# What is your favorite contemporary synth oriented score?



## EastWest Lurker (May 28, 2012)

Not hybrid score but modern day (last 10 years) synth dominated score commensurate to "Chariots Of Fire", "Midnight Run", "Beverly Hills Cop", etc.


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## lux (May 28, 2012)

Sunshine
The social network
Resident evil

first three which come in mind


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## EthanStoller (May 28, 2012)

I like Michael Andrews's score for _Me and You and Everyone We Know._ The synths have that retro Boards of Canada feel about them.


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## Daryl (May 28, 2012)

I can't think of any, which means my brain must have been so unimpressed that it filtered them out. :lol: 

Of the oldies, I liked Blade runner and at the time Chariots of Fire. However having heard the latter recently, I can't stand it any more. I still rate Blade Runner though.

D


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## midphase (May 28, 2012)

I like Drokk: Music Inspired By Mega-City One


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## Lex (May 28, 2012)

TRON 
l e g a c y


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## dadek (May 28, 2012)

book of eli - atticus ross

moody, design-y, and melodic


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## choc0thrax (May 28, 2012)

Favourite synth dominated score..... hmmmm that would require synth dominated scores to be good in the first place.

All I can think of is Tron Legacy and Sunshine. Sunshine's supercue "Adagio in D minor" is largely piano and strings though.


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## Kralc (May 28, 2012)

I liked the score for Deus Ex Human Revolution.


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## Niah (May 28, 2012)

I have no idea.

Nevertheless can't help to mention these two classic cues:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ql1eZnvZzy8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDTKj5nXvgw


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## Mike Marino (May 28, 2012)

Social Network
Tron: Legacy
Crash


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## ryanstrong (May 28, 2012)

Cliff Martinez' Drive
Michael Andrews' You And Me And Everyone We Know
TV series Breaking Bad has some really great electronic/sound designed cues too.


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## midphase (Jun 1, 2012)

I have been thinking more and more about this topic and I think two movies which haven't been mentioned but that definitely caught my attention are:

Another Earth by Fall on Your Sword:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SF2mllKdGBk

And definitely Cliff Martinez' score to Contagion which IMHO is more electronic-ish than Drive:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBY7FnkNI4c

Also noteworthy is the score to Monsters by John Hopkins which is one of my favorite scores of recent years:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2aeWMsGY3g


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## Lex (Jun 4, 2012)

Oh and definitely 

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo - Reznor/Ross

alex


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## ryanstrong (Jun 4, 2012)

Lex @ Mon Jun 04 said:


> Oh and definitely
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> The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo - Reznor/Ross
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> alex



YES! Forgot about that one. SO good.


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## EastWest Lurker (Jun 4, 2012)

rystro @ Mon Jun 04 said:


> Lex @ Mon Jun 04 said:
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Hated it! It consistently took me out of the picture.


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## ryanstrong (Jun 4, 2012)

EastWest Lurker @ Mon Jun 04 said:


> rystro @ Mon Jun 04 said:
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I can't remember how I felt about how it sat with the picture, but I do enjoy listening to it as a soundtrack by itself.


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## EastWest Lurker (Jun 4, 2012)

rystro @ Mon Jun 04 said:


> EastWest Lurker @ Mon Jun 04 said:
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I never, ever listen to a soundtrack until I have seen the film. It can be the greatest music in the world but if it does not work with the picture, it is a failure.

Of course, my opinion on how poorly it worked with the picture is subjective.


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## George Caplan (Jun 4, 2012)

forbidden planet here.


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## Lex (Jun 4, 2012)

George Caplan @ Mon Jun 04 said:


> forbidden planet here.



