Hi-fi sci-fi
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.… Read more
