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Worst soundtracks suggestions

Haven't seen Goldeneye since the 90s, but now I want to see it again! Just checked out that end credits song, and that is indeed very odd.
If you're feeling particularly masochistic - it's here... (it might even reuse some elements Leon/The Professional - I forget now)
 
If you're feeling particularly masochistic - it's here... (it might even reuse some elements Leon/The Professional - I forget now)

Thanks, I found it and listened to it last night, not sure if I want to hear it again so soon :)

I've enjoyed other scores from Éric Serra, but can't say I remember much of the Goldeneye score at all. I was just a kid at the time though, might be time for a revisit. (But I sure loved those John Barry scores as a kid!).
 
Thanks a lot for all your contributions !

@Daniel James : I think I know who composed this score... My cat does exactly this when she’s walking on the keyboard (and I’m struggling with SStB solo horn).
 
Talking of being out of place, I struggle with Ladyhawke - it feels tonally wrong and very - errr - very 80's!
Funny - I absolutely love Ladyhawke. I remember seeing that in the theater and thinking it was a breath of fresh air. There was a big fantasy boom at the time and a glut of fantasy/dragon/wizard films and they all had these huge, sweeping, overly romantic and overly excited scores. I really give them credit for trying something different and if anything it gives the film a unique vibe to me. Right down to the Eventide 3000 down pitched delays on the final swordfight in slow motion. Out of all the films from that era I rewatch (Dragonslayer, Excalibur, Sword and the Sorceress, Clash of the Titans, Sorceress, etc.) Ladyhawke is the one I watch the most over and over and a good part of it is how much I enjoy the score in the context of what's going on.

As for any scores I really dislike or miss the point (which is kinda subjective I guess) but Junkie XL's score for Battle Angel to me is just horrible. Either he just didn't bother to do any research or he just phoned it in. As someone who's read all the graphic novels I feel like he completely had no concept of what the main character was about or even the world they inhabited. It just sounded like another generic score without even trying. An easy paycheck.

That film has a lot of other flaws as well but Junkie's score is well....IMO....Junk.
 
I realize the intent of this thread is slanted towards modern scores, but for me, when I think of worst scores, what immediately comes to mind are selected B-movies from the 1930s and 40s where the "score" is simply some background music that runs through the entire film without pause and no apparent attempt to tie the music to the emotion or action of the scenes. It's as if you're watching the movie and listening to the radio at the same time. If I recall correctly, I believe episodes of "The Little Rascals" used a similar scoring "technique".

Fast-forward to the 1960s, and the most cringe-worthy scoring element for me was when they tried to be "hip and groovy" by inserting generic, very square, bluesy-sounding "rock" music that was obviously played by musicians, and/or composed by writers, who had no actual idea of what rock 'n' roll really sounds like. Unless a film actually licensed popular songs, this bland vanilla-rock sound is ubiquitous among nearly all 60s films and TV shows.

Soundtracks and scoring have a come a long way since those days...
 
The horror! Just to give readers a short break, here’s an example of one of the best composers of the 8 bit era (who learned Motorola 6502 assembly just to have access to more options and save memory), the genius Rob Hubbard.



Noone ever will have to reorchestrate this brilliant piece of SID music. Okay, back to ugliness.

Edit: OMG, that bit from 3:17 onwards is insane.
 
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Ok, here's a contentious one (I'm assuming).

The score is great, the film is great, but the two never felt like they worked in tandem to me.

That film is, "The Machinist" with a score by Roque Baños. It's a fantastic Herrmann-esque score that absolutely nails the Hitchcock vibe but, by no fault of the composer and possibly just my personal opinion, it is distracting and comes across as cheesy in several places.

For reference, here's a clip (at about 4:10)



(You'll have to go to youtube, apparently! Sorry everyone)

EDIT: Language warning, lol
 
I realize the intent of this thread is slanted towards modern scores, but for me, when I think of worst scores, what immediately comes to mind are selected B-movies from the 1930s and 40s where the "score" is simply some background music that runs through the entire film without pause and no apparent attempt to tie the music to the emotion or action of the scenes.
One of the reasons could be that those B-Movies mostly used library music which was very generic and couldn't be "tied" that much to the visuals. The studios also often re-used pieces from different productions for budget reasons. The label Monstrous Movie Music has published a lot of albums with re-recordings and original archival editions which feature a lot of scores from those films. The producer David Schecter wrote me that it's sometimes impossiböe to "recreate" the complete score breakdown for these films because it's just a mess regarding how many tracks from different sources were used.

They have also a very informative info pages: https://www.mmmrecordings.com/Bonus_Stuff-/Monster_Music/monster_music.html

Here is a quote:
As fans of our Monstrous Movie Music series know, a lot of the music that is so indelibly linked to the monsters they love is, in fact, equally indelibly linked to other visuals as well. Herman Stein’s powerful “Main Title" from Universal’s 1955 Tarantula perfectly conjures the menace of a colossal arachnid running loose in the desert. Except for one thing. The piece was originally written in 1952, where it served as the “Main Title” for Universal’s Rock Hudson western, The Lawless Breed. This process of “tracking” -- re-using cues from the studio’s music library in subsequent pictures -- shows that what makes something sound “monstrous” is often merely in the ear of the beholder.

