Film/Movie Scores

Film/Movie scores are our modern day classical music. The composers of your favorite movies and films are the Beethoven's, Mozart's, Bach's, Strauss', Bartok's, Rachmoninov's, Vivaldi's, Tchaikovsky's of our times. I mean what musicians do you know who compose music for full orchestra's anymore. Movie composers are the only people I know of making modern orchestral music. I mean really, I love many of the aforementioned, yet old (read dead and gone), composers. My man Beethoven was just sick with it, Wolfgang was just ill, and Bach's Toccata and Fugue is still one of the BEST pieces of music I ever heard and basically it was a throw away piece at the time he made it. All these guys, plus many others, were great composers. But, usually, once one finds a version of a particular symphony, or opera, or other composition, they're kind of biased against any other versions. I mean, really, there are WAY too many versions of classic compositions. And all the world's instrumental virtuoso's and philharmonics and orchestras play the same shit over and over and over ad infinitum!! Don't get me wrong, that old music is great but play some new shit! It is out there. As far as I know the only modern composer who's music gets played on a regular basis is John Williams. Which absolutely makes sense as he is one of the best of the modern composers. The days of composers having concert battles is gone. Composers of today have contract battles for films! And all of this has been leading up to this: I LOVE FILM SCORES!! Even game scores have upped the ante and get mad props nowadays.
So now we get to some of my favorite modern composers: John Williams (Of course!! elite master. Stands alone); Michael Kamen, R.I.P.(his film work was excellent but I really like him 'cause he worked with Metallica. METALLICA!!! How COOL is that?!!!), Danny Elfman (simply awsome. has an affinity for funky ass bass!! Probably from being in a rock band once); Hans Zimmer (though the recent Pirates of the Caribbean series gets a bit repetitive the main theme is off the chain!); Howard Shore (jumped straight into John Williams' level with the Lord of the Rings); Graeme Revell (He did The CROW!! Come on! He definitely has a dark edge to his compositions, just like Elfman. Wildy different but a common darkness); Trevor Jones (Last of the Mohicans, done with Randy Edelman, is in my top five favorite scores); Joel McNeely (did a score for a game/novel which was a Star Wars connect and he did an AWESOME job!); Bear McCreary (TV scoring for Battlestar Galactica which is, hands down, the best music scoring on television PERIOD! He uses ALL styles of music and instruments. This is what modern music composition should be.); KODO (this Japanese music group get props for the 1995 film The Hunted. Awesome movie, awesome music); A.R. Rahman (Bollywood super composer); Tan Dun (Chinese super composer); Andrew Lloyd Webber (though I don't follow scores for theater and play productions too much you can't really have a list like this and not mention Mr. Webber. He's the MAN for theater music); Harry Gregson-williams (for Kingdom of Heaven. Great film. At least the director's cut is); RZA (Wu-Tang Abbott is getting nice with the film scoring); Jan Hammer (another TV master. The title piece for the Miami Vice series was my favorite shit!!! My mom had it on VINYL and it had like 8 different mixes. I loved that shit!) Quincy Jones (master, period); Isaac Hayes (Come on...SHAFT!!!); Jerry Goldsmith (Great composer.Done MAD movies); Tangerine Dream (Mostly for the american score for Legend. I love that score! Jerry did the original that Ridley loves, which is excellent); Terrence Blanchard (I LOVE this man's compositions); James Newton Howard; there are many more but I named the major composers. Oh one I left for last, Basil Poledouris. I left him last for this reason: He made THE BEST SCORE EVER FOR A FILM. Conan the Barbarian! I know, I know. Not the best film in the world. Some mediocre to bad acting, some bad editing, and other minor things BUT as a whole this film WORKS! I LOVE this movie! Why? Basil. His score is damn near a character in the movie. It's awesome how absolutely seamlessly the music melds with the visuals. Best score EVER!! It's even wonderful without the film. I've listened to it countless times. Simply the best score ever! (Did I say that enough times?) I'll do a list of my favorite scores and soundtracks another time. I'm tired. LAter ya'll.

T

Publishing business

Very interesting essay on the industry. Good info for those who are really dedicated to breaking into the business of writing. I mean dedicated. Business by it's very nature is NOT designed for the good of artists, no matter the art (writing, music, etc.), and never has been. Best learn as much as you can so you get jerked around a little less. In this instance knowledge is power, literally.

