Music

[Black Wizard]

There's more to Blind Guardian than Hansi Kursch, and getting them to do songs for this TV series would be ridiculous.

[Morrigan]

Indeed. And it's not going to happen anyway, get a grip people...

[Sheep the Evicted]

[quote name='Black Wizard' post='1589218' date='Nov 14 2008, 18.10']This is perfect: [url="http://www.last.fm/music/Corner+Stone+Cues/Eton+Path/Madokara+Mieru"]http://www.last.fm/music/Corner+Stone+Cues.../Madokara+Mieru[/url][/quote]

While this is indeed amazingly beautiful and a little of it would be fitting for the Wall or the Flight in the North im in the group that wants it as low key as possible, as per Rome and Deadwood.

On the other hand i will resolutely champion the necessity of composing the Rains of Castamere.

[kulderas]

[quote name='Black Wizard' post='1589218' date='Nov 14 2008, 12.10']This is perfect: [url="http://www.last.fm/music/Corner+Stone+Cues/Eton+Path/Madokara+Mieru"]http://www.last.fm/music/Corner+Stone+Cues.../Madokara+Mieru[/url][/quote]

[quote name='Shadowbaby']I've always listened to Garmarna when reading ASOIAF, and they've usually got a very medieval feel, but they're quite good at blending in modern instruments as well. Imo, anything with that sort of feel ought to suit the show pretty well.[/quote]

i like both of these and I think each has their place...that said, I don't think any one style would actually work (at least not the the same flavor)...westeros is pretty diverse and each different region should have its own sound imo...

[Aoede]

Is it possible for them to get by on just the verses of [i]Rains of Castamere[/i] that appear in ASoIaF? Or will they have to... add stuff? //tenterhooks

[Chairman7w]

[quote name='Morrigan' post='1592794' date='Nov 18 2008, 13.42']I endorse this post.

Agreed and I'd also add something about the Conan soundtrack too, by the late Basil Poledouris. It's got the bombastic choirs, but also more subtle themes that were still incredibly memorable.[/quote]

+1 more endoresment.

[Graegor]

[quote name='admiral_atheist' post='1591806' date='Nov 17 2008, 20.38']While it's true that The Wire (or Tell Me You Love Me) doesn't have any score except the main title, the end title, and where there is actual background music, most of the other HBO shows (Deadwood, Carnivale, Rome, Six Feet Under, True Blood) [i]do[/i] have music, even if they're barely noticeable because of their low-key, minimalist style.[/quote]

The lack of any (background) music in Tell Me You Love Me set a very haunting and raw tone that could very well benefit all the drama in this series; I always imagined Eddard's scenes in this vein. I just hope we - highly doubt this will happen- won't get bombarded with epic themes every other scene.

I'd love to see all the songs in the books composed, though and actual 'on-set' music, where appropriate, during feasts, tourney's, etc. (always loved this aspect of movies set in historical times).

[Black Wizard]

[quote name='Sheep the Evicted' post='1595559' date='Nov 20 2008, 20.49']While this is indeed amazingly beautiful and a little of it would be fitting for the Wall or the Flight in the North im in the group that wants it as low key as possible, as per Rome and Deadwood.[/quote]
Oh I do agree that the music should be kept low key. Films and tc shows can be ruined when the music is all over the place.

[Ikael]

Hi, newbie posting here. I also want to endorse the Madokara Mieru proposal, loved it to bits. It is EXACTLY the type of music that this series is needing. More melodramatic than grandiose, more reminding of the lost innocence rather than of great battles, yet epic in a personal way. Game of thrones is way more character driven than any other fantasy series, so things like lord of the rings-esque music or - God forbid - viking metal would be very out of place. I like these styles in some situations, but come on, they do not match the series at all.

About the style, I really do think that a medieval - bulgarian stule of music might work, check this out to get a general idea of how it sounds (sans the techno, that is :P):
[url="http://goear.com/listen.php?v=0f736b0"]http://goear.com/listen.php?v=0f736b0[/url]

And even if I am a fan of OSTs and I think that they are a central part of any audiovisual work, let it be movie, series or videogame, I know that HBO does not share my enthusiasm and that they would rather a more ambient-like in order to make the series more inmersive. If that is the route that they take, my advice is to make an opening sung in high Valyrian and then recreate every music from the book (the rains of castemere, the "horrible bear" tavern song, militar marches for each house, and so on).

Buuut if they decide to go music heavy, better pick a damn good composer:
Danny Elfman - Sample: [url="http://goear.com/listen.php?v=f71c8b0"]http://goear.com/listen.php?v=f71c8b0[/url]
Yasunori Mitsuda - Sample: [url="http://goear.com/listen.php?v=b50ae78"]http://goear.com/listen.php?v=b50ae78[/url]
Bear McCreary - Sample: [url="http://goear.com/listen.php?v=16f5354"]http://goear.com/listen.php?v=16f5354[/url]
Vanessa Mae - Sample: [url="http://goear.com/listen.php?v=bd55d40"]http://goear.com/listen.php?v=bd55d40[/url]
Any of them would kick serious amounts of ass.

[psim]

I really didn't expect much when I clicked on the link to that song, but I must say that I was wrong. It would be a good fit for the end of the pilot (or any other episode really). And the Japanese lyrics were a nice bonus.

