Film music...how do I love thee?

For those of you reading this, welcome to my blog. Film music isn’t the only thing I talk about here, but it is an overriding force in my life and has been for years.

One of my earliest memories of noticing film music came when I watched 9 to 5 on the then-new Encore network. Charles Fox’s music made an impression on me, particularly Violet moving the body in the hospital and the shooting gallery bit in Judy’s fantasy.

More and more, I watched movies, enjoying the music that was written for them. I made lists of the scores I liked and (vainly) hoped to own. It was in my last spring of high school that I discovered used CD stores (having received a handful of asked-for titles the previous Christmas). I’ll never forget purchasing that copy of Batman Forever for $6.95.

Then, in the fall (first year of college), I discovered the internet. Among many other wonders, I found communities of people in this same crazy love affair with film music. The opinions and backgrounds may differ, but the love of music unites us. Ultimately, I was able to put names and (for the most part) faces to the people who created this fantastic music.

Almost a decade on, I’ve amassed an impressive collection of titles. Though it’s murder on my bank account, buying soundtracks instills me with a sense of childlike glee; the same way a child tosses and turns in bed the night before Christmas. (Incidentally, this is very much true of whenever a title is to be announced by a specialty label.)

Sadly, the thrill of going to used stores is wearing thin. Granted, there is still a multitude of titles to be had, but I’m not interested in buying everything that comes out...just what I need. Luckily, there is the aforementioned internet, where several retailers work to supply myself and others with fine titles.

By this point, I’ve provided the ‘how’, ‘when’ and ‘where’. And what of the ‘why’? After all these years, I’m still not sure. Perhaps it’s the moods that this music can inspire: excitement, tranquility, happiness, fear, apprehension. Or maybe, it’s the thought that the people behind film music can achieve a sort-of immortality through their work. Or perhaps, I just like the pretty melodies.

I’ve given plenty of this blog’s space to such pretty melodies in my monthly ‘Favorite Themes’ column:

Bright and Shiny (Bubble Boy)
Roger O. Thornhill (North by Northwest)
Daryl Van Horne (The Witches of Eastwick)
Main Theme (Black Sunday)
The Last Scion (Dogma)
Main Theme (Warlock)
The Ark of the Covenant (Raiders of the Lost Ark)
To the Rescue (Gremlins)
Mrs. Saint (The Punisher)
Harmony Lane (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang)
Wednesday and Joel (Addams Family Values)
Count Olaf (Lemony Snicket’s a Series
of Unfortunate Events)
The Second Coming (The Final Conflict)
Main Theme (Stay Tuned)
Main Theme (Memoirs of an Invisible Man)
Karen’s Anxiety (The Howling)
Hatcher and His Men (The Rundown)
The Highest Gander (Winged Migration)
The Horned King (The Black Cauldron)
Doc Ock (Spider-Man 2)

The latest installment should be up sometime next week. This is the first of three parts in my ‘Look at me! Look at me!’ contribution to the very cool Filmmusic Blog-a-thon.