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Shooting at Batman showing in Aurora, Colorado

124

Comments

  • You can change. You can.

    He probably hates wearing the costume (Or it was unavailable to him) but yeah mad props to the guy.

  • Has friends besides tanks now

    Indeed. As much as that could have been traumatic, I get the impression that the way he did it was low-key enough that it turned out harmless, even if he did see any of the victims.

  • MORONS! I'VE GOT MORONS ON MY PAYROLL!

    So, being at a retreat full of pacifists who obviously don't read comic books it's a bit disconcerting to be asked my opinion on the shooting.


    I mean really. My affection for Batman doesn't grant me any insight into these events, doesn't horrify me any less, and certainly doesn't give me any desire to explain or apologize for them. It horrified me just like it did anyone else.

  • edited 2012-08-01 20:23:46
    Creature - Florida Dragon Turtle Human

    > I mean really. My affection for Batman doesn't grant me any insight into these events, doesn't horrify me any less, and certainly doesn't give me any desire to explain or apologize for them. It horrified me just like it did anyone else.


    Say exactly this.  Be honest.

  • You can change. You can.

    From my own experience with this particular event, I'd say that no, that doesn't work. And I figure that Malk probably already did it or missed the chance a week ago. :p

  • MORONS! I'VE GOT MORONS ON MY PAYROLL!

    I have said that. It's just that different people kept asking me.


    As for Zimmer's charity track, it's a noble and respectable gesture.

  • You can change. You can.

    love how you don't touch on the quality of the track. :P

  • Eh, the track is a nice atmospheric tune that perfectly matches the subject matter in terms of tone. Nothing groundbreaking, and it has the same problem as his TDK Trilogy score by lacking a distinctive melody, but effective. It's still a nice gesture after all.
  • edited 2012-08-01 23:59:57
    MORONS! I'VE GOT MORONS ON MY PAYROLL!

    ^^Eh, Hans Zimmer has always been one of those in-between 'better than Danny Elfman not as good as John Williams' composers to me.


    To be fair, with a name like Hans Zimmer I couldn't see him being anything other than a classical music composer.

  • edited 2012-08-02 00:12:50
    Has friends besides tanks now

     better than Danny Elfman



    But without Danny Elfman, we would have never had this! D:


    I'll listen to the track in a moment.


    EDIT: I feel like a jerk for not listening to much of it, but I really cannot stand slow music.

  • MORONS! I'VE GOT MORONS ON MY PAYROLL!

    Danny Elfman is incredibly variable. I mean, the theme to the first Batman movie is great, and there's Nightmare, but try and remember one piece of score from the Spider-man movies.

  • edited 2012-08-02 00:31:38
    Has friends besides tanks now

    He was in charge of the scores for Spider-Man movies?


    I guess that speaks for itself.


    Honestly, after Oingo Boingo, the thing that sticks out to me is the Simpsons theme. Don't know shit about movies, so I can't comment on what he's done there.

  • a little muffled

    try and remember one piece of score from the Spider-man movies

    I can, but that's probably because of Epica.

  • Yeah, I mean Hans Zimmer is a cool guy, it's a great gesture, and his music works great in the very specific context of the movies he composes it for, but...


    I mean, hum his Batman theme.


    You probably just hummed two notes.

  • MORONS! I'VE GOT MORONS ON MY PAYROLL!

    Yeah, the depressing thing about his Batman theme is how hard it's trying to be Burton's.

  • You can change. You can.

    I think I remember Elfman's Bat-theme because of the Animated Series more than the movie itself.


     I remember  SM's theme too. It's a bit weak but most superhero soundtracks are for some reason.


    Except for John Williams'

  • MORONS! I'VE GOT MORONS ON MY PAYROLL!

    Yeah, but I still think it's a really amazing piece.


    Williams' Superman is probably the best.


    Though I've argued that for a contemporary Superman film that would grasp the feel of good comics sans the desire to be 'important' they should use Daft Punk.

  • You can change. You can.

    Yeah, but I still think it's a really amazing piece.



    oh it is. And really, it's probably the best theme the character has had. (Zimmer's...ok but too dipped in Zimmerness if that makes sense) but I think the reason is so iconic is not because of the movie or the song itself but of the synergy it had with the opening sequence in B:TAS



    Williams' Superman is probably the best.



    it's certainly the most iconic. 


