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Michael Giacchino to score The Batman

Emmanuel Rousseau said:
I know this track and all I can say it that is never should have landed on YouTube! The mashup isn't a part of the score.
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Thank god for that lol

And the track was ripped from the European Oreo website they were doing that batcave promo on, tons of people uploaded it so there’s no way it’s going away now
 
KEM said:
Thank god for that lol

And the track was ripped from the European Oreo website they were doing that batcave promo on, tons of people uploaded it so there’s no way it’s going away now
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Yes, I realized that Oreo thing afterwards, so this is finally a legit use.
 
Emmanuel Rousseau said:
Yes, I realized that Oreo thing afterwards, so this is finally a legit use.
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They probably didn’t want it uploaded to YouTube since it was supposed to be a region locked promo thing, but you know how these things go, once it’s out somewhere it’s out everywhere haha
 
Just finished my first listen, definitely not bad, I am becoming quite a big fan of the main motif, it’s very catchy and I find it stuck in my head all the time, the emotional parts throughout most of the track aren’t bad but I don’t know how they’ll fit the tone of this movie just from watching the trailers

That being said though, it’s not even close to Zimmer’s Batman themes
 
Very disappointing. I was one of the optimists reminding others that Giacchino did a great job in LOST and The Incredibles.

But this track is an atrocity. It showcases bad writing from A to Z. Just consider the chordal progressions, which are at the level of any 6 year-old toying around on the grand (if I can speak for myself, at least). The orchestration is mediocre, at best. And don't get me started on the tone. This has absolutely nothing to do with Batman. If that track is any indication for the tone of the movie, then I can write off Batman films for the next 10 years.

I'm currently teaching at two universities courses on film music. In one of them, I have students focus on the Batman franchise. Giacchino's score is certainly going to cause discussion, but an analysis does not seem warranted from what we have heard so far.

What's even worse: All this is coming from a SERIOUS Batman nerd. I feel an incredibly deep connection to the Burton-movies (well, my birth year is 1986, so no wonder) as well as Begins and The Dark Knight Rises. And then there is the great Animated Series - even Beware the Batman, which is incredibly underrated (apart from the ridiculous villains, it was a great series). I love many incarnations in the comics (my favourite being Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth) and appreciate the manifoldness of the character. So, of course, when I hear somebody truly f****** up on Batman, it hurts me even more. And this overly sentimental c*** ... oh my. Anyway, if this is any indication for the movie, I might watch it once (perhaps on streaming) but never again. Some movies are better unseen. From the sound of it, The Batman might be worse than Batman & Robin (1998), which at least features a stellar score by Goldenthal and apart from that *can* be somewhat entertaining for its campy elements and the terrible acting (*Schwarzenegger shouting when falling into the cryo pit* lol - "ööhhh ähhhh uuurrggghhh"), provided there is enough vodka in the cupboard.

Really, all the time Giacchino and Reeves had on their hands (thanks to the pandemic) and this is what they come up with? Overly sentimental, simplistic straight chords without any rhythmic intricacies and motivic development?

Apparently, COVID infections do not only affect the sense of taste in the olfactory but in the auditory modalities, too. Otherwise I cannot explain how people can like this joke.

Sorry for the rant. I'm just very disappointed.
 
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KEM said:
Here’s the YouTube link as well:

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So Reeves stole this film from Affleck and Giacchino stole JXL's Batman v Superman's Batman theme chord progression for this theme. Wow, ok. What a bunch of losers.

Also, this is the most generic Batman theme ever. Shirley Walker's theme is so superior to this snorefest. Elfman's, Goldenthal's, Zimmer's and JXL's, all way better.
 
Consona said:
So Reeves stole this film from Affleck and Giacchino stole JXL's Batman v Superman's Batman theme chord progression for this theme. Wow, ok. What a bunch of losers.

Also, this is the most generic Batman theme ever. Shirley Walker's theme is so superior to this snorefest. Elfman's, Goldenthal's, Zimmer's and JXL's, all way better.
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You really hate everything about this movie huh lol
 
I'll reserve judgement until I see it in the film, but I find most modern scoring only works in the film and rarely works as a standalone piece on it's own. I think that is true with both this and Zimmer's music (sorry KEM) - the older scores from Goldenthal, Elfman, Walker (and even Hefti/Riddle) are infinitely more memorable/evocative and a lot less generic - they work in the film + as standalone pieces.
 
I guess I meant more the instrumentation. The sliding steel guitars. The tubular bells. The trumpet ornaments. Even the rhythm the whole thing is built on has a cowboyish off-kilter jauntiness. The whole thing just screams spaghetti western to me. All it needs is a bit of harmonica and I could hear the spurs jangling on Pattinson's bat-boots.

I don't think I like it. But it's certainly a choice.
 
I’ll reserve my judgement until the entire film is out so I can hear how it works in context, but no matter what it will NEVER be better than this

 
I hated what I was hearing in the trailers, and was in agreement with some others in this thread that maybe the weakest part of this movie will be the score, but I'm actually really liking parts of that single. Note that I'm generally pretty critical of Giacchino (which is still very true as you will see).

The i-bVI-bIII-bVII chord progression is pretty tired, yes, actually quite reminiscent of a lot of Lord of the Rings at parts, but the piece moves and breathes and, pardon the pun, is a breath of fresh air. The straight V-i cadences are almost corny in a good way -- played as delicately as they are, I imagine those bits are touching on the Batman/Catwoman relationship. I dig the textures and the instrumentation too. I can see it adding a bit of color to what so far appears to be an otherwise pretty monochromatic film (also in a good way). I really, really like everything that isn't the actual Batman "theme" -- far and away the weakest part.

