By Laura Weaver
We all know the scores. Stargate. Doctor Who. Harry Potter. Bond. The Avengers. Star Wars. I think we'd all admit, without the music, there would be something significant missing from the show, movie, or game. If I think about it, without the composer, there would be no music. If you're anything like me, the score usually sticks in your brain, days after you've heard it and you're not content until you've heard it in its entirety and freaked out about how good it was. Let's take a look at five composers who are most commonly associated with geeks, ranging from John Williams to David Arnold.
We all know the scores. Stargate. Doctor Who. Harry Potter. Bond. The Avengers. Star Wars. I think we'd all admit, without the music, there would be something significant missing from the show, movie, or game. If I think about it, without the composer, there would be no music. If you're anything like me, the score usually sticks in your brain, days after you've heard it and you're not content until you've heard it in its entirety and freaked out about how good it was. Let's take a look at five composers who are most commonly associated with geeks, ranging from John Williams to David Arnold.
John Williams
John should easily be considered the main musician of the geeks. Let's consider some reasons why. His music is so well known amongst geeks, it's hard to pinpoint what exactly John is best known for. You can only say so much about his works when you've got a limited amount of words, so lets just list a few - Star Wars, Harry Potter (films 1 through 3) Indiana Jones, ET, Jaws, Jurassic Park, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Superman - would you like me to go on? To date, Williams is currently the most Oscar nominated living individual, being nominated for 48 Oscars and winning 5. John is probably one of the best-known composers amongst music geeks, creating such themes as The Imperial March, The Raider's March, Hedwig's Theme, The Flying Theme from ET and so much more. I guess just working with George Lucas is considered geek enough.
It's not very often that you get to show up to a ‘classical’ concert dressed as Princess Leia, Hermione Granger or Superman, pull out a lightsaber or wand during a specific song and totally get away with it. Where else on a greatest hits CD would you find songs from films that cover dinosaurs, horses, wizards and witches, Jedi knights, aliens and a rugged archaelogist/professor? John's themes fortunately (and sometimes, unfortunately) get stuck in your head for days on end (The Raiders March or the theme from Jaws? Come on, admit it). Surely I'm not the only one who had Hedwig's Theme and the main Star Wars Theme as her ringtone at one point in time or another. His music just screams "GEEK!" John's music is so well known amongst geeks, if he comes out with any more music (as he is rumoured to be doing for the upcoming Star Wars films), we're going to need a bigger boat to fit it all in.
John should easily be considered the main musician of the geeks. Let's consider some reasons why. His music is so well known amongst geeks, it's hard to pinpoint what exactly John is best known for. You can only say so much about his works when you've got a limited amount of words, so lets just list a few - Star Wars, Harry Potter (films 1 through 3) Indiana Jones, ET, Jaws, Jurassic Park, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Superman - would you like me to go on? To date, Williams is currently the most Oscar nominated living individual, being nominated for 48 Oscars and winning 5. John is probably one of the best-known composers amongst music geeks, creating such themes as The Imperial March, The Raider's March, Hedwig's Theme, The Flying Theme from ET and so much more. I guess just working with George Lucas is considered geek enough.
It's not very often that you get to show up to a ‘classical’ concert dressed as Princess Leia, Hermione Granger or Superman, pull out a lightsaber or wand during a specific song and totally get away with it. Where else on a greatest hits CD would you find songs from films that cover dinosaurs, horses, wizards and witches, Jedi knights, aliens and a rugged archaelogist/professor? John's themes fortunately (and sometimes, unfortunately) get stuck in your head for days on end (The Raiders March or the theme from Jaws? Come on, admit it). Surely I'm not the only one who had Hedwig's Theme and the main Star Wars Theme as her ringtone at one point in time or another. His music just screams "GEEK!" John's music is so well known amongst geeks, if he comes out with any more music (as he is rumoured to be doing for the upcoming Star Wars films), we're going to need a bigger boat to fit it all in.
Murray Gold
Best known for being the ‘musical director’ of Doctor Who since 2005, Murray has created some of the most memorable themes of Doctor Who over the past eight years and spanning the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors. His themes have covered such characters from Rose Tyler and Donna Noble to Astrid Peth and The Daleks, and giving the Tenth Doctor two themes of his own. When the Tenth Doctor regenerated and Matt Smith was introduced as the new Doctor, two new themes were created for Matt himself. Murray also composed the music for the Doctor Who spin-offs, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures (with assistance from Ben Foster, best known for conducting the music, both in concert and on recordings).
