Your Film Music Origin Story
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I remember going to the Narvesen kiosk asking for Soundtrack Magazine in the early 90s, lol. Of course they didn’t have it. Then I found their address in a film book at the library, sent cash to Luc in Belgium, and my subscribtion was on. My last issue was the December 1995 one, I had got fed up of those old men on the cover. FSM was the new thing then.
That is why I didn’t like the way John Williams sometimes plugged tracks together from very different parts of the movie.
Interestingly this never really bothered me.
Anyway, it never crossed my mind to listen to TV themes because you could hear it every week when your favourite shows aired.
Only if they were actually shown on the few programmes we had. We were always years behind and often years past before the next season was shown, if at all.
So I have a complete set of FSM magazines, from 1990 to 2005 (the first part of my own Danny Elfman Buyer’s Guide was in the very last issue, as it happens, the second part in the inaugural online issue).
I have ALL of them still, filling up a cupboard!
Yeah, the early days I bought Soundtrack! via the Soundtrack Club mailorder because of that. Some years later I actually subscribed to it and I also bought some older issues. So great to see the favorite composers at all. It’s by no means a complete collection and I still have them. We should never part with these as the info or even photos within is not really available otherwise!
While I have only two printed FSMs I do have the digital archive as Kendall provided that as a free download at some time.
I remember going to the Narvesen kiosk asking for Soundtrack Magazine in the early 90s, lol. Of course they didn’t have it. Then I found their address in a film book at the library, sent cash to Luc in Belgium, and my subscribtion was on. My last issue was the December 1995 one, I had got fed up of those old men on the cover. FSM was the new thing then.
And this reminds me of something yet again.
In the early 90s, I thought I was the only person in the world interested in film music, at least in Norway (well, not really, I had an inkling there were others out there — but it’s what you think and feel when there is no one to share your interest with). The discovery of FSM, the magazine, helped a little, and then the messageboard even more. But they were still all ‘foreigners’, were there any Norwegians out there?
So I asked Lukas to see a list of subcribers from Norway, and lo and behold — there were some names! There was yours, Jon, and Nils. A couple of others too, but their names escape me at the moment (was Hans Offerdal one?). You both even had letters in the magazine. Today, of course, I know about several fellow film music ‘geeks’ in Norway, but different time back then. Norwegian film music fans were more rare than gold.
(I mean, I guess they weren’t THAT rare, but none of us knew about each other’s presence in the pre-information age period).
Just a little nugget taken in isolation from the long view… although it might actually be more significant than it sounds. I’m one of the many “older gits” whose childhood and adolescence was shaped by “taping direct from the telly onto cassette”. In some ways it might be geekism at its saddest (my friends had started going to school discos and stuff), but it certainly attuned my ear to composers’ styles.
This was before Halliwell’s Film Guide, which gave a composer credit for the major studio films at least. And so I taped the Main Titles from almost all films shown in Blighty from between about 1973 and 1979. In most cases, certainly in the early days, I would have absolutely no idea who the composer was, but I quickly latched onto the style(s) of Rózsa and Herrmann (unmistakeable), but also people like Herschel Burke Gilbert (after hearing RIOT IN CELL BLOCK 11, I just knew that it had to be him within the opening bars of WHILE THE CITY SLEEPS). And so on with a multitude of composers.
That’s just part of my own “Film Music Origin Story”.
So I asked Lukas to see a list of subcribers from Norway, and lo and behold — there were some names! There was yours, Jon, and Nils. A couple of others too, but their names escape me at the moment (was Hans Offerdal one?). You both even had letters in the magazine. Today, offr se, I know about several fellow film music ‘geeks’ in Norway, but different time back then. Norwegian film music fans were more rare than gold.
I did exactly the same!
I remember Rune Karolius from Finnsnes. He was a big Kamen fan. I see you are FB friends with him.
Actually, I had three friends in the 90s and beyond (Alexander Nupen, Sindre Seberg and Lars Christian Jacobsen) who were also interested in film music. Not as much as me, but they were quite a bit into it. So I was lucky in that regard.
were there any Norwegians out there?
So I asked Lukas to see a list of subcribers from Norway, and lo and behold — there were some names
LOL…. those were the days, long before GDPR. 🙂
I’m one of the many “older gits” whose childhood and adolescence was shaped by “taping direct from the telly onto cassette”.
