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Al Basile Releases Blues Masterpiece
February 24, 2005-Rumford, RI-Al Basile remembers Patti Page singing "Tennessee Waltz," Les Paul and Mary Ford's "Mockingbird Hill," and the first day he heard Elvis sing “Heartbreak Hotel.” His world would never be the same. Melody and tone became...
Dan Goldman-Traveling Musician From Toronto, Canada
Today, Norm Goldman, Editor of Sketchandtravel.com and Bookpleasures.com is delighted to have as our guest, Dan Goldman, Guitarist, Song Writer, Poet, Arranger and a musician of many other talents. Dan is here to discuss his world of music and...
Mykill, drummer of SLAYER TRIBUTE Dead Skin Mask, talks about his set-up, past projects, and their cd release.
I e-mailed Mykill, the drummer of Slayer tribute band Dead Skin Mask. I'm not sure what he prefers to be called. His name is Mike Aresco (Michael, hence spelling as Mykill). He is an interesting character, to say the least. After seeing them for...
The Gospel Truth about the Negro Spiritual
What is the difference between Negro spirituals and gospel music? It seemed like a simple question, but it was immediately apparent that the answer was far from simple. First, it is complicated by the fact that both exist because of a deep-seated...
Throat Singing In Inuit Culture
Originally, Inuit throat singing was a form of entertainment among Inuit women while the men were away on hunting trips. It was an activity that was primarily done by Inuit women although there have been some men doing it as well. In the Inuit...
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Music In Movies
Imagine being the first person at the turn of the 20th century to have the brilliant idea to couple those old nickelodeon pictures with music. Think back at how satisfying that moment of eureka must have been. Ever since that day, music has found a comfortable and exciting niche in the home of motion pictures which should really be referred to musical motion pictures or motion pictures with musical accompaniment.
Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton made the first popular silent films by utilizing music as if it were their dialogue. Music accelerated the rhythm of the film, accentuated the comedic beats, it lingered on the sadness and it wrapped every emotional scene in a nice little bow.
Through time, some movies have seen a tremendous amount of success more because of their music than the acting or directing or anything else for that matter. A great example is one of Steven Spielberg's earlier efforts Jaws. "It was the music that really made the movie... every time you heard the babam babam, you could imagine the shark biting off the swimmer's leg. It was ingenious." Another favorite horror film that used music in such a way was Alfred Hitchcock class "Psycho."
Ennio Morricone, is one of the most prolific musical composers for film. He has been nominated for the academy award over eleven times, but he has never received the
gold. His films are characterized by a strong sense of music that fills in the gap wherever the writing lacks. In Once Upon a Time in the West, Sergio Leone recounts how Morricone composed a unique piece for each character and how that music would play in different variations every time the master character would enter the scene.
Morricone is also responsible for the music in Once Upon a time in America, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Malena.
John Williams is Morricone's American equivalent and while the previous concentrated on sweeping love themes, Williams had sensibilities leaning towards the action-adventure genres. He composed the well-remembered themes for Indiana Jones, Superman, and Star Wars.
In more contemporary times, films like American Beauty, Million Dollar Baby or Machiavelli Hangman (http://www.hangmanmovie.com) have offered a new trend of musical flavors ranging from simple acoustics to just drums creating a strong new breath of originality. Whatever the case may as long as filmmakers understand and use the power of music, their films will only be better off because of it.
About the author:
Leila K. Burroughs is a movie reviewer.
Machiavelli Hangman
http://www.hangmanmovie.com
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