Clint Mansell is the best. What John Williams is to Steven Spielberg, Clint Mansell is to Darren Aronofsky. Aronofsky doesn't have the credentials of Spielberg (yet), but the man puts together some of my favorite movies and Clint Mansell is a key component of those.
My favorite soundtracks/films from the duo include Requiem for a Dream, Pi, The Wrestler, The Black Swan, and this week's selection, The Fountain. Other works from Mansell include Smokin' Aces, Sahara, Doom and one of my other favorite soundtracks, Moon.
Mansell is able to generate scenes in your head in absence of the film. He creates beautiful and sometimes terrifying settings. In addition, the emotion is palpable and really takes me places.
Despite the Requiem for a Dream soundtrack being my favorite, I chose the Fountain because the movie the soundtrack creates in my head is better than the actual movie. Not to suggest the Fountain is bad, it is actually quite beautiful and complex. The beautiful component doesn't necessarily jive with my taste.
I do not think you will be handicapped if you have not seen the film. For some background, there are three parallel stories, each featuring Hugh Jackman's quest to discover love for eternity. In the primary story, he is a scientist searching for a cure for his wife's terminal illness. In another, he is a soldier searching for the Tree of Life. The final story he attempts to save a dying star from a nebula.
I think the soundtrack captures the desperation from each of these stories really well. That desperation is the emotion which moves me. The whole album is one big experience, but the culmination, in my opinion, is 'Death is the Road to Awe'. The finale, Together We Will Live Forever, may very well bring you to tears if you have the opportunity to let this album take you on Jackman's journey.
I am very excited to share this album with you and sincerely hope it captures you the way it captures me.
If you have extra time this week, I encourage you to check out the Requiem for a Dream, Pi, Moon, and The Black Swan.
I was drawn in immediately with how stunning the first track "The Last Man" is. The string arrangement stands out and creates an ebb and flow of subtle melancholy. Then "Holy Dread" abruptly drops me into this incredibly ominous atmospheric pit of uncertainty, my heart rate definitely gets going listening to it. I can only imagine, along with visuals and on a terrific sound system, how this would greatly enhance Darren's movie. "Holy Dread" warranted repeated listens, as I couldn't get enough of the churning build-up to the pulsing flourish that conjured all sorts of visuals in my head.
ReplyDeleteThe crispness of the sound stands out so far. All the string and wind instruments come across very sharp but the percussion is smartly muffled to create that underlying and booming thud on "Tree of Life". I can really appreciate the musicianship on orchestrated music like this, which is a great reminder of why I need to listen to more classical music. "Stay With Me" is aptly named because that is exactly what it does; between that and the closing arrangement "Together We Will Live Together" I really understood Clint's capabilities on creating a moodier and more delicate piece. Powerful and emotional music is what Clint has perfected, this was truly an artist worthy of our little group and I'm very happy he was brought to my attention.
As a quick suggestion to Thomas and everyone. If you enjoyed this week, you should check out the original score for the movie "There Will Be Blood". It was composed by Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood and really stands out, to me, as a terrific listen.
This was definitely a very nice pick for the return to Music Togetherness, albeit an unexpected one. I grew accustomed to the loudness of Thomas' usual picks (which I often enjoyed), so when I saw that he'd picked a soundtrack I was taken aback. After listening to it 5 or 6 times, though, I have to say that he made a great choice.
ReplyDeleteI really like Darren Aronofsky as a director, although this is the only one of his movies that I haven't seen, ironically. In a way, though, I'm almost glad that I haven't seen it before listening to this soundtrack, as it's allowed me to hear this as an album, instead of hearing it in terms of what part of the movie each section was featured in. I really love the strings that are featured in "The Last Man"...they're really mournful, and they create an almost overwhelming feeling of slow-paced solitude. In "The Tree of Life", I really get the sense of a Middle Eastern quest for something grand, with the booming drums, and pounding strings.
I hear a lot of post-rock influences in this soundtrack, with "Stay With Me" being very reminiscent of a song by the band Mogwai (which, right before I sent this comment in, I found out that Mogwai actually contributed to the performance of this album, so I guess I had that on the nose), with it's underlying guitar strumming. There's a constant build up to the album, and you can tell from about the second or third track that there's going to be a big payoff track somewhere near the end. Before that, though, comes "Xibalba" which feels to me like peeking out of a vast darkness into the light of day just for a second, all while knowing that that darkness will overtake you again soon. Like most classical music, the beauty of this at times is astounding, but it's really the dark undertones that I enjoy the most.
