Not to mention Lost in Space, Fiddler on the Roof, Close Encounters, and the theme to the farking Olympics.

Mr Tumnus: Not to mention Lost in Space, Fiddler on the Roof, Close Encounters, and the theme to the farking Olympics.

So basically he's done nothing with his life.

He's OK I guess, but it's not as though he wrote the Oscar winning "It Ain't Easy Being A Pimp".

Which I couldn't hum to you, even for a million dollars.

I regularly listen to his compositions with Yo Yo Ma from Memoirs of a Geisha. Great stuff.

Their duet versions are quite nice, just him on piano and Ma on cello.

%My girlfriend's 10-yo daughter is learning the trumpet, and their main book this year is "The best of John Williams".

I'm pretty sure that a lot of music teacher had a sigh of relief when Harry Potter came out. At last, there was a new movie popular with the kids, and with a easily recognized score that could really motivate their pupils. I'm pretty sure they must be pretty tired of Star Wars and Indiana Jones by now.

/Listening to a 10-yo play the "Godfather" theme amuses me to no end.

Don't forget Gilligan's Island.

Spielberg might as well retire when Williams dies.

/hang in there long enough to finish Indy, bro

TommyymmoT: He's OK I guess, but it's not as though he wrote the Oscar winning "It Ain't Easy Being 's Hard Out Here For A Pimp".

Which I couldn't hum to you, even for a million dollars.

FTFY

That was one of the few times I've watched the Oscars, when that won. Can't say that it winning made me want to watch it again.

It's like that song winning cheapened every song that gets nominated. I told my wife that several songs from Enchanted got nominated this year, but followed it with "Of course, so was 'It's Hard Out Here For A Pimp'".

Really, is there anything better than when William's score starts up as Superman starts crushing Zod's hand in Superman II? Ba pa pa pa ba, ba baa baaa. Ba pa pa pa ba, BA BA BAAAA! And then that violin kicks in...

that man sure does love the french horn

So Yes I love John Williams, but this video sucks. The least they could have done for the tribute is edit the beginnings and ends of the songs together so it's seemless!

solo89: So Yes I love John Williams, but this video sucks. The least they could have done for the tribute is edit the beginnings and ends of the songs together so it's seemless!

or seamless even

Ugh ..

THIS IS FARK, PEOPLE !!

THIS is the tribute you want ~

Schemenge !!!
Part I (new window)
Part II (new window)

loved the Family Guy Star Wars episode, when John Williams and the orchestra get taken out by stormtroopers and have to be replaced by Oingo Boingo ...

Happy B-day, Johnny W

Very good classical guitarist, too. (pops)

I was listening to the soundtrack to 'Star Wars' the other day. Hmm...wait, no, that was Holst. Well, I did have on the soundtrack to 'Close Encou'...no, that was Ligeti. Never mind.

How about Requim for a Cowboy used in John Waynes the Cowboys. Classic American Symphony!

JFK soundtrack-- amazing stuff.

Torc: I was listening to the soundtrack to 'Star Wars' the other day. Hmm...wait, no, that was Holst. Well, I did have on the soundtrack to 'Close Encou'...no, that was Ligeti. Never mind.

STFU.

As if no other composer's music ever resembled other music. People who bash Williams for "stealing" from other composers are missing the point: He's not a classical composer, he's a film composer, and as such, his job is to make music that best fits the film he is working on. And he clearly has done that better than just about everyone in history. John Williams wrote the soundtrack of the lives of just about every film fan of the last 40 years.

I like John Williams. One of my favorites is the soundtrack to "1941."

I didn't even listen to it, because I know it will all sounds about the same.

Wow, just wow.

quizkid8279: He's not a classical composer, he's a film composer, and as such, his job is to make music that best fits the film he is working on.

except he actually thinks he IS a real composer, and on occasion writes shiatty compositions that are basically film scores without visuals, and people pretend they are somehow worthwhile.

and even as a film composer, off the top of my head, i can think of about a dozen who are more creative in their approach to scoring, and are less likely to just outright rip off previous works.

mancini, rota, steiner, hermann, and to lesser extents, danny elfman, jerry goldsmith, elmer bernstein,...

and thats not including guys like vaughn-williams, prokofiev, shostakovich, walton and korngold who wrote great film music in addition to being top flight "concert music" composers as well.

the knock on williams doesn't just come from classical music snobs dissing on film scorers. in many people's eyes, its crosses the line from traditional borrowing from fellow artists, and enters into a more "cut and paste" mentality that just gets on ones nerves when it is revered as amazing work.

is it effective? to a certain point yes.. but in the way generic rock music behind a sports car commercial is effective. to me, it's really just a lowest common denominator thing.

this is not to say that you shouldn't like him, or you're an idiot if you do. opinions vary and no one is right or wrong when it comes to taste. its just that to anyone with a real love for orchestral music, williams is far more derivative and far less creative than the real greats of film music, let alone concert music.

if you really dig williams' work as stand alone music, check out dvorak (especially the 9th), holst (esp. the planets), richard strauss, and anything by his teacher, castelnuovo-tedesco.
/rant

quizkid8279: Torc: I was listening to the soundtrack to 'Star Wars' the other day. Hmm...wait, no, that was Holst. Well, I did have on the soundtrack to 'Close Encou'...no, that was Ligeti. Never mind.

STFU.

As if no other composer's music ever resembled other music. People who bash Williams for "stealing" from other composers are missing the point: He's not a classical composer, he's a film composer, and as such, his job is to make music that best fits the film he is working on. And he clearly has done that better than just about everyone in history. John Williams wrote the soundtrack of the lives of just about every film fan of the last 40 years.

Relax, sparky. I'll throw on the soundtrack from 1941 some Copland.