I’ve been gobbling up soundtrack CDs lately. The new Chronicles Of Narnia soundtrack is good stuff, and I had forgotten how good the orchestral score (i.e. “the stuff Queen didn’t do”) to Flash Gordon was in places. Yes, that Flash Gordon. That CD has become very very hard to find – it was a composer promo pressed for Howard Blake by the now-defunct SuperTracks, and also includes Blake’s music for Amityville 3-D (while I’ll admit I have yet to listen to, and have never seen). I snatched up a copy for a reasonable price this month (merry Christmas to me!), and I’m very pleased. Other recent acquisitions: Firefly, Stargate Atlantis, Planet Of The Apes (TV series), Stargate SG-1 Season 1…
Picking up on a trend?
I’ve asked this question many a time before, and I still haven’t found an answer. And I really want to know, psychologically, aesthetically, what it is that connects science fiction fans to soundtrack music so much. Is it an appreciation for the orchestra? When a couple of my favorites of the past 6-7 years have included the new Battlestar Galactica and the Babylon 5 spinoff Crusade, both of them very unconventional musically, I don’t think that’s necessarily it. So what is it? Are the composers’ imaginations unleashed by the subject matter to create more thrilling soundscapes than usual?
I don’t just own science fiction movie and TV and game soundtracks exclusively, but let’s tune in to reality FM: science fiction scores probably comprise at least 90% of my extensive soundtrack collection. And the scary thing is, I can’t even tell you why that is.
Talk to me, people. There’s a graduate paper in musicology just waiting to happen here.
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Well, for starters, what percentage of score releases (as opposed to “Songs from and inspired by” soundtracks) are science fiction? How many are action? In genres where visuals, sound and music have to carry a lot of the story, it’s natural to expect the music to make a stronger impression. I’m thinking of the Bond films as an example of a non-SF series where music plays a key role in establishing the feel of things. And then there’s the music to The Incredibles, which may count as SF and definitely counts as a 60s Bond homage.
Also, don’t overlook the propensity of hardcore science fiction fans to pay special attention to everything connected to the object of their affection. This makes the music stand out to them. It also creates a niche audience that soundtrack labels can market to, which might not exist for other genres. I mean, I would love to have a CD with a lot of Snuffy Walden’s music from Sports Night and West Wing. But Walden’s only got one instrumental CD out and it’s a motley collection of themes. (Well, and out of print CDs from thirtysomething and The Stand.) Give me something like the B5, Galactica or Firefly discs for those shows and I’d be all over it.
That said, it would not surprise me that SF creators pay close attention to music. It is a very effective way of setting tone and creating a setting, which is vital to the success of an SF work. And then we as SF fans learn to pay attention to that, which then creates a cycle.
Another thing to consider is that SF properties seem to be a genre that don’t lend themselves to “various artists” songtracks comprised of radio-ready tunes that are heard briefly in the background of some scene or other. Not to say that SF doesn’t lend itself to that – look at the first two Matrix movies – but the score tends to be more important in that genre.
Scarily enough, and I’ll need to check this, I could swear I remember seeing a listing for a Walden composer promo CD that had some Sports Night stuff on it a year or two back. But I could be mistaken.