# Who are your gods?



## ☻ (Sep 19, 2019)

The ones you look to as pillars of musical perfection.


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## brenneisen (Sep 19, 2019)

bach, stravinsky, reznor*, zimmer, mozart, ihsahn and holst


* NIN times included, ov course


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## Henk (Sep 19, 2019)

Shostakovich
Tchaikovsky
Beethoven
John Williams
Hanszimmer


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## mducharme (Sep 19, 2019)

This is going to seem a weird list (probably more varied than most):

Kaija Saariaho
György Ligeti
Sergei Prokofiev
Jerry Goldsmith
James Horner

But, those are my favourites, I can't help it.


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## paularthur (Sep 19, 2019)

Nobuo Uematsu, 
Hans Zimmer, 
Pharrell, 
Alan Silvestri,
Thomas Bergensen.

..and sort of off the beaten path.
Seven Lions


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## Daniel James (Sep 19, 2019)

Hans Zimmer - For the paths he carved for the composers that followed
Harry Gregson-Williams - For his harmonic sensibilities (His Metal Gear Solid 2 work made me become a composer)
Thomas Bergesen - For his combination of classical and modern styles

Those are my top 3.

-DJ


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## CT (Sep 19, 2019)

I don't know if I'd say "gods," exactly, but my best attempt to keep it brief:

Bach
Mahler
Duruflé
Takemitsu
Adams
Shore
Williams
Goldsmith
Horner
Zimmer
Newman
Eno
Vangelis


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## kgdrum (Sep 19, 2019)

For me it’s not always about “God’s” or even perfection it’s more about innovating,pushing boundaries, creating a unique mood/color & perspective.

Yes I’m a bit eclectic 😱

Miles Davis
Bartok
King Tubby
Beatles
Mongo Santamaria
Jimi Hendrix
Stravinsky
Burning Spear
Beethoven
Coltrane
NIN - Reznor
Fania Allstars
Weather Report
Thelonious Monk
David Bowie
Herbie Hancock
Muddy Waters
Arturo O’Farrill
Prince
Bill Laswell

& many many more........................


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## Alex Niedt (Sep 19, 2019)

Debussy
Ravel
Gorecki
Mahler
Satie
Hovhaness
Albéniz
Tárrega


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## Henu (Sep 19, 2019)

Odin, Tor and the rest.


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## Polkasound (Sep 19, 2019)

Most of my idols are the biggest names in music...

Adamczewski
Andruskiewicz
Barczykowski
Borzyszkowski
Chorazyczewski
Deszczukowski
Grzeszkiewicz 
Jaszczurowski 
Kasperkiewicz
Koczgodonski
Krysztochowicz
Maciejewska
Matuszkiewicz
Nevmerzhitsky
Pszczolkowski 
Radziwilowicz
Skiendzielewski 
Szambelanczyk
Szczepiorkowski
Wojciechowski
Zajenkauskas


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## TinderC (Sep 19, 2019)

Adamczewski
Andruskiewicz
Barczykowski
Borzyszkowski
Chorazyczewski
Deszczukowski
Grzeszkiewicz 
Jaszczurowski 
Kasperkiewicz
Koczgodonski
Krysztochowicz
Maciejewska
Matuszkiewicz
Nevmerzhitsky
Pszczolkowski 
Radziwilowicz
Skiendzielewski 
Szambelanczyk
Szczepiorkowski
Wojciechowski
Zajenkauskas 
... and Copland


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## Crowe (Sep 19, 2019)

Hans Zimmer, Danny Elfman, Trent Reznor


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## Will Blackburn (Sep 19, 2019)

Michael jackson
Freddie Mercury
Phil Collins
Alan Menken
Erik Satie
Ira Newborn
Angela Morley 
Hans Zimmer 
James Horner 
Danny Elfman 
Koji kondo


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## Loïc D (Sep 19, 2019)

Hmmm tough one...

Ennio Morricone
Joe Hisaishi
John Williams
Ryuichi Sakamoto
Philipp Glass
David Bowie
Serge Gainsbourg
Maurice Ravel
Vangelis
Jean-Michel Jarre
Joao Gilberto
George Gershwin
Dmitri Chostakovich
Claude Debussy
WA Mozart
Frederik Chopin

to name a few...


