The film music of 2022.

Quite a year for film music. Here we go:

My favorite scores of 2022:

(Daniel Pemberton - Hollywood)

Pemberton’s varied score was a vital asset to the misfired mystery.

Favorite tracks: "I Want to See You Happy", "It Advances with Age", "Gala Speech"

(Daniel Pemberton - Back Lot)

Pemberton’s music for the animated caper marks a fine return to Ocean’s 8 territory.

Favorite tracks: "Let's Bounce", "Marmalade Prelude", "Finish Them"

(John Frizzell - La La Land)

The further misadventures of the two metal heads allowed Frizzell another chance at a rich score.

Favorite tracks: "Main Titles", "Your Situation is Critical", "Now Let's Go Score"

(Patrick Doyle - Hollywood)

Doyle’s second score for Hercule Poirot is one of the most appealingly bold works of the year.

Favorite tracks: "The Pyramids", "Goodnight Jacks", "Death on the Nile"

(Danny Elfman - Hollywood/Marvel)

The year’s other multiverse movie benefited from Elfman’s driving score, buoyed by a fine trio of themes.

Favorite tracks: "Strange Statue", "Getting Through", "Main Titles"

(Alexandre Desplat - Columbia)

Dripping with color and melodic riches, Desplat’s score is, by far, one of his best.

Favorite tracks: "Sebastian J Cricket", "Memory of Carlo", "The Dogfish"

(Michael Abels - Back Lot)

Abels’ music for the latest Jordan Peele concoction skillfully mixed Western and horror tropes.

Favorite tracks: "Haywood Ranch", "The Star Lasso Expeeerrriii...", "Nope"

(Alan Silvestri - Disney)
Certainly the lesser of the Pinocchio movies on this list, but Silvestri's lively score may be just as good.
Favorite tracks: "He's Alive", "This Will Be Your Home", "I Have an Idea"

(Heitor Pereira - Back Lot)
A colorful score for the animated adventure...and a glimpse at what Pereira can do when not weighed down by gibbering yellow Tic Tacs.
Favorite tracks: "Bounty Hunter", "Your Favorite Book", "Bear Family Counseling"

(Ludwig Goransson - Disney)

A delightful melding of boy band hip-hop and Chinese instrumentation, which you wouldn’t expect to work.

Favorite tracks: "Jin's Family Dinner", "Inconvenient Genetics", "Stadium Rental"

(Bruno Coulais - Netflix)

Coulais dips into uncharted musical territory and emerges with a fun effort.

Favorite tracks: "The Soul Jockeys", "Say My Name", "Sculptures and Graves"

(Terence Blanchard - Milan)

Blanchard’s music for the historical drama is appropriately stirring.

Favorite tracks: "Road to Abomey", "With One Purpose", "Oyo Battle"

Other good scores:

Catherine Called Birdy (Carter Burwell), The Duke (George Fenton), Enola Holmes 2 (Daniel Pemberton), Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (Nathan Johnson), God's Crooked Lines (Fernando Velazquez), Kimi (Cliff Eidelman), Lightyear (Michael Giacchino), The Man from Rome (Roque Banos), The School for Good and Evil (Theodore Shapiro), Secrets of the Sea (Alan Williams), Slumberland (Pinar Toprak), Thor: Love and Thunder (Michael Giacchino and Nami Melamud) and Till (Abel Korzeniowski)

My favorite CDs of 2022:

Amistad (John Williams - La La Land) - Williams’s score ably reflected the film’s moods of perseverance and triumph.

The Ernest Gold Collection - Vol. 1 (Dragon's Domain) - A fascinating collection of odds and ends from the beginning and end of Gold's career.

Frenzy (Ron Goodwin/Henry Mancini - Quartet) - Hitchcock's wonderfully nasty thriller received dark efforts from Mancini and, ultimately, Goodwin.

The Godfather (Nino Rota - La La Land) - Rota's haunting score for the classic drama receives the deluxe treatment it deserves.

