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ScoreKeeper Talks About Michael Giacchino's STAR TREK Score...

His score for Speed Racer is dogshit by quantize	Apr 8th, 2009 08:08:41 AM
what the fuck Scorekeeper..get some taste...he aint even a player compared to the likes of Thomas Newman
and WTF is it with all these AICN pussies blubbering by quantize	Apr 8th, 2009 08:10:37 AM
stop wetting yourselves and speak intelligently about your experiences..bunch of fucking little girls breaking into tears..what is this a fucking Miley Cyrus concert?
His Lost score by _Palmer_Eldritch	Apr 8th, 2009 08:12:12 AM
was very solid for season 1, but got a bit repetitive after that. And yes, it's a TV show, but if you look at Mark Snow's work on The X-Files, I think it's safe to say that the guy treated almost every episode like a separate feature film, giving many eps their own distinct tune with key scores being replayed and worked upon throughout the series.
It's Miley!!!! by Mr_X	Apr 8th, 2009 08:12:57 AM
she's cry tears though slitty eyes.
Plant by genrefanboy	Apr 8th, 2009 08:14:31 AM
Never heard him score anything which was that memorable and amazed how some people rate him so highly. I guess they have nowhere else to go on Trek as Goldsmith is sadly gone & Horner would be too expensive & uninterested anyway.
the star trek tune i listen mostly to is by Mr_X	Apr 8th, 2009 08:15:54 AM
Sol Kaplan & Gerard Fried » Tracks The Ritual / Ancient Battle / 2nd Kroykah (6:09) i also force my cousins aged 3 and 5 to fight to the death whilst listening to this
I love the intro music to Star Trek 6. by Stereotypical Evil Archer	Apr 8th, 2009 08:26:05 AM
That intro is damn fine scoring.
Score Gossip by Steven_Spielbergs_Dickblood	Apr 8th, 2009 08:27:22 AM
Apparently JJ Abrams was so moved by the sex scene score that Michael Giacchino wrote for the Kirk-Uhuru jungle-fuck scene, he allowed Michael to score openly, without the visuals (a la John Williams's ET finale). The final score was so beautiful J.J. re-shot the sex scene with the music playing. Rumour has it the score was so powerful, the actors actually ended up fucking, ending with a cum shot on the girl playing uhuru's face. This scene of course was not allowed in the final cut.
G O D ! ! ! by HoboCode	Apr 8th, 2009 08:29:59 AM
That is all.
Anakin bitch slaps Spock at the end by greekloveropa	Apr 8th, 2009 08:30:02 AM
smack bitch
Fringe's score is almost better than Lost's. by HoboCode	Apr 8th, 2009 08:31:06 AM
And that's saying a lot.
Hobo by Crow3711	Apr 8th, 2009 08:47:33 AM
Fringe probably has my favorite opening music over any show I've ever seen. It gives me chills every time. It's so well timed, and mysterious and fun, I love listening to it. JJ said it popped into his head, in its entirety, one night as he was getting into bed. Good call on that one.
This is great news by zillabeast	Apr 8th, 2009 08:59:20 AM
I was getting worried about the people who said that the score was not anything too memorable. I have a feeling they were just too caught up in the film to notice. Looking forward to May 8th!!!!
'his score for SPEED RACER is dogshit' by Darkman	Apr 8th, 2009 09:02:34 AM
Only if you've never heard it. I'm just amazed that Giacchino has had time to sleep in the last few months, much less score STAR TREK, UP and LAND OF THE LOST and conduct at the Oscars. Good report, SK.
Now Official- Star Trek teabagged AICN by Rubiks Doob	Apr 8th, 2009 09:17:54 AM
I'm sure the movie is fine but good god it has provoked every single reviewer on this site to drop their professional facade and write like a 5 year old. Thanks for nothing Scorekeeper- I now know zip from your analysis of the score so much as you were having a total geekasm to actually do your job. Focus people...
James Horner by Gordak	Apr 8th, 2009 09:19:13 AM
Did we forget the centerpiece of the whole Star Trek franchise with II and III?
Dennis McCarthy did a good job with Generations by Robnhud	Apr 8th, 2009 09:44:44 AM
The only REAL saving grace for that movie
Great review, but what about the TOS THEME? by Nickytea	Apr 8th, 2009 10:16:03 AM
Did it make an appearance as promised? Was it glorious? Comparable to his usage of the original Speed Racer theme? Any other themes from the show pop up?
