Cool News
NEWLY UPDATED: Review of (and sound clip from) the "Wing Commander" movie score ((now with MP3!!!))
Glen here...
...for those of you coming in from "Coolnews", and usually don't visit Coaxial, go away! Just
kidding. Welcome!!! You're now in the COAXIAL section of Aint It Cool News.
Weird stuff goes on here all the time.
Coax is an eclectic assortment of news & rumors, something of a hodge-podge governed by my
own personal tastes, and the availability of interesting stuff to post at any given time. If you've
already had enough - or when you're done with the Wing Commander stuff - you can HREF="http://www.aint-it-cool-news.com/">CLICK HERE to exit to the AICN main page!
For those who may not know, I sometimes review CDs. Today, I'm reviewing a forthcoming
release from Sonic Images. Specifically, David
Arnold & Kevin Kiner's soaring score for Fox's Wing Commander movie (due in theaters
March 12, with a brand-new Star Wars Prequel trailer attached for good measure).
Wing Commander is, simply, a score which is likely to go on long after the movie itself
has faded into oblivion. It's not a tremendous score, but it is huge, energized and propulsive
- drawing on many of the sensibilities which make its two composers so good to begin with.
The Wing Commander score is richly textured and incredibly layered, various melody
lines dodging in and out of (and running beneath) action motifs create a sense of both consistent
style within the score, and an ever changing tapestry in it's presentation. It's got a specific
sound, but it's varied enough so it doesn't become boring.
Wing Commander's theme was composed by
David Arnold (who, I am told, also served as something of a "supervisor" for the rest of the score).
One may remember Arnold's work from Stargate, Independence Day, and the
amazingly suave and cool score for Tomorrow Never Dies. In fact, Wing
Commander's score manifests many of Tomorrow Never Dies' better sensibilities - if
you dug Arnold's work in TND, you'll probably get a kick out of WC.
Arnold associate Kevin Kiner is credited with composing the WC score itself. Kiner
has scored the Emmerich and Devlin series The Visitor (for which Arnold wrote the theme
show's music and score for the first episode) and Stargate SG-1 (Arnold's theme is
cannibalized and used throughout the series). In other words, Kiner knows how to work
with Arnold as a guideline, and how to integrate his own "sound" with Arnolds' unique style. The
result is a nice mix between the two composers, as Kiner's work is not entirely imitative, but
recognizable enough as not to clash with with the efforts of the composer he is trying to
complement.
Richly textured and densely layered, Arnold and Kiner's Wing Commander score
should hit stores on March 9. Having not seen the film, I can not vouch for how well this score will
work with the imagery it's meant to accompany. But on its own, this is a fun and exhilarating listen
which may well become a cult favorite in the not too distant future.
NEWLY UPDATED !!!
Due to the unbelievable coolness of a few kind Coaxial readers, I am now able to provide the much-requested MP3 clips of the theme to the Wing Commander movie!
Very cool of you folks - this is appreciated by many people, including myself...
CLICK HERE to access an 111KB MP3 sampling of
the Wing Commander movie theme !!!((Thank You, JURGEN!!!))
CLICK HERE to access a 454KB MP3 sampling of
the Wing Commander movie theme !!!((Thank You, DINO!!!))
CLICK HERE to download from a site which has converted & uploaded the Wing Commander theme
in MP3 ((Thank You, ERIC!!!))
CLICK HERE to jump to a site
where you can get playes such as Winmap or the
new Windows Media Player which will enable you to listen
to MP3 files !!!
CLICK HERE to access a 911KB sampling of
the Wing Commander movie theme !!!((Okay sound))
CLICK
HERE to download a .wav file of the Wing Commander movie theme music ((approx 28 seconds
worth of music)) TREMENDOUS sound, large download @ approx 4.5meg!!!
CLICK HERE to jump to the Sonic
Images web site!!! The score will be available for purchase there shortly, if it isn't
already.
CLICK HERE to return to the
AICN main page!