But I think the soundtrack shouldn't be there all the time, only during special scenes. Silence can be a powerful factor sometimes.

[Morrigan]

If Vanessa Mae's bullshit is involved with AGoT's music, I'll hang myself.

Thankfully I know HBO have more sense than that. :P

By the way, the sample you posted is actually originally a classical piece by Prokofiev. Which got nicely butchered, too. :rolleyes:

[Ikael]

[quote]If Vanessa Mae's bullshit is involved with AGoT's music, I'll hang myself.

Thankfully I know HBO have more sense than that. tongue.gif[/quote]
Burn the heathen! Nah, on a second afterthought I must admit that that suggestion in particular had more to do with my personal taste for violins than anything, but I still think that McCreary or Elfman would be superb choices.

And still, genres and composers aside, do you guys want a more subtle soundtrack in line with HBO tradition or a bit more meaty OST?

[GoGoHBOSeries]

Found the perfect one!

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0csSsa_8Po"]Ludovico Einaudi[/url] -- Simply brilliant.

He is big in Europe and is just now starting a tour in America. When I first heard him, my breathe was taken away. It's soundtrackish for sure, but in a unique way. He is unknown, and the producers could probably pick him up. He obviously has the chops. I can imagine a much richer experience if he was given the time and money. I'd like to see his work combined with Bear McCreary's ability with the drums and action scenes.

[Mme Erzulie]

I would like for HBO to take a very sparse approach when it comes to music. I would also like to see them use period-appropriate music. I think using modern music (particularly something as identifiable as [insert type here] metal) would only serve to ruin the suspension of disbelief and set the tone of the series as light entertainment, something very few of us want, I suspect. Kind of like giving the characters light sabers. Some people would probably think it was sweet, but for most it would seem quite anachronistic.

While I am a fan of Hans Zimmer (especially his work on The Rock, arguably his finest), his output is consistently very cheesy.

What I would like to see is medieval/renaissance music performed on period instruments to provide a musical backdrop to the series.

The theorbe is probably one of the most impressive instruments you'll ever see, played [url="http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=UhKuL75sLfQ"]here[/url] by Rolf Lislevand (coincidentally a family friend), one of the world's leading theorbists(?). This is truly beautiful, evocative and fitting music. The [url="http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=iIANAfU2cS4&feature=related"]lute[/url] is also pretty sweet.

[url="http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=bPnufDDPXFY&feature=related"]Palestrina[/url] would be another good choice.

Not to leave the female talent out, imagine [url="http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=XqvoB4uN1Qs"]this[/url] for a (pre/post) battle scene.
[url="http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Dlr90NLDp-0&feature=related"]
Gregorian music[/url] could also be suitable, but again, I'd much prefer original material than bastardized imitations.

For those of you who are into early music etc., I can also recommend [url="http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=gGsrpEn70Ao&feature=related"]Officium[/url] and [url="http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=SLbEZkuIRBk&feature=related"]Mnemosyne[/url], two albums joining the talents of male vocal group the Hilliard Ensemble and Norwegian saxophonist Jan Garbarek. I think serenity is the best word to describe the state of mind this music evokes. Beautiful music to listen to, but the sax makes it inappropriate for use in an ASOIAF series, in my opinion.

[Fate's Bitch]

Bear McCreary sounds like a very likely choice. Battlestar Galactica is done and he's only got the Terminator TV series on his plate so availability isn't a problem. Moving from the Sci-Fi Channel to HBO would be a nice upgrade.

I'd love to have Clint Mansell on the job. He's responsible for Requiem for a Dream soundtrack, as well as the excellent soundtrack for The Fountain. Most people are probably familiar with [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1_woFNMjRg"]Lux Aeterna[/url] as it was also used in one of Lord of the Rings trailers. He can much subtler work than that, however:

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91GcPnjrGdE"]Death is the Road to Awe[/url]
[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ru9rJIdyuJY"]Xibalba[/url]

[Paul H]

Jeff Beals did Carnivale and ROME. He is good, reasonably priced, and HBO knows him. I expect he will do the score for the show.

[Beheddard]

Vote for no music except for when people are performing. It would be awesome so see some of the songs brought to life.
A BEAR A BEAR ALL COVERED WITH HAIR

[Ikael]

I personally like non ambiental OSTs more. If they are well done they will not be intrusive and actually will reinforce the emotional impact of the scenes and dialogs. Still, sparse ost or not, I agree that I would love to see the book songs performed, although one must admit that music is not something that Martin gave lot of dettail to in the books asides from a couple of songs (he never went into dettails about instruments used or rymths). And pretty please, compose some fanfarres or battle hymns for the battle scenes.

[About Yea High]

I'll be another who tosses Bear McCreary's name into the ring. He's seriously brilliant and underused.

Or Graeme Revell, just to see what his medieval take might be. A different road for the composer of the score for [i]The Crow[/i] and much of [i]Sin City[/i].

Whoever they go with, it needs to be genre-appropriate, but I'm not above a little experimentation (Jakob Lightbringer's suggestion was spot-on). If I hear any form of modern music with modern lyrics (or worse, rehashed 1970's rock, ala [i]A Knight's Tale[/i]), I will yowl.

[brhodes]

I've got to nominate "Blackmore's Night" to compose and play "The Bear and The Maiden Fair", "The Rains of Castamere" and other songs that are part of the story itself.