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## Illico (Sep 19, 2019)

I am the Best... as the Worst 

J. Williams, made me love orchestral film scoring and become a composer.
But there were/is/will so much great composers. Simply enjoy music.


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## muk (Sep 20, 2019)

Bach
Haydn
Mozart
Beethoven
Schubert
Mendelssohn
Schumann
Brahms
Debussy
Richard Strauss
Shostakovich
Stravinsky
Bartok
Berg
Webern
Ligeti

It's not a complete list by far.


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## NYC Composer (Sep 20, 2019)

Miles
Trane
Bird
Oscar Peterson
Ray Charles
Huddle Ledbetter
Billie Holiday
Keith Emerson
Woody Guthrie
Bob Dylan
Joni Mitchell
Beatles
Stones
Zeppelin
Who
Floyd
Cobain
Queen 
Sly Stone
Stevie Wonder
Prince
James Brown
Sam Cooke
Nat Cole
Muddy Waters
Duke Ellington
Jimmy Rodgers
Hank Williams
Patsy Cline
Frank Sinatra
Nelson Riddle
Sammy Nestico
Quincy Jones
Bob Wills
George Gershwin
Beethoven
Stravinsky
Rodgers and Hammerstein
Bruce Springsteen
Van Morrison
Richard Penniman

....and 10,000 others.


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## GtrString (Sep 20, 2019)

3G
Grieg, Gershwin & Grusin
Edward, George and Dave that is.

Might add Giacchino as honorable mention.
Michael that is.


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## LudovicVDP (Sep 20, 2019)

I listen to too many artists to list them, in a lot of different styles of music.

But when it comes to movies, I have to say Vangelis (movie or not), Morricone, Elfman...


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## TomislavEP (Sep 20, 2019)

A million dollar question. If I really need to pick someone: Vangelis. Not only because of the everlasting quality of his music, but also due to his personal lifestyle and modus operandi. He was always dedicated to making music for the sake of music and for his personal satisfaction as the creator. Completely self-taught without any academic background or mentorship of any kind. Never a slave of trends or the music and film industries. These came to him rather than vice versa. Vangelis is a example of an artist who is just being what he is and the world has accepted and honored him because of that. I think that this should be an ultimate inspiration for every musician and composer and the manifestation of the notion "there is always hope".


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## bryla (Sep 20, 2019)

Polkasound said:


> Most of my idols are the biggest names in music...
> 
> Adamczewski
> Andruskiewicz
> ...


Are you Polish?


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## Guffy (Sep 20, 2019)

50 cent


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## Montisquirrel (Sep 20, 2019)

RMB 
Hybrid 
Koan Sound 

Yann Tiersen
Max Richter
Beethoven


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## Ned Bouhalassa (Sep 20, 2019)

Debussy, Herrmann, Goldsmith, Reznor, Zimmer.


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## Aphanasis (Sep 20, 2019)

Bernard Herrmann, Alan Silvestri, John Williams


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## CGR (Sep 20, 2019)

J.S Bach (the older I get the more I'm amazed)
Beethoven
Frederick Chopin
George Gershwin
Duke Ellington
Miles Davis
Herbie Hancock
John Williams
Lennon & McCartney
Stevie Wonder
Jean-Michel Jarre
Neil Young
Gordon Sumner (Sting)
Rickie Lee Jones
Lucinda Williams
Lyle Lovett
Jeff Tweedy
Neil Finn
Jeff Buckley


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## styledelk (Sep 20, 2019)

Liszt
Chopin
Scriabin
Prokofiev
Increasingly, Mahler (I'm a latecomer to his music)
Max Richter
Olafur Arnolds
Mozart


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## Joakim (Sep 20, 2019)

Daniel James


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## ceemusic (Sep 20, 2019)

Frank


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## ProfoundSilence (Sep 20, 2019)

Amun Ra, Tyr, Gogmagog, and Danny DeVito


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## Loïc D (Sep 20, 2019)

TomislavEP said:


> A million dollar question. If I really need to pick someone: Vangelis. Not only because of the everlasting quality of his music, but also due to his personal lifestyle and modus operandi. He was always dedicated to making music for the sake of music and for his personal satisfaction as the creator. Completely self-taught without any academic background or mentorship of any kind. Never a slave of trends or the music and film industries. These came to him rather than vice versa. Vangelis is a example of an artist who is just being what he is and the world has accepted and honored him because of that. I think that this should be an ultimate inspiration for every musician and composer and the manifestation of the notion "there is always hope".