As the popularity of Doctor Who grew, and its music as well, two BBC Proms (2008 and 2010) were commissioned and performed during the annual BBC Proms season. Freema Agyeman (Martha) hosted the first Proms, with cameos from Catherine Tate (Donna), Noel Clarke (Mickey), Camille Coduri (Jackie Tyler), Daleks and numerous other monsters. During the second Prom, Karen Gillian (Amy), Arthur Darvill (Rory) and Matt Smith (Eleventh Doctor) hosted, with appearances throughout the concert from numerous monsters and a few Daleks. Another concert was also put on, Doctor Who: A Celebration with David Tennant hosting. Some of Murray's most popular songs have included Doomsday, I Am The Doctor, All the Strange, Strange Creatures and A Madman With A Box. Murray also composed the music for Frank Oz's Death at a Funeral and Ant and Dec's (in)famous Alien Autopsy.
Best known for being the ‘musical director’ of Doctor Who since 2005, Murray has created some of the most memorable themes of Doctor Who over the past eight years and spanning the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors. His themes have covered such characters from Rose Tyler and Donna Noble to Astrid Peth and The Daleks, and giving the Tenth Doctor two themes of his own. When the Tenth Doctor regenerated and Matt Smith was introduced as the new Doctor, two new themes were created for Matt himself. Murray also composed the music for the Doctor Who spin-offs, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures (with assistance from Ben Foster, best known for conducting the music, both in concert and on recordings).
As the popularity of Doctor Who grew, and its music as well, two BBC Proms (2008 and 2010) were commissioned and performed during the annual BBC Proms season. Freema Agyeman (Martha) hosted the first Proms, with cameos from Catherine Tate (Donna), Noel Clarke (Mickey), Camille Coduri (Jackie Tyler), Daleks and numerous other monsters. During the second Prom, Karen Gillian (Amy), Arthur Darvill (Rory) and Matt Smith (Eleventh Doctor) hosted, with appearances throughout the concert from numerous monsters and a few Daleks. Another concert was also put on, Doctor Who: A Celebration with David Tennant hosting. Some of Murray's most popular songs have included Doomsday, I Am The Doctor, All the Strange, Strange Creatures and A Madman With A Box. Murray also composed the music for Frank Oz's Death at a Funeral and Ant and Dec's (in)famous Alien Autopsy.
So, why exactly is Murray Gold most commonly associated with geeks? Doctor Who has become one of the most popular science fiction shows on television. It currently holds the Guinness World record for the longest running Sci-Fi show in history (sorry, Trekkies - it's true!). There is no way that Murray couldn't be associated with us geeks. Science fiction, Doctor Who (one of the most popular ‘geek’ shows around), monsters, aliens, and a sonic screw driver - how much geekier can you get? Murray's music is so good (and popular) that it managed to get two proms to itself. Those concerts alone introduced Murray's music to a whole other set of geeks - music geeks. Sorry but there's no escaping this, Murray, you’re one of us now.
Alan Silvestri
What do you get when you cross Back to the Future, The Avengers, and Forrest Gump? Three insanely popular movies, with only one thing in common; The composer. Alan Silvestri may be considered a little less well known than other such composers (such as John Williams, Hans Zimmer and James Horner), but he's definitely popular amongst the geeks and his popularity is definitely rising, with the release of The Avengers in 2012. I've got to admit, the main theme from The Avengers is currently the ringtone on my phone. Alan also composed the music for Beowulf, Captain America, The Bodyguard, Predator and Lilo & Stitch. One of his most famous themes is The Avengers Assemble suite and was featured during this year's Academy Awards ceremony.
Alan, I suppose, is a geek in his own right. He composed the score to one of the biggest geek films of all time - Back to the Future. The Delorean is a staple at numerous events (conventions, exhibits and even car shows), where people line up for hours, just to sit in the car and have their photos taken. Several of his themes are often compared to John Williams' scores, particularly the Indiana Jones scores. Superheroes, the Delorean, Forrest Gump and even a little blue alien - what else could anyone ask for?
What do you get when you cross Back to the Future, The Avengers, and Forrest Gump? Three insanely popular movies, with only one thing in common; The composer. Alan Silvestri may be considered a little less well known than other such composers (such as John Williams, Hans Zimmer and James Horner), but he's definitely popular amongst the geeks and his popularity is definitely rising, with the release of The Avengers in 2012. I've got to admit, the main theme from The Avengers is currently the ringtone on my phone. Alan also composed the music for Beowulf, Captain America, The Bodyguard, Predator and Lilo & Stitch. One of his most famous themes is The Avengers Assemble suite and was featured during this year's Academy Awards ceremony.
