. The sharp brass notes played during parts of this song are iconic to say the least and immediately conjure up the image of the powerful, bestial Uruks. Another point in the Lord of the Rings Soundtrack that makes the listener recall a specific part of the film is For Frodo on the soundtrack for the third and final film in the trilogy: The Return of the King. The song starts slowly, and begins to add more and more parts to build up an air of heroics to match those of the free people of Middle Earth at the end of the film. The song then brings the emotions of the listener to the fore as a feeling of worry is injected into the song. The choral elements in this song are utterly supreme in the way they can just direct emotion where they will. The score to the Lord of the Rings trilogy also evokes images of all the beautiful locations where the films were shot around New Zealand.

By Rob Chandler (Rob & Jules) (Flickr) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
http://www.flickr.com/photos/96147639@N00/319248528/



Pan's Labyrinth (El Laberinto del Fauno)- composed by Javier Navarrete

Guillermo del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth, set just after the end of the Spanish Civil War, centres around the story of Ofelia, a girl who believes in fairy tales. To reflect this the soundtrack incorporates various elements including darker aspects as well as parts that take the form of lullabies. My personal favourite song of the soundtrack from what I've heard is A Tale which demonstrates one of the main themes of the film. Beginning with a tentatively played piano it then adds strings. This lullaby brings to mind the beautiful photography of the film and has a talent for evoking both sadness and joy simultaneously. A truly masterful soundtrack.

Gladiator- composed by Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard

2000's historical epic Gladiator had a soundtrack to match. While not wildly historically accurate it was very entertaining and the music is superb. Hans Zimmer is famous for composing the scores to countless films including: Christopher Nolan's productions of Batman Begins, and The Dark Knight in collaboration with James Newton Howard, as well as Black Hawk Down, and The Last Samurai. The Gladiator score's finest moment, in my opinion, is during the track The Battle, the piece played during the first battle scene where the Roman Army goes into battle against the forces of Germania. The changes in dynamics send the listener on a roller coaster until the triumphant heights about 5 minutes in when one of the main themes arises, consisting of a strong brass section that sends thrills through anyone watching the film. That part of the song is an embodiment of heroism and bravery and this has a profound effect on the listener.

That's all for now. There are so many other brilliant soundtracks out there, it would be impossible to fit even a fraction of them in one post. Others include the scores to: Schindler's List, Star Wars, James Bond, Pirates of the Caribbean, and so many more. Thanks for reading,

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What Makes a Great Live Show?

Bands now make a lot of their income through live performances, with ticket sales paying better than album sales. Seeing a band live is an entirely different experience to listening to a studio recording, or even listening to a live album. A myriad of different factors affect the feeling that you walk away with from a gig. But what exactly makes a great live show? In this entry I'll try and answer that question, using examples from past gigs I've attended.

Great Music

This seems obvious, and it is, but that doesn't make it any less important. Good studio releases are crucial to enjoying a band live. After all, if you don't like their music, you're not going to enjoy watching the band live. For me, and many others, really knowing the bands music well, being able to sing along to all the classics, makes the experience even more intense.

A Talented Frontman/Frontwoman

In bands that aren't instrumental, the person who sings the main part, or the frontman, is a focal point for the crowd. It's not that the other members of the band aren't noticed or appreciated, but it's the job of the vocalist to get the crowd going and to make sure that the metaphorical gap between the band and the audience is bridged by the strength of their stage presence. An example of a frontman who has no shortage of this stage power is Iron Maiden's singer, Bruce Dickinson. I saw Iron Maiden at Sonisphere 2010 (see my articles on Sonisphere 2010 for more information), they headlined the Sunday night and brought the festival to a close. Iron Maiden were fantastic, and this is in no small part due to Dickinson's immense stage presence. He's very energetic, never in one place for very long, enjoying leaping about the stage scenery. Furthermore he'll get the crowd going. A notable instance of this was when Iron Maiden played Sanctuary on their Live After Death live album. Part way through the song they paused save for the basic riff of the song; Bruce then went on to split the audience in two and pit them against each other in a contest to see who was the loudest. While this isn't a technique unique to Iron Maiden, it does take a certain calibre to pull off. So it's an example of the need for a skilled frontman to make the crowd scream.

