April 2011 Listening Diary!
Friday, April 1: I began the month with some classic John Williams at the gym on the treadmill. And it doesn't get any more "classic" than Raiders of the Lost Ark. I listened to the final third of the score from "The Airplane Fight" up to the rousing finale. And it had been a long time since I had listened to the powerful and scary climactic piece "The Miracle of the Ark". Goosebump material...
Sunday, April 3: Some more treadmill listening, this time some classic Alan Silvestri in the form of his Back To The Future score which was recently released by the good folks at Intrada Records.
And later that day some of Murray Gold's delicious Doctor Who music which is never far from my ears these days.
Monday & Tuesday, April 4 & 5: I gave Joe Hisaishi's 2 Gene CDs several listens - twice while going to sleep each night. I'd almost forgotten how beautiful some of those pieces are. Here's the main theme on piano which I one day hope to be able to play:
At the gym: The Two Towers (Rohan Music)
April 6 - 22: Lots of Danny Elfman and Joe Hisaishi. The Elfman consisted of selections of my favourite pieces, namely the haunting "I Forget" from Serenade Schizophrana, "Alice's Theme" from Alice in Wonderland, "Success Montage" from Wanted, "This Is Halloween" from Tim Burton's A Nightmare Before Christmas, a few pieces from Black Beauty and the recent 2-CD Batman release, "To The Future" from Meet The Robinsons, "Worm Lounge 2" from Men In Black 2, and my favorite song from Charlie & The Chocolate Factory "Veruca Salt".
The Hisaishi consisted of his non-film concert works and extended suites of major film and animation scores.
Monday & Tuesday, April 18 & 19: I rode my bicycle to work both days (and that's quite rare) and listened to Jerry Goldsmith's Mulan scrore. Unfortunately only a small fraction of the music he wrote is on the CD, but the music we do have is pretty darn good. I need to ride more often. It makes for a much more pleasnat (and safer) journey.
Saturday, April 23: On the treadmill I listened to selections from three Hans Zimmer scores: The Lion King, El Dorado, and the first Pirates of the Caribbean score, which I believe was co-written with Klaus Badelt. ..
And later in the night some Joe Satriani, in particulat "Midnight" from his Surfing With The Alien CD which I'm currently practicing.
Sunday, April 24: Now this is something I haven't listened to in a long long time. Michael Kamen's rousing and just plain fun score for Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves. And this is one of the earliest soundtracks I owned that wasn't written by John Williams. Here's the opening fanfare which has rightfully become quite famous:
Monday, April 25: I went to sleep listening to the last two movements of John Williams' Horn Concerto. Some interesting sounds and orchestrations and I always find his concert works fascinating, but I can't imagine this or any other concerto of his knocking his Bassoon Concerto from the top of my favorite Williams' concerto list. Havings said that, I really don't know the Horn concerto well enough yet. Here's a brief interview with a hornist (is that a word) who performed the piece:
Wednesday, April 27: I listened to the "Mission Impossible Theme" many times as I started practicing the piece on piano and guitar. Here's a great piano arrangement of the tune:
That same day while on the treadmill at the gym, a few selections from John Powell's Jason Bourne scores (The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy, and The Bourne Ultimatum) kept me motivated. Great "running away from something" music:
Thursday & Friday, April 28 & 29: I gave Jerry Goldsmith's playful Fierce Creatures a few spins. I don't think I've ever listened to the whole thing straight through before, despite buying it when it came out 14 years ago! Most of it is light-hearted and breezy with one major exception: the exquisite and appropiately somber "The Funeral".