Yes, the way he works is singular.
Even his keyboards are custom and sounds are activated using a strange system of switches with icons.
I once met one of his former orchestrator, he told me how strange and mesmerizing the guy is...


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## Rick McGuire (Sep 20, 2019)

John Powell
James Newton Howard 
Benjamin Wallfisch 

All just have amazing command of the orchestra and write excellent music that could be performed by itself without the film


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## CT (Sep 20, 2019)

CGR said:


> Gordon Sumner (Sting)



How did I leave him off my list? Definitely!


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## Gerbil (Sep 20, 2019)

Monteverdi
Mozart
Schubert
Chopin
Faure
Verdi
Bartok
Berg
Takemitsu
Kraftwerk


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## Sears Poncho (Sep 20, 2019)

Zappa
Bartok
Yes
Rush
THomas Dolby
Barber
Bach
Ravel
Sir Paul
Stravinsky
Sibelius
Genesis
Pet Shop Boys
Pink Floyd
L Shankar
Piston
Copland
Puccini
Mike Oldfield
ELP
Todd Rundgren
David Oistrakh
Ives
Prokofiev
Rachmaninoff


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## InLight-Tone (Sep 20, 2019)

Sun/Light, Air, Water & Earth...


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## tokatila (Sep 20, 2019)

20 years ago I would have answered Beethoven, but now it's definitely Bach, J.S.

Truly in a league of his own.


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## Ivan M. (Sep 20, 2019)

If I have to name a few: Rachmaninov, Tchaikovsky, Vivaldi

But, I find no composer really favorite, rather I have favorite compositions, and almost every composer has a few perfect ones (or near perfect), so to add a few names: Bach, Chopin, Schubert, Mozart, Beethoven etc.


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## Michel Simons (Sep 20, 2019)

Miley Cyrus


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## Jaap (Sep 20, 2019)

Beethoven
Mahler
Shostakovich
Messiaen
Stockhausen
Claude Vivier
Takemitshu
John Adams
John Powell
Hans Zimmer
Tykwer, Heil, Klimek
David Bowie


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## NoamL (Sep 20, 2019)

Ivan M. said:


> But, I find no composer really favorite, rather I have favorite compositions



Yep, this is what I was going to post as well


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## AlexanderSchiborr (Sep 20, 2019)

Pizza Italia with sundried tomatoes, pepper cheese, Basil and garlic. Absolutely stunning and to die for.


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## Bluemount Score (Sep 20, 2019)

Thomas Bergersen
Hans Zimmer
John Williams
Alan Silvestri
John Powell
Johan Johansson
Debussy

actually I have huge respect for all of the great classical componists.


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## wst3 (Sep 20, 2019)

I have four crib sheets in the studio - songwriters, composers, and arrangers that inspire me. These lists grow all the time. But as someone mentioned above, I think the attraction is equal parts the composer and the compositions. Generally speaking, I've uttered "gee I wish I'd written that" more often than not!

My favorite composers list, in no real order other than the first two:

Aaron Copland
Samuel Barber
Erik Satie
Antonín Dvořák
Johann Sebastian Bach
Maurice Ravel
Claude Debussy
Gustaf Mahler
Ludwig Beethoven
George Gershwin
Oscar Peterson
Herbie Hancock
John Coltrane
Miles Davis
Duke Ellington
That, of course, is the "serious music" list<G>. I also have a list of composers for stage and screen. I think this is an entirely different discipline, maybe two entirely different disciplines? Other than focusing on live theatre the list is in no order whatsoever.

Leonard Bernstein
Jonathon Larson
Andrew Lloyd Weber
Lin-Manuel Miranda
Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Schwartz
Rupert Gregson-Williams
Bernard Herrmann
Danny Elfman
Elmer Bernstein
Ennio Morricone
Jerry Goldsmith
John Williams
Hans Zimmer
Thomas Newman
Alan Menken
Alan Silvestri
Howard Shore
James Horner
Jay and I have chatted about this - I think songwriters are a different breed entirely. Especially pop songwriters. Every one of these artists has said something in song that just rang so true I wished I had said it. Lines like "The Speed of the Sound of Loneliness" or pretty much the entirety of "Suzanne" or "Hallelujah" just slay me.