Jerry Goldsmith at 20th - Vol. 5 (La La Land) - An eclectic assortment of series and telefilm scores from one of Goldsmith's most legendary periods.

Matinee (Jerry Goldsmith - Intrada) -  Joe Dante's most personal film received a Goldsmith score that's, by turns, lively and wistful.

Red Sonja (Ennio Morricone - Quartet) - The Conan the Barbarian spinoff was helped immeasurably by Il Maestro's colorful music.

Scarface (Giorgio Moroder - La La Land) - Moroder's pulsating music was a vital component of the epic-length gangster movie.

Spider-Man (Danny Elfman - La La Land) - Elfman gave the superhero movie a springy and winning score.

Tomorrow Never Dies (David Arnold - La La Land) - Arnold's inaugural entry into the James Bond franchise is an exceptional score showing him as the natural successor to Barry.

Other great CDs:

Beavis and Butt-Head Do America (John Frizzell - La La Land)

Craig Safan's Horror Macabre - Vol. 1 (Dragon’s Domain)

Death Becomes Her (Alan Silvestri - Varese Sarabande CD Club)

How the Grinch Stole Christmas (James Horner - La La Land)

How to Train Your Dragon 2 (John Powell - Varese Sarabande CD Club)

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - The Cradle of Life (Alan Silvestri - Varese Sarabande CD Club)

Masters of Horror (Richard Band - Dragon’s Domain)

The Scalphunters (Elmer Bernstein - Quartet)

SpaceCamp (John Williams - Intrada)

Top Secret! (Maurice Jarre - La La Land)

Random thoughts:

- Desplat's Coupez! was a wacky delight, though it ended up missing my top 40 cut. There's good news and bad news about this score. Good: now, I have some idea what Barbie is gonna sound like. Bad: I kinda wanted to be surprised. Also, what the score does end up sounding like (and I'm sure it'll be terrific, regardless), I'm still gonna be a tad disappointed because it won't sound like this.

- Way to celebrate Elmer Bernstein's centenary. An expansion of The Scalphunters and a compilation of the Magnificent Seven soundtracks. From the same label. That's it? Where's Animal House? Or Funny Farm? Meatballs? Class? A complete Legal Eagles? Hell, even Leonard Part 6? And don't give me any hogwash about how Bernstein doesn't sell. Listen to the music. It sells itself.

- Mother of Moses, did horror scores suck this year? (And if you don't like my opinion on this topic, tough titty, because, unless something changes, it has a near-permanent place in this section.) Smile, Barbarian, The Black Phone. To be honest, I wasn't too crazy about either of the Carpenter family scores, either. The three things that should be taught to every composer (and more than a few filmmakers) working in this genre...hell, all genres: melody, melody, melody.

- I found Don't Worry, Darling an entertaining mess. One of the big surprises about the film is that John Powell was announced to score it. Even more surprising is that it's not what one would expect a Powell to sound like. I suppose that a more traditional score won't have worked as well (and the composer probably relished the opportunity to not have to be 'John Powell' for once), but it didn't quite work for me.

- The ever-underrated Mark McKenzie (Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde, the DragonHeart sequels) made another appearance with his music for Prancer: A Christmas Tale. It was pleasant enough, but, really, how long has it been since he got to work on a movie with familiar names in it with an orchestra? Is recording in Prague or Bulgaria super-expensive these days?

- Gonna do something different this year: I'm going to post my ballot for the Best Original Score Oscar. The twist? I'm going by the official shortlist and my own personal shortlist. I don't see there being too much overlap.

Best Original Score (their shortlist):
The Banshees of Inisherin, Carter Burwell
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, Nathan Johnson
Guillermo Del Toro's Pinocchio, Alexandre Desplat
Nope, Michael Abels
The Woman King, Terence Blanchard

Best Original Score (my shortlist):
Amsterdam, Daniel Pemberton
Death on the Nile, Patrick Doyle
Guillermo Del Toro's Pinocchio, Alexandre Desplat
Nope, Michael Abels
The Woman King, Terence Blanchard 

See? Much better than the Academy, right?