I get what he's going for, but it doesn't really work for me. It kinda just feels like Giacchino muted the melody and left the riff -- the riff works, but without a melody or any other counterpoint, the minimalism results more in annoyance than anything else.

HZ and JNH's uber-minimalist take works beautifully because it's doing a more wandering, searching thing, and actually has a point of resolution that you're aching for (especially in Begins) when they finally hit that bVI chord. The execution is brilliant -- musically, mix and production-wise, to picture...the whole thing just nails it. Giacchino's minimalist riff is more about a driving thing, angry and forward-marching, and so it appears the point is to hit you over the head until you like it. Perhaps that's the point, a la Zack de la Rocha screaming "fuck you I won't do what you tell me" for 2 minutes straight -- first it's awesome, then it's annoying, then it's really awesome. But so far I'm not really getting that. There's no sense of resolution or anticipation. Just repetition, hoping that you glean some profundity out of it in time.

I don't know. Really rooting for this film and I genuinely want to like a Giacchino score that isn't The Incredibles. Maybe it'll work better to picture. But my sense from the trailers thus far is that this movie really seems like it'll need a lack of music in a lot of places so as to hit just right...both the dialogue and the action scenes seem like they could benefit from an in-your-face sense of sterility. I'm worried that this score will go the other way and just get too damn big and over-scored, music blaring. Couple that with such a (nearly literally) one-note main riff...eh. Would not be good.

I suppose I'll withhold judgement, as always, until I see the actual thing. So far it's kinda 50/50 for me.
 
AlexRuger said:
I hated what I was hearing in the trailers, and was in agreement with some others in this thread that maybe the weakest part of this movie will be the score, but I'm actually really liking parts of that single. Note that I'm generally pretty critical of Giacchino (which is still very true as you will see).

The i-bVI-bIII-bVII chord progression is pretty tired, yes, actually quite reminiscent of a lot of Lord of the Rings at parts, but the piece moves and breathes and, pardon the pun, is a breath of fresh air. The straight V-i cadences are almost corny in a good way -- played as delicately as they are, I imagine those bits are touching on the Batman/Catwoman relationship. I dig the textures and the instrumentation too. I can see it adding a bit of color to what so far appears to be an otherwise pretty monochromatic film (also in a good way). I really, really like everything that isn't the actual Batman "theme" -- far and away the weakest part.

I get what he's going for, but it doesn't really work for me. It kinda just feels like Giacchino muted the melody and left the riff -- the riff works, but without a melody or any other counterpoint, the minimalism results more in annoyance than anything else.

HZ and JNH's uber-minimalist take works beautifully because it's doing a more wandering, searching thing, and actually has a point of resolution that you're aching for (especially in Begins) when they finally hit that bVI chord. The execution is brilliant -- musically, mix and production-wise, to picture...the whole thing just nails it. Giacchino's minimalist riff is more about a driving thing, angry and forward-marching, and so it appears the point is to hit you over the head until you like it. Perhaps that's the point, a la Zack de la Rocha screaming "fuck you I won't do what you tell me" for 2 minutes straight -- first it's awesome, then it's annoying, then it's really awesome. But so far I'm not really getting that. There's no sense of resolution or anticipation. Just repetition, hoping that you glean some profundity out of it in time.

I don't know. Really rooting for this film and I genuinely want to like a Giacchino score that isn't The Incredibles. Maybe it'll work better to picture. But my sense from the trailers thus far is that this movie really seems like it'll need a lack of music in a lot of places so as to hit just right...both the dialogue and the action scenes seem like they could benefit from an in-your-face sense of sterility. I'm worried that this score will go the other way and just get too damn big and over-scored, music blaring. Couple that with such a (nearly literally) one-note main riff...eh. Would not be good.

I suppose I'll withhold judgement, as always, until I see the actual thing. So far it's kinda 50/50 for me.
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Well said, the one thing we really differ on is that I actually LOVE that main riff, it’s something that could easily translate to something like an 8 string guitar, synthesizer, orchestra, etc. and it loops very well, it’s been stuck in my head for a long time now which I think is a good sign that it’s doing it’s job right. I come from the metal world so I’ve always been a bigger fan of chuggy riffs than sweeping melodies or emotional harmonies, so it really gets me hyped up

But aside from that I totally agree with your assessment, and I’m reserving my final opinions for when I see the film, which is (finally, thank god) not that far away
 
KEM said:
Well said, the one thing we really differ on is that I actually LOVE that main riff, it’s something that could easily translate to something like an 8 string guitar, synthesizer, orchestra, etc. and it loops very well, it’s been stuck in my head for a long time now which I think is a good sign that it’s doing it’s job right. I come from the metal world so I’ve always been a bigger fan of chuggy riffs than sweeping melodies or emotional harmonies, so it really gets me hyped up

But aside from that I totally agree with your assessment, and I’m reserving my final opinions for when I see the film, which is (finally, thank god) not that far away
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The riff is fine and is a nice first/primary element. I just think it needs some sort of melody, or even some sort of countering element -- a secondary rhythmic thing, something like that. Anything, really.
 
AlexRuger said:
The riff is fine and is a nice first/primary element. I just think it needs some sort of melody, or even some sort of countering element -- a secondary rhythmic thing, something like that. Anything, really.
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Fair point, I could definitely hear a horn line or string ostinato over it, it has the space for it, maybe in the film it’ll have other elements added, we’ll know soon enough
 
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