Alright, so I've been super excited to get home and listen to this, and that's exactly what I did. Lemme tell you, I fucking LOVED this soundtrack so much! (Admittedly, I must fess up to a major syn, pun intended, and say that I've never gotten round to watching Beetlejuice before... But that's tonight's homework!) So, here are my thoughts on a few of my favourites!
1. Main Titles - What a great introduction! The gradual buildup and the crazy layering of different instruments and elements is so cool and really effective! It's something that keeps you on your toes at all times.
2. Travel Music - Are we on a whimsical adventure now? It sure as hell sounds like it! Am I sure this is in the same film?
4. Enter The Family/Sand Worm Planet - When I heard this one, I got vibes from MIA's intro around the 0:40 mark. Seriously love how the ending ramps up too and takes on a whole new level of spooky!
6. Lydia Discovers - I originally noted this down as my fav until I got further in. I'm a real sucker for harps, choirs and pianos together. I think I said it about the Batman tracks too, but I can only describe it as Hauntingly Beautiful, and I have no idea how Danny does it. Just a master. (Same applies to 10. Sold too)
13. The Incantation - This one replaced the previous as my fav. There's so damn much to it. The intro scared me for a split second, the pausing/phrasing and the drums are super fucking effective (Where's the next note? Huh? HUH?!) Digging the mix of the spooky harps and choir stuff, and then the introduction of the organ was one of my favourite things to ever happen. (On a tangent, this track reminds me of an old kids dinosaur game I love, Fossil Fighters. There's a theme for when bad shit happens, here's a link if you're curious -
Fossil Fighters Danger Theme . On second thought, I wonder what other tracks of that game might be similar... Could be worth a look?) Anyways, that sudden uplift at the end was amazing too. I LOVE THIS ONE!
14. Lydia Strikes a Bargain - Loving the violins and the organs. I mention this track because I noted how sparingly the organ is actually used. For a track like The Incantation, it's fair usage is justified, but here, I love that it's used only at the most ominous moments, imo. Reserving elements for the right time and not just cramming them all in at one go really helps to make a track stand out, and I think this applies to the whole soundtrack. Every instrument gets their moment and contributes their part when it's needed. If that makes sense.
15. Showtime! - Oh those ominous horns. I can defo hear the Pinkly Smooth in this one! Where did the damn circus come from? Who knows! All I know is that I'm LOVING it. Really reminds me of ALPOH too in that regard, with the circus and all.
16. Laughs - Again, the different layers are so awesome. The circus is back!! Very fitting. The juxtaposition of ominous horns with circus music is insane. More organ, this time with bells, this means business! That outro section too, was that a wedding?!
17. The Wedding - Oh, so it was a wedding! Chaotic mid section into lovely romantic bells into more chaos and that ending was gorgeous! Just like most weddings, right? Right? (Source - I don't know, I've only been to two weddings that I can remember. And they were
years ago. LOL)
18. The Aftermath - Another whimsical one! Again, the juxtaposition of these tracks is so mind-blowing. How is this in the same film again? Hell, it's so happy I might just dance. If I danced. Which I don't. But you get my point. Dancing. That last chord pleased my soul.
19. End Credits - And back we go. A great way to end this fucking amazing rollercoaster! It's got the chaos at the start, the gorgeous soft section at 0:50, the building back up... Just beautiful.
Okay, that ended up being a LOT longer than I intended. But I seriously loved digging into this one! I realised I didn't go into depth for Batman, so I might do that tomorrow just to share some thoughts! Anyway, I'm off to do my homework and watch the damn film for some context, and maybe I'll give my brief thoughts on that too! Again, cheers to
@Syn Gates for such an awesome pick, and for blessing us with TWO AOTMS this month! Rock that hangover off, man!
EDIT - Watched Beetlejuice, was fucking amazed! Possibly the most bizarre, unexpected, buckwild film I've ever seen, but definitely an experience I thoroughly enjoyed. The whole face ripping bit totally got me though, nearly had a heart attack LOL!
you did a killer job this month with the choices!
).
