I've always been a huge fan of Hans Zimmer (Crimson Tide, Hunt for Red October, Gladiator, Dark Knight, Inception, and a million other films) But can anyone honestly compete with John Williams? The guy composed some of the most iconic and memorable films of our generation. Indiana Jones Jaws Star Wars Superman Hell, he even wrote the theme song for the Olympics.
Stewart Copeland was drummer for the Police. He also wrote the music for 73 films and TV shows. Trevor Rabin was guitarist for Yes in one of its incarnations. He was (is) awesome, IMO. He wrote the music for the TV show E-Ring and the music was terrific. According to his IMDB bio: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0704909/bio Rabin has scored three dozen films which include Con Air, Homegrown, Armageddon, Enemy of the State, Jack Frost, Deep Blue Sea, Gone in 60 Seconds, Remember the Titans, The 6th Day, The Banger Sisters, Kangaroo Jack, Bad Boys 2, The Great Raid, Exorcist: The Beginning, National Treasure, Coach Carter, Snakes On A Plane, The Guardian, and Flyboys.
Danny Elfman His scores are unique and obviously his. He has done most everything by Tim Burton as well as the Simpson's. All in all he has composed about 90 movies, won numerous awards, and most importantly was in Oingo Boingo
Elfman is a good pick, no doubt. I'm just wondering if you can beat some of these songs though... [video=youtube;ZvCI-gNK_y4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvCI-gNK_y4[/video] [video=youtube;e9vrfEoc8_g]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9vrfEoc8_g[/video] [video=youtube;5pNlMgH2p-Y]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pNlMgH2p-Y[/video] [video=youtube;-bzWSJG93P8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bzWSJG93P8[/video]
And then some of my favorite songs by Hans are [video=youtube;yKuLGW0XUFo]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKuLGW0XUFo[/video] [video=youtube;uKz_BUL-X_s]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKz_BUL-X_s[/video] [video=youtube;Z4mWRamRUXM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4mWRamRUXM[/video]
List: 100 Greatest Film Score Composers. http://www.digitaldreamdoor.com/pages/movie-pages/movie_composers.html
While John Williams is talented (understatement), I still can't get over the fact that he took a lot of liberties with "stealing" other people's music in his creations. I know he had original ideas as well, but the Jaws and Star Wars themes are clearly taken from other artists. I couldn't find a dedicated article, but click this link and go to number two on the list. Check it out. http://www.cracked.com/article_19848_7-famous-musicians-who-stole-some-their-biggest-hits_p2.html I think Elfman is probably my favorite as well. He definitely brings a unique trademark sound to anything he does. Also, feel free to call me a hipster, but the work that Mark Mothersbaugh ( the founder of Devo) has done in Wes Anderson movies is astounding. Like Elfman, he definitely brings a unique sound and feel. Just my thoughts.
I don't think anyone from my generation wouldn't flip out if they heard this randomly on the radio... [video=youtube;oZktSPrGSck]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZktSPrGSck[/video]
Well, like I said, Zimmer is probably my favorite... but in terms of iconic songs, I think Williams probably holds the crown.
