Tag Archives: Media Mondays

Music Post: The Black Swan Score

30 Jan

Recently, I’ve been listening quite a bit to the score for Black Swan, and let me just say right now that if you haven’t seen that movie, you really should. I hate doing that annoying, in-your-face “YOU HAVE TO SEE THIS MOVIE IT IS SO GOOD” thing, but . . . you have to see this movie. It’s so good. I thought about that movie for days after I saw it; I still think about it.

For me, one of the most affecting elements of the movie was the score. Director Darren Aronofsky‘s go-to composer, Clint Mansell (who did amazing work on Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain, and Moon, among others), combined excerpts from Tchaikovsky‘s original Swan Lake score with his own dark, electronics-infused style to create an utterly disturbing musical palette of genteel ballet meets psychological destruction.

I’ve been a fan of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake ballet for years, having owned and listened to the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra‘s recording (which apparently is somewhat obscure?) since I was rather young. The story has always fascinated me, and so has the music; it and The Nutcracker made me a Tchaikovsky fan for life, from an early age.

So, Black Swan was a huge treat in every way. Check out some of these tracks (warning: I would not suggest listening to these at night or in the dark or when you’re alone, unless you’re willing to get kind of freaked out):

“Nina’s Dream” – This track draws material directly from the “Introduction” to the ballet, and it’s all nice and peaceful and full of lyrical oboe — until about twenty seconds in, when the darkness starts creeping in with a percussion hit and high-pitched strings. And at about 1:40, as the music crescendos, so do Mansell’s subtle but unmistakable electronic swirls, like a dancer spinning and spinning, unable to stop.

“Mother Me” – Have you ever seen Carrie? I have, and the creepiest part of that movie for me was Carrie’s crazy mother. Similarly, one of the most disturbing aspects of Black Swan was Nina’s overbearing mother, as she tried to live out her unrealized dreams through her daughter. This track is sweet and tender, befitting a mother and her daughter — but just slightly off. Even from the beginning, we know something’s not right here.

“The New Season” – And here’s where things start to get really creepy. I love the repeated-note motif that starts about thirty seconds in, which Mansell pulled from one of the Dances of the Swans in the ballet’s second act.

“A New Swan Queen” – This might be my favorite track from the entire album. It accompanies the scene in which Nina finds out she’s won the role of the swan queen, which made me get all emotional in the theater (few people cry as well as Natalie Portman). The first half of the track is all ballet pageantry with just a tinge of foreboding; then, halfway through, this incredibly unnerving electronic ticking begins, evoking imagery of picking at one’s nails or cold water dripping from a faucet in a dark room.

“Opposites Attract” – Pulse-pounding, insatiable, inexorable music accompanying a pivotal scene (OR IS IT?) between Nina and her dark-side doppelganger (OR IS SHE?). Really good music to write to.

“It’s My Time” – I feel like this should be called “It’s My Turn,” but whatever. Anyway, this is when things in the film REALLY swirl into a frenzy and is some truly disturbing music. I love the scratchy violins (I think that’s what that is?) at about :28, their unnerving sounds, striking at random, turning everything into just-under-the-skin chaos.

“A Swan Is Born” – This music is pulled almost entirely from one of my favorite scenes in the ballet, the entrance of Odile (the black swan) and the evil Von Rothbart at the royal ball. Obviously, this also marks a pivotal scene in Black Swan, as Nina triumphantly unravels.

“A Swan Song (for Nina)” – This music accompanied the closing credits, I believe. The first half is a lovely, elegiac piano variation on the Swan Lake theme; then, in typical Black Swan style, the music switches about halfway through (signified by the sound of glass shattering!) to the dark side, if you will — dissonance, pulsing electronics, and shrieking strings to finish out the album and leave you doubting your own sanity. Yay!

~*~

What about you? Have you seen Black Swan? Do you, like me, just love Clint Mansell? Any other Swan Lake fans out there?

Music/Moving/BRAINSPLOSION Post: Battlestar Galactica, etc.

23 Jan

This will be a short post because my brain is in the process of exploding.