Pete Townsend
John Prine
Joni Mitchell
Leonard Cohen
Jeff Buckley
Lyle Lovett
Lucinda Williams
Jacques Brel
Neil Finn
Andy Partridge
Alex Chilton
Chris Bell
Bob Dylan
The songwriter list could go on forever... but the last time I created it this was the few that made it. I have no idea why!

And then there are arrangers - not sure why, but I find these guys to be among my favorites, the magic they can do with someone else's melody is just fascinating!

James Pankow
Greg Adams
Nelson Riddle
Sammy Nestico
Quincy Jones
As you can see, I am seldom bored!


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## Iskra (Sep 20, 2019)

I'd put my list, but I don't want this thread to become as long as the BBCSO one with just one post. 
There's just too much stuff and too many gods out there so incredibly brilliant that makes me even a little angry:
Ars longa, vita brevis


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## AndyP (Sep 20, 2019)

Ryuichi Sakamoto
Richard Wagner
Ivo Pogorelich
Klaus Nomi
Peter Gabriel


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## Living Fossil (Sep 20, 2019)

joewagner said:


> The ones you look to as pillars of musical perfection. The ones you simply cannot live without.



While i think it is quite useless just to drop some names, i think it would be really interesting to mention some aspects you specifically admire in a composer's work.

To name some subjective views:

Classical composers:

J.S. Bach:
The perfection in his use of counterpoint isn't even nearly touched by any other composer.
His use of semantical codes (such as Passus duriusculus etc.) is spot on.
The use of the tonal material (scales, chromatic notes etc.) is incredibly stringent and adds to the organic feel of his music.

W. Mozart:
80% of his music sounds very similar to other composers of his time. However, then there are those magic moments; some bars with incredible harmonic details; or those small variations. And of course, there are themes and there are unforgettable themes. He did the latter ones...

L. Beethoven:
The architectural perfection that provides perfect acoustic organisms. His work with dualistic themes (specially in the sonata form) is unmatched.

F. Schubert:
His music transforms the weight of the human existence into sound.
His use of the tonal material (specially by extending tonality) is just incredible.

F. Mendelssohn:
For me, he's the composer who perfectly catched the feeling of spring - youth - nature...

J. Brahms:
His work with supporting motives (which include the use of different metrical units in different layers) is amazing.

F. Liszt:
Incredible textures for piano. His piano sonata alone is a compedium of pianistic techniques.

A. Bruckner:
Specially when considering that he started his "official" career as a composer at age 40, the vitality and energy in his orchestral works in overwhelming. Also the use of counterpoint creates fantastic moments (love the "Te Deum")

R. Strauss:
Probably the composer with the best inner hearing since Bach...
His orchestration - and specially the creativity in writing instrumental textures - is a pinnacle.

C. Debussy:
A big master of orchestration (same goes for M. Ravel) and also a composer with fantastic pianistic writing.

I. Stravinsky:
There is so much to mention: rhythm, orchestral colours, use of polytonality, etc.
My respect for the "Sacre du Printemps" grew with each ripoff of that piece that i heard. 

A. Berg:
Wrote the most organic transitions between different formal parts.
His piece "Altenberg-Lieder" still is the freshest atonal composition (in my opinion)

S. Rachmaninow:
Incredible pianistic writing. His 2nd piano concerto is the maybe the sweetest possible music.

S. Prokofjew:
Musical humor at its best.

D. Shostakowitch:
A true master of (slightly subversive) undertones.

G. Grisey:
The master of spectral music. Created wonderful new worlds of sound.

Pop music:

Claus Ogerman:
His arrangements for tracks like "Girl from Ipanema" etc. are unique.

Beatles:
Their later records are kind of a bible of pop music.
The use of spectacular sound colors opened up an area inside of pop music, which unfortunately got extinguished later...commercialism finally won over art

Pink Floyd:
Masters of psychedelic music...

Abba:
I really don't like Abba. But the arrangements for duophonic singing are stunning. 

Prince:
The rhythmical perfection in his music is striking. Groove and Timing become a sound color.

Film music:

B. Herrmann:
Maybe the film music that speaks most directly to me. Love his harmonic language.

J. Barry:
The James Bond sound became a trademark.
I still can't believe he got no credits for the Bond theme, which, in its original version is just creepy.