Educate yoursefl!!

These horrific TRUE stories need to be told in the open and dealt with (as far as a psychological and sociological process) wholly and individually as citizens of america and the planet. So much of the history of america has been buried or more commonly suppressed. Time to deal with ALL OF THIS SHIT! I've been aware of more than most in my lifetime, but there is still more I don't know and need to learn. But I was/am a lucky individual to have been raised from young childhood with an awareness of more of the REAL history of america and the many Prominent Black men and women who endured, suffered, and succeeded in life here. Check the story, linked above, and learn a bit more and search for more on your own. Whites need not feel guilty and Blacks need not feel shame. My Black brethren, however, do need to feel angry. Very, very angry!! Actually we ALL need to feel very, very angry. But channel that anger into positive energy. For my non-Black brethren this should be just as educational. Pay attention and maybe understand a little more of why some of your Black friends are a bit touchy about certain things. For all, just process, learn and make sure these horrors are never repeated. And teach your damn children better! Believe I'll be doing many more of these.

I HATE THIS FUCKING PLACE!!!!

The shit don't stop! How some ignorant asshole gonna try and dis my main man Forest like this? I'd hunt this asshole down and stab him in the neck if I knew who he was! I better not ever get in this industry and find out!

Hip Hop is NOT dead!

I am sick as hell of people talking about how Hip Hop is dead. Get the fuck out my face with that bullshit. Mostly the notion is referring to the music of the kulture. Well, I got news for all you simpletons that jumped on the bandwagon, go suck a rhinoceros dick because Hip Hop AIN'T dead. Want proof? Cop the Roots' album "Rising Down". That has to be the hottest Hip Hop album of the damn year! The song "Singing Man" has to be one of the best songs I EVER heard (click the link to read the lyrics!). I was mesmerized from the very first time I heard it. I still hit repeat at least twice whenever that song comes on. If EVER there was a song that needed some good video treatment it's this one. I can see Spike (Lee NOT jonez) creating a masterwork with this song! Of course the rest of the album is straight heat. There's not a single bad or even mediocre song on the album! I LOVE the Roots! And "Game Theory" was MAD slept on! "In The Music" is like THE HOTTEST track. Then of course you have the mad lyrical Skillz with, "Million Dollar Backpack". Another straight butta album. Not a single bad track. Of course you have the lyrical swordsman, GZA droppin' lyrics to cut and slice the intellect on "Pro Tools". You GOTTA love that title. And, of course, his lyrical brother, The RZA as Bobby Digital, with the nice "Digi Snacks". People be sleepin' but KRS-ONE is still the nicest dude on the mic and still droppin' albums. "Hip-Hop Lives" with Marley Marl is a masterpiece of how to do this rap shit! The same goes for P.E. That's PUBLIC ENEMY for all you retards out there. They're early albums are just as relevant today as the albums they're dropping today. How's that for being alive and well, you punk mothafuckas!! Let's not forget the masterful maker of classics, Pete Rock with the tight "NY's Finest"! Of course you have the uber-revolutionary Immortal Technique, still dropping revolutionary knowledge to elevate you fools out there with "3rd World". Also, along the same lines, there's Dead Prez with knowledge of self and self elevation. You got the lyrically beautiful and eviscerating Jean Grae, who's nicer than about 98% of ALL these punk ass rappers droppin' shit now. And one of my new favorite rappers, N.Y. OIL dropping the MAD heat with "HOOD TREASON" (I got the double CD release)!! Ya'll should ALL get LYNCHED!!!! Word up! I'm tired of hearing the bullshit. I might bitch slap the next person who says Hip Hop is dead. You can kiss a donkey's ass!

You can't be serious!

