Top 10 of the Decade!?

[elfboy91]

It seems on this forum there are a lot of different opinions when it comes to Elfman’s music. I was wondering what you thoughts were on the past decade. What were your top 10 projects from the past 10 years.

MAJOR WORKS
1. Proof of Life
2. Family Man
3. Planet of the Apes
4. Spider-Man
5. MIB II
6. Red Dragon
7. Hulk
8. Big Fish
9. Spider-Man 2
10. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
11. Corpse Bride
12. Charlotte’s Web
13. Meet the Robinsons
14. The Kingdom
15. SOP
16. Wanted
17. Hellboy II
18. Milk
19. Terminator Salvation
20. Taking Woodstock

OTHER WORKS
1. Spy Kids
2. Chicago
3. Serenada Schizophrana(and/or Deep Sea 3D)
4. Nacho Libre
5. Desperate Housewives(theme)
6. Notorious

Here’s my personal list, counting down!

10. Big Fish
9. Wanted
8. Corpse Bride
7. Red Dragon
6. Hellboy II
5. SOP
4. Spider-Man 2
3. Planet of the Apes
2. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
1. Serenada Schizophrana

…

[Natrebo]

My personal ten would be:

10. Red Dragon
9. Hellboy II
8. Hulk
7. Spider-Man 2
6. SOP
5. Planet of the Apes
4. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
3. Big Fish
2. Wanted
1. Serenada Schizophrana

Just one different score than you Elfboy, but the order is somewhat different, but at least we can agree on the number one slot!

This is more or less a listening frequency issue on the numbering system for me.

Nat

[Descent Into Mystery]

10. Terminator Salvation
09. Corpse Bride
08. Hulk
07. Big Fish
06. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
05. Spider-Man
04. Serenada Schizophrana(and/or Deep Sea 3D)
03. Red Dragon
02. Spider-Man 2
01. Wanted

[Nick Parker]

Well, I have not listened to every score he wrote the past decade, but I will rank what I have listened to:

10.Terminator: Salvation*
9. Wanted*
8.Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (I am not a big fan of this one as well, but it has some very nice highlights)
7.Spider-Man
6.Big Fish
5.Milk
4. Hellboy II: The Golden Army
3. Corpse Bride
2. Spider-Man 2
1. Serenada Schizophrana (surprise, surprise)

Of the Elfman scores that I have yet to listen to, I am particularly interested in hearing Red Dragon (apparently it is very Herrmann-esque), Standard Operating Procedure, and The Hulk.

*I am not very fond of either of these, but I needed them to get ten.

[Descent Into Mystery]

8.Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (I am not a big fan of this one as well, but it has some very nice highlights)

The highlight of “Charlie” are the songs. The score itself is nothing special and quite forgettable. But those songs make up for it, in a BIG way. “Charlie” was the worthy successor to “Nightmare Before Christmas” that “Corpse Bride” wasn’t able to be.

[Nick Parker]

As far as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is concerned, I agree (although I do like the Main Titles and “First Chocolate”, however unoriginal it may be).

[DannyBiker]

Tough one…

10. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
9. Wanted
8. SOP
7. Planet of the Apes
6. Milk
5. Corpse Bride
4. Hellboy II
3. Big Fish
2. Spider-Man
1. Serenada Schizophrana

[Torque]

here’s my list:

1. Corpse Bride
2. Spiderman
3. Serenada Schizophrana
4. Hulk
5. Charlotte’s Web
6. Hellboy II
7. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
8. Wanted
9. Terminator Salvation
10. MIB II or Red Dragon (can’t decide)

[Thor]

The whole counting down thing is a bit odd to me, so here are my top 10, from most favourite to 10th favourite:

1. CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY
2. S.O.P.
3. PLANET OF THE APES
4. SERENADA SCHIZOPHRANA
5. BIG FISH
6. THE KINGDOM
7. FAMILY MAN
8. THE CORPSE BRIDE
9. MILK
10. TAKING WOODSTOCK

…or something like that.

[elfboy91]

Thank you for being the only one to love CHARLIE as much as me. I thought it was one of his best! Obviously i’m one of the only ones with that opinion!

…

[lonzoe]

Descent Into Mystery Wrote:

---

> 8.Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (I am not a
> big fan of this one as well, but it has some very
> nice highlights)
>
> The highlight of “Charlie” are the songs. The
> score itself is nothing special and quite
> forgettable. But those songs make up for it, in a
> BIG way. “Charlie” was the worthy successor to
> “Nightmare Before Christmas” that “Corpse Bride”
> wasn’t able to be.

Very strongly disagree. Charlie was and still is amazing score . The score is far from forgettable. “Wonka’s First Shop” was beautifully written especially how it started off. Makes me almost want to cry the first 15-20 seconds of the cue. It ended off with a bang (dark ,epic and magical). “Charlie’s Birthday Bar” is a hopeful cue that ends on a sad but peaceful note. The “Golden Ticket/Factory” cue is another great cue especially in the middle where the music plays during the overhead shot of the factory and when everyone approaches through the gate,though the CD left out the organs that played during that cue before it merged to “Factory”. “First Candy” is dark and fun cue,while “Up and Out” starts off crazy and wacky but ends very peaceful and pleasant. I can go on about this score. But I don’t have the time. C&tCF score is a masterpiece in my book.