J. Goldsmith:
I really like the stylistic diversity in his scores.

H. Zimmer:
the master of catching and condensing the spirit of a film in a bespoke sound.
Also, in my opinion his sense for mixing electr(on)ic and acoustic sounds is unmatched by quite a distance (dark phoenix would be a perfect topic for a masterclass about hybrid scoring)

J. Beal:
That's something personal, in a certain way. But it raises my optimism in future film music that it's possible to use bitonality in the main theme of a commercial tv series. I think his scores are a major part of the magic of "house of cards"

That's a long list, and i'm sure i left out many...


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## Thomas Kallweit (Sep 20, 2019)

Just a few (unsorted):


Consolidated
Neil Young
John Fahey
Fela Kuti
Waltari
Bela Bartok
Edvard Grieg
Pere Ubu
Franz Liszt
Frank Zappa
Miles Davis
Mike Oldfield
Caetano Veloso
Antônio Pinto
Ennio Morricone


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## STec (Sep 20, 2019)

Michael Jackson
Jeremy Soule


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## Leon Portelance (Sep 20, 2019)

Beethoven, John Lennon.


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## Sears Poncho (Sep 20, 2019)

wst3 said:


> That, of course, is the "serious music" list<G>. I also have a list of composers for stage and screen. I think this is an entirely different discipline, maybe two entirely different disciplines? Other than focusing on live theatre the list is in no order whatsoever.
> 
> Leonard Bernstein


Interesting that you started with Lenny, because he could easily be in the "serious music" list as well. Wrote 3 Symphonies, 3 operas etc. Some of his concert pieces like the Serenade for Violin are decidedly "non-jazzy" and straight out of the 20th Century "classical" playbook. But he was Lenny.


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## TomislavEP (Sep 21, 2019)

LowweeK said:


> Yes, the way he works is singular.
> Even his keyboards are custom and sounds are activated using a strange system of switches with icons.
> I once met one of his former orchestrator, he told me how strange and mesmerizing the guy is...



It is fascinating how much has Vangelis remained true to himself in every way, even today. Unlike other composers from his era, like Mike Oldfield and Jean-Michel Jarre, he had never really embraced computers and virtual instruments in his work, even though this custom performing / composing rig Vangelis uses nowadays represent a kind of "step in a modern direction" from his DaVinci-esque work environment that was Nemo Studios. But again, he sticks to his roots - even with the labelling system.


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## Vik (Sep 21, 2019)

> Ivan M. said:
> 
> 
> > But, I find no composer really favorite, rather I have favorite compositions
> ...


Me too. A favourite compositions thread would be interesting.


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## Lionel Schmitt (Sep 21, 2019)

Easy... there is only one God for me... Thomas Bergersen! (although I haven't heard music of a single composer that sounds 100% 'perfect' in each track to me... not even God)


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## rottoy (Sep 21, 2019)

Tom Waits
Patrick Doyle
Erich Wolfgang Korngold

and then a whole lot of Js:

James Newton Howard
James Horner
Joe Hisaishi
John Williams
John Barry


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## tav.one (Sep 21, 2019)

• A. R. Rahman
• Hans Zimmer
• Michael Cretu
• Snatam Kaur


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## gh0stwrit3r (Sep 23, 2019)

John Williams
Jerry Goldsmith
James Horner
John Powell
Alexandre Desplat
Ravel
Tsjajkovski
Stravinsky


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## NYC Composer (Sep 23, 2019)

Living Fossil said:


> While i think it is quite useless just to drop some names, i think it would be really interesting to mention some aspects you specifically admire in a composer's work.
> 
> To name some subjective views:
> 
> ...


You know, I really respect what Hans Zimmer does, but I’d be very curious to hear what he thinks about his inclusion in your list.


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## JPQ (Sep 23, 2019)

My list maybe odd for this forum and i dont remember all:
Hans Zimmer some reasons but not all reasons. sounds and emotion level but composer i dont like same level.
John Williams
Antonio Vivaldi
Jean-Michel Jarre
Christopher Francke
Vangelis
Edward Grieg
Kraftwerk guys all of these who compose.