Excellent by Champoozie_Jones	Apr 8th, 2009 10:17:36 AM
I was getting a bit worried as well that the music would pale in comparison to the other aspects of the film. Good to hear that the score holds up on its own.
Horner Kicks Ass by DoctorWho?	Apr 8th, 2009 10:17:53 AM
I have been underwhelmed by most scores in recent years. Some key sections in Batman Begins are great. LOTR was outstanding. I'm sure I'm overlooking something.
You all need to do what I'm telling you by Jodet	Apr 8th, 2009 10:35:10 AM
And I'm telling you to go get the score to 'The Machinist' by Roque Banos. It's fucking incredible. I mean it. Go get it. Right now. Amazon.com. GO.
Nice to see a score review on AICN - more please. by Amy Chasing	Apr 8th, 2009 11:13:00 AM
Remember - it doesn't have to be orchestral to be good, and if it doesn't have to be electronic it probably shouldn't be.
Best TREK score was... by ccchhhrrriiisssm	Apr 8th, 2009 11:35:07 AM
STAR TREK 2 by James Horner. I still feel emotionally attached to that score.
Was there a score for Star Trek 4, 5 or 6? by ccchhhrrriiisssm	Apr 8th, 2009 11:50:40 AM
It was forgettable.
Does he symphonize the Beastie Boy's song? by DoctorZoidberg	Apr 8th, 2009 11:53:08 AM

yeah.. dude by LarryTate	Apr 8th, 2009 11:59:14 AM
How can you leave out James Horner on your list? His work on II was amazing
I also really miss by LarryTate	Apr 8th, 2009 12:01:26 PM
the strange TOS music. Those high chorus-y voices whenever superior brainiac aliens showed up. Just awesome mood setting music
Thank you! More Score Reviews, SK!! by finky089	Apr 8th, 2009 12:06:49 PM
That Amy Chasing character makes a good point. I like Giacchino's work. Look forward to hearing his new stuff for Star Trek.
Nothing is better the Goldsmith's TMP soundtrack by picardsucks	Apr 8th, 2009 12:30:32 PM
Better than Star Wars, Indy, Close Encounters, LOTRs, Best of all time bitches
I LOVED Godlsmith's score to First Contact... by expert_40	Apr 8th, 2009 12:30:46 PM
... it was so understated (not so bombastic as TMP score) and had the most beautiful main theme of any of the Star Trek movies. I have high hopes for this score, as I too am totally in love with his work on The Incredibles and Ratatoille. The biggest problems with the "new" summer tentpole films (particularly the superhero movies) is that none of the scores have matched up to Superman, or Danny Elfman's Batman, or Indiana Jones, etc, etc. What do I mean by that? Well, go and try to hum the a piece of the score to Iron Man or for the Spiderman flicks. People want to shit on Hans Zimmer and his various proteges, like Steve Jablonsky, but those guys give us scores with great themes. Think Gladiator or Pirates of the Caribbean, or any of the Bayhem flicks. Actually, Jablonsky gave us two great scores in The Island and Transformers, two scores that always find a place on my iPod. So the question is, ScoreKeeper, is this score rememberable, or hummable? Is it it Pirates or Transformers, or is it X-Men, Iron Man, or Spiderman?
quantize by Toonol	Apr 8th, 2009 12:33:03 PM
The Speed Racer score is incredible. Step past your initial bias.
James Horner? Pfft! by Soliok	Apr 8th, 2009 12:57:49 PM
Yes, his work on the Wrath of Khan score is memorable. I'll give him that. And only that. The majority of his other work is a Frankenstein of thievery and recycling of past work, most of which is not his own. If all artists are thieves, James Horner is the Clown Prince of Artistic Crime.
Me am excited for movie by BizarroNo1	Apr 8th, 2009 01:13:04 PM
It great idea to keep long dead franchise on life support by re-casting parts originally inhabited by good actors! It not like most of charm in original show came from the people playing the roles! DeForest Kelley? William Shatner? Who am they?! Me great idea am to remake "To Kill A Mockingbird" with Xac Efron as Atticus Finch! Martin Lawrence, him star as Tom Robinson! WASSUP?!
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Dead on Soiliok by HoichiTheEarless	Apr 8th, 2009 01:59:04 PM
His work on Trek II is worthy of a mention no doubt, but if scorekeeper snubbed him because he noticed how he steals and recycles shamelessly like no other composer I can think of, I could not put up an argument.
"It's been a long road..." by CENOBITE	Apr 8th, 2009 01:59:51 PM
"gettin from there to here" Man, I hate to say it being into obscure German Industrial bands, but that song always gets me misty.