    Though I've argued that for a contemporary Superman film that would grasp the feel of good comics sans the desire to be 'important' they should use Daft Punk.

    I dunno. I don't mind DP (Bluh. shut up) but they don't make me think "Paragon of Justice"

  • MORONS! I'VE GOT MORONS ON MY PAYROLL!

    But they do make you think 'Man of Tomorrow'.

  • if u do convins fashist akwaint hiz faec w pavment neway jus 2 b sur

    Don't forget that Elfman is also responsible for the International Pedophile Anthem.


  • I am God, and all other gods are my imagery. I gave birth to myself. I am millions of forms excreating; eternal; and nothing exists except through me; yet I am not them - they serve me.

    Ah, Oingo Boingo. How very strange.


     


    Hans Zimmer is an atrocious composer.

  • Atrocious? Do explain this.

  • I am God, and all other gods are my imagery. I gave birth to myself. I am millions of forms excreating; eternal; and nothing exists except through me; yet I am not them - they serve me.

    Unimaginative, unoriginal, overly bombastic, emotionally flat, the same musical ideas recycled over and over.

  • edited 2012-08-02 03:41:37


    He also composed this tribute to the victims of Aurora. I cannot and will not ever call me him worst composer ever, even ignoring every single one of his other accomplishments.

  • I am God, and all other gods are my imagery. I gave birth to myself. I am millions of forms excreating; eternal; and nothing exists except through me; yet I am not them - they serve me.

    I didn't say he was a terrible person. I just..


     


     


    Oh never mind.

  • I think he was criticizing his artistic abilities as a composer, which is very different from criticizing his morality and capacity for empathy.
  • edited 2012-08-02 08:14:34
    You can change. You can.
     But they do make you think 'Man of Tomorrow'.

    ...Eh. I never really got that feel from Daft Punk. Maybe "Aliens being exceedingly cool and sounding like Steve Blum in my mind". And that also fits technically, but I think that the reason why the character works so much is more because he's Apollo than because he's Hephaestus, you know?


     Also as cool as this was for Zimmer to do, he simply isn't a good composer. All his song employ the same string quartet doing the same thing all the time.


    "Is the song slow? Well, hold the note as long as the song lasts!"


    "Is the song fast? Well, strike that chord furiously for the rest of the song!"


    It's really boring stuff. 

  • One foot in front of the other, every day.

    Zimmer composes in such a way that meets the requirements of film spectacularly. His biggest failing is that his music doesn't work half as well devoid of that context. If you listen to Williams or Shore, you get both the application to context and independent value, which I'm sure is part of what makes the likes of Star Wars and The Lord of the Rings so memorable and moving. This doesn't mean Zimmer is a bad composer -- he's just not very versatile, delivering exactly what needs to be delivered in order to meet the requirements of what he's writing for. Formulaic? Certainly, but formula is the composer's secret -- a good one is merely adept at hiding their formulas. 


    And, damn, let's not forget Iron Maiden, who don't even try to hide their formula but consistently put out exceptionally memorable and fresh-sounding music every few years.


    Music is an art, certainly, but it's also commercial art, and that means that sometimes a composer has to put their own art behind the needs of the client. Zimmer likely does this -- perhaps a bit too much. All the same, he never quite misses a beat (har har) and never takes the audience out of the experience. The aforementioned Williams and Shore don't do this, either, but to compose music that is perfect for its context, good to listen to outside of that and never extracts the audience from the experience takes considerable genius. 


    From amateur experience, creating strong music with balance is one of the most difficult tasks a composer can face. By this, I mean music that isn't just strong in and of itself (not too difficult, with knowledge and practise), but music that can be subtle or boisterous, simple or complex, blank or enriched with image -- or even all of these at once. Music is a difficult art, and I think the worst that can be said of Zimmer is that he takes the safe road, like a kind of musical businessman. Ultimately, he's not taking his craft as far as he otherwise could, but I can scarcely blame him for that given how dicey trying to compose truly memorable and inspiring pieces can be. 

  • Honestly, I'm trying to remember any particular song by Zimmer and all I'm coming up with is the noise from Inception.

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