Around the world with film music - part 3

The active rhythms of native cultures coupled with the guitars and trumpets of Spanish influence make up the famed Latino music.  Film music uses it to color the central and south American flavors of certain urban realities.  Bill Conti gives us one of his greatest scores with Blood in Blood out.As we land in America, we come face-to-face with New York City, the metropolis of the country that gave birth to rock & roll and its countless derivative products.  Very hip and very trendy, to be sure, but in the hands of film music, the current takes on a whole new emotional vibe.  Though the movie Bad Boys was set in Miami, Mark Mancina’s score perfectly represents the very spirit of urban New York, as exemplified by the track Prologue/The Car Jacking; truly a modern symphony.As we journey to the Americas, we take on the well-traveled Atlantic Ocean and its stormy seas.  But what exactly is marine music?  Why, pirate music of course!  And there’s certainly no shortage of buccaneer films in the golden age of cinema, nor in their modern-day revival.  As we venture to the new world, let us say « Arrrgh! » to the sound of Hans Zimmer's scurvy melodies in Land Ho from Muppet Treasure Island.View the list »
World Music

Music newsletter

The next and final leg of our trip around the world of film music takes us from the ports of Europe where we left off and onto the adventuresome waters to the west.

Related topics

Advertisement
View the list
  • As we journey to the Americas, we take on the well-traveled Atlantic Ocean and its stormy seas.  But what exactly is marine music?  Why, pirate music of course!  And there’s certainly no shortage of buccaneer films in the golden age of cinema, nor in their modern-day revival.  As we venture to the new world, let us say « Arrrgh! » to the sound of Hans Zimmer's scurvy melodies in Land Ho from Muppet Treasure Island.
  • As we land in America, we come face-to-face with New York City, the metropolis of the country that gave birth to rock & roll and its countless derivative products.  Very hip and very trendy, to be sure, but in the hands of film music, the current takes on a whole new emotional vibe.  Though the movie Bad Boys was set in Miami, Mark Mancina’s score perfectly represents the very spirit of urban New York, as exemplified by the track Prologue/The Car Jacking; truly a modern symphony.
  • The active rhythms of native cultures coupled with the guitars and trumpets of Spanish influence make up the famed Latino music.  Film music uses it to color the central and south American flavors of certain urban realities.  Bill Conti gives us one of his greatest scores with Blood in Blood out.
  • Mexico has an identity distinct from the rest of Latin America mainly due to one name: Ennio Morricone.  His spaghetti western music redefined the genre until it was impossible to imitate without becoming camp.  Luckily for Alan Silvestri, this is exactly what the filmmakers required when they hired him for the aptly-named film The Mexican.  The track It’s Cursed, That Gun could fit any Mexican stand-off.
  • Moving further west still, we hit the expanse of the prairies.  Countless classic westerns have depicted their scope and boundless majesty, but the chosen clip is a modern one.  It features the drive and energy of what is arguably Hans Zimmer’s best single piece: Running Free from Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron.
  • Our journey takes us to the extreme western reaches of our globe.  When sprinkled with snow, the great American Plains don an air of nobility, something that is unquestionably portrayed in films set in this region.  Just like in Lee Holdridge’s Call of the Wild.  This is Americana at its finest.
  • What else is there to explore once we’ve covered our entire Earth?  Space.  The final frontier.  Breathtaking in its infinite enormity, yet bleak in its emptiness, sometimes delicate with its beauty and devastating with its power.  We end this musical journey on Earth by looking to the heavens with Elliot Goldenthal’s music from Final Fantasy : The Spirits Within, with the track Blue Light continued in Adagio and Transfiguration.
View the list

, Baltimore Film Score Examiner

J-F Bibeau is a native French Canadian transplanted to the Baltimore/DC area. Former IT worker and now full-time freelance artist, he dabbles professionally in many artistic fields: writing, acting, costume design, comedy and improvisation, but his first love remains film music. He has a...

Advertisement

Today's top buzz...