I did so too. Fortunately, I had a least a way to hookup my radio cassette recorder to the TV, so that I would record the TV sound only, and not via microphone picking up should anyone in the family talk. (Ironically, had I now some voices of my family from back then, these tapes would be invaluable to me.)
Some of the movies I had taped off the TV were WAR OF THE WORLDS, THE BIG COUNTRY, TWILIGHT’S LAST GLEAMING, CAPRICORN ONE, BANDOLERO!, LAWMAN, HIGH NOON, GODZILLA, SCORPIO, THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL… all of which belong to my “initial deck” of “introductory film scores”. (The first film scores I ever got to listen to “without movie” were STAR WARS and STAR TREK – THE MOTION PICTURE.)
Weirdly, I never did that ‘record-from-TV’ thing, even though I’m the right age to have done so (the “cassette age”).
I remember Rune Karolius from Finnsnes. He was a big Kamen fan. I see you are FB friends with him.
Ah, yes, that’s right — he was on the list too! Yes, I’ve met him a couple of times, while attending TIFF (Tromsø International Film Festival). I believe he worked in the cinema there when I last saw him a few years ago. Don’t know what he does these days.
Weirdly, I never did that ‘record-from-TV’ thing, even though I’m the right age to have done so (the “cassette age”).
You are exposed as no real fan then 😉
I did so too. Fortunately, I had a least a way to hookup my radio cassette recorder to the TV, so that I would record the TV sound only, and not via microphone picking up should anyone in the family talk.
Originally I started indeed with a microphone but a thten later better TV had a connection gladly. I however did this primarily for TV themes but rarely for films or even complete ones as for as I remember. I later did that later in the 90s with some silent movie scores of VHS I rented from the library (some Carl Davis scores specially).
So I asked Lukas to see a list of subcribers from Norway, and lo and behold — there were some names! There was yours, Jon, and Nils. A couple of others too, but their names escape me at the moment (was Hans Offerdal one?). You both even had letters in the magazine. Today, of course, I know about several fellow film music ‘geeks’ in Norway, but different time back then. Norwegian film music fans were more rare than gold.
Thor, I think we first got in touch after I had a reader’s letter in “Filmmagasinet” (a Norwegian movie magazine that was distributed for free at cinemas) sometime in the late 90s, complaining about their abysmal film music coverage. That was back in the day when it was OK to leave your e-mail address in a “public place” like a magazine. You saw that and contacted me, right? (as did Jon).
As for my complaints, they had no effect whatsoever on the magazine. They kept reviewing mostly song compilations, and a few issues later, we could read in the column that people who listen to and collect film music are mostly guys who live in their parents’ basement. Charming.
My film music “origin story” is pretty similar to others’ of my generation – it all started with STAR WARS. Although it got off to a slightly false start when I went to the record shop to get the music, a few days after seeing the movie, and what the clerk got me was the disco version by Meco! But I have to admit I kind of liked that, too… And as it was my first ever LP, I have warm, nostalgic feelings about it to this day. But I quickly got the real thing, too, of course!
Do you remember the lists I sent you in tbe late 90s, Nils? I rated all the scores to films I had seen at the cinema each year. 😅
Weird with that “in the parents basement”-thing. Why is film music considered more “nerdy” than many other music genres?
Do you remember the lists I sent you in tbe late 90s, Nils? I rated all the scores to films I had seen at the cinema each year. 😅
I do, yes! We exchanged some “snail mail” letters. I think I still have them somewhere. 🙂
and what the clerk got me was the disco version by Meco! But I have to admit I kind of liked that, too… And as it was my first ever LP, I have warm, nostalgic feelings about it to this day. But I quickly got the real thing, too, of course!
I think there is nothing to be ashamed of liking that. I actually find those covers a lot of fun, too 😉
Thor, I think we first got in touch after I had a reader’s letter in “Filmmagasinet” (a Norwegian movie magazine that was distributed for free at cinemas) sometime in the late 90s, complaining about their abysmal film music coverage. That was back in the day when it was OK to leave your e-mail address in a “public place” like a magazine. You saw that and contacted me, right? (as did Jon).
That’s correct. I wish I remembered the year. I know it was the late 90s. Alas, my Yahoo Mail doesn’t go back further than 2014, although I’ve used it since the mid 90s (I think the older e-mails have all been deleted from cyberspace). Do you still have the magazine with your letter?