Glen
Or call:
(512) 347-1992
Mail can be sent to:
Glen Oliver
P.O. BOX 160812
Austin, TX 78716-0812
USA
P.O. BOX 160812
Austin, TX 78716-0812
USA
Austin, TX 78716-0812
USA
USA
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...the original 'Wing Commander' computer game? It had a subtle charm and simplicity that I really miss from games lately. Back in the day, I was invincible in my Raptor, takin' out Jalthi ships left and right. I haven't played that for years, but I swear I have so much of it committed to my long-term memory. Anyway, just thought I'd voice my appreciation for the hours and days of entertainment it provided, back before the intimidating tidal wave of video game development...
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The original "Wing Commander" handily tops the list of my four or five all-time favorite games... A friend and I recently replayed it from beginning to end, and in this era of 15-minute FMV cutscenes we were surprised by how much characterization and plain dramatic "ooomph" could be delivered by the game's simple talking heads. And this was aided immeasurably by the *original* Wing Commander theme and incidental scores...remember the pulse-pounding drumroll flourish that ended every briefing session, or the jarring, dissonant acoustics that played when your little fighter was on the verge of breaking up in space? As far as I'm concerned, no game before or since has melded its music so effectively to its gameplay.
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Yeah! 'Wing Commander' was one of the first games I bought after upgrading my computer with a brand-spankin'-new Sound Blaster card. The music was definitely professional quality, and added so much intensity to the game. The music would always change a split-second before the first enemy fire could be heard. And I'll take the CG character artwork over the live-action crap these days. I saw a preview for WC5(?) in a movie theater(!), and the ships looked like cardboard boxes! The ships in the original had *style* and personality. Oh, well... I can't remember how many times I lost Maniac as a wingman because he couldn't fight. What a nuisance. I can't recall the French chick's name, but she was my favorite. Rowrrr!
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I still know The Fat Man's Wing Commander 2 score (which was much better, especially the Kilrathi theme) by heart. I was hoping at least some of the old music would carry over, but then it's probably for the best.
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Could you please post an MP3 version of this music, to save everybody's bandwidth. Thanks
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I love Wing Commander, but, in regards to the "15-minute" FMV cutscene post, the MIND BLOWING intro to Wing Commander IV was 25 minutes long and it was easily better than most anything that comes out in theatres nowadays. And there is no Wing Commander 5, it's called PROPHECY, and the ships DID lack a lot of personality in that game. But, the Wing Commanders are still the best series of games I've ever played, and this new score sounds to be moving along nicely. If you haven't seen the trailer yet anybody, go to www.wcnews.com and look for a mirror there. Can't wait for March 12...
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Come on, half of this films opening weekend gross will be for the Star Wars trailer.
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Come on, half of this films opening weekend gross will be for the Star Wars trailer.
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Me want to hear Score NOW,... Bwaaargh...
I'm sorry, but sitting here in Germany with a "ain't-cool"-connection to this Site makes me break up in tears, seeing that there could be an interesting bit of film-score of almost 5 Megs... that'll last for days to download, and that having an ISDN-connection working.
I would applaud Mp3 or even RealAudio (though it sounds terrible). The least thing would be to make available a lo-quality Wave-file... whatever. but do something, pleeeeasssse.
Nuff'o'that...
YES! I'm one of those nostalgic bastards, too! Beeing one of the few from that good old times of uprising math-coprocessors, steering thru space, killing kilrathis and saving good ol' terra of invasions with a little help from my flightstick and my SB pro, makes me proud!
That soundtrack did sound SO right, like very few did after that... and I was so in envious of all those guys who actually got themselves a Roland soundcard for "real" orchestration.. heehee
Oh, dammit. I'm dissolving into a puddle of nostalgia. I'm sorry.