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## ghostnote (Sep 25, 2019)

Naming just a few names doesn't make much sense to me. Every composer who gets famous does something right and nobody is completely perfect. There's no "right" in composing, escpecially when you are not writing for picture. Beethoven and John Williams are maybe the closest to what I'd consider understanding music and pleasing the listeners ears equally good at the same time, some of the scores from Jerry Goldsmith too (he also has scores which I'd consider pretty mediocre). It makes a difference if you write for picture or concert, but what they all share is evoking - the right(?) - feelings. There are many variables which play into this, like color, taste, class, dynamics, usage of atonality, time signatures, etc. BTW, you can say whatever you want about Hans Zimmer, but he understands music and also class by doing so, so just writing minimal style for example is not enough. It has a lot to do with instinct.


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## Voider (Sep 25, 2019)

joewagner said:


> The ones you look to as pillars of musical perfection. The ones you simply cannot live without.



Michael McCann when we talk about composers.





Dir En Grey when we talk about bands. They're like the Metallica of Japan, they fill the whole budokan stadium over there. And they came over to europe and played for only 30€ per ticket in a hall in front of us ~1000-2000 people in 2017. I love that they're still doing this, one of the very few survivors after the Jrock hype died in the west after 2010. Musically and the way Kyo (the vocalist) feels his lyrics and acts to the songs, nothing comes close for me.


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## Christof (Oct 1, 2019)

God.


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## Erick - BVA (Oct 2, 2019)

Solo Artists/Composers:

Debussy - Pilleas et Melisande/String Quartet/Nocturns/La Mer
Ravel - Daphnes et Chloe/Piano Concerto For The Left Hand
Stravinsky - Rite Of Spring/Firebird
Mahler - 5th Symphony/9th Symphony
Sibelius (duh!) - Tapiola/7th Symphony/4th Symphony
Wagner - Parsifal/Tannhauser/Tristan und Isolde
Eno - Ambient 1: Music For Airports/Discreet Music/Before And After Science
Nick Drake - Five Leaves Left
Vashti Bunyan - Just Another Diamond Day

Bands:

Genesis - Foxtrot/Selling England.../The Lamb Lies Down...
The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds
The Beatles - Abbey Road
Gazpacho - Tick Tock
Porcupine Tree - Stupid Dream
Radiohead - Ok Computer
Boards of Canada - Music Has The Right.../Geodaddi/Campfire Headphase
Pink Floyd - Dark Side Of The Moon/Animals
Slowdive - Slouvaki/Pygmalion
Summer At Shatter Creek - All The Answers
Suede - Suede/Dog Man Star
Nada Surf - Let Go
Bark Psychosis - Hex

I'm sure there are many more I just can't remember.
So much good music by great artists and composers.
I decided to give my favorites next to their name so people maybe can know where to look if they haven't heard anything by them.


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## Jimmy Hellfire (Oct 2, 2019)

No gods, no masters! 

I'd probably be a way better musician if I studied the Greats - or anybody, for that matter - as a continuous and conscious matter. But it always bored the hell out of me and never interested me. So I suck in my own particular way.


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## ghostnote (Oct 2, 2019)

Jimmy Hellfire said:


> No gods, no masters!


I think the real influence is the people you meet in real life. Talking strictly musicians. Having a mentor or beeing an assistant of an composer can be more valueable than studying the greats you never talked to.


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## EgM (Oct 2, 2019)

Yasunori Mitsuda
Nobuo Uematsu
Motoi Sakuraba
Yuzo Koshiro
Masatomo Miyamoto
Kenji Ito
Naoshi Mizuta
Kumi Tanioka
Michiru Yamane



This side of the world:
Gareth Coker
Jeff Ball


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## Erick - BVA (Oct 3, 2019)

Forgot some: 

Tool
Joy Division
Talk Talk


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## J-M (Oct 3, 2019)

So many to list...the fellas from Periphery, John Williams, HZ, Mick Gordon (the god of all things HEAVY), John Petrucci, Guthrie Govan, numerous other composers...


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## Fredeke (Nov 13, 2019)

Herbie Hancock's discography taught me a lesson: in the 70s and 80s, he released a bunch of sh!tty albums (_Future Shock_ comes to mind...), punctuated with a few gems. I see it as a public maturation process, trials and errors occasionally leading to a masterpiece (_Feets Don't Fail Me Now_ comes to mind).

What it (should) teach me: never be afraid of experimenting, and never be ashamed of making bad music !