Alan, I suppose, is a geek in his own right. He composed the score to one of the biggest geek films of all time - Back to the Future. The Delorean is a staple at numerous events (conventions, exhibits and even car shows), where people line up for hours, just to sit in the car and have their photos taken. Several of his themes are often compared to John Williams' scores, particularly the Indiana Jones scores. Superheroes, the Delorean, Forrest Gump and even a little blue alien - what else could anyone ask for?
David Arnold
I think we can all figure out why David is commonly associated with geeks, so I'll keep this one simple. If you haven't figured out why yet, keep reading. Arnold has scored numerous film and television scores, including 1994's Stargate, Independence Day, Godzilla, the remake of The Stepford Wives, and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. A self declared Bond fan, David composed the music for Tomorrow Never Dies, The World is Not Enough, Die Another Day, Casino Royale, and Quantam of Solace. Could this man get any cooler? Yes, yes he can. His TV work includes Little Britain and the BBC's Sherlock. In 2001, he also provided a new arrangement of the Doctor Who theme music for the Eighth Doctor. In 2011, he was appointed musical director of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games.
Still a little lost as to why David is commonly associated with geeks? We have films with aliens, robotic wives, a talking lion, the world's greatest spy and the world's greatest detective. Mix that in with car chases, explosions, technology, some blood and guts, topped with an amazing score and you couldn't really ask for much more. Take all of that, and add on the TV work, along with doing music for one of the world's most famous sporting events - does this man ever sleep? The fact that David openly admits that he is a Bond fan also makes him that much cooler in my books. Again, my only question is - does David actually have any time to himself?
I think we can all figure out why David is commonly associated with geeks, so I'll keep this one simple. If you haven't figured out why yet, keep reading. Arnold has scored numerous film and television scores, including 1994's Stargate, Independence Day, Godzilla, the remake of The Stepford Wives, and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. A self declared Bond fan, David composed the music for Tomorrow Never Dies, The World is Not Enough, Die Another Day, Casino Royale, and Quantam of Solace. Could this man get any cooler? Yes, yes he can. His TV work includes Little Britain and the BBC's Sherlock. In 2001, he also provided a new arrangement of the Doctor Who theme music for the Eighth Doctor. In 2011, he was appointed musical director of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games.
Still a little lost as to why David is commonly associated with geeks? We have films with aliens, robotic wives, a talking lion, the world's greatest spy and the world's greatest detective. Mix that in with car chases, explosions, technology, some blood and guts, topped with an amazing score and you couldn't really ask for much more. Take all of that, and add on the TV work, along with doing music for one of the world's most famous sporting events - does this man ever sleep? The fact that David openly admits that he is a Bond fan also makes him that much cooler in my books. Again, my only question is - does David actually have any time to himself?
Bear McCreary
I will openly admit, Bear is a new composer to me, so this part is admittedly shorter than the others. I don't know much about him, but from the looks of it, it's pretty clear why Bear is so commonly associated with geeks. A classically trained pianist and self-taught accordion player, most of Bear's works are quite well known. Battlestar Galactica, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Human Target, Caprica, and possibly his most famous work to date, The Walking Dead. Funnily enough (maybe not), Bear happens to be married Raya Yarbrough, who helped compose the music for Battlestar Galactica. He received an Emmy nod for the theme of Human Target that was recorded with a full orchestra (which, for TV music, is apparently rare these days). Bear's video game work ranges from Dark Void to Defiance.
So, in short, Bear composes music for shows and films featuring zombies, terminators and even dancers (Bear composed the music for Step Up 3D - surely, there has to be a dancer or two out there reading this?). Hello, someone's best friend and composer right there. I can only see Bear's popularity (along with his association with geeks) climbing from here.
I will openly admit, Bear is a new composer to me, so this part is admittedly shorter than the others. I don't know much about him, but from the looks of it, it's pretty clear why Bear is so commonly associated with geeks. A classically trained pianist and self-taught accordion player, most of Bear's works are quite well known. Battlestar Galactica, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Human Target, Caprica, and possibly his most famous work to date, The Walking Dead. Funnily enough (maybe not), Bear happens to be married Raya Yarbrough, who helped compose the music for Battlestar Galactica. He received an Emmy nod for the theme of Human Target that was recorded with a full orchestra (which, for TV music, is apparently rare these days). Bear's video game work ranges from Dark Void to Defiance.
So, in short, Bear composes music for shows and films featuring zombies, terminators and even dancers (Bear composed the music for Step Up 3D - surely, there has to be a dancer or two out there reading this?). Hello, someone's best friend and composer right there. I can only see Bear's popularity (along with his association with geeks) climbing from here.
In closing, there are some pretty amazing composers in this day and age. Whether they're composing for a heroic professor/archaeologist or composing for zombies, I'm pretty sure, deep down; they're all inner geeks. It only makes us love them that much more.
RSS Feed