By Scott Penner [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
http://www.flickr.com/photos/31648498@N00/4770564075


Energy

Having energy in studio work and having energy on stage aren't necessarily the same thing. If a band has really great music, as described above, it really helps their live performance. However even if their music is fantastic the live show can suffer because they lack the stage presence necessary to deliver a great performance. A band that has such sheer power and presence the audience is blown away with gale force winds is Gallows. Having currently released two studio records, Gallows are one of the best live acts in the UK. They're that good. The raw tenacity of the vocals and riffs tears the ears of the listeners... in a good way. I saw them back in 2009 and I still consider it to be one of the best gigs I've ever been to. They're playing Sonisphere 2011 (blog posts to come) and I won't be missing them for anything. This year they're playing on the second stage which isn't their usual environment, they're used to playing in small indoor venues and tents, so it should be interesting to see how they fair on a large stage. I have no doubt whatsoever that they won't do anything but rule the stage.

An Amazing Show

Many bands try to put on a show for the crowd. This is often done with a simple light show that's in time with the music. However some bands go further. For instance Alice Cooper often has a whole horror performance with his songs integrates within it, making his live shows more like a musical. He calls it his "Theatre of Death". He played Sonisphere UK 2010 and it worked very well. Another band who specialise in putting on a show while they play are German Industrial metallers Rammstein. For their show at Sonisphere UK last year they brought in 200 tonnes of pyrotechnics. The heat from the stage was intense and could be felt metres away.

By =Gustavo Rivas Valderrama from temuco, chile (Rammstein - feuer) [CC-BY-2.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
http://www.flickr.com/photos/24890185@N05/2503149979

A Good Crowd

If the band are rubbish you less likely to enjoy the gig, that much is obvious. But what about the crowd? Imagine if you've been waiting for ages to see your favourite band and when that day finally arrives the crowd around you won't stop booing for no reason, are constantly heckling the performers, and fights are always breaking out. This will ruin the atmosphere and affect the extent to which you can appreciate the live performance. If the crowd are the opposite, if they enjoy the music, don't heckle very much, and are generally very friendly, the atmosphere can be great. One of the lovely aspects of going to see live music is the people you meet. Before you meet them you know that you'll have a shared interest, the music you're going to see, and you can have some great conversations and make new friends. Festivals are even better at this element as you spend several days surrounded by people who like similar music to you. So the crowd can play a large role in determining how much you enjoy the whole experience.

Weather

I thought I'd give the elements an honourable mention. Now this may not be a problem for those of you who life in places where the weather is consistently warm and dry and the sky sparkles in the sun and everyone's smiling all the time. Well that's not always the case here. In the UK outside events always run the risk of being rained on. While it's still possible to enjoy gigs in the rain, it's a fact that they're easier to enjoy if it's at least dry. At the moment I'm currently hoping that the beginning of July will be warm and dry for Sonisphere Knebworth. It was hot pretty much right the way through last year, and was dry apart from one shower on the Sunday that only lasted three or so minutes. To summarise, gigs benefit from good weather as you'd expect.

So I think that its a combination of all these things that makes a great live show. That's all for now. Thanks,

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Please note that the inclusion of images in this entry does not mean that the authors are affiliated with, or endorse, me or my work. Effort has been made to attribute the images included to their original author, please see the caption next to each image for this.

New Supergroup

It has emerged in the last few hours that Brent Hinds of Mastodon as well as members and ex-members of The Dillinger Escape Plan, The Mars Volta, and Jane's Addiction are to form a supergroup. Currently the group lacks a name. The members (source Noisecreep) will be:

• Brent Hinds (Guitar)- Mastodon
• Ben Weinman (Guitar)- The Dillinger Escape Plan
• Eric Avery (Bass)- (Formerly) Jane's Addiction
• Thomas Pridgen (Drums)- (Formerly) The Mars Volta

So from the start it looks to contain a high level of musical talent. I admit to not knowing Jane's Addiction or The Dillinger Escape plan very well, but from what I know of Mastodon and The Mars Volta this new project could produce some great music. However throwing a bunch of talented creatives into a room together does not guarantee success, as has been the case with many supergroups in the past. The effect of this has been that many in the musical community have been wary of the term as they feel it rarely works out.

