Movie/TV Show/Musical/Video Game/Other music you're fond of?
Look who's here to foist her taste in music on you guys again
Jokes aside, I've been sorting through the music I ripped from various CDs but haven't put onto my phone yet (I'm old-fashioned, I know) and seeing which tracks I do or don't want to keep. Which led to me rediscovering a LOT of music I'd forgotten I had on my laptop in the first place...
So I decided to make a thread where I can pester you guys about it (And where you can discuss your own favourites as well)
I will die on the hill that Earl Carpenter is the best version of Javert, EVER. I had the pleasure of seeing him perform live when Les Mis came to Singapore and it was an AMAZING experience. It's not just the fact that he's a fantastic singer (though there's that too, of course), but also the way he injects nuance into his performance of Javert.
Earl Carpenter plays Javert as someone whose rigid view of the world causes him to strain against everything he has to suppress his human vulnerabilities and doubts, with an undertone of self-flagellation and perhaps even self-loathing to boot (Javert was born in a jail, and part of the reason he adheres to such rigid morality is as a way of atoning for what he perceives as his tainted heritage). Javert is a very complex, complicated character, and it takes a delicate balance to be able to nail his portrayal just right. Earl Carpenter is a master of this.
(I actually wrote a fan letter to Earl Carpenter once asking for his autograph. Sadly, he never wrote back.)
I can recite the lyrics of almost every Les Miserables song word for word by heart (I have slight trouble with the songs where multiple characters' lyrics overlap, for obvious reasons, like The Confrontation). Note that I say "recite" because I can't sing to save my life.
Honourable mentions:
- We Will Rock You. My second favourite musical, which technically doesn't fall under this category since they're all Queen songs. The plot and music are fantastic though (You can probably tell I'm a sucker for those "rebels fighting against oppressive regimes" stories).
Anyone who knows me is probably long-since sick of hearing me gush about this movie. I don't care It is my sacred duty to share with the world how AMAZING this movie is In this case, the music.
The orchestration is FANTASTIC. The main/opening theme is epic and menacing and yet badass all at once. And then there's Jill Valentine's theme in this movie, which ends up being used 3 times. (Spoilers ahead, for anyone who cares about that).
I first watched this movie in an Intro to Film Studies mod in Uni. I fell in love with it for several reasons, including its clever plot twist (You think you see the twist coming, but it turns out that was just distracting you from the REAL twist) and its very tight foreshadowing, which I will not spoil here. But the soundtrack definitely attracted me as well.
Dramatic music that keeps you right on the edge of your seat, softer tunes playing during quiet scenes... This movie has it all.
The soundtrack of Dead Again was composed by Patrick Doyle, who, as it turns out, also composed the soundtrack of one of my other favourite movies, (you need an account to see links) (Long story short: A poignant and hilarious coming-of-age story where a kid spends the summer with his two great uncles, who spend their days shooting at travelling salesmen who try to sell them stuff, fish with guns instead of fishing rods, and end up buying a lion with the intent of going on a "safari hunt", only to have it become the kid's pet lion instead. No, this is not a joke. It's way better than I'm making it sound.)
3. Barbie as Rapunzel
I was never a Barbie doll sort of girl growing up, but I LOVED the old Barbie animated movies. Rapunzel would have to be my favourite, with Swan Lake and Diamond Castle as a close second and third respectively.
These movies were the sort that taught young girls to be brave and believe in themselves. Which sounds cheesy, but somehow they did it in a way that feels timeless and classy.
Rapunzel, in particular, had my favourite music. The opening theme is beautiful; I could listen to it for hours (I have, actually; I have a 1 hour loop of it saved amongst my music). Beyond that, it draws a surprisingly large amount of inspiration from classical music (For instance, one part during the climax uses a portion of Dvorak's From The New World). All that combines to make a very satisfying experience.
Seeing as we'd be here forever if I kept going...
Honourable Mentions:
- Pirates of the Caribbean series (All FOUR movies. Yes, four. There was no fifth movie. Just like there was never a Les Miserables movie.)
- Back to the Future trilogy
- The aforementioned Secondhand Lions
- The aforementioned Barbie and the Diamond Castle + Barbie of Swan Lake
- Bohemian Rhapsody (Which, again, doesn't really count since it uses Queen music. Guess what my favourite band is by the way.)