Contemporary indeed. These kids today are crazy with their electricity based musical instruments...craaaaaaaazy I tell ya.. :D :D 

alex


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## midphase (Jun 4, 2012)

EastWest Lurker @ Mon Jun 04 said:


> rystro @ Mon Jun 04 said:
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I agree, I thought the original movie was all around a better film down to the score. Everything that I have heard from Reznor (NIN fanboy here, saw them live more times than I can remember) so far feels exactly like what they are, music beds composed by a musician/recording artist first and foremost with relatively little concern or understanding for the emotional subtleties that are happening on the screen. (sorry Trent...love your music but I wish you'd stick to what you do best)


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## choc0thrax (Jun 4, 2012)

EastWest Lurker @ Mon Jun 04 said:


> rystro @ Mon Jun 04 said:
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Well that's an awful rule. I like the Tron score but there's no way I'm going to sit through that film. Same goes for any new Fincher flick. I want to hear Trent's latest noodlings just out of curiosity but I ain't sitting through some inferior long ass retread of a film... or a film about Facebook of all things. Wake me up when James Cameron makes a futuristic thriller based on Netscape.

There's like one cue from GWTDT that I like: "what if we could" .

Most of the time it sounds like Trent leaves the studio at night and as soon as the lights go out the equipment turns itself on and they all start making their own little musical beeps and chitters. Trent comes in in the morning and collects the musical scraps and then clears a space on a shelf for another award.


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## gsilbers (Jun 4, 2012)

i agree. 
i love electronic based scores but anything trent scoring i dont like. 

anything from cliff martinez, harry gregson william, brian tyler and some tyler bates are good. also some up and coming dude like clinton shorter and henry jackman plus others are pretty good. and of course the score for haywire, even though not electronic, its still very "different" and could work on a chill out mix taped album  


then there are a lot of composers on the video game area that sound amazing.


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## EastWest Lurker (Jun 4, 2012)

choc0thrax @ Mon Jun 04 said:


> EastWest Lurker @ Mon Jun 04 said:
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Well, Choco I am not going to say you are wrong, but my understanding is that you do not actually score films or TC so just that you listen to it as music apart from its primary function where i listen to it from the p.o.v. of "does it achieve its primary goal, which is to serve the picture?"

So first I want to see if it passes that test for me. If it does, then I will listen to it and assess its musical value apart from the film.

Just coming from 2 different perspectives here I think.


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## NYC Composer (Jun 4, 2012)

(shaking head)


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## choc0thrax (Jun 4, 2012)

EastWest Lurker @ Mon Jun 04 said:


> choc0thrax @ Mon Jun 04 said:
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Well I have scored a film before... I haven't done much because I realized I didn't like it.

Although... I don't know what that has to do with judging the music by how well it serves the picture. As a fan of film music I always listen to see if it achieves its primary goal in a film. Having scored films has nothing to do with it. 

I guess the difference is I'm not limited to only listening to music from movies I've seen. And thank god for that, because I quite like what Debney did with Cutthroat Island.


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## EastWest Lurker (Jun 4, 2012)

It is simple. If I listen to the music ahead of time and like it, then my assessment of how it works with the film will be prejudiced by the fact that the music is familiar to me.

Year ago there was composer named Gil Melee who worked a lot. If you closed your eyes while the film was on you would think "wow, this guy is a terrific film composer" because he was a terrific _music_ composer, but in my opinion and that of many of my colleagues, his scores tended not to work well with the film at all.

If it is a matter of wring good music that is impressive away from the film but does not serve the film or music that is not so good to listen to away from the film but serves the film admirably, a film composer must do the latter. It is very hard to do both and some films will simply not allow you to. But what makes the great film composers, the Williams, Goldsmith, Bernstein, Powell caliber, is that usually they manage to do both.

And personally, I am OK with sitting through a mediocre film to hear and see how a great score works with it because I learn again that it is possible to do good work on a bad project and since most of the projects I get are not so hotsy-totsy, it is instructive.


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## choc0thrax (Jun 4, 2012)

EastWest Lurker @ Mon Jun 04 said:


> It is simple. If I listen to the music ahead of time and like it, then my assessment of how it works with the film will be prejudiced by the fact that the music is familiar to me.