BTW, I think “Remains of the Day” owns any song off C&tCF ( which had great songs too) even “Wonka’s Welcome Song”. So not all the songs were weak in Corpse Bride.

[elfboy91]

I second that! I re-watched CHARLIE a week or so ago, and knowing the music very well, the score was terrific. I think you should sit down, Decent, and watch it again.

…

[Descent Into Mystery]

I own the movie on DVD. Don’t get me wrong, there’s some cues in the movie that are great but overall I think the songs over-shadowed the score. “Corpse Bride” did a better of job of balancing the score and songs. “Victor’s Piano Solo” is as great and memorable as “Remains of the Day.”

[sajrocks]

No “Fable ” or “Rabbit and Rogue”? That’s okay, they wouldn’t have been on my list either, which is:

Honorable mention: 11. Big Fish tie w/ Corpse Bride
Major musical accomplishments that highlight maturity in Elfman’s Tim Burton sound. Unfortunately they haven’t warranted many repeat listenings. Why include them? Both “Finale” tracks bring me to tears.

10. Wanted
Unexpected surprise of the 00s: Elfman gets to be Elfman in an action flick. “Success Montage” is an amazing fusion of Elfman’s pitch-perfect wackadoodletry of the 80s/90s with his more recent fixation on samples, synths and loops. Another musical tie to the Elfman of yore: the chorus, baseline and bridge of original rock song “All the Little Things” comes from the awesome score track “Wesley’s Office Life” (which, to my ears, also contains the horn intro to Boingo’s “Insanity” in the strings.)

9. Hulk tie w/ Hellboy II
Killer title musics, playful and innovative soundscapes, a bit overboard with the bombast: similarities keep big red and big green neck-and-neck. I’m left blue in the face deciding between HULK’s rolling string ostinato and desert flare, and HELLBOY’s emotional core, “The Last Element.”

8. The Kingdom
The genius of this score finally came to me when I cranked it on my headphones and a walk through midtown Manhattan instantly became a high-stakes, fight-or-flight McTiernan action sequence with subtle-yet-appropriate Middle Eastern textures.

7. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
The “Main Titles” and riverboat music alone would get this on the list, but the genius of the songs and the fact that they are completely vocalized by Elfman puts this album at the mystical number 7.

6. Red Dragon
Rich, layered and psychosexually astute music for the subpar follow-up to SILENCE OF THE LAMBS. Smart textural homage to Shore’s iconic score from the original. Extra credit for “End Credit Suite” and the cojones to name a track “Tiger Balls.”

5. SOP
Subtle, elegant, dark, powerful and unmistakably Elfman of the 00s. Here he is getting all Philip Glass on our asses while tapping the orchestral dexterity refined in Serenada Schizophrana. “Dogs” is an incredible juxtaposition of musical and cinematic tension. Is there anything sweeter from the decade than “Oli’s Lullaby”?

4. Milk
An achievement in understated dramatic writing, especially for an out and over-the-top character whose life was anything but understated. Has Elfman done anything as perverse as “Anita’s Theme,” as immediate as “Gay Rights Now,” or as touching as “Postscript”? Hands down best scored kiss of the 00s.

3. Spider-Man/Spider-Man 2
Elfman created a genre-altering action sound, so complex in its simplicity that many believed there wasn’t even a main theme (there are two, actually). The second film introduced some great new themes, had a better orchestrated/recorded main title track and, of course, a lot of music from the first film. (The first film also contained another incredible screen kiss from the 00s, though I can’t imagine if that suit “rides up in the crotch”, an upside-down-in-the-rain kiss is all that pleasant).

2. Planet of the Apes
The culmination and perhaps pinnacle of Elfman’s experimentations in sampled and electronic sounds mixed with live orchestra with Elfman performing nearly half of the score. Paul Oakenfold’s “Rule The Planet Remix” would have put this at #1, but…

1. Serenada Schizophrana
At last, Elfman composed his first original concert hall piece, something I’ve been anticipating since my adolescent self first brought home 1989’s BATMAN for a listen away from the film. What could easily have been a modest chamber work or pastiche of Elfman’s filmmusic became a large scale, complex masterpiece, reminiscent of his late 90s/early 00s orchestral style with an innovative infusion of 30s and 40s Ellington jazz and Bernard Herrmann at his most psychologically malevolent. A wholly satisfying listen and proactive promise of things to come.

[Descent Into Mystery]

Elfman created a genre-altering action sound, so complex in its simplicity that many believed there wasn’t even a main theme (there are two, actually).

I think people were aware of the Peter Parker theme as well as the love theme. It’s just that the Spider-Man theme wasn’t what people were exepecting. They wanted a fanfare. Something like “Superman” and “Batman.” Plus, Elfman has some serious competition:

I love Elfman’s Spider-Man theme, especially in the second movie, but I can understand where people are coming from.

[Ryan Keaveney]

I can’t find any fault with the CHARLIE score. Yes, the songs are great, but there’s so much to the score — the amazing main title, the “River Cruise” music, the great glass elevator stuff. I love the score!

[Mr. Dantz]

I enjoy Charlie more than Corpse Bride (with the exception of Remains of the Day, the songs just sound forced and a bit soulless). And yes, the Charlie *score* is great!

[elfboy91]

Well maybe the songs would have been better if they had original lyrics from Danny in them. Danny used Roald Dahl’s original book lyrics. I dunno. Just a theory!

…

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