classical

I don’t really have the vocabulary to accurately and sufficiently convey the more technical details around Mahler’s work and the performance from Barbirolli and his orchestra, so I apologise if this review feels somewhat lacking. Classical, especially in this meandering, bombastic (?) style, is far outside of my wheelhouse. There is, however, a certain way that Mahler makes me feel. I think to say that there is a grandiose nature to these compositions is not…

Barrington’s soundtrack for the original Broken Sword haunts me in my dreams, and the sequel is a continuation of that excellence. However, it should be said that the follow up is far more ethereal and atmospheric, with only a recurring leitmotif holding the whole thing together. Aside from that, breathy synths are the order of the day, with stabs of instrumental punctuation reserved for important plot or gameplay points. There’s a collection of “worldly” music…

Requiem, I believe, was a soundtrack that Scott did for a film. Now, I can’t remember if this film ever came out or if it was just an imaginary film which existed in order for such a soundtrack to be composed around, but you’ll notice some pressings of this release will have “The motion picture soundtrack” written above the word Requiem. Either way, this was the beginning of a short experimental series of releases from…

Twin Peaks possesses one of the most magical and captivating soundtracks of all time. It is impossible, in my mind, to separate Twin Peaks the show from Twin Peaks the music. This is part of the reason I think, why Season 3 was so jarring to me at first, as Badalamenti’s score is used far less there. I now love Season 3, and Badalamenti’s contributions there are now some of my favourites, but not having…

I initially decided I would split out the game review and OST review for this one (like I’ve done with some games and not others – we value consistency here at Lines In Wax) but honestly, the two elements are so completely interwoven and linked, to separate them is alien. Broken Sword was one of my favourite games as a kid. Granted, I was far too young to really understand the plot and also far…

I checked this out on the back of Michael Gira of Swans’ enthusiastic descriptions of it during an interview a few years ago. There’s probably a lot more going on here than I can do justice with words on my crappy “what I’ve listened to” blog, but expect long, meandering, overlapping piano compositions. If that sounds like your kind of thing, get involved.

I have been borderline obsessed with Morrowind since I got given a copy of the game and it’s expansion packs in 2003 (or so). I think one of the original endearing aspects of that obsession that allows it to continue to this day is the absolutely magical soundtrack by Jeremy Soule. Not to shit on the OSTs for Arena or Daggerfall, but there’s a reason why the game’s creator’s continued to use Jeremy going forward…

I love Cradle Of Filth. I love classical music. I love hammy keyboards and the dungeon synth genre. Why then, if you smush all of these things together, as is the case with this record, are the results so resoundingly poor? This two disc set is so categorically the very definition of disappointment. Its the same tracks on both discs 1 and 2, the only difference is that on disc 1, the songs have new…

I was inspired to look up the swinging sounds of Duke Ellington due to his (fictional) appearances in the Big Mouth TV series. Anatomy Of A Murder is kinda an OST to a movie of the same name, where bluesy swing and big band jazz is the order of the day. For me, this is an example of jazz in its purest sense; incredibly moods and musicianship all round. I really want to check out…

As far as Björk albums go this has to be the most boring one I have heard so far, if you can even call it an album at only seven tracks in length. Selmasongs is the “OST” to the film Dancer In The Dark, which also stars Björk in the main role. I’ve never seen the film and don’t particularly plan on watching it, but I expected from Björk and all her super-creative weirdness a very challenging…

This is my second £1 Mahler purchase, and the second time I’ve been disappointed at not receiving some bat-shit insane classical music. I’m guessing that maybe Mahler gained his ambitions over time? The 4th is rather straight forward but complex in it’s own way, and number 6 (the final symphony he wrote) is absolutely maddening as fuck. Number 1 however, after building and building from nothing over a long period  breaks into something that sounds like a typical background film…

I don’t know where my interest in classical music came from, but one has to assume that it has somehow stemmed from the orchestral involvement in some metal music; either that or film soundtracks. I don’t collect or own many film soundtracks, but I guess that we are all subject to a lot of classical music without really noticing that we are listening to it as it plays along to some of our favourite movies, tv shows…