TV Show Themes:
1. Stargate SG-1
Full disclosure: I haven't actually watched (most of) Stargate SG-1 yet. But I'm absolutely in love with its theme song. It's exciting and adventurous and triumphant at once, like an invitation to step through the Stargate and explore another planet on an epic adventure.
I'm also very much in love with the "loop" music that plays during the montage part of the episode Window of Opportunity.
2. Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego?
No, not the gameshow. And not the Netflix reboot either. I'm talking the (you need an account to see links), which ran for 4 seasons before its cancellation. Starring Rita Moreno as the voice of Carmen (Moreno would later cameo in the first episode of the Netflix series), Jennifer Hale as the voice of Ivy (one of the ACME detective protagonists) and Scott Menville (Robin from Teen Titans) as the voice of Zack (the other ACME detective protagonist).
This song is catchy enough as it is, but what's interesting about it is that it's a jazzed up version of the chorus "Singt dem großen Bassa Lieder" ("Sing Songs of the Great Pasha") from Mozart's opera Die Entführung aus dem Serail (The Abduction from the Seraglio). Not many kids shows that use classical music for their theme songs!
3. Thunder in Paradise
Now, THIS show is very much a guilty pleasure for me. It's dumb and cheesy, and yet I'm drawn to it despite that for some reason.
If you haven't heard of this show, it's an (you need an account to see links) starring Hulk Hogan that ran for only one season. Sort of a cross between Baywatch and Knight Rider, with lots of cameos from wrestlers.
Regardless of the quality of the actual show, the theme song is actually really good. Still somewhat cheesy, but it's got a nice melody.
Honorable Mentions
- 1966 Mission: Impossible TV series theme (The original series. Not the movies)
- Magnificent Seven TV series theme ((you need an account to see links). Ran for 2 seasons from 1998 to 2000. Really good show, and better than the movie in my opinion. It still has a thriving fandom decades after the show's cancellation)
Video Game OSTs:
1. Ace Attorney Series
I absolutely love the music from Ace Attorney. Some highlights (for me) would be Edgeworth's Great Revival theme, the DL-6 Incident theme, and the Objection! theme from Ace Attorney: Apollo Justice. There's seriously too many to list, and I've already been rambling for far too long. All I'll say is that I own the soundtrack CDs for ALL the games, plus the special release CDs like the Jazz meets Orchestra one, the Gyakuten Kenji 2 Collector's Package soundtrack, etc etc etc.
2. Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective
Ace Attorney's little sister, Ghost: Trick Phantom Detective. One of my (many) favourite games ever. If there's one song you HAVE to listen to from this soundtrack, it's Last Desperate Struggle (the original version of it, at least. I'm not as fond of the version from the 2023 Switch remake/remaster).
3. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
I love Dance of Illusions from the opening fight, and I'm probably in the minority who actually LIKES I am the Wind.
4. Catherine
Not so much the original music from this one, but the rearrangements of classical music that it uses for the game's stages. Its version of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition: The Hut on Fowl's Legs is particularly good.
5. Mobius Final Fantasy
A truly underrated gem. Part of me died the day service ended for this game (RIP Mobius 2020). I own all three OST soundtracks for this, and I'm hard pressed to pick which songs are the best, but if I had to choose a few, then in no particular order:
Prelude
Warrior of Light Theme
Dawn Warrior Ultimate Hero Theme from Mobius Season 2
6. Runescape
Say what you like about RS3 (I certainly have mixed feelings about it, despite having spent years of my life in recent memory playing it; If it weren't for what the devs decided to do to the lore, I would probably be still playing it instead of returning to Neopets), but it has good music.
Some of my favourites from before I nuked my account:
How did I get all the way down this list without bringing up Resident Evil 5?
I know a lot of people don't like Resident Evil 5, but it's my favourite game in the series. I love the story, the characters (I will die on the hill that Sheva as a character should not be judged on the failings of her AI), and definitely the music. If I had to pick my favourites, it would be these three:
Sad But True (Jill Battle Theme)
Wind of Madness (Wesker Battle Theme; the orchestral version from the game, not the one on the CD)
And, of course, the one that everyone knows, One-Winged Angel from Final Fantasy VII. That one goes without saying. I personally like the original version better than the Advent Children version.
Movie/TV Show/Musical/Video Game/Other music you're fond of?
It is my sacred duty to share with the world how AMAZING this movie is
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