Anyone getting tired of the Enya-like "Aaaaaaaah...aaaaaahhh..." scores? (1 Viewer)

[John Doran]

if it's done well, then i like it.

if not, not.

 

[Dave_P.]

Yes.

 

[TheLongshot]

That might scare people away. Now it is guys wailing.

I could see some daring filmmaker using them in a film, tho...

Jason

 

[Tino]

Ya know, that's the second time I got Sissel's nationality wrong.

My apologies to the Norwegians and the Danes!:b

 

[Jeff_Standley]

I liked it in Gladiator but it drove me crazy in Troy.

 

[Mike Graham]

I enjoyed the style in "The Insider" and "Gladiator" but after that I was just sick of it.

 

[Holadem]

Very noticeable in Troy for some reason. I was never bothered by it until then...

--
H

 

[Terry St]

I have a hunch that this sort of new-age/celtish wailing will make it very easy to date certain films, not at all unlike how a cindy lauper tune immediately pegs a film in the 80's.

P.S. The most overtly and annoyingly manipulative score I can recall in the last few years was the one for "Mission to Mars". The score itself is an uncharacteristically mediocre effort from Ennio Morricone. (I could barely believe that fact!) What really makes it so bad is how it's applied with absolutely no subtlety or mercy by Brian De Palma.

 

[Tino]

No, she didn't. The Irish group Claanad performed a song at the climax of that film, which Michael Mann susequently removed for his directors cut. Enya was at one time part of that group and I believe her sister still is, but I'm pretty sure she wasn't involved then.

Also, I was referring to Enya as a solo artist and contributing "new" music, not using a Enya song as Far And Away did for instance.

 

[Vickie_M]

I'm stealing from my own post elsewhere, but it fits perfectly here.


Right, Eithne Ní Bhraonáin (Enya) used to be part of Clannad from 1980-82. Her sister is Moya Brennan, who used to be known as Máire Ní Bhraonáin, then Máire Brennan, until she got tired of people mispronouncing her name and finally did what Enya wisely did, and started using the spelling as it's pronounced. Eithne is pronounced Enya. Máire is prounounced Moya. God I hate Gaelic spelling and pronunciation.


Lisa Gerrard's full-out voice is a powerful thing to behold, on record and live. I once died and went to heaven for a little while. I was seeing Dead Can Dance, Lisa's former group, in concert. Lisa "sang" the first song acapella. I put "sang" in quotes because that doesn't do it justice. She was channeling some ancient god I think. She stood there in a white robe, one spotlight on her and the rest of the stage pitch black. It was mesmerizing and every single person in the place had their eyes glued to her. When the song was over and the echo of her voice faded, there was complete, dead silence for 15-20 seconds. It was as if people were afraid to breathe, that to make a sound would cause her to disappear. Then the roar started. It was the 2nd most intense moment I've ever seen in concert (the first being Diamanda Galas, who'd eat Achilles for breakfast).


Lisa Gerrard, the voice of Gladiator (and much more, such as The Insider and Whale Rider):

Dead Can Dance - Song Of Sophia, Mesmerism, Frontier, De Profundis

 

[Vickie_M]

Uh oh, The Day After Tomorrow uses it too. :frowning:


Here's an article that was on Salon Premium. Only Salon subscribers can read it. The mods can delete it if they feel it's necessary.

It obviously was written before the writer saw TDAT.

 

[Andres Munoz]

Funny thread Patrick. I saw Troy on sunday and was just thinking the same thing. That movie made it so much more noticeable and they really should stop using that type of music so much. Try something else. I guess it wasn't done correctly in Troy since it stuck out like a sore thumb?

I don't recall this being used in The Hulk. That's hilarious.

 

[Ricardo C]

That is such a terrific quote

 

[Ray H]

Its used quite heavily in the desert and i think the flashback scenes

 

[Mike Broadman]

Saw Troy last night.

My favorite scene was the one-and-one battle between the two main characters. When one kills the others, it was real nice and poignant- except that the second after the sword impaled the dude, the qvetching songstress graced us with her wailing, thus ruining it for me.

Yes, I believe we've had quite enough of this trick.

 

[Dennis Pagoulatos]

I just saw Troy a couple of days ago and man did that wailing bitch drive me insane! I thought it was very moving in "Gladiator", seemed ok to me in "Hulk" , yet seemed very out of place in "Man on Fire", and was waaay overused to the point of annoyance in "Troy". However the pounding drums during the big sweaty,oily man-battle between Pitt and Bana
worked REALLY well, and almost redeemed the shaky score (almost, but not quite). My heart was pounding during that entire scene, something that hasn't happened to me since a couple of scenes in "Kill Bill Vol. 2", and before that, years ago.

-Dennis

 

[Mark Kalzer]

Strange...I found that drum beat to be the most dissapointingly bad music in the film. No, the music itself wasn't poor, it was more that this big dramatic fight scene was being scored by a simple drum as if this was some B movie fight.

Regarding the wailing, yes we've seen it in other films but have not noticed it on the same level and with as much annoyance as in Troy, and I think that what those other films do well is use other techniques apart from the wailing. Lord of the Rings has a huge platter of different musical sounds, each adding a distinct flavour to each musical theme. Wailing is but a very small part of that.

I think vocal music can be quite effective and mesmerizing if used correctly, and in moderation. Some of the strongest musical pieces, "Duel of the Fates" from Star Wars Episode 1 and "Neodammerung" from The Matrix Revolutions are indeed some of the greatest uses of it. (Someone once suggested that the Matrix fight music should be played in the background of every hockey fight!) However the vocals are not the only instrument used. Troy uses the vocals to excess, and weakens the effectiveness, the way hot water only feels hot when putting your hand in it briefly before your hand gets used to it.

I am able to forgive James Horner though, given the incredibly stiff time given to him, having pretty much no lead in time to when he started the project.

 

[Ted Lee]

i actually almost cracked up out loud when that happend during troy....talk about jumpin' the shark!

 

[Joe Blech]

I have to agree with many here. I liked it in Gladiator, but I really noticed it in Troy as something that I had heard before and couldn't help but thinking, "C'mon, think of something else!" Many props to James Horner, who is one of my favorites, although I feel like his scores lately are all sounding EXTREMELY similar. I think that every composer should have his or her own style, but I feel he needs to diversify a bit more.

 

[Holadem]

I felt exactly the opposite way. I was praying that the drums wouldn't degenerate into something orchestral and overbearing like most of the film. I would have even preferred no music at all for that scene. The drums were the next best thing.

--
H