I'ma probably get shredded for this post because it deals with a show most guys don't watch. But I ain't most guys and I watch the View. The main reason is because I'm a Whoopi Goldberg fan. I LOVE Whoopi and hope one day to meet her and actually have a conversation with her. I find her to be one of the most fascinating people on the planet right now. To have pulled off the career she's had in the society she's grown up in is amazingly phenomenal. Okay, got that out of the way. The reason I'm writing is I was watching yesterday and Sherri said the most bafflingly stupid things on national television. Bill Maher was the guest and promoting his film, Religulous, which is about the retarded things about religion people don't talk about, among other things I'm sure. I look forward to seeing it. Bill made a comment about people literally believing every single word of the bible as it is written. He used the example of the ridiculous story of Noah and the ark and how inconceivable the prospect of him collecting a male and female of EVERY SPECIES ON THE PLANET onto a LARGE BOAT to weather a GLOBAL FLOOD. Sherri had the religious piety to say she literally believed that story. I was rather taken aback. I like Sherri. She actually looks really good now. That woman has been working out something fierce. Body mad slim, but those breasts ain't going NOWHERE. She got a BODY. Plus she's really funny. I'd known of her strict religious beliefs from previous shows but that really bugged me. Then, AFTER Bill referred to god as an imaginary friend, she later asks him, DEAD SERIOUSLY, if he talked to god directly. I swear I saw Bill hesitate for a split second, like he was gonna say, "Bitch are you CRAZY?! Did you not just two minutes ago hear me refer to god as imaginary?" He asked in return if she hears god when she speaks to "him" and dead serious said, "Yes." He was like, "That's just your mind making up a voice," but she wasn't hearing it. See, my likeness for Sherri has dropped considerably. I don't mind someone being religious, but to the point of stupidity is just more than I can take. That's why I can't stand this Palin chick. People who believe in creationism should be locked away in psych wards or shot like a lame horse. You can't help the human race progress, you need to go. But, yeah, Sherri threw me for a loop. And I still love Whoopi. She's the only reason to watch the show. And Barbera when she's there. She's cool. Joy's cool, mostly because she vibes so well with Whoopi. I'm not even mentioning the stupid white girl by name. That chick is so monumentally naive and ditzy it would almost be sad if it wasn't so dangerous. But yeah, Sherri is looking good, but she need to get her mind right. I feel sorry for her son. That kid's life is going to be jacked up if she don't smarten up.

Fashion bullshit

Walking the streets of New York in the last couple of months I've noticed a new fashion trend which I find rather offensive and disturbing. Military styled clothing. Shirts and jackets with stripes on the sleeves and ribbons on the chest and all manner of badges, just like the military except these are civilian clothes in ALL sorts of colors. The first time I saw it was a few months ago and I thought, "How fucking ridiculously stupid!" That time was just some stripes and a bullshit function badge. But then about a week ago I see this fucking nimrod of a kid wearing a shirt with outrageous colors with mad army styled stripes on his arm and more ribbons on his chest than a damn four star general would have. Now, I'm former military and, though I had my problems when I was in, I still served honorably and am PROUD of my service. Therefore I was heavily, deeply, seriously fucking offended by that shit. I wanted to simultaneously curse the kid out and royally kick his ass. Like I said, I've seen it a lot over the last couple of months and it bothers me. These little ignorant faggots are probably too scared to join up in ANY branch of the armed forces, yet want to use the military as the latest fashion. I'm more upset at whatever company put this shit out and promoted it. I ever meet the designer of this shit and I swear I will punch them in the fucking face. Whether they're prior military themselves or not. I'd bet not, but if they are they NEED to have their ass kicked. They should know better. Also, this is already old shit but needs to be mentioned here, the fucking colorful camouflage as popular hood fashion. Pink, orange, blue, red, purple and other wonderful colors. ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!!! There is a serious misunderstanding of what the word camouflage means, I think. No, people are just morons.
To me, it's just as bad as all these stupid ass kids, mostly boys, aping the fashions that come from jail culture, which has been and is, unfortunately, promoted by rap music. We all know of the stupid fucking pants hanging way off the ass bullshit. As far as I'm concerned every one of these idiots I see with their pants around their thighs and their underwear all out are homosexuals. They're gay assholes offering easy access to each other, period. I don't care who the fuck they are, what they consider their status, or how much money they have. Pants saggin', you're a faggot. Yesterday, riding on the train, I saw the next jail fashion. Unlaced sneakers, looking like house shoes/flip-flops. These young idiots actually had the laces in the sneakers but not on the outside, just kind of tucked in from the side. I wish I had had a camera, I woulda took a damn picture and posted it. Fucking stupid. Oh, for those who don't know, in jail they're not allowed to have shoe laces or belts. Prevents suicides and also they can be obviously used as weapons. It's like these little fuckers are prepping themselves to go to jail. Which I guess they are, unfortunately. I thank my parents for teaching me how to THINK!!!!! for MYSELF!!!!! I'm getting really sick of this country and this society.