An example of a supergroup formed in the last few years is Them Crooked Vultures. This consists of:

• Josh Homme (Vocals/Guitar)- Queens of the Stone Age
• John Paul Jones (Bass)- Led Zeppelin
• Dave Grohl (Drums)- Foo Fighters, Nirvana

The effect of the musical alliance of this trio was the production of an album entitled Them Crooked Vultures. The album was great, the band members obviously had the right chemistry and it showed in the music. However it's my opinion that they shot to fame as a group too quickly. As a result of having such famous members they bipassed the stage most bands go through of touring as a support act for another band. While they did do at least one support gig, they embarked on a big headline tour. The problem with this is that because they only had one album out they didn't have enough material for a full set, meaning that songs were extended to take up the time. The result? A good gig, but the latter half was too self indulgent for my tastes; especially the inclusion of a very long interlude in one of the songs that was far too monotonal. Had they toured as a support act for longer they could have waited until they had more material before embarking upon their own headline tour, or at the very least swapped out some of their weaker songs for some covers from the many acts the individual members had been a part of. It's not that the album was full of bad songs, it's that most albums aren't suitable to be played in full at a live show. In order for that to be possible every song needs to be good, with no filler anywhere on the album. Looking through my music library I can think of very few albums that I'd like to see played in full. The only ones being Mastodon's Crack The Skye, Iron Maiden's Dance of Death and The Number of the Beast, and Tool's Lateralus and 10,000 Days, with the possible addition of Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly's The Chronicles of a Bohemian Teenager. So those were the main problems with Them Crooked Vultures: they took off too fast, and that they didn't have sufficient material for headline tour.

Right that's it for now.

Thanks,

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What the (Near) Future Holds

The year of 2011 looks to be a good one for music; there are many albums I'm anticipating as well as various events I look to attend. Whatever the state of the music industry I maintain that album releases still retain their status as important milestones for bands and should be respected as such. So what does the future hold for this year at least?

Mastodon:

Progressive metallers Mastodon are due to release their fifth studio album this year. The followup to their critically acclaimed Crack The Sky, this next work is to be entitled The Hunter. There's much interest into what kind of sound to expect from the new album since its predecessor was so much more progressive than their previous work. According to their drummer, Brann Dailor, it's going to be "Faster, heavier, crazier". Bill Kelliher, guitarist for the band says: "It's a good representation of where we are," and that there's "A lot of short bursts of energy going on". This suggests that in this album, while exploring new material, the band are returning to the likes of Leviathan and Blood Mountain, whose songs were generally shorter than their counterparts on Crack The Skye. The Hunter will have its work cut out if it's to match the reception that 2009's album received. Mastodon will be playing this year's Sonisphere UK (among other Sonispheres across Europe), I'll be sure to mention them in this year's "Sonisphere: Review" post. There should be a review of the album on this blog as soon as I get hold of a copy. So far there isn't a release date for it yet, but it should be out by the end of the year. Stay tuned.

Paramore:

This band haven't been given their due credit on this blog. Paramore received much praise for their 2007 album Riot!. Full of power it was a hit and is still my favourite album from what I've listened to of their discography. They currently have three albums released as well as three EPs. Their debut All We Know Is Failing was released back in 2005. The band's latest album, Brand New Eyes is a great example of Paramore's talent for their punk genre and, while not quite to the same standard as Riot!, it is a thoroughly entertaining album. In the early weeks of 2011 (Source MTV), Paramore took some time off in order to focus on a new album. I'd anticipate that, while no formal release date has been set, if all goes well the new work should be out by the end of the year.