I by CENOBITE	Apr 8th, 2009 02:00:47 PM
wtf is up with these ads?!?
ScoreKeeper, you are awesome. by freydis	Apr 8th, 2009 02:21:08 PM
It doesn't seem like these articles should be able to survive in the same environment as most of the stuff on here... I'm so glad they've found a way to coexist. This sounds like excellent news for Star Trek.
3 greatest Trek intros by kwisatzhaderach	Apr 8th, 2009 02:21:24 PM
1. The Motion Picture 2. The Wrath of Khan 3. The Undiscovered Country Special mention for First Contact.
His Lost score is fuckin great by Biffs_Pleasure_Paradise	Apr 8th, 2009 02:22:14 PM
And I dare you to say otherwise. Sure some themes are repeated, and any of the 'chase' music usually sounds pretty much the same, but he has consistently come up with great new themes for each season. I never thought I'd purchase the score to a TV show, but sure enough, I've got all three seasons and eagerly anticipate the 4th in May. Giacchino is clearly an amalgam of a few composers (John Williams and Bernard Hermann primarily), but it's nice that there's a composer out there making exciting and memorable film music in these modern times.
James Horner by ArmageddonProductions	Apr 8th, 2009 02:32:04 PM
Really? You're gonna give Leonard Rosenmann a free pass after he basically just rehashed his crappy LORD OF THE RINGS score for STAR TREK IV, then rehashed that rehash for ROBOCOP 2 (both times, I just expected dancing hobbits to pop out and dance with badly-rotoscoped Roman soldiers painted up to resemble "orcs"), but you'll completely neglect Horner's incredible WRATH OF KHAN score?
yeah Rosenmann's effort was poop by mikey mike	Apr 8th, 2009 02:40:28 PM
and forget Horner and his plagarizing self, where was Cliff Eidelman on that list
This review reads like damage control for a score no one can rem by darthpigman	Apr 8th, 2009 03:02:20 PM

expert_40, agreed by MattmanReturns	Apr 8th, 2009 03:06:44 PM
I miss big themes in scores... we don't get too much of that anymore. The Pirates scores were amazing though, I love the way they evolved and introduced new themes throughout each movie.
So is it that BATMAN BEGINS theme we heard in trailer? by Lenny8	Apr 8th, 2009 03:44:50 PM
In the third trailer, there was the music which was basically Batman Begins with six notes, instead of two... was it ever determined if that was the Giacchino score? If so, it's lame.
Horner by LarryTate	Apr 8th, 2009 04:25:05 PM
Yes.. Horner repeats himself.. BUT if you judge him just on Wrath of Khan only, he is genius. I love the contrast between the soft Enterprise scenes and the fast beat khan scenes- as they go back and forth and create tension. Is it getting hot in here?
Horner is a fucking hack by Rhuragh	Apr 8th, 2009 05:23:01 PM
Yeah, his TWOK score is pretty good, as is Aliens, and Willow, but every score he's written in the past twenty years has been a rehash of those scores. Scorekeeper, if you don't keep up with Bear McCreary's blog, he made a post recently detailing his score plans for the rest of this year. There is some great news regarding the remaining BSG score albums. The fourth season release is going to be a two disc set where the first disc covers everything from "He That Believeth In Me" (4x01, or 4x03 if you count Razor as 4x01 and 4x02) to "Islanded in a Stream of Stars" (4x18). The second disc will be basically the entire score from Daybreak Parts 1 and 2. That sounds fucking awesome. Additionally, there will be a further album with the scores from Razor and The Plan. Finally, there will also be an album released with the score from the Caprica miniseries. He is also considering releasing further albums with previously unreleased tracks from BSG. IMNSHO, screw Giacchino, Bear McCreary is already a better composer.
The word "hack" is abused... but Horner actually is one by MattmanReturns	Apr 8th, 2009 05:44:18 PM
His Willow and Rocketeer scores were great, but from the early nineties on, he had nothing new to offer.
Rhuragh by HoichiTheEarless	Apr 8th, 2009 06:06:01 PM
You know you can appreciate more than one composer, right? Freakin talk back chimps always think it's necessary to dis something else to praise something. You're right on about McCreary incidentally, only he doesn't need to be the only great televsion composer out there. Giacchino does great work. The two don't need to be compared or thrown into some kind of adolescent fan boy metaphorical cage match together.
Darkman by quantize	Apr 8th, 2009 06:16:59 PM
thanks i heard it...you have me confused with someone who doesnt actually know what they're talking about..