Anyways, I hope to hear a little bit of that DA-Soundtrack soon, because I still just don't know what to think about him. His "Stargate" and "Tomorrow Never Dies" sounded great or at least interesting, while "Independence Day" and "Godzilla" (I won't comment anything more on that piece of garbage) were just annoying and unoriginal as hell. The Godzilla-Score even managed to actually ruin some scenes that could've been somewhat watchable (in a masochistic kind of way).
Hope, this one will be one of first category, though I doubt, that it will contain ANYTHING of the game's scoring... I don't even think, that Mr. Arnold has ever really seen a computer other than his music-PC -Mac -AtariST -whatever. -
Glen here...first off, the .wav file has *phenominal* sound. It is crisp and booming. So, everything who thinks this .wav doesn't sound good is just plain wrong. Secondly, we are in the process of trying to create a file which will be easier for people to download. We will make sure to make this obvious when it happens...**Glen**
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I uploaded the mp3 version (400kb file) of the 4meg wav to http://home.earthlink.net/~eric99/wc.mp3
Enjoy! =) -
I'm a fan of Star Trek (all the series), B5, Star Wars and Wing Commander...Personally...I think the Wing Commander series is one of the best games series for computers.
I for one am excited about the movie. While I won't be camping out for tix (like I will be for TPM), I'll be there opening night...WOOOHOOOing after the SW trailer...and getting ready for some explosive entertainment...cuz thats all movies are ppl...entertainment. Accept it.
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To Mecha,
Yes, I am a huge Star Wars fan, the three films are my favorites. On the other hand, you will not find me at Toys R US on Saturday mornings fighting with kids over toys. To star trek, I enjoy the old tv show it is great, but I don't care for the movie versions. As far as my film horizons go, I admire all forms of cinema from horror to documentaries, and every genre in between. I will admit when I saw the previews to Wing Commander I thought it was a video game commercial or one of those power ranger type shows on Fox. I do not mind spending $7 on a ticket to watch a 2 minute Star Wars trailer, because it will thrill me more than the other 30 pieces of crap now showing at the gigaplex. May the talk back be with you. -
I reckon it sounds like Starship Troopers. Also, I don't give a toss about the quality as its only meant to be a clip, I'm just appreciative that we've had something to listen to.
As for the games....surely the movies were the best bit about the Wing Commander series,the actual flight gameplay never gave me the same kind of thrill as Elite or even the recent Colony Wars Vengeance. To be honest, most of us in the UK probably weren't even aware of a movie being made.......typical -
Personaly I'm not tnat big a fan of David Arnorld. His soundtracks all sound alike, and I always get the felling he is trying to mimick other composers (I even read an interview with him where he sayd something on how he liked williams/horner, and how he wanted to be like them).
It could be just me, but there are times when I'm not sure wether I have the score of ID4 or the score of Stargate in my CD player. Listening to this short sample, I kinda thought it sounded like the music of the 'Universal' trailer/intro (the one with the globe with light coming out, which I don't like cause the old one was much better!). And for al this discussion on how WC will be a bad film.
I don't think so, I downloaded the 33 meg trailer/preview (great sound/picture quality) and want to see the movie badly.
I know it's just a bunch of spaceships and explosions, but hell.....I don't care, I wanna see explosions and kickass spacsships! And even though I know/hope SW TPM will be (much, much, much) better then 'WC the movie', that's not a reason why I should dislike a film before I've seen it. And btw. if you go to see the new trailer, it's just a waist of money to leave the theatre after the trailer!
JC -
Actually, you know what? The little piece of score reminded me of Jerry Goldsmith's theme for "Air Force One"! (Though in a good way). Hopefully, this is one of those scores that is good throughout--and that is not the only good thing about the movie.
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I used to have respect for Chris Roberts. Until I saw the trailer for this brat-pack music video.
***WILL THE ALIENS WHO HAVE STOLEN CHRIS ROBERTS' BRAIN PLEASE RETURN IT ASAP***
Have any of you checked out the "official" site for the film, and read the character descriptions?
Maniac and Blair are "buddies"?