But there is one thing, though: Wall-to-wall-scoring was a real exception in the "Golden Age" and I don't know where the cliché that those "old movies" always are completely "drowned" in dramatic underscore comes from.

Most of the movies from the 1930-1960 only had between 20%-40" scored, of course there are exceptions. But I know only of ONE Film which has a wall-to-wall-score: LAND OF THE PHARAOHS (scored by Dimitri Tiomkin).
If you look at the vast catalogue of Golden-Age scores on CD from Intrada or Varèse Sarabande, they often only run 20-30 minutes in their complete form and are often paired with others to fill up the CD.
 
Here’s an example of one of the best composers of the 8 bit era (who learned Motorola 6502 assembly just to have access to more options and save memory), the genius Ron Hubbard.



Noone ever will have to reorchestrate this brilliant piece of SID music. Okay, back to ugliness.

Edit: OMG, that bit from 3:17 onwards is insane.

Rob Hubbard is amazing and was so ahead of the game (excuse the pun) - I also love Monty On The Run (which came before this - it's slightly based on The Devil's Galop).



Have you checked out the band Press Play On Tape @doctoremmet - I think they have done covers of both of these (among some a few other 8bit classics). Anyway, sorry to hijack - back to talking about rubbish music again... ;)
 
Funny - I absolutely love Ladyhawke. I remember seeing that in the theater and thinking it was a breath of fresh air. There was a big fantasy boom at the time and a glut of fantasy/dragon/wizard films and they all had these huge, sweeping, overly romantic and overly excited scores. I really give them credit for trying something different and if anything it gives the film a unique vibe to me. Right down to the Eventide 3000 down pitched delays on the final swordfight in slow motion. Out of all the films from that era I rewatch (Dragonslayer, Excalibur, Sword and the Sorceress, Clash of the Titans, Sorceress, etc.) Ladyhawke is the one I watch the most over and over and a good part of it is how much I enjoy the score in the context of what's going on.

As for any scores I really dislike or miss the point (which is kinda subjective I guess) but Junkie XL's score for Battle Angel to me is just horrible. Either he just didn't bother to do any research or he just phoned it in. As someone who's read all the graphic novels I feel like he completely had no concept of what the main character was about or even the world they inhabited. It just sounded like another generic score without even trying. An easy paycheck.

That film has a lot of other flaws as well but Junkie's score is well....IMO....Junk.
Interesting because both movies are on my to-watch list.
They just jumped on top of it now :)
 
Ladyhawke might just be me, I'm not a fan of 80's synth-based fantasy films - there are quite a few of them - that was just the first example I could think of. But give me anything "80's high-tech" like Knightrider, Airwolf or Streethawk and I'm all over it! :)
 
First example that comes to mind is the OST for Dragon Quest XI. My girlfriend played through this whole game and I constantly had to hear this battle theme pop up over and over again:



The composition itself is pretty annoying after a couple of listens but even worse the MIDI sounds chosen for it are so grating for a song that repeats hundreds of times throughout the game.

Perhaps the worst part is that this was the composer's own decision. The entire soundtrack was recorded with real orchestra but the composer apparently insisted on putting only the MIDI versions in the game so he could sell the proper recordings separately. Only the Switch version, which IIRC was released more than a year after initial release, has the true orchestral recordings in the game.

Sounds like the music from ANT-MAN
 
Sounds like the music from ANT-MAN
Please don't listen to this music.

I was playing Dragon Quest when it first came out.
This music almost ruined my life. It was repeating in the game every 20 seconds, battle after battle.
It got embedded into my brain. I was driving, and that music was playing back in my head.
I was working and that music was there. People were talking to me at work, and that music was in the background. I was trying to sleep and I dreamed that music all over night.

It destroyed my inspiration. I couldn't write music anymore.
I had to visit a therapist, which prescribed 3 months listening a sine wave at 60hz to reset my brain.

Please don't listen to this music...
 
Worst end credits ever.
Who wants to listen to children song after this ?



It comes from a French B-movie that is (almost) famous for casting politicians from the defunct RPR party (right wing).
 
I was wondering if anyone has suggestions for horrible soundtracks.

What I mean as horrible soundtrack is :
- something that poorly composed or arranged
- and/or a horrible mix
- and/or damages the (not as bad) movie
- and/or totally misses the point

I'm mostly targeting commercial releases, don't post your own stuff :rofl:

The goal of this thread is to have a gentle laugh at some stuff, not to open a flame war against a specific composer or style.

Who know, this thread might also turn a safe haven for composers lacking self-confidence. :)


Ok, I'll open the ball with the first dance.

I was listening to GoldenEye the other day and not only it doesn't feel Bond-ish but it also aged badly.
(IIRC, Serra only had a couple of weeks to deliver it and was a tad overwhelmed by the job).
Disclaimer : GoldenEye excluded, I generally appreciate Serra's scores.
I confess that I never liked the score for Titanic, which is odd because I like so much of Horner's work.
 
Was watching this movie, Mission to Mars, and cringing so hard about the completely out of place OST.... Waited until the credits to see which John Smith have written this taste-less thing and....ooops!

Ennio doing genres that are not westerns is really really never to my taste, I said it!
 
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