Thank you. Now I know exactly what Data from ST:TNG would talk like if he ever got into film scoring.

What do you do about scores you are curious about for films you think you'd absolutely hate? Are you forced to go see the films or do you just never listen to the score. And how do you decide? Flip a coin? Magic 8 ball?


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## Ned Bouhalassa (Jun 4, 2012)

Zimmer, Reznor, Daft Punk, BT. Any of their synth-y scores rocks my world*.



* but not like Blade Runner... :wink:


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## EastWest Lurker (Jun 4, 2012)

choc0thrax @ Mon Jun 04 said:


> EastWest Lurker @ Mon Jun 04 said:
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> > It is simple. If I listen to the music ahead of time and like it, then my assessment of how it works with the film will be prejudiced by the fact that the music is familiar to me.
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Thank you for the compliment! After Data got the emotion chip, he was pretty awesome 

There are only so many free hours in a week for me, so I end up mostly hearing scores with films I am interested in seeing, which actually covers a wide range as my taste is pretty diverse. But in the time it would take to download and listen to the score away from the film, I can almost watch another film I am interested in and experience its score. Every choice you make to to do something with allotted time means you are choosing not to do other things. C'est la vie, n'est-ce pas?

But sure, I probably do miss some good scores that way.


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## Tatu (Jun 4, 2012)

Tron Legacy and..

AVATAR by James Horner (and that guru who programmed the synths).


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## noiseboyuk (Jun 5, 2012)

midphase @ Fri Jun 01 said:


> And definitely Cliff Martinez' score to Contagion which IMHO is more electronic-ish than Drive:
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> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBY7FnkNI4c
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Late to the party here - wasn't totally convinced by the Contagion score, actually. It was a little odd - a hybrid of electronic and orchestral that felt a bit disjointed. There was a lot of synths and loops, then suddenly you'd get an almost hokey bit of old school horror clusters. Ended up not being quite sure what they were getting at.... think I would have preferred it more consistent either one way or the other.

In fact, come to think of it, the music was pretty much the only thing that didn't feel right in the film. It wasn't bad, far from it - most of it worked fine and there was a lot of featured music too. But.... well, inconsistent is the word that keeps coming to mind. I know Soderbergh has worked with Martinez quite frequently before.... I'm sure every choice was carefully considered, and I don't think it's the obvious answer of temping. Odd.

The Monsters score was terrific though, that fit the movie perfectly. Great film.

Choco - The Social Network is Fincher's best film to date by some margin, I'd say. Though Seven was good in an "I can't possibly face watching that again" kinda way.


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## Lex (Jun 5, 2012)

noiseboyuk @ Tue Jun 05 said:


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> Choco - The Social Network is Fincher's best film to date by some margin, I'd say.



You can't be serious? :D 

alex


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## choc0thrax (Jun 5, 2012)

I wish I could say Se7en destroys Social network but all I've seen of that film were a couple extended clips where people talk in rooms about Facebook while little computer sounds go bleep bloop bleep. I know talking about Facebook in real life is always uber exciting, I can only imagine how amazing it is to watch others do it. Watching rich people whine about rich people stuff is also right up there for me.

I think Fincher hit his peak in the 90s.


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## George Caplan (Jun 5, 2012)

Lex @ Mon Jun 04 said:


> George Caplan @ Mon Jun 04 said:
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thats the only one i know.


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## mark812 (Jun 5, 2012)

Lex @ Tue Jun 05 said:


> noiseboyuk @ Tue Jun 05 said:
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+100 

Better than Fight Club? I love Fincher's work, but that movie was s#!^ imo. 

OT: Cliff Martinez's _Drive_ is an awesome synth score. TRON was also great (soundtrack, not film).


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## noiseboyuk (Jun 5, 2012)

mark812 @ Tue Jun 05 said:


> Lex @ Tue Jun 05 said:
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Doh, OK I forgot about Fight Club. Equal with Fight Club, better than Seven (has more depth - TSN stayed with me for a looong time afterwards). And Fincher did some dreadful movies in the 90's too btw - Alien 3 and The Game both equally dreadful. Sorry, carry on back OT.