Hoichi... by TheFutureDirector	Apr 8th, 2009 06:17:09 PM
Completely agreed. The two can co-exist in peace and harmony.
Horner's Rocketeer score is beautiful by kwisatzhaderach	Apr 8th, 2009 06:28:08 PM
But yeah, he hasn't done a truly great score since Braveheart back in '95.
Quantize by MattmanReturns	Apr 8th, 2009 06:33:29 PM
You called a very well received score "dog shit" and offered no reasoning for your statement. Troll?
Jodet -- Good Call on The Machinist! by Admiral Nelson	Apr 8th, 2009 06:53:00 PM
Count me among the fans of Roque Banos' score to The Machinist. It's literally like a lost Bernard Herrmann score to the original Twilight Zone. When I first heard it, and heard the quavering Theremin, I practically fell over. Incredibly creepy, atmospheric music of a kind you just don't hear much anymore.
I know Harry Knowles made his mark by GUSHING by kabong	Apr 8th, 2009 09:40:17 PM
But does every reviewer on AICN have to be a splooger too? Not directing this just at Scorekeeper (who's review is well done) but at the general lack of pit-bull nastiness at this site. Come on. Gulp some Hatorade.
Whoops. Spelled whose incorrectly. by kabong	Apr 8th, 2009 09:42:43 PM
Ah, you know what you can do.
Horner's Rocketeer Score is an AWFUL LOT like his TWoK score... by dderidex	Apr 8th, 2009 09:43:17 PM
Seriously, if you listen to them back and back, you can identify a LOT of queues re-used quite clearly. And the overall style is completely unmistakable. I'm going to have to go with the popular opinion - Horner IS a hack. A very good one, actually, and has produced some incredible work...but he's a hack, no doubt. Takes a few good ideas, steals a lot of other good ideas, and keeps re-using what "works". That's fine and all, and in a series may actually make good sense. And, heck, he does certainly come up with some 'hummable tunes' (at least two pieces each in 'Rocketeer' and 'TWoK' are immediately recognizable and easy to humm). While I definitely liked the 'First Contact' intro (Goldsmith) and the 'Undiscovered Country' soundtrack - it's all pretty good (Eidelman), you have to admit, better composers they may be, but they aren't making "hummable tunes". Is that important? I dunno - maybe.
Horner's Wrath of Khan Score... by red_weed	Apr 8th, 2009 11:01:30 PM
I havn't seen any star trek movies so i made a point of starting from the start a few months ago. When I got to the second one I though HEY! That's The Score to Krull! I love that score! and I do love that score, but they do contain the exact same cues...
Alamo Drafthouse by squarebird	Apr 8th, 2009 11:57:26 PM
Caution to everyone else .. the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin Texas was the ONLY theater found in the greater Austin area that used sufficient projector lighting in a newspaper sponsored consumer check a few years back. Their sound system is equally well-calibrated (theaters boast of expensive sound systems, but then don't bother to keep them calibrated and tuned). By the way, one rough way to tell if your local movie-house, like most, are cheating by using lower wattage projector bulbs - look at white objects on the screen. White should be brilliantly pure white - not a hint of yellow.
Lost and Zimmer by AdmiralNeck	Apr 9th, 2009 01:56:23 AM
expert_40, I too have warmed to Zimmer over the past few years. His score for Kung Fu Panda, with John Powell, was my favourite of last year. Lost's themes do repeat, but they're meant to. The whole show is about echoes and callbacks and temporal loops, so the music has to reflect that. Whenever they do they're usually subtly changed so he's not just dropping old stuff in, but it's meant to be a series of repeated motifs. It perfectly fits the structure of the show. Yet another reason why it's the best thing on TV, and he's the most consistently interesting composer in the business.
Robnhud, respectfully disagree re: McCarthy's GENERATIONS by YackBacker	Apr 9th, 2009 02:22:34 AM
I thought it was bland, and it sounded small too. Jay Chattaway was a better composer for the TV shows than McCarthy. GENERATIONS sounded like a tv episode.
And picardsucks is correct, TMP is the best TREK score by YackBacker	Apr 9th, 2009 02:24:06 AM
That score sustained the movie in so many places. And it was innovative too. And I do love Goldsmith's VOYAGER theme too, as an aside.