But my true God is Yuji Ohno, anyway


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## Fever Phoenix (Nov 19, 2019)

Bowie
Prince
Michael Jackson
Björk
Danny Elfmann
John Williams
Ryuichi Sakamoto
Joe Hisaishi
Miles Davis
John Coltrane
DJ Krush
Aphex Twin
Luke Vibert
Busta Rhymes
James Brown
Fred Astair
Verdi
Debussy
Edvard Grieg
Stephen Sondheim


..and many many more


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## givemenoughrope (Nov 19, 2019)

God is love
Love is blind
Stevie Wonder is God


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## NekujaK (Nov 19, 2019)

Those I've admired and been influenced by throughout my life:
- The Beatles
- Frederic Chopin
- Bob Dorough
- Peter Gabriel
- Ella Fitzgerald
- Bob Dylan
- Jimmy Page
- Bill Evans
- Frank Sinatra
- Alison Krauss
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Jackson Browne
- Les Paul
- Blossom Dearie
- Dan Hicks
- Carole King
- Diana Krall
- Henry Mancini
- Danny Elfman
- Judy Garland
- Tom Petty
- Louis Jordan
- Jason Isbell
- Donald Fagen
- Kurt Cobain
- James Taylor
- Neil Young
- Eminem
- Paul Simon
- T-Bone Walker


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## chocobitz825 (Nov 19, 2019)

We don’t speak of the old gods here. Our loyalty is to the new gods..


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## chimuelo (Nov 20, 2019)

My Teachers


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## NYC Composer (Nov 23, 2019)

NekujaK said:


> Those I've admired and been influenced by throughout my life:
> - The Beatles
> - Frederic Chopin
> - Bob Dorough
> ...


Some great ones. I LOVED Dan Hicks-even got to hire one of the Hot Licks as a singer on a commercial!

Petty, yes yes, and how could I have left Donald Fagen off? Need to add Louis Armstrong too.

T-Bone’s had a huge influence on me-his production of the music on the “O Brother Where Art thou” soundtrack sent me spinning in that direction, as did the live concert performing the music from “Inside Llewyn Davis.”


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## NekujaK (Nov 23, 2019)

NYC Composer said:


> Some great ones. I LOVED Dan Hicks-even got to hire one of the Hot Licks as a singer on a commercial!
> 
> Petty, yes yes, and how could I have left Donald Fagen off? Need to add Louis Armstrong too.
> 
> T-Bone’s had a huge influence on me-his production of the music on the “O Brother Where Art thou” soundtrack sent me spinning in that direction, as did the live concert performing the music from “Inside Llewyn Davis.”


My wife was in the Hot Licks (a Lickette, as the girls called themselves) for the last 10 years of Dan's career. So I was lucky enough to spend a lot of time with Dan and the band, and saw nearly every show he did in northern CA.

If there was ever a person who epitomized the label "one of a kind", it was Dan - both musically and as a person. The musical style he developed was uniquely his, and he was such an incredibly gifted writer, not to mention a hilarious entertainer on stage. I didn't fully appreciate how precious he was until he passed, and have missed him terribly ever since.

BTW, the T-Bone you're referring to is T-Bone Burnett, who is definitely an important producer and cultivator of music. But it's T-Bone Walker who's on my list, a seminal jazz/blues guitarist/songwriter from the 40s, whose influence can be traced directly to Chuck Berry and many other early rock 'n' roll guitarists.

Yeah, Louis Armstrong for sure!


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## NYC Composer (Nov 23, 2019)

Wonderful about Hicks, and as to mixing up my T-Bones, guilty as charged! Cheers.

Btw, Hicks-“Where’s the Money” and “Reelin’ Down” two of my faves.


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## NekujaK (Nov 23, 2019)

NYC Composer said:


> Wonderful about Hicks, and as to mixing up my T-Bones, guilty as charged! Cheers.
> 
> Btw, Hicks-“Where’s the Money” and “Reelin’ Down” two of my faves.


I love "Reelin' Down" - it's the only Hicks song I learned to play and sing. Incidentally, it was one of the first songs Dan wrote. He was off to a great start!


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## NYC Composer (Nov 23, 2019)

Exactly the same here. Only one I learned to play and sing, and I’ve performed it. “5 ‘ll getcha 10 ‘ll getcha 25... old greenbacks...”


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