Sonisphere Knebworth (UK)

In terms of musical events for this year this is the one I'm most looking forward to. I won't go into vast detail about all the different bands since there'll be two posts dedicated to Sonisphere 2011, one before and one after (like last year). However I will talk for a bit about the importance of this year's festival to the world of metal. Last year, after what seems like centuries of arguments and feuds, Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax, better known as The Big Four of thrash metal, shared the same stage for the first time in history at Sonisphere Bulgaria. The festival in Sofia was the setting for this historical event which culminated in the bands coming together (with the unfortunate absence of most of Slayer due to non-argumentative issues) in playing Diamond Head's Am I Evil?. This year these four bands will be coming to the UK to share a stage for the first time in this country. Other historical events are occurring at this years Soniphere Knebworth in the form of Biffy Clyro's first ever festival headline. Yes the alternative rockers have been given their first headline slot by the Sonisphere organisers, a decision that prompted much debate among the musical community with heavily polarised viewpoints shared. So all in all it looks to be a very important festival for the world of music, one I most certainly will not be missing. As I said I'll talk more about Sonisphere 2011 closer to the time when all the details have been finalised in two blog entries; one before the festival in anticipation, and one after the festival to act as a review.

Tool?

It's looking very unlikely now but I thought I'd mention it briefly anyway. Tool (who I talked about in Notable Artists... V) haven't released an album since 2006's masterpiece 10,000 Days. The gap between their last few albums seems to be usually five years, so we're due a new one any time soon. What's stopping the album is that some members of the band, particularly Maynard James Keenan, have side projects that need time and effort, for instance Keenan has been working with his other band A Perfect Circle. All we can do is wait patiently and hope that an album will be out in the next couple of years. One of the great things about Tool is that although they don't release new material very often, they have yet to release an album that isn't brilliant. I'll keep my eye out for news.


So that's 2011 for me. There are a few things I haven't included, like the fact I'm seeing Iron Maiden in August, but they may get their own blog posts in the form of reviews. Anyway that's all for now.

Thanks,

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(Legal) Free Music

In these days of file sharing and illegal downloading it's possible to get the vast majority of music for free. It's a fact that the lost revenue from album sales due to this is killing the music industry. However it's also true that if one can obtain a band's album for free more people are likely to listen to it. So often as a result of file sharing a band's popularity can increase dramatically, however popularity on its own won't keep a band going, what is needed is album and ticket sales. As a result of this many artists have released portions of their work for free download online. Since the artist themselves have allowed this it has the benefit to the downloader of being entirely legal.

Releasing albums for free download has been going for a while now. It was made famous in 2007 when alternative rockers Radiohead allowed fans to set their own price when downloading their album. Since Radiohead did this many bands have followed suit. So now there are numerous artists out there who let people obtain their work for free. In this article I'll detail a few of these that I've come across during my internet wanderings.

Dahlia Seed

Dahlia Seed were a hardcore band from North Carolina, USA. They were in existence for only 4 years, from 1992-96, but during that time produced some great work. As far as I know they produced three albums, one of which is a compilation of new studio tracks and live versions of songs from previous works. All of these are available to download for free from their website at: http://www.dahliaseed.com/. I've so far listened to two of their albums of which their debut album Valentine Kid's Litter is my favourite. At 160kbps the recording quality isn't fantastic, and sometimes this shows where songs feel a little rough around the edges. However it's not really a problem as the overall tone the band uses is a little distorted (intentionally) anyway. The power of this band is astonishing, their songs are fuelled with a great energy. This is due largely to the vocals of Tracy Wilson whose ferocity electrifies the music and brings the raw emotion of the songs to the fore. As far as particular highlights of this album go, I'd have to say my favourite songs are Teas and Milk. Teas starts with a great riff before launching into a bridge-type part which leads into the main section. As an overall piece the song isn't perfect, but it's very catchy. Milk is the best example of the way Wilson's vocals captivate, the emotions of regret and hate in the lyrics are brought across to the listener with the force of a battering ram. Dahlia Seed are a band with a level of raw power that many bigger and more popular bands lack.

Dia de los Muertos

Another band that alllows some of their music to be downloaded free of charge is Dia de los Muertos, these metallers hail from Los Angeles, California. Like with many other legal free albums, in order to get the music you need to fill in a form. The album they offer is called Satánico Dramático, which translates as something along the lines of "Satanic Drama". The vocals are in spanish, but this isn't always obvious as, like a lot of death metal, the lyrics can't always be understood. The music itself isn't all that unique, but the use of spanish guitar in places is a nice touch. Their Myspace is here: http://www.myspace.com/quevivanlosmuertos.