HoichiTheEarless by Rhuragh	Apr 9th, 2009 12:28:53 PM
I've gotten into this argument before. I did like Giacchino's score to the first season of Lost, but somewhere in the second season I found that his scoring started to strike me as more farcical than dramatic (much like the writing on the series, I've made my disappointment with the series known previously). McCreary, on the other hand, consistently turns out brilliant work that continually grows and challenges not only his own abilities as a composer, but the audiences' ears too. McCreary's score for the BSG finale, Daybreak, was more complex than not just everything else on TV, including anything Giacchino has done, but probably 99% of films too. Going back a few episodes to "Someone to Watch Over Me" gives you an example of diegetic music in TV that is so tightly wound with the narrative that it is nearly unprecedented outside of film. To me, the gap between McCreary and Giacchino is like the gap between Bach and Telemann. Once you have one, why would you even want to bother with the other?
Looking Forward To TREK, UP and... by Buzz Maverik	Apr 10th, 2009 07:51:52 AM
LAND O' THE LOST. With LOL, I'm a little afraid it'll be like the SPEED RACER score, which I wasn't crazy about. For me, the quality of a score is measured in how it enhances the film and how it tells the film's story on its' own. That's why THE INCREDIBLES is one of my all time favorite scores and certainly my favorite Giacchino work, which is saying a lot because I've dug all his stuff except for SPEED RACER. And he works perfectly with Abrams. ALIAS, LOST, MI III (score far superior to the film), the CLOVERFIELD roar (again, far superior to the film). Gotta hear FRINGE.
Horner .. by Franxious	Apr 11th, 2009 09:44:55 AM
STII still gives me chills. Plus Titanic and Krull are normally on my playlist somewhere. I think Goldsmiths theme got a bit overplayed towards the end.
Well If You've Ever Watched Fringe..... by Real Deal	Apr 11th, 2009 04:23:12 PM
I've always liked the music on Fringe and hoped the score of ST would be as good. For me outside of Courage, Goldsmith, and Horner I've always thought ST music as not so good. Especially in the TV shows after TNG. I thought the music sing song like with no real melody and actually slowing the action on the screen down. Uninspired is the word I'd use. This may be because I read once that Rick Berman didn't like score music and thought it intrusive. Well it showed. So I hope this stuff gets your blood pumping as much as the 3rd trailer's music ( not from the film as I understand which is too bad because I really liked it ).
Strangely Enough I Find Early.... by Real Deal	Apr 11th, 2009 04:38:34 PM
TNG music as better than late TNG music. Probably Berman's influence showing. If you like that show go back and listen to the early episodes. A much better reflection of what's going on with the screen.
Horner's "Rocketeer" theme ripped from "Right Stuff" by Utamoh	Apr 12th, 2009 11:03:56 AM
Yeah, Horner steals from a lot of sources, but I was shocked at how close The Rocketeer theme was to Bill Conti's "The Right Stuff" theme - almost note for note in parts. Oh, and John Williams borrows heavily from Gustav Holst and Ralph Vaughn Williams.
Horner, Goldsmith, and Williams, but also Bernstein by Polyphemos	May 28th, 2009 01:46:51 PM
When I teach my film intro classes, I always make a stop for Elmer Bernstein and compare him with Goldsmith and Williams as well as Eric Korngold (1938 Robin Hood). Bernstein's music in To Kill A Mockingbird is sublime. While almost every composer mentioned on this board has a musical score which can be played extracinematically, it MUST also succeed in moving the movie along in some way or another. A good example of great music - poor theatre music, is Alex North, whose CLEOPATRA was beautiful in orchestration, but brought the action to a halt several times during the movie. Also, thematic invariance can account for some of Horner's more familiar stuff, but he writes a tune you cannot miss, and that works against him - Bicentennial Man, Mrs. Doubtfire, STII&III all have pieces of each other. But Williams does the same thing in Close Encounters, ET, Superman, and the NBC News Theme. Goldsmith, to my ear, is the only one who fabricates, with few exceptions, new cloth each time. His Klingon Theme, for example is noticeably different, from movie to movie, with increasing elaboration, until we get to STVI when it becomes interwoven with Kirk's theme at the end. And how amazingly different is ST from Patton, or Logan's Run! Yes, he borrows, but so did Gounod - and from the best. His voyager is a paean to Wagner's Tannhauser. The image is the memory. No, none of these composers are bad. Many are great. But Goldsmith and Elmer Bernstein, to me, are the best of the 20th Century. So, notwithstanding the fine feelings Horner's work evokes, it's Goldsmith who is the most consistently original, elastic, and motivating (to use some film terms) for the film experience of Star Trek. That said, I enjoyed the hell out of the new ST movie - score and all!

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ScoreKeeper Talks About Michael Giacchino's STAR TREK Score...

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