ryanpaquet
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Ah Stephan chimed in over at FSM to report that their ebay store is dead due to changes in Deutsch Post – major bummer – it was good while it lasted, should have grabbed some more CDs.
I think your direct reach out helped Thor as it got me here. I am enjoying the discussions here a lot more than FSM – it is not what it used to be – and it’s definitely has a lot more zooba. Most of the discussion around new releases are – Ordered! and Shipped, and waiting for mine, or I haven’t got mine yet. And lots of Bond chatter which I expect more of soon once the Conti score drops – probably next month even – who knows.
But I know many folks are just creatures of habit. For example I have never signed up for JWfan – and have only been a couple of times over the years if I was really desperate for something. I suppose it’s a matter of personal taste and if there’s anything in for the user.
I also want this – and I have not seen any of the films.
I was sourcing most of my caldera releases from their ebay page – and will keep my eyes locked on it should they post some for sale there. Amazing to see so many Shire releases these past few years.
My dog and I are a fan of the latest Children of the Resistance album. Dog finds it relaxing. I still do plan on getting the CD.
ARCO – Arnaud Toulon
I have to say that I really enjoy this score – the film was decent too. Good first film by the Director and some real emotional moments. Score features some lovely piano, motifs, stirring string work, and haunting vocals. I also really love the ending them. I was happy to see a CD release is coming on Rambling Records in Japan next month, I will probably try to get this on CD before it sells out and become super rare.
I enjoyed the film – but not as much as the book – pretty much the same feeling I had about the adaptation of The Martian. Interesting creative decisions, and some, like the ending felt like it was a bit dumbed down for more mass appeal – but it was still a good time.
The score in the film for me did not stand out. I thought it worked well enough – but I have not attempted to listen to the album yet. I have listened to snippets and it’s a more playful score to focus more on the relationships of the main characters rather than an overall theme of something greater – at least that’s how it felt to me.
Would anyone here like to buy my collection of digital music? Any takers? Seriously, you can’t resell it. Those suckers have been scammed. (don’t get me wrong, if it’s the only way to get a score I might dish out cash).
So I don’t think the physical media collecting is weird at all. Most of us grew up in a time where these formats are introduced, and we saw the birth and launch of streaming and digital music. Japan technologically is around 10 years ahead of a lot of countries, China even. But Japan recognizes the value of the CD, and the importance of physical media.
I was born in the year E.T. came out and have had my share of health issues, but one of the biggest game changes for me was switching to a plant based diet over 7 years ago. I also really stopped drinking alcohol for the most part just a few drinks a year.
Another good discussion from that podcast I mentioned previously was with a group of luddites. Basically those not embracing streaming – going back to MP# players, physical media – using DUMB phones – not smart phones – and having more positive effects on their daily life and enjoying things more rather than being sucked into a world of doom scrolling.
We’re the smart ones.
For me the disappearance of a lot of CD or record stores over the years has really been a bit of a downer. So it’s part of the reason I try to buy up stuff that’s cheap and I have a lot of unopened or un-listened to stuff in my collection. In a way I am sort of creating a record store of my own within my own collection, and can even have the experience of discovering new things in my own way.
I also don’t tend to buy new tech – I still use an Macbook Air Laptop from 2012. I recently bought my spouse a 2013 one. I still use a 160GB silver thin Ipod – I found in someone’s garbage around 8 years ago. I live for garage/yard sales. I also have a bunch of video games in a backlog, and plenty of paper books.
Hell I use that crap out my library. Nowadays librarys stock blurays, graphic novels and even video games.
My feelings about Hans have evolved over time – nowadays Hans is more of a ‘BRAND’ than a composer – high rock star-esque concerts are entertaining-ish. They are new ways at presenting film music to audiences which he does deserve credit for – but these are not albums I return to listen to.
I really enjoyed Interstellar, and think it’s probably one of his best works. But I also enjoy some of the early stuff like True Romance. I also really enjoy Gladiator and do eventually want to pick up the LLL CD at some point before it sells out – just waiting for a deal to present itself.
Yeah I really don’t understand the love for One Battle After Another – I really don’t think the Oscars matter.
I listened to a critic the other day on the podcast Tech Won’t Save Us with Paris Marx. The discussion began about the Netflix potential buyout of Warner which ultimately went to Paramount – but the important part of this discussion was more about our relationship with film and going to the movies. What really resonated is that Hollywood has some how trained us to give a shit about Box Office numbers vs. just going out to enjoy a film. This conversation really resonated with me in case you wish to listen. This podcast is also highly recommended.
An album that gets constant replays is Antoine Vachon’s soundtrack to Mages of Mystralia. I have no probelm listening to the entire album in the background during work – also love their soundtrack to Rainbow Billy and the Curse of the Leviathan which is completely different.
I really enjoy Caldera’s Man of God CD release which I picked up cheap during on of Stephan Eicke’s eBay sales – I have a few more of the Preisner CAldera albums that I have not played and also bought for quite cheap. I will dig them out and give them a spin. I will have to double check which ones I have kicking around. I will probably grab some more if Stephan ever does another eBay sale – the prices are perfect. Really impressed with Caldera’s output the past few years and really enjoyed his book, the Struggle behind the Soundtrack.
I have a lot of Rombi albums and am always on the lookout for deals on them. I do at times find used Rombi scores in Montreal. I found one last time, and here’s hoping I find more when I visit in a couple of weeks.
I have listened to UN HOMME ET SON CHIEN and also really enjoy it – haven’t grabbed the CD yet. Also love the War of the Buttons – I think I even have some Rombi CDs I haven’t listened to yet.
I often spend downtime at work looking for deals on CDs for cheap – I have accumulated a few over the years.