The big payoff does come, though, and it really brings it with "Death is the Road to Awe". After the orchestral opening section, things really pick up at around the 3 minute mark. This song reminds me heavily of the band Godspeed You! Black Emperor (definitely one of my favorites), with it's epic, almost apocalyptic feel. Not having seen the movie, I don't know if that's how it was used, but the song really does have that end of the world vibe to it. It's a great piece, and is very much the highlight of the album for me...especially the jaw-dropping ending.
It's hard to follow up the last minute or so of that track, but it must be done, because you just can't close an album that way....so, we have "Together We Will Live Forever". It's a nice song, but I think is mostly good as a comedown from the emotional high that preceded it. Listening to this album brought to mind several bands that I really love, such as those I mentioned (Mogwai and Godspeed You! Black Emperor), as well as a band called Pelican, which does much of the same thing as this album, only with guitars instead of strings. I strongly suggest that if you like this album to check those bands out, specifically the album 'Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven". This a great choice, and I'm really happy to be back to doing this again.
From what Thomas had told me about The Fountain soundtrack it sounded pretty dark and sad, so I had to wait until there was a night this week where I could truly give it my full attention.
ReplyDeleteAs I put the first track on I automatically get an overall sad feeling from it. The lonely softness of the piano at the beginning reflects the title of the song beautifully. Music like this always makes me think of why I hate music at funerals. You don’t even have to know the person but as soon as you hear music like this you automatically start crying. It is overall a very beautiful song, just left me feeling a sense of sadness which is not typically what I look for when I listen to music. Going into Holy Dread! I definitely get an eerie feeling, and it sets a perfect atmosphere of someone on the hunt for something. I love how as the song goes along it gradually picks up momentum, as if something is about to come out after you. “Stay with me” seemed like a reflective track. Since I have not seen the movie I would guess in the scene it is showing past memories between Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz, as if to remind each other of the love between them. “Finish It” reminded me of something I would hear on the TV show “Game of Thrones.” It has somewhat of a medieval feel to it which really intrigues me. Makes me feel like I am out on the battle field, and it is coming down to the finale of an epic sword fight. Mansel paints a beautiful picture with his music. “Death is the road to Awe” is another beautiful piece, and I really like the pickup of tempo. Each chord played feels like it is narrating a story, and you can feel the desperation mounting as the song goes on. The ending of the song is phenomenal and doesn’t hold back, it really is an exceptional song the whole way through. “Together we will live forever” is a very beautiful song, and it is so weird that I was listening to that track the exact same time I was reading a story about a young couple who decided they would get married even though the husband to be found out he only had one month to live. The track playing in the background set the perfect mood for the article and gave an overall sense that even though they may not have a lot of time together they will still be forever bonded for eternity. The song gave me an almost peaceful feeling, and I can now see why Thomas would play it on repeat.
I thought Clint Mansel was an excellent pick and is an exceedingly great composer, who knows how to tell a beautiful story through his music.
After having listened to the soundtrack, I do wish I had seen this movie. I'll have to put that on my to do list. It might have made writing about it a little easier. I did manage to read about the film while listening this week though, and made a little game out of trying to picture which scenes might fit with which sections of this musical score. While the whole thing is incredibly beautiful - most of it has a heavy feeling to it, which makes perfect sense in a movie where death and love (in this case, death causing the loss of a loved one) are the things moving the plot along. This is true of the score from beginning to end, although by the end, "Together We Will Live Forever" feels a bit lighter. In that sense, it gives a great sense of closure - not quite acceptance, but moving in the right direction. The first track, "The Last Man," was the most enjoyable for me, though I really can't explain why - just a feeling.
ReplyDeleteLike my dad, I'm mostly drawn to pretty music or to happy music (in some cases both). While this week definitely lacks the latter, it's heavy on the former. A lot of people, myself included, don't give classical composition much attention these days, so opportunities like these are a nice departure - good pick.
It is pretty awesome that your descriptions of the various songs hit the scenes of the movie almost dead on. Amazing how a score (and maybe a plot) can do that.
ReplyDeleteI listened to this album about 15 times this week on repeat as I studied and gained some additional appreciation. I think David hit it on the head in that the whole album is building up to the end. The last two tracks are my favorite, but they do not quite have the same punch in absence of the first 8. The key for me is I think there are two separate peaks. Death is the Road to Awe is the peak from an action and aggression perspective. All the desperation has lead up to this moment and ends in a fiery fury. From an emotion standpoint, Together We Will Live Forever is the peak for me. The high piano keys at the 1:40 mark both sound like tear drops and serve as a cue for tears to me.
This is the second time David has mentioned Pelican in a review of one of my artists. I believe the other was Thrice. I think I will have to take you up on the recommendation to check them out.
Thanks for your comments and I’m glad everyone got something out of this week.