Wasn’t it some guy called Arne Svingen who had that “soundtrack column” (if you could even call it that) in the magazine? I think he later became an author. I do, however, remember kinda hating him a bit for his dismissive and ignorant remarks the few times he DID actually review a score album. I especially remember a review of ANYWHERE BUT HERE, where he wrote mostly about the songs, and then briefly mentioned Elfman’s score suite – kinda ad hoc – as “nissen på lasset” (a Norwegian expression that somewhat translates to “a thorn in someone’s side”). Even though Elfman actually co-wrote some of the songs as well.
(ooops, I just googled him and realized he wrote the children’s book DE TØFFESTE GUTTA [THE TOUGH GUYS], which was turned into a film with a score by our very own Eirik Myhr, who in turn is a big Elfman fan….so great comeuppance!).
But all of this is a perfect example of how it was like back then, and how poorly instrumental film music fared as a pop cultural phenomenon. This was long before the ‘nerd revolution’ of the mid 2000s, so the only acceptable alternative crowds were the grungers, indie-poppers and hip hoppers. Things like instrumental film music was definitely considered ‘anorak’ and super un-cool. I was actually doubly un-cool, because I wasn’t only into film music — my interest in pop music veered towards earlier prog rock and art rock like Supertramp, The Alan Parsons Project, Pink Floyd, 10CC etc. Or electronic music like Jean Michel Jarre. So absolutely ANTI everything that my own peerage was into. But I didn’t care. I liked what I liked.
When I was very young, my dad had the LP of The Alamo. It was frequently played and my brother (seven years older than me) told me that all the red on the front cover was blood, he being a big fan of freaking me out. Of course, I believed him without question, even though now you can see it’s nothing of the kind!
I loved the music though, and a year or two later, dad bought You Only Live Twice and the gatefold OHMSS, which were all played until every track had cracks and pops galore.
That hooked me into wanting to hear more, and as soon as I was able I’d buy almost any film score LP that I could find and afford. I sold most of my LPs when our first child came along, milk powder apparently being of more use than great music, but I kept a few – all three of the above and Morricone’s I Film Della Violenza, which remain in my possession and always will, despite not having anything on which to play them.
I actually had a small business in Filmmagasinet in the late 90s offering 3 soundtracks for sale in each issue. Totally dead-in-the-water of course, I stopped after a few issues. There was a female contact person in the mag who was very positive towards this, so kudos to her. I had one page in each issue, for free. Offered albums like BACK TO TITANIC, PRINCE OF EGYPT, BASEKETBALL and ENEMY OF THE STATE.
I sold most of my LPs when our first child came along, milk powder apparently being of more use than great music, but I kept a few – all three of the above and Morricone’s I Film Della Violenza, which remain in my possession and always will, despite not having anything on which to play them.
Double ouch! First, losing your LP collection, and then your turntable. Don’t get kids, is the lesson here!
I keep them in the loft, and occasionally check to make sure they aren’t being affected by temperature fluctuations.
The LPs, obviously.
Things like instrumental film music was definitely considered ‘anorak’ and super un-cool.
I think this also applied to instrumental music in general, too. Many people (still) need the singing apparenty. No idea, is it less abstract, can they better connect because of the voice maybe? Or because they can sing along? Surely there studies about that.
One of my earliest LPs was this one and I still have it:
https://www.discogs.com/de/release/9483271-Various-James-Bond-Greatest-Hits
I don’t think it was right in 1982 already – I was 9 then – but around mid 80s for sure. Funny thing is I was already aware that a lot of these compilation didn’t have the originals and I was please this had.I keep them in the loft, and occasionally check to make sure they aren’t being affected by temperature fluctuations.
The LPs, obviously.
He, he. Cue “Thwarted Wedding” from John Williams’ JANE EYRE.
That’s correct. I wish I remembered the year. I know it was the late 90s. Alas, my Yahoo Mail doesn’t go back further than 2014, although I’ve used it since the mid 90s (I think the older e-mails have all been deleted from cyberspace). Do you still have the magazine with your letter?
Yes, I do. It was issue 6/1997.
Wasn’t it some guy called Arne Svingen who had that “soundtrack column” (if you could even call it that) in the magazine? I think he later became an author. I do, however, remember kinda hating him a bit for his dismissive and ignorant remarks the few times he DID actually review a score album.
It was Svingen, yes. One of the things that prompted my letter was his “review” of THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK in the previous issue, which he gave 1 out of 6 stars. Here it is in its (very short) entirety:
“John Williams writes a lot of film music in Hollywood. That’s because he writes music with the same superficial emotions that many directors employ in their movies. Simple, pompous dramatic formulas and clichéd teary-eyed music. One thing’s for certain: You don’t watch The Lost World to listen to the music.”
