Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Vangelis has died

pitchfork.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

111–120 of 200 posts

Re: Vangelis has died

#111

Post by [deleted] »

moron4hire wrote: post #77
mhh__ wrote: post #2

That's a shame. His work on blade runner just has this timeless magic to it. The sequel ends on his motif (tears in rain) for a reason too. I also forgot to mention that chariots of fire is truly great too. Some parts of his music haven't aged too well, but the stuff that hasn't is sorely missed in today's film scores. Even if Zimmer is brilliant he's not a poet.

Seriously, I can always tell a Hans Zimmer score without even having preknowledge that a film had hired him. Big, orchestral, boring score that repeats the same motifs he's been using for the last 50 years? Dude has one act.

[deleted]

Re: Vangelis has died

#112

Post by jug »

the_af wrote: post #79
gsoto wrote: post #66

Just sharing one of my favorite pieces of him: "Memories of Green" (from the album "See You Later") https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pW9D6agp794 I think this piece shows the range of his musical expressiveness, apart from his virtuosity or synth programming skills. Just a piano passed through a flanger effect with some ambient sounds. The electronic bleeps in that track are recorded from a handheld electronic game (Ba…

"Memories of Green" was also used to great effect in Blade Runner. I love how well it works there. It's so sad and evocative.

Wow, I thought it was written for the film until now! How embarrassing… Not only for the song suiting, but the title too. As it’s a bleak post-ecological society.

Re: Vangelis has died

#113

Post by WesolyKubeczek »

I remember that back in the late 1990s, when I had just learned how to use Internet, one of the first thing I went looking for was more information about Vangelis and his music. All I had back in the day was Portraits and Voices on cassettes. Oh, and a local radio station had Metallic Rain as its evening news jingle.

The Internet did not disappoint: https://www.vangelislyrics.com/vwr/ (Vangelis webring). One of the first websites I visited in my life.

And this webring is still alive.

RIP.

Re: Vangelis has died

#114

Post by Bayart »

paulsmith wrote: post #86
moron4hire wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seriously, I can always tell a Hans Zimmer score without even having preknowledge that a film had hired him. Big, orchestral, boring score that repeats the same motifs he's been using for the last 50 years? Dude has one act.

I'm basically with you but Interstellar stood out for me, I think he matched well with that film's themes.

On Interstellar he stole from Philip Glass' to an unthinkable point.

Re: Vangelis has died

#115

Post by Litost »

vanderZwan wrote: post #88
moron4hire wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seriously, I can always tell a Hans Zimmer score without even having preknowledge that a film had hired him. Big, orchestral, boring score that repeats the same motifs he's been using for the last 50 years? Dude has one act.

That's more due to how movie scores are produced these days. Every Frame A Painting explains it really well in this video on why you can't remember any music from Marvel movies: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vfqkvwW2fs (well, up until they made that video, at least)

Thanks for posting this, I always wondered why I couldn't be bothered with the whole Marvel franchise and this whole playing it safe, cookie cutting of film scores between movies makes the whole thing massively less memorable than say Blade Runner etc. Though I did lol at the spiderman bit at the end.

It ties in with a running discussion I have with a mate of mine about the state of music, compare the top 40 nowadays with 40 years ago and the variety of genres and styles on display back then feels much more unique and varied than now or maybe I'm just being nostalgic or maybe that's the whole problem with the need to recoup massive budgetry outlays and post the highest grossing box office yadda yadda (tangential tie in with the recent conversation about OKRs)?

P.S. RIP I still have fond memories of listening to Albeido 0.39 whilst playing Elite on my BBC eons ago and going round to my mates and listening to Jon and Vangelis that we'd borrowed from the library.

Re: Vangelis has died

#116

Post by WesolyKubeczek »

jug wrote: post #112
the_af wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Memories of Green" was also used to great effect in Blade Runner. I love how well it works there. It's so sad and evocative.

Wow, I thought it was written for the film until now! How embarrassing… Not only for the song suiting, but the title too. As it’s a bleak post-ecological society.

There is a story about how Ridley Scott wanted to use this specific piece and a couple more by Vangelis in Blade Runner, and Vangelis told him: why reuse my old pieces, I can make a new score for this film specifically.

And so he did, in some short timeframe.

Re: Vangelis has died

#117

Post by nd »

moron4hire wrote: post #77
mhh__ wrote: post #2

That's a shame. His work on blade runner just has this timeless magic to it. The sequel ends on his motif (tears in rain) for a reason too. I also forgot to mention that chariots of fire is truly great too. Some parts of his music haven't aged too well, but the stuff that hasn't is sorely missed in today's film scores. Even if Zimmer is brilliant he's not a poet.

Seriously, I can always tell a Hans Zimmer score without even having preknowledge that a film had hired him. Big, orchestral, boring score that repeats the same motifs he's been using for the last 50 years? Dude has one act.

I’ve found the opposite with some of the soundtracks of his I’ve paid attention to:

- True Romance: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BA7WTbzqp2o

- Interstellar: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zE-qxNVoUSo

- Little Prince: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PKG_EVEs0Ck

- The Dark Night: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1zyhQjJ5UgY

- Dune: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BdtiYwSP9ko

He’s very prolific (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Zimmer_discography). Is it possible that you recognize just one style of soundtracks that he composes?

Re: Vangelis has died

#118

Post by the_other »

ffhhj wrote: post #76
gsoto wrote: post #66

Just sharing one of my favorite pieces of him: "Memories of Green" (from the album "See You Later") https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pW9D6agp794 I think this piece shows the range of his musical expressiveness, apart from his virtuosity or synth programming skills. Just a piano passed through a flanger effect with some ambient sounds. The electronic bleeps in that track are recorded from a handheld electronic game (Ba…

》"Memories of Green" (from the album "See You Later") https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pW9D6agp794 That title and that album cover: a woman wearing bikini and low-light glasses for snow, with the sun on the back and broken floating ice. A prediction of climate change from 1980?

If the myths hold truths, the oil companies knew this was an issue in the '70s. By the late 80s the predictions had reached artists and musicians in the UK (how I know this is too convoluted and flakey for this thread). I was taught about climate change (the "greenhouse effect") as a young teen, early 90s. It's been canon for me since then. I have no problem believing that forward looking adults were talking about it, making art and activism in 1980.

Re: Vangelis has died

#120

Post by the_other »

Saint_Genet wrote: post #38

I’ve been listening mostly to his 70s proggish stuff lately, but the opening of Blade Runner still gives me goosebumps. It wouldn’t have been half the film it was without his music. https://youtu.be/P1jXmJmmj3o

I'm rediscovering "Albedo 0.39" as a result of this news. I've had a copy for years but not played it for a long time. Absolutely love it.
Post reply on HN