People talk a lot about the past, especially when it comes to film music. I’m no different; I spend a lot of time listening to older scores, especially those from periods seen as the golden ages of the film score. And sometimes you need something fuzzy and warm that you know like an old street route.
But one thing about devouring art is that you also need to challenge yourself. It may or may not work out, but - despite what Yoda says - trying is worth it. You’ll also be challenging assumptions, especially your own. And I can’t tell you how many times I’ve denied myself great things in the past by not challenging my own thoughts. My own rigid beliefs.
And this is what today’s Friday Five is about (I know it’s Saturday). There are two assumptions we can make about film music enthusiasts, including myself. That we are predilected towards liking blockbuster music, and that we are traditionalists. This is not a huge assumption - who doesn’t love thrilling music for car chases and big fights and running on top of trains? We also tend to gravitate towards a more traditional, big epic symphonic style of things, which means lots of memorable melodies and brass, strings, winds, and thundering percussion doing their thing.
That said, earlier this week I came across a quote from composer Bear McCreary on modern blockbuster music. McCreary is someone who writes a lot of excellent action music, and also has a refreshing tendency for mixing things up, especially when it comes to instrumentation - for example, the use of the hurdy-gurdy in his scores for the television show “Black Sails.” Here’s what McCreary had to say:
“To a degree, big-budget filmmaking has a more homogeneous sound. Movies have been less experimental over the last 15 years. The trend has gone from desiring a score that’s bold to one that isn’t. The ripple effect of that has been that, oddly, the art form I grew up loving did get sort of sidetracked for a while.”
That came from this interview with McCreary. And he’s right, it’s been that for some time, well far too long. He follows up by saying, “It doesn't worry me because people of my generation that grew up remembering Star Wars and Indiana Jones are now doing scores like Rings of Power or a game score like God of Wár — huge and unembarrassed to be orchestral.” This again is true, although that it’s happening outside of mainstream motion picture scoring is concerning. But it’s also to show that there is a world outside of big movie scoring that deserves the spotlight.
In that vein, here are five scores from the new breed of composers that veer into drama, but are no less brilliant or exciting for that. It’s notable that some of them are also scoring big blockbuster movies, but I wanted to celebrate the intimate, the small. Many of them come from the popular music side, so are versed in different genres and mediums, which often makes them come at the music from an unpredictable angle.
Jonny Greenwood
Before film composing, Jonny Greenwood was most famous for being a founding member of the band Radiohead, who themselves have never been one to cop to trends. Therefore, his music is fiercely singular and unique. His command of an orchestra is no less powerful than what he does with a guitar, and his partnership with director Paul Thomas Anderson has birthed a number of great scores, including “There Will Be Blood,” “Phantom Thread,” and this one, “The Master.”
Hannah Peel
Hannah Peel is a great example of someone who is creatively diverse. As well as film scores, she has composed music for the National Theatre, was an artist in residence at Kings Place, London, and also releases music under how own name. One of her recent collaborations was “The Unfolding,” a wonderful album with the Paraorchestra, who, in their own words, “feature professional disabled and non-disabled musicians, playing a mix of analogue, digital, and assistive instruments. Paraorchestra are not only radically changing who connects with orchestral music, but, shifting the perception of disability.” Her scores for film and television are disturbingly precise and often haunting, and she recently won an Ivor Novello award for Best Television Soundtrack for her innovative score to “The Midwich Cuckoos.” Another TV work, “The Deceived,” has been chosen here to illustrate her talent and ability for scoring.
Daniel Pemberton
Speaking of big blockbuster scores, British composer Daniel Pemberton has one smashing the cinema right now in the guise of “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.” That score is an example of going against the grain, and displays Pemberton’s talent in creating memorable scores that are very rarely traditional, like his music for the film version of “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.,” or his amazing score for “Steve Jobs,” which he set into three parts like an opera, each part using the thematics of the narrative to explore a different style of music. “Motherless Brooklyn” is a recent score of his that stunned me, especially in its use of jazz that felt fresh and urgent while also calling back to the explosion of film scores based around jazz in the mid-20th Century.
Mica Levi
Unfortunately, Mica Levi has become something of a controversial figure in modern film-scoring enthusiast circles. Much like another innovative female composer, the terrific Hildur Guðnadóttir, her music has been reduced to simplistic criticisms that pertain to her work not being classed as music itself, a statement that has previously been lobbed at composers like Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, especially when they dared to win an Academy Award for their work. Levi’s work is challenging, especially her breakout score “Under the Skin,” and her aptitude is apparent in scores like “Monos” and, presented here, “Jackie,” for Pablo Larrain’s Jacqueline Onassis biopic.
Nicholas Britell
In a relatively short time, Nicholas Britell has established himself as an important composer in film and television, not least from his music for the lauded HBO series “Succession,” as well as his remarkable yet understated music for “Andor,” the spin-off series from another spin-off, the “Star Wars” movie “Rogue One.” Britell has also dipped into blockbusters with the Disney villain film “Cruella,” but has found major appreciation for his collaborations with director Barry Jenkins, including the Oscar-winner “Moonlight,” TV show “The Underground Railroad,” and this score, “If Beale Street Could Talk,” where his dreamy melodies try to obscure anxieties and frailties and both inspire and temper passion and fire.
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If you’re not sick of me talking about “Star Wars,” you can read me here at Roger Ebert where I talk about the 40th anniversary of “Return of the Jedi.” I also have a forthcoming piece in the print magazine Film Stories where I talk about the music of the greatly-missed composer Michael Kamen. You can preorder the issue here.
As always, have a better one.