Um, well, mister, some of us actually did. In my letter I claimed that it was him that was being superficial, and I mentioned all the variation you could find in Williams’ work, if you cared to look. He had a rebuttal to my letter in the same issue, where he again claimed that no, Williams is “wallowing in the most well-trodden and pompous film music clichés”, and that he “absolutely focuses mostly on big Hollywood action movies”. So I wrote a second letter, listing all the movies Williams had scored in the 90s up to that point, to try to make him understand that “big Hollywood action movies” was actually a pretty small percentage of what Williams had done so far in the decade. There was no rebuttal to that one.
He, he. Well, fuck Svingen (sorry, Eirik!). THE LOST WORLD is brilliant. Would be great if you could take a picture of that letter, just for nostalgia’s sake. But if not, that’s okay. In 1997, I studied English at the University of Oslo. I wasn’t very social, so I relied on my old friends, but sought out people – like yourself – who were into the the same thing I was.
Would be great if you could take a picture of that letter, just for nostalgia’s sake.
All right, here they are. My first letter and Svingen’s rebuttal in the first picture, my second letter in the second picture. They’ll make sense only to a select few here, of course. 🙂
By the way, I see now that my e-mail address is actually not in there. So I misremembered about that, obviously. But I’m pretty sure you guys first contacted me by e-mail… Guess you must have found it elsewhere.
Ha, ha…..thank you, Nils. And for the memories. Glad you got the final word. I’m impressed by your calm; if I had discussed that IRL, I would have gone ballistic.
LOL, I guess Svingen had ran out of arguments.
Knut Holt, legendary film reviewer in Fædrelandsvennen, once stated that few others had ruined film as much as John Williams. Harsh 😅🙈
Harsh indeed. It’s like Jon Selaas’ 1-star review of JURASSIC PARK. It’s come to bite them in the ass.
Wasn’t it some guy called Arne Svingen who had that “soundtrack column” (if you could even call it that) in the magazine? I think he later became an author. I do, however, remember kinda hating him a bit for his dismissive and ignorant remarks the few times he DID actually review a score album. I especially remember a review of ANYWHERE BUT HERE, where he wrote mostly about the songs, and then briefly mentioned Elfman’s score suite – kinda ad hoc – as “nissen på lasset” (a Norwegian expression that somewhat translates to “a thorn in someone’s side”). Even though Elfman actually co-wrote some of the songs as well.
(ooops, I just googled him and realized he wrote the children’s book DE TØFFESTE GUTTA [THE TOUGH GUYS], which was turned into a film with a score by our very own Eirik Myhr, who in turn is a big Elfman fan….so great comeuppance!).
Hahaha, this is hilarious!
Just to clarify, I never worked directly with Svingen on the movie, I only met him once or twice at the premiere and festival viewings. Seemed like a really nice guy. I, however, might not have been as nice if I knew about his erratic views of John Williams…
The classic misunderstanding that film music should not «interfere» or even «push» emotions, like you are not using every OTHER aspect of filmmaking to do exactly that already… Sigh.
I can only say, I hope my score for DE TØFFESTE GUTTA (which starts out as a comedy but later hits you in the face with some really gut-wrenching scenes) actually made him cry. By the time of the film’s release (2013) he surely must have learned that using music – like every other artistic output – to convey emotions, is actually not a bad thing.
Reading how he dismissed Williams back in that 90s magazine is actually quite shocking. The claim that Williams has been at it for too long and simply doesn’t have much to say musically anymore… Well, personally I think Williams’ most interesting period is the 2000’s, which had yet to occur when this happened… So Svingen was obviously very, very wrong back then.
I am also impressed by your calm, factual responses, Nils. And even though you had the last word, what an arrogant way for the magazine editor to step in and «declare the discussion of John Williams to be over», after TWO letters! Like they seriously didn’t find a discussion of the world’s greatest film composer to be even RELEVANT in a fucking film magazine! Horrendous. Absolutely horrendous.
I hope the stories didn’t sour your relationship with Svingen or the film itself, Eirik (it still remains one of your best scores). And I’m sure he’s a nice guy. He was just so totally off in that column – both in attitude and knowledge – that there’s no way to sugarcoat it. I do wonder what he thinks about it today, if he’s changed or still feels the same way.
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