(DISCLAIMER: I REALIZE THAT I HAVE A GOOD LIFE, I HAVE MANY BLESSINGS, I AM THANKFUL FOR EVERYTHING, I AM AT LEAST NOT STARVING IN SOME POST-APOCALYPTIC OR EQUIVALENT DUNG HEAP, THANK YOU.)

The thing is, there is so much going on right now (ALTHOUGH IT IS ALL GOOD), and it is showing no signs of stopping (THANK GOD I KNOW RIGHT BLESSINGS EVERYWHERE), that I have pretty much just been alternating between writing feverishly on The October Year . . . and curling up with chips or cheese or some other thing I should not be snacking on and watching YouTube videos (like this one).

Plus, since I’m feeling overwhelmed just in general, and since general overwhelmed . . . ness . . . can lead to more specific kinds of whelm, I also have these random moments of like, “OH MY GOD. My first book is coming out THIS YEAR and I’m not doing enough and I’m so unprepared and no one will like it and there are so many other books coming out that are so much cooler than mine and HOW WILL I EVER BE HEARD?”

Plus there is the moving and the saying good-bye to friends and family. More chips. More cheese. More YouTube videos (like this one).

Thankfully, I also discovered Battlestar Galactica this week. Now, this is one of those shows that everyone and their tauntaun has been telling me I should watch since, I don’t know, forever. I just never made the time for it, though; committing to a multi-season show is asking a lot at this point in my life. But in a recent moment of particularly potent whelm, I decided I was just going to go ahead and start watching it. I needed something to do with myself between bouts of frenetic writing and cheese-snarfling.

Well, lo and behold, everyone and their tauntaun was RIGHT. It is SO GOOD. Jaw-droppingly so, even.

But a couple of episodes in, I remembered that, in my rush of rebellious excitement, I’d forgotten that I’d promised The Boy we would watch it together. So I halted my watching, and will resume later. I know, right? Twue wuv. Agent Lady was impressed by my willpower.

I’ve been listening to the score, though — mainly the miniseries score, by Richard Gibbs. I’ve thus far managed to keep from shelling out the $50+ for the entire series’ scores. We’ll see how long that lasts.

Check it, and be INSPIRED (and then send me some cheese?):

Christmas Scores – Part II

12 Dec

In last week’s Christmas Scores post, I talked about music from Home Alone, Love Actually, The Chronicles of Narnia, and Harry Potter.

This week, continuing with my Christmas Scores series, I’m going to talk about one of my favorite scores ever — The Santa Clause by Michael Convertino.

I feel like this score has never gotten the attention it deserves. In fact, when I bought it a few years ago, it was nearly impossible to find (now you can find it much more easily), and I think I ended up spending about $50 on my copy. But I didn’t care. I was obsessed.

Allow me to demonstrate why:

“Let’s Go” - This music accompanies the first time Scott Calvin and his son, Charlie, get whisked away on the late Santa’s sleigh, and sounds just exactly like that — a rollicking, slightly chaotic ride through a snowy Christmas Eve sky.

“Believing Is Seeing” – The elf Judy explains to Scott Calvin that kids don’t need to see the North Pole to know it exists. They just…know. And this is about the point in the movie where I start crying. Because I’m a total sap.

“The Sash Completes the Ensemble” – Watching Scott Calvin get sucked down a chimney and knocking over some dude’s Christmas tree with a kayak never failed to crack my 8-year-old self up. I love how this track is so elegantly beautiful and funny at the same time.

“The Bells of Christmas” – Loreena McKennitt lends her ethereal voice to this track, which accompanies Scott Calvin and Charlie seeing the North Pole for the first time. I adore this song. Cheesy? Maybe a bit. But utterly joyous. And I love this movie’s version of the North Pole.

“Goodnight Goodnight” – This track is full of TWINKLIES, y’all. TWINKLIES. It is perhaps my favorite on the album because of how mysterious and magical it sounds. Also, it is currently the ringtone on my phone.

“Comfort and Joy” – When everyone sees Santa at the end, and even grumpy old bad-sweater Neil gets his Christmas present, I cry, y’all. I SOB. It tugs at my heartstrings in all the right places. This track is pure holiday magic.

~*~

For me, this score epitomizes the holiday season, with all its magic, mystery, love, and occasional hijinks. As Ferris Bueller might say, “If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up.” A copy of the album, I mean.

← Older Entries