Greatest composers in modern times
9 responses | 1 like
Started by metmike - April 10, 2021, 8:35 p.m.

This guy is tied for first for me!

Hans Zimmer Breaks Down His Legendary Career | Vanity Fair

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGs_NT4iL2c


He popped up there after Deb and I went to see Inception at the Theater in 2010.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIk-Kxw_7Kc


Then he followed up with this incredible score in 2012.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94TAFSMdkvk


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By metmike - April 10, 2021, 9:56 p.m.
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OK, after listening to John Barry's stuff again, I have to give him the nod over Hans Zimmer.

These are actually just a tiny fraction of the many movie scores that he did and the ones that were the favorties of the person who made the video.

John Barry - Greatest Hits

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYQ7dxwRkUM


I used to love watching James Bond movies as a young guy. Not because of the themes or action or scenery. Because the music was so awesome.  I didn't even know who John Barry was until 30 years later.

1n 1994, the local PBS tv station was running a 15 second ID spot that they obviously produced in house with the most awesome music. Every day before 3 pm  they ran the same one.

So I called WNIN and asked to speak with master control. The guy on the phone actually created the spot and told me that he got the music from the movie, Dances with Wolves.

So I raced out to the music store and got the sound track.  I cried the first few times that I listened to certain parts. If I haven't heard it in awhile, it still has that affect on me, as do parts of just a few other instrumental songs.


A favorite piece is at the end of the movie when the credits are running.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlSZd8MNayE


What music do you guys like?

By WxFollower - April 11, 2021, 12:08 a.m.
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1. John Barry is a great composer. But how do you think John Williams compares to Barry?

 2. And to go in a different direction, what about the great (imo) Jeff Lynne? I don’t know if you like his music, but I’m curious if you or anyone here has any opinion about him.

By metmike - April 11, 2021, 1:08 a.m.
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Great to have you to converse with on this Larry.

I like John Williams alot too but not anywhere close to the 2  mentioned earlier.

Music is extremely subjective of course.

One of the things that I like most about Barry in his later years was his powerful  use of french horns.

His bond movies used brass in a different way with a very unique, sort of jazzy sound. 

Zimmer does something similar with horns, but pushes hard with the low horns. Not sure if its tuba or trombones. He also uses electronics that Barry and Williams don't use.


They both use unique harmony/chord variations that I can't describe but can quickly recognize.


Deb was watching a show on tv last weekend, "The Crown", which I think is on weekly and got all excited, hearing the music and said "that's Hans Zimmer!!!"

  

Top 10 Unforgettable John Williams Scores

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sJQC3DpMDk

By metmike - April 11, 2021, 1:49 a.m.
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I  was not super familiar with Jeff Lynne but was with Electric Light Orchestra, which I always liked.

Very unique band and sound that you could identify instantly. Lots of instruments used creatively......I loved that.

I'm glad that you pointed out Lynne because his work is impressive.

He's obviously a musical genius and it's fun to read and learn about people like this. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Lynne


I listened to a couple of his songs from New Wave that look like they were released around 10 years ago. Sounds like Paul McCartney and ELO to me. What do you think?

I didn't know or forgot that he was part of The Traveling Wilbury's. 


They sounded pretty good here. I think this was originally done by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1o4s1KVJaVA


By metmike - April 11, 2021, 2:10 a.m.
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Larry,

I went back to listen to a bunch of ELO stuff...............always great fun to do this.

I had forgotten that they were around in the early 1970's.


There were a couple of songs on this compilation(that never made the hit list) that I really like more than their popular stuff that came out later! They were definitely more "edgy" or radical early on to me and got more mainstream later on. Is that what you think?

Some groups do that to sell their music.

Lynne, apparently followed the Beatles stuff pretty close. Interesting how the Beatles went from popular, mainstream stuff in the early years to pretty radical. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6dJVdSUCnk

By WxFollower - April 11, 2021, 3:17 a.m.
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Mike said: Lynne, apparently followed the Beatles stuff pretty close. Interesting how the Beatles went from popular, mainstream stuff in the early years to pretty radical. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6dJVdSUCnk

-------------------------------------------

Mike,

 l'll have more to say later in response to your ELO/Lynne posts, but I wanted to first respond to this about the early songs compilation. If you haven't heard it before/yet and are interested, check out the 4th song, "Showdown" and see what you think. This to me is sort of a combo of edgy with a mainstream element to it. It made the charts but not high up. Here is a link to it:

Electric Light Orchestra - Showdown (Audio) - YouTube


 Per this audio of John Lennon, this was a favorite of his:

John Lennon talks about ELO and Showdown - YouTube

 

  


By metmike - April 11, 2021, 3:45 p.m.
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Thanks Larry,

Yeah, the Beatles in their later years got pretty crazy and that's exactly my favorite music by them. Not because of the words but because of the unprecedented acoustical variations and instrumentals. 

10 Things You Didn't Know About "I Am The Walrus"                                         

https://www.beatleslectures.com/new-blog/2018/8/12/10-things-you-didnt-know-about-i-am-the-walrus


This is the song with all the instruments

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dn4SCyBmAOo


Here is another version of the song. Somebody listening for the first time, might think, that sounds odd, something is different. It's because its only playing one track with SOME of the instruments(percussion and some guitar) and the main vocal....leaving out the rest. This allows the recording of a song to add additional instruments at a different time and to refine or re record certain sections.

When I listen to music my brain listens in a unique way that sort of separates out the tracks and hears the different instruments individually, like in this track. I noticed some of the songs on my stereo as a young man would have all the instruments on 1 speaker, and the other speaker has the rest of them. This is what gives it stereo sound and comes from the different tracks being separated into different speakers. When all the same music/instruments are coming out of every speaker, its not really stereo. 


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNXQEqCXII4

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multitrack_recording

Multitrack recording (MTR), also known as multitracking or tracking, is a method of sound recording developed in 1955 that allows for the separate recording of multiple sound sources or of sound sources recorded at different times to create a cohesive whole. Multitracking became possible in the mid-1950s when the idea of simultaneously recording different audio channels to separate discrete "tracks" on the same reel-to-reel tape was developed. A "track" was simply a different channel recorded to its own discrete area on the tape whereby their relative sequence of recorded events would be preserved, and playback would be simultaneous or synchronized.

By bear - April 11, 2021, 8:48 p.m.
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one of the greatest instrumentals ever... jessica, by the allman brothers.  

By metmike - April 11, 2021, 9:17 p.m.
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Thats a good one bear!

The Allman Brothers Band - Jessica

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRDivUb5EeA