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Scores That Pop from Composers of Pop, continued
By Brandon Kim
on 04/07/2009
Jonny Greenwood at work/play, courtesy of Radiohead, 2007
Some of these rock and rollers make unique compositions that suit the film for which they were written, and others are as formulaic and unimaginative as a Trevor Rabin composition in a Bay and Bruckheimer production. Rabin, once the songwriter for the prog band Yes, clearly ran out of ideas after writing “Owner of a Lonely Heart” in 1983.
Outside of an artist like Nick Cave, whose film scores have been anywhere from great to mind-blowing, it is hard to recall a composition written by a rock/pop musician with such weight as Jonny Greenwood’s for “There Will Be Blood.” While it may or may not stand well on its own as work of music, it's a score that completely transcends the usual role of a composition for film. The score becomes another menacing character in the film -- faceless, but not without voice and aside from a few un-scored dialogue scenes, continually moves the picture along as much as any other tool Paul Thomas Anderson employs.
With unrelenting violins, timpani and ondes Martenot, Greenwood’s score captures the sound of pressure building on a geological scale: the sound of Daniel Plainview. “Well, if it's in me, it's in you,” the oil tycoon says to the man he believes is his brother. Plainview thinks in blood, in family and in his hatreds and proclivities that are forged over incredible stretches of time, just as the sludge he rends from the ground. And Greenwood’s tense strings accompany him so aptly, there are moments when it seems they’re going to snap.
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David Rubinson
Just for clarity- it would be more accurate to describe Sakamoto as a composer turned pop musician than the way you have it. I think this distinguishes him from the others quite meaningfully.
Thanks,
DR
That is a good point and one I considered addressing straight out, the same could nearly be said of Jonny Greenwood, in terms of schooling. But both still made their big mark first as pop musicians, then wrote scores for film. Sakamoto is a very interesting character.