I Have Clones

I came across this project today and have taken a liking to it. It's a nice combination of Electronica and Hardcore. The songs are often interspersed with speaking, with the occasional snatches of conversation that are present for just the right amount of time, which add a splash of creativity to the music that is already fairly inventive. Since I've only listened to the album once I can't say too much about it without listening more (which I plan to do in the future), but it's definitely worth the bandwidth it takes to download (it took about 3 minutes on my very poor connection) and the time spent listening to it. Here's the link to their website: http://ihaveclones.com/.

Credit where credit is due: Two of the above bands (Dahlia Seed and I Have Clones) I discovered using this blog: http://freealbums.blogsome.com/, so please give them the praise for finding the bands. The other band (Dia de los Muertos) I found on the website of the UK magazine Classic Rock, their website can be found here: http://www.classicrockmagazine.com/ so please don't give me credit for locating them either.

Well that's all for now. I won't say when I'll be back, since I don't know, but I hope to be back soon. Just think this is the second proper entry in 2 days, I think that's some sort of record for me.

Thanks,

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I feel obliged to say that, through this article or in general, I am not condoning or supporting illegally obtaining music or any other intellectual material. I also feel the need to say that I am not affiliated in any way to any of the above bands, websites or corporations thereof and will make no profit from purchases from any of those bands, websites or coporations, or the publication of this article.

Notable Artists... V

The erraticness of this blog is definitely a defining aspect of its character in my eyes, but then that's implied by the name. After all this blog is meant to be a "Malfunctioning" guide to the world of music. Anyway, I feel that an article that praised the majesty and talent of one of my favourite bands was long overdue.

Tool are an American rock band who specialise in a type of metal that is as unique as it is astonishing. Forming in 1990 they have so far released four full albums:

• Undertow- 1994
• Aenima- 1996
• Lateralus- 2001
• 10,000 Days- 2006

As well as these four albums they also released an EP in 1992 entitled Opiate. In my opinion each of these albums is phenomenal and choosing a favourite was tough. It was always going to be a contest between Lateralus and 10,000 Days.

Lateralus:

A smorgasbord of fantastic tracks that, as with all Tool's albums, contribute towards an overall piece that is greater than the sum of its parts. The title track Lateralus is definitely the best track on the album for me, the introduction's buildup is masterful before leading into a crushing riff. However Lateralus is by no means the only good song on the album; the tracks Parabol and Parabola. These tracks cannot be played individually as the former leads seamlessly into the latter, the slight pause in between the two placing emphasis on the power of the riff that follows. There are so many great tracks on this album, it's impossible to pick any to be described as "filler".

10,000 Days:

As with Lateralus this album is full of amazing songs which form an overall album that is greater than all its individual elements. The album kicks off with the sheer might of Vicarious with lyrics that really speak to the listener, drawing them in. If I'm forced to pick a highlight from the album, which I admit is very difficult, I'd have to say that Vicarious is one of my two favourite tracks from the album. Following this the listener is then thrown into the powerful introduction to Jambi another track that adds a dose of sheer power to the album. My other highlight is the title song: 10,000 Days (Wings Part 2). This song speaks of suffering and this is brought strongly across by the intensity of Maynard James Keenan's vocals. The reason that it has the suffix (Wings Part 2) is that if played at exactly the same time as the song that comes before it in the album (Wings for Marie (Part 1)) a whole new track is formed. I could go on about this album for a very long time; talking about tracks like Lost Keys (Blame Hoffman) and Rosetta Stoned and even if I mentioned those two I'd be skipping out others that deserve a mention. In short this album is a masterpiece.

So overall I finally managed to ascertain that by a tiny amount 10,000 Days takes the title as my favourite Tool album, but I cannot stress enough how difficult that decision was to make. Lateralus is a phenomenal piece of artistic creation and the others are the same. Tool are definitely in my top 5 bands (a decision made by me, how novel) and are very near the top of my "Bands to see" list.

Cheers,

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