The Current State of Film Music

To be blunt, I think that film music is in trouble. Quality is declining. Everyone is trying to be John Williams, but ends up being Hans Zimmer. There are no real melodies anymore, there are a few ’sad chords,’ or ’scared chords,’ or ‘happy chords,’ etc.

What really burns me is what is being awarded as quality music! For example, How many scores for STAR WARS won best score? 1. How many LORD OF THE RINGS scores won best score? 2. WHAT?!?? Where Williams’ music essentially redefined film music and influenced a generation of composers and performers (for better or for worse), the LOTR scores were repetitive ‘ad nauseum’ in there use of melody (or lack thereof), texture, and color. Thomas Newman, arguably the best film composer out there today, has been nominated for several oscars and has never won; despite the fact that his scores for THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION and AMERICAN BEAUTY were revolutionary in there sound and have been poorly imitated for years.

Jerry Goldsmith, one of the greatest of all time, was a TRUE composer. He was a versatile musician who could float from adventure/epic scores such as STAR TREK to the ‘avant garde’ sounds of PLANET OF THE APES and feel just as comfortable in the quirky pop-influenced score GREMLINS. You don’t see this versatility in film composers anymore. It seems like there are now ‘genre’ composers; those who write for one kind of film and ONLY that kind of film. I believe that this has been DETRIMENTAL to the creativity that could go into film music. There are exceptions, but this seems to be the way things are done now.

There needs to be a renaissance of film music. Rather than trying to ’say something’ and create something of great artistic merit, it seems like most film composers are trying to write the next STAR WARS. Sorry to say, it’s probably not going to happen.

The Current State of Church Music

When I say ‘church music,’ I’m referring to the evangelical Christian subculture. This may seem limited in a way, but it’s the background that I come from and have experience in.

Nothing makes me more angry or discourages me more than the current state of church music. Value is determined by emotional manipulation, record sales, and quick returns. These factors seem to contradict the very Gospel that the music is supposed to be about. I have a friend who told me the phrase “Jesus is my girlfriend” songs; those which you could easily substitute the word “girl” for Jesus, and instantly change the song from a cheesy love song to a cheesy ‘worship’ song.

Where the gospel demands a life of sacrifice, discipline and commitment, many new songs today promote instant gratification, ease of consumption, and ’short shelf life.’ While these two mindsets clearly contradict each other there are those in the church who try to reconcile the two. Why? Because it’s easier to consume music than it is to let it challenge you and possibly bring you to a deeper understanding of life. Where the great songwriters for the church years ago wrote poignant songs about faith in the midst of trials, joy in the midst of suffering, and poetic reflections on the scriptures and the world, todays writers are just trying to churn out the next ‘hit.’ Seriously, what popular songs will we be singing 50 years from now? Or even 10? Not that there is something morally wrong about a song with a short ’shelf-life,’ but shouldn’t the goal be to write songs that are going to be just as meaningful and profound to today’s church AND tomorrow’s?

We are at a very dangerous time in church history; not because ‘the democrats might take office again,’ or because ‘a movie about gay cowboys’ was released and did well financially; but rather because the faith today is preaching a quasi-gospel about how to make this life easier and more comfortable. It takes very little effort to be a Christian today, in fact, there isn’t a demand for any effort at all. The easier, the better. Spirtual ‘rationalization’ occurs when not wanting to concentrate on anything above a 3rd grade reading level becomes ‘I just want to praise my Jesus.’ Similarly, vain repetition which numbs the mind is said to ‘allow the words to REALLY penetrate the heart.’

If we believe that the God we worship is the Creator and Redeemer of all, then we NEED to put a little more effort into the image we give of Him. Instead of buying the latest CD by our favorite ‘worship leader,’ giving money to the already rich televangelist, or boycotting the latest rated-R movie, let’s create and encourage art that will reflect the timeless truths of the gospel and the God from whom it originates.

Ah yes, it begins.

Well, here’s my blog. Since I’m a musician, an extremely talented and well-trained musician, I will be talking a lot about music. You can expect to find musings about contemporary concert music, the current state of church music, as well as film music. These are the things that I have the most interest and passion about, and hopefully the things that you will respond to! In addition, I hope to become a better writer from my postings here.