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## choc0thrax (Jun 5, 2012)

Eh, I'll take Alien 3 over The crappious crap of benjamin's oscar quest hallmark moment button. Or whatever it's called.


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## EastWest Lurker (Jun 5, 2012)

choc0thrax @ Tue Jun 05 said:


> Eh, I'll take Alien 3 over The crappious crap of benjamin's oscar quest hallmark moment button. Or whatever it's called.



The Curious Case of Benjamin Button? Actually, I like that film.


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## Lex (Jun 5, 2012)

choc0thrax @ Tue Jun 05 said:


> Eh, I'll take Alien 3 over The crappious crap of benjamin's oscar quest hallmark moment button. Or whatever it's called.



Yesssss...I love it when some1 will take Alien3 over anything else for whatever reason!

alex


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## Tanuj Tiku (Jun 5, 2012)

I thought Contagion was a very good score. Drive was also very good. I would put Cliff Martinez on top of the list.

Contagion was also incredibly bold.

Social Network had some good moments. I like NIN a lot. But I am not too sure about Girl with the dragon tattoo. It was rather abstract but I really like that kind of music too. But I am not sure how well it worked with the movie apart from spotting choices.

Apart from that Inception had some great electronic moments.

The Dark Knight had some amazing work as well. But these are hybrid scores.


Tanuj.


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## choc0thrax (Jun 5, 2012)

EastWest Lurker @ Tue Jun 05 said:


> choc0thrax @ Tue Jun 05 said:
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Well that makes sense.

I think the trailer for that film was far superior to the film itself.


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## EastWest Lurker (Jun 5, 2012)

choc0thrax @ Tue Jun 05 said:


> EastWest Lurker @ Tue Jun 05 said:
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Indeed. I am completely over comic book super heroes, monsters, and vampires. I prefer movies about people, genuine human emotions, etc. While not entirely successful at achieving its goals, that film IMHO tried some genuine exploration of the human condition, which is far more interesting to me than people climbing vertically up walls and giant explosions.

But horses for courses.


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## choc0thrax (Jun 5, 2012)

EastWest Lurker @ Tue Jun 05 said:


> choc0thrax @ Tue Jun 05 said:
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I just like good movies. I don't limit myself. I may hate 95% of superhero movies but if a great looking one comes along I'm going to see it. Sometimes I'll even preview the soundtrack first. _Shhhh don't tell anyone_.


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## chimuelo (Jun 19, 2012)

Japanese Anime is some of the best stuff IMHO.
But I always can stomach watching Sperminator I with those big synth sounds and step sequencers, etc.
I still cant believe that guy was a Governor for 8 years, and ruined his family with such an unnattractive women..... :shock: 
Well on the bright side the Joy Beyhar and other women on the View see this as a sign of hope.


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## JonFairhurst (Jun 19, 2012)

I went to a couple meetings in the Governor's office in Sacramento. It was weird. Everywhere you went, the place was lined with pictures, posters, busts, and statues of Schwarzenegger. In one meeting room, there were two six foot tall Peter Max style paintings of Arnold.

How could that not go to your head? I couldn't imagine working in a place surrounded by images of me. I expect to see his face plastered on billboards and ads when a new movie is released, but his taste in decor was a bit much.


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## choc0thrax (Jun 19, 2012)

chimuelo @ Tue Jun 19 said:


> Japanese Anime is some of the best stuff IMHO.
> But I always can stomach watching Sperminator I with those big synth sounds and step sequencers, etc.
> I still cant believe that guy was a Governor for 8 years, and ruined his family with such an unnattractive women..... :shock:
> Well on the bright side the Joy Beyhar and other women on the View see this as a sign of hope.



Yeah totally... wait, what?