Excuse me? Now look, not only am I a CHARTER fan of the game series (I drooled over it before WCI was even released), but I am also a film-school graduate and quite a conoissuer of the "Interactive Movie" genre.
The Wing Commander series of games broke new ground in many ways, not the least of which was by using compelling story and (occasionally) some decent acting.
Does anyone remember the trailer for the WCIV game - "The Price of Freedom"? It was awesome!!! I remember when it came out, my first thought was: "If this were a movie, I would rush right out and see it." In fact, upon (finally!) getting to see the Star Wars Ep. I trailer, I got that same feeling. I downloaded the letter-boxed Quick-Time version of the Ep. I trailer, and pulled out my old WCIV demo CD to compare the trailers side-by-side.
*** As an aside, the quality on this Quick-Time 3.0 letter-boxed clips is AWESOME!!! It is well worth the wait for the 15 meg download. ***
Anyway, after viewing the two trailers consecutively, I have to say ... the trailer for WCIV is darn near as good. (Don't flame me, Star Wars fans - I *LOVE* that franchise with a passion) Sure, it doesn't have the force (pun intended) of my childhood relationship with Star Wars behind it, but it is a damn good preview for what turned out to be an excellent story.
Back then, as I played the WCIV game, I was genuinely as interested in the story and the cinematics as I was in the space combat & sims. There was some darn good acting in there - and anyone who would REPLACE Tom Wilson (aka "Biff") as Maniac has got rocks in their head.
WCIV was the pinnacle of the Wing Commander franchise. Obviously the desire to sell hip soundtrack albums and the impetus to market this film to the Gen-X crowd (Hey, they are all into gaming! It's a natural, right???) were just too strong a temptation.
Chris Roberts and Co. have thrown away everything that made Wing Commander so enjoyable in the first place. This film is going to suffer the same dismal (and well-deserved) fate as Starship Troopers - another rape & pillage job done to a fantastic Sci-Fi property. -
Here is a much better version of the theme:
http://sonicimages.com/webdata/soundtracks/wingcommander/snd/WingCommander-01.MP2.
A longer version with more orchestration.
And those said Arnold is a copycat trying to be like Williams/Horner. I have news for you, Williams and Horner are copycats. Williams copied Bernard Herrriman, Wagner, Max Steiner, Alfred Newman, and god knows who else. And Horner has copied from Williams (and conversly all the people Williams copied) and Jerry Goldsmith. Classical music and film scoring has been coping off of each other and improving for years. So that's no reason to dish Arnold. This soundtrack sounds real cool and seems to have a real epic sound to it and I plan to buy it. The movie frankly I can care less about.
Kev_Berg
P.S. Still waiting for the expanded GODZILLA and TOMORROW NEVER DIES soundtracks -
Here is a much better version of the theme:
http://sonicimages.com/webdata/soundtracks/wingcommander/snd/WingCommander-01.MP2.
A longer version with more orchestration.
And those said Arnold is a copycat trying to be like Williams/Horner. I have news for you, Williams and Horner are copycats. Williams copied Bernard Herrriman, Wagner, Max Steiner, Alfred Newman, and god knows who else. And Horner has copied from Williams (and conversly all the people Williams copied) and Jerry Goldsmith. Classical music and film scoring has been coping off of each other and improving for years. So that's no reason to dish Arnold. This soundtrack sounds real cool and seems to have a real epic sound to it and I plan to buy it. The movie frankly I can care less about.
Kev_Berg
P.S. Still waiting for the expanded GODZILLA and TOMORROW NEVER DIES soundtracks -
It really does sound automatically dated. It'll probably sound better in the theater, with other noises to distract me from the music, but by itself it sounds like the theme from a B flick. Which orchestra are we listening to? Israel? Moscow? Both of those two have always sounded really cheap to me. Oh well... I'll watch the movie anyway, if the Star Wars trailer will be there. It surely won't be half as bad as sitting through Waterboy.
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