I will not be watching – the score category for years always seems to be the wrong choices.
Fantastic Four: The First Steps was score of the year for me. I predict SINNERS will win, the Academy adores Goransson.
For Expedition 33 I thought the soundtrack was ok. It winning best soundtrack at the game awards was not surprising, but I have not played the game. For game soundtracks to make a mark on me – they really have to make an impact, and push me into re-listening to them. I have listened to the whole thing a couple of times during my work days and it’s fine in the background but nothing seems to stick – I’m not humming anything or craving a re-listen.
Austin Wintory’s SWORD OF THE SEA was my fave choice to win last year, and was happy to see it win the Grammy. It’s wonderful, and has gotten so much replay – I will probably never play the game. His last game score I loved this much was ABZU or Journey. He has put out some good stuff – but this has been the most impactful.
Also Thor, those soundtracks by Power Glove (FAR CRY 3: BLOOD DRAGON (2013) and TRIALS OF THE BLOOD DRAGON (2016) are ‘Bitchin’ – they are such great listens, and happy I have both the CDs.
For me I think Donkey Kong Country was a big game music moment for me as well. When I saw that the soundtrack was available on Cassette and CD it’s something I really wanted to own but never has the money back then. I used to record some music from the TV speaker using a record feature on my parents boombox. I also loved the music in THE DIG – but never played the full game, just the demo.
The first real game soundtrack CD I bought was MYST from Cyan directly. I was amazed by that soundtrack, and also really adored RIVEN which I was able to buy from my local record store. One of my favourite game soundtracks was to the Journeyman Project 2: Buried in Time. I had a Packard Bell PC (our first family computer) and it came with the Journeyman Project Turbo. This sequel I purchased in a Bargain bin for $10.00 probably in 1996 or 1997. The game had a catalogue for related merch, including a soundtrack CD. As it turns out the soundtrack CD was never produced. I learned this year later when I tracked down the phone number for the composer Bob Stewart and called him up. Years later I would extract all the game audio files and make my own Bootleg recording – for my own ‘audio survival’. I shared it with fans years later and it’s now living on Youtube where someone else uploaded it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkB7UAG0xCs – the composer passed away and the soundtrack has yet to be released. I am still in communication with the game studio’s alumni who do want to release if they can find the assets – the search is ongoing:
After that I still wasn’t huge into video game music. I think my next most memorable CD game soundtrack was Final Fantasy VIII – which had a striking soundtrack.
When I was a teen I used to frequent used game stores – and also buy game systems after they officially ‘died’. I got a Sega Saturn from a Walmart for $60 and ended up trading for some great games at my local Microplay – that’s how I stumbled into owning and playing Panzer Dragoon Saga (AZEL: Panzer Dragoon RPG). In high school pre-paypal days I remembering forking out a big chunk of money via money order to otaku-japan to get the ‘Memorial’ soundtrack on CD. It is one of my all time favourite game soundtracks.
I also sought out a few others like Songs of Time: The music of Ecco the Dolphin. A masterpiece.
I started writing about game music after seeing an advertisement on the Video Game Music Database forum – I was looking for some kind of outlet to write after a close friend took their own life. It was all volunteer work, and it was fun until it wasn’t – when it started to feel like work I stopped. I was even gifted a few vinyl from composer Jon Everist for actively promoting their music – I like to feel like I had some small impact on their career. But it really helped me embrace game music even more. Sometimes I miss writing about game music – would love to do it as a paid gig. But nowadays most people don’t read anymore.
It’s rare that labels do this – so I thought it was really great in the end – if there is another one I do hope to attend so I can rocket off a ton of questions from my wantlist. Mostly about animated TV scores held up by Disney.
Getting a lot of play on the streaming apps:
Austin Wintory’s Sword of the Sea – it won the Grammy for best video game score, and I do think it’s better than Expedition 33.
Frieren – The Journey Continues by Evan Call (this is a preview release of the full album due out in April, pre-ordered the CD).
Heated Rivalry – Peter Peter (A lot of electronic elements here – but a solid score that works great in the show)
Orwell 2+2=5 – Alexei Aigui
Octopath Traveler II (exception game score)
nirvanna the band the show the movie the score (this is a loving tribute to Silvestri’s Back to the Future)
On CD:
Frieren Beyond Journey’s End – 2CD
Star Trek The Final Frontier Collection (2022 LLL) – scored it for about $35CAD recently in a fluke Amazon marketplace deal.
I really enjoyed the first season of ALIEN EARTH and thought the score worked well. I have not taken time to listen to the score albums from Russo on their own yet. I am expecting a CD release of this score at some point.
Did you watch Alien EARTH Thor?
I also recently ordered a copy of the Alien Romulus score from Mutant on CD – glad I waited a bit to do so, the more recent or re-pressing of these CDs has the correct sizing of the spine on the digipak. The first printing the spine was sized for a 2CD which you can see on discogs if you’re curious as a user uploaded scans of their copy. I do wonder if it was thought it was going to be a 2CD release – but I’m guessing it was more likely a mis-order on Mutant’s part and they forgot that the CD tracks would all fit on one disc. Just happy this is available on CD.
I did reach out to BT via Discord and they also confirmed that there will be a release of their score to UNDER SUSPICION coming too. The exact response was: “Yes we’re putting them all out one by one. Wheeeeeeee {rocketship emoji}
Hey everyone,
Just wanted to say hi and let you know I’ve joined the board. I’ve been looking for an excuse to travel to Norway, and a virtual trip is really light on the wallet. I can already imagine the taste on my tongue of a craft Norwegian beer while marvelling at the Northern Lights.
Looking forward to catching up on the existing threads and sharing some thoughts on music and other fun stuff.