The film music of 2009.

As my bank account and several credit card companies might tell you, last year saw an embarrassment of soundtrack riches, both new and old.

My favorite scores of 2009:

Astro Boy (John Ottman - Varese): Ottman's first score for an animated film (and it's about time) is a delight, with a rousing main theme.
A Christmas Carol (Alan Silvestri - Disney download): I'm a sucker for Christmas carols in film scores, and Silvestri delivers that (and more) with his usual aplomb.
Coraline (Bruno Coulais - Koch): A colorful score that plays like an extension of Coulais' beautiful world music from Winged Migration.
Crank: High Voltage (Mike Patton - Lakeshore): This music (like the film for which it was written) may not be to every taste, but Patton's work is great fun for those who get into it.
Duplicity (James Newton Howard - Varese): Howard bestowed upon the underrated caper a score that's almost like an orchestral version of his fantastic Big Trouble.
Fantastic Mr. Fox (Alexandre Desplat - Abkco): Desplat's quirky, folksy score makes me wonder why it took so long to discover his talent.
The Informant! (Marvin Hamlisch - Silva): Hamlisch's bouncy score makes for one of the strongest elements of the biographical dramedy.
Public Enemies (Elliot Goldenthal - Decca): Goldenthal makes an impressive return to the scoring stage; easily the finest element of the uneven gangster drama.
Ponyo (Joe Hisaishi - Tokuma - Japan): As lush and lovely as one would expect from a Hisaishi score for a Miyazaki epic.
Sherlock Holmes (Hans Zimmer - Silva): One of the most off-beat scores of the year, and perhaps, one of the most fun.
Star Trek (Michael Giacchino - Varese): The cast of the Enterprise boldly went (I'm no Trekkie. Can't you tell?) thanks to Giacchino's lively action music and noble main theme.
Up (Michael Giacchino - Disney download): Giacchino's second score of the year is a multifaceted joy.

Other good scores:

Drag Me to Hell (Christopher Young), Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (Rolfe Kent), Julie & Julia (Alexandre Desplat), Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (Alan Silvestri), Ninja Assassin (Ilan Eshkeri), The Princess and the Frog (Randy Newman), Taking Woodstock (Danny Elfman), 17 Again (Rolfe Kent), Trick 'r Treat (Douglas Pipes) and Where the Wild Things Are (Karen O. and Carter Burwell)

Some really nice unreleased scores:

The Great Buck Howard - Blake Neely (Neely, nice guy that he is, posted the entire score at his site. Still, a physical CD would be great.)
Hotel for Dogs - John Debney
The Invention of Lying - Tim Atack
Sorority Row - Lucian Piane
12 Rounds - Trevor Rabin

Favorite new CDs of 2009

Airplane! (Elmer Bernstein - LaLaLand): Surely, this is some kind of joke. No joke and don't...you know how it goes. Bernstein's straight-faced score for the parody classic is one of the year's biggest surprises. Looks like I picked the wrong year to save my money.

Back to the Future (Alan Silvestri - Intrada): Great scott! A release spotlighting Silvestri's classic score and a much darker take on the material? I know, this is heavy (okay, last reference to the movie in my description, I promise).

Bank Shot (John Morris - Kritzerland): One of the more obscure Morris comedy scores, highlighted by a fantastic circusy main theme.

Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (Shirley Walker - LaLaLand): Perhaps Walker's finest film work, with a rich assortment of melodies.

How to Murder Your Wife/Lord Love a Duck (Neal Hefti - Kritzerland): The complete score of Hefti's underrated "...Murder..." gets paired with his out-there work on "...Duck".

Innerspace (Jerry Goldsmith - LaLaLand): Joe Dante's movies always provided fine canvases on which the composer could work, and this is no exception; by turns, weird, heroic and delightful.

One Little Indian (Jerry Goldsmith - Intrada): Sometimes, it's nice to be surprised by something from which you expected very little, as with this engaging score for the nearly-forgotten 70s Disney adventure.

Re-Animator/Ghoulies (Richard Band - Intrada): Band's most famous (or infamous, depending on your point of view) score sees - let's hope - its definitive release, paired with a brief, though entertaining effort.

The Split (Quincy Jones - FSM): Interested in starting a collection of Jones scores? One could do far worse than this energetic slice of 60s funk.

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (James Horner - FSM): Horner's first big score, a lush and exciting work, receives a deluxe treatment. Perhaps, it's time for me to see the film.

Time After Time (Miklos Rozsa - FSM): One of Rozsa's last scores (and as good an entry point for anyone wanting to get into his music as one can ask), composed for the time-travel romance. (Not a bad year for fans of scores to Nicholas Meyer movies, I think.)

Twilight Zone: the Movie (Jerry Goldsmith - FSM): Three great Goldsmiths in one year (and that's not counting the ones I didn't buy!)? There is so much to love in this presentation of the anthology score. The heartbreaking theme for Mr. Conroy in "Kick the Can". "It's a Good Life's" chaotic 'Nancy Cartwright gets eaten by cartoon monsters' music. The sparse, creepy scoring of "Time Out". Just incredible.

My favorite pieces of film music:

"Clan McCullen" - G.I. Joe: the Rise of Cobra (Alan Silvestri)
"Discombobulate" - Sherlock Holmes (Hans Zimmer)
"Drag Me to Hell" - Drag Me to Hell (Christopher Young)
"El Huron" - Crank: High Voltage (Mike Patton)
"End Credits" - Coraline (Bruno Coulais)
"The Informant" - The Informant! (Marvin Hamlisch)
"Just Another Dead Rat in a Garbage Pail (Behind a Chinese Restaurant)" - Fantastic Mr. Fox (Alexandre Desplat)
"Main Title" - Taking Woodstock (Danny Elfman)
"Married Life" - Up (Michael Giacchino)
"Plane to Chicago" - Public Enemies (Elliot Goldenthal)

As the doors at certain studios have been kicked open, here is my silly little wishlist for 2010:

Anything!! (Amotz Plessner): Seriously, other people need to be made aware of Plessner's great talents. Addams Family Reunion. Deal of a Lifetime. His contributions to Digimon: the Movie. Hell, even Road House 2! (Yes, they made it.)
The Black Cauldron (Elmer Bernstein): Disney's been quite gracious with opening their vaults for their live-action scores. Their animation scores, not so much. The grip has to loosen sometime and, hopefully, Bernstein's gorgeous score will be first out of the gate.
Down Periscope (Randy Edelman): I've made my peace with the fact that it may be several years before the labels get to releasing any Edelman scores, but I do hope (it being from Fox and all) that this score (for David S. Ward's amusing Major League remake) gets considered.
Stay Tuned (Bruce Broughton): Broughton's score for the misfired fantasy-comedy is one of his lesser-known efforts, but it's quite entertaining, highlighted by an exciting main theme.
Take the Money and Run (Marvin Hamlisch): Hopefully, Hamlisch's almost-certain Best Score nomination (see above) will convince some label to search for and rescue this engagingly cartoony score for Woody Allen's directorial debut.