This reads like an email i got yesterday just without the fantastic 80% off Cia1is and Viagra. o-[][]-o


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## chimuelo (Jun 19, 2012)

That's so self absorbing, but he has succeeded, at least in his eyes, at everything he has ever done.
But having Arnold busts is so Ceaser-ish.
That cracks me up....... :mrgreen:


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## Consona (Jun 19, 2012)

What about this?

http://youtu.be/4oqxEIhmcPQ
http://youtu.be/9RMvHVtGlfQ
http://youtu.be/iUCarSXpLm8

I find these three songs exceptionally good, very catchy and soulful.
But I haven't seen the film yet.


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## chimuelo (Jun 19, 2012)

Great stuff...
I still think the Foley artists from the late 30's that did the 3 Stooges were so influencial for decades.
It seems I watch more Japanime and 3 Stooges than anything else.
The occassional movie I go to I rarely leave with a certain melody in my head.
007 movies, Sound Of Music, Star Trek, Bridge Over the River Kawaii. I always remember hook lines and they would emotionally tie me into the movie somehow.
Lalo Shiffrin, Henry Mancini, etc.
No wonder CAG rules whenever I go to a new movie with Junior.
Even the Bionic Man with Lee Majors had great tape echo effects and synths.
You guys better march into Hollywood and start showing these guys in CAG who the boss is.


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## JonFairhurst (Jun 19, 2012)

chimuelo @ Tue Jun 19 said:


> I still think the Foley artists from the late 30's that did the 3 Stooges were so influencial for decades.



Them and Carl Stalling.


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## Patrick_Gill (Jun 20, 2012)

Big Trouble In Little China
K-Pax
Tron Legacy


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## Per Lichtman (Dec 30, 2012)

Too bad we have to do post-2002 scores. In the 1990s you had Run Lola Run for score and Pi and Mortal Kombat for song placement.

I'd argue that there haven't really been a lot of great synth dominant scores in the same way. They've largely been replaced by hybrid scores.

Even Tron:Legacy, which has been referenced repeatedly, used lots of orchestral parts, not just synths.

But if you widen definitions (and timeline's) just a smidge, I'd say that David Julyan's Memento (2000). That score really enhanced the movie so much and it worked beautifully on its own. It was very much like Chinatown and Blade Runner in the sense of how well it expanded the universe of the film (though of course Chinatown is not at all electronic).


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## lux (Dec 30, 2012)

oh well you just created a zombie thread so I think nobody will have trouble if you add a new personality on top of its brain eating attitude.

my two faves pre-2002 are Black Rain and The Warriors.


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## Kejero (Dec 31, 2012)

Funny how forums can pick up conversations after half a year just like that 

I'd like to add 'Solaris' and Joel Goldsmith's score to 'Stargate Universe'.


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## TheUnfinished (Dec 31, 2012)

My current favourite soundtrack is mostly synths, plus acoustic guitar and piano.

Monsters by Jon Hopkins.


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## Ganvai (Dec 31, 2012)

On christmas I got the Halo 4 soundtrack composed by Neil Davidge. I heard a lot of bad critiques about that soundtrack but it's really awesome. One of the best gamesoundtracks I've heard the last year, although it uses a lot of Evolve and has one very "Bourne"like track :D


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## IFM (Dec 31, 2012)

On my list:
Legend (Tangerine Dream version)
Myst series
Blade Runner

... I am sure there are several I can't remember this morning.


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## Alex Cuervo (Dec 31, 2012)

I think Jon Hopkin's score for Monsters was really something special. Great film too.

The Reznor/Ross duo are doing great work together. Social Network score was great and I think it worked really really well. I'm particularly fond of Atticus Ross's score for the Book of Eli, although that had a lot of organic components, so I wouldn't characterize it as a synth score per se.

Cliff Martinez recent stuff, especially Drive is great too. I love that style that meanders between chilly/abstract and warm/emotional, quasi-spiritual. I gather that he uses a mix of his Cristal baschet and Omnisphere and I think the results are excellent.


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