I just listened to 'The Best of John Carpenter.' Don't know anything about the soundtracks, haven't seen any of the movies. Just a general thoughts thread. What do you love?
He reminds me of Angelo Badalamenti. Do you think they relate?
― strgn, Thursday, 3 July 2008 06:48 (4 years ago) Permalink
Well, his "Theme from Hallowe'en" is pretty well known, famous enough to have been covered by several performers, including my heroes MX-80 Sound. As spooky-film music, I'd say it's pretty effective - not as good as Herrmann's theme from "Psycho", but better than Mike Oldfield's "Tubular Bells" main theme. (Which WASN'T written with "The Exorcist" in mind, of course.)
I used to watch "Escape From New York" and "Assault on Precinct 13" often back in the early '80s mainly for the music, back when I had an infatuation with synthesized film scores. (Tangerine Dream and Vangelis as well as Carpenter.) Haven't heard 'em in years. (They're kinda repetitive, aren't they?)
"Dark Star", "The Thing", "Starman", I only saw once apiece, and can't recall the music at all, assuming he scored those too.
Dunno who Angelo Badalamenti is, sorry.
― Myonga Vön Bontee, Thursday, 3 July 2008 07:20 (4 years ago) Permalink
OTM.
Escape just got reissued and it's ill. I wish Assault was on CD :(
― Whiney G. Weingarten, Thursday, 3 July 2008 07:35 (4 years ago) Permalink
Classic for the first three Halloween soundtracks, Escape from New York and Assault on Precinct 13. Dark Star sucks as a bought soundtrack coz it has all the dialogue over the music--like you'd taped it direct from the telly.
The Thing was Morricone, but a v Carpenter sounding Morricone.
(Did Air only reissue Assault on vinyl? That's what I have).
― Raw Patrick, Thursday, 3 July 2008 07:38 (4 years ago) Permalink
Search: Afrika Bambaataa - "Bambaataa's Theme (Assault On Precinct 13)"
(based on the film's title score, as should be obvious)
― henry s, Thursday, 3 July 2008 12:31 (4 years ago) Permalink
i thought Strange Life reissued Assault on CD but their shit seems to disappear quick so maybe they've run out already..
Carpenter fans, check out Unit Black Flight..
― winston, Friday, 4 July 2008 22:39 (4 years ago) Permalink
I've been digging into EfNY and AoP13 of late -- both are pretty great.
Haven't these become trendy? I saw some M83 interview where the guy said he used some plugin to get "my John Carpenter sounds."
― Naive Teen Idol, Friday, 15 August 2008 15:33 (4 years ago) Permalink
some of the recent earth stuff reminded me of carpenter... "miami morning coming down" off of hibernaculum
― Edward III, Friday, 15 August 2008 16:20 (4 years ago) Permalink
whoa really?
― Catsupppppppppppppp dude 茄蕃, Friday, 15 August 2008 16:23 (4 years ago) Permalink
x-post
I think he's always been a fairly vital influence on many noise, drone, ambient and even certain techno artists.
BTW, the last Neil Marshall flick, Doomsday, is one long homage to Carpenter in terms of film and sound.
― QuantumNoise, Friday, 15 August 2008 16:24 (4 years ago) Permalink
x-postx2
yeah, played on gtrs. will leonardo.
― Edward III, Friday, 15 August 2008 18:56 (4 years ago) Permalink
Christine is so fucking epic.
― jaxon, Friday, 15 August 2008 19:38 (4 years ago) Permalink
music has the right to children has a few carpenter-ish tracks.
early optimo sets featured some carpenter tracks in the mix IIRC.
― Steve Shasta, Friday, 15 August 2008 19:46 (4 years ago) Permalink
the christine 12" i have is even released on ZXY Records, which i think does mostly italo like releases?
― jaxon, Friday, 15 August 2008 19:51 (4 years ago) Permalink
http://wizardishungry.wordpress.com/2006/11/30/the-disco-career-of-director-john-carpenter/
― Catsupppppppppppppp dude 茄蕃, Friday, 15 August 2008 19:52 (4 years ago) Permalink
John Carpenter is one of the coolest American artists of the last half -century! (Sorry for the hyperbole -- I worship the guy.)
― QuantumNoise, Friday, 15 August 2008 20:52 (4 years ago) Permalink
QuantumNoise OTM - listening to Escape From New York tonight. This is really great stuff.
It seems likely that he has influenced people like Oneohtrix Point Never, which I have been listening to a lot recently.
― kraudive, Sunday, 13 June 2010 01:24 (2 years ago) Permalink
The Assault on Precinct 13 soundtrack is the best late-night grocery shopping music ever, oddly enough.
― a black white asian pine ghost who is fake (Telephone thing), Sunday, 13 June 2010 03:00 (2 years ago) Permalink
I heard a version of the main theme from EFNY played on acoustic guitar at a gig a few weeks ago, anyone know who did that perchance? I also saw Blondie open up with it once, weirdly.
― disastrous sixth series (MaresNest), Sunday, 13 June 2010 13:42 (2 years ago) Permalink
Any good compilations still in print (or whatever the term is for records/CDs)?
― LaMonte, Friday, 7 October 2011 23:08 (1 year ago) Permalink
raw patrick mentioned the first 3 halloween soundtracks but i wanna rep hard for halloween 3 soundtrack and this here trailer
― D'Brickasquad (fennel cartwright), Saturday, 8 October 2011 06:23 (1 year ago) Permalink
The Halloween 3 soundtrack is great, just like the unjustly maligned movie.
As for Carpenter compilations, I think the only one still in print right now is the Silva Screen one, but if I remember well most of it doesn't contain the original versions.
― Marco Damiani, Saturday, 8 October 2011 07:53 (1 year ago) Permalink
holloween 3 is the best
― sisilafami, Saturday, 8 October 2011 11:19 (1 year ago) Permalink
carpenter, cronenberg and landis talk shop in '88
― Hungry4Ass, Thursday, 20 September 2012 05:12 (8 months ago) Permalink
oh wait this is an ilm thread...
― Hungry4Ass, Thursday, 20 September 2012 05:23 (8 months ago) Permalink
Keeping it ILM-relevant, the label Silva Screen has just released a 2CD complete version of his amazing music for The Fog...
― Lewis Apparition (Jon Lewis), Friday, 21 September 2012 19:11 (7 months ago) Permalink
this should also help drag this thread back onto ILM ground.
http://specialfeatures.podbean.com/2012/09/19/special-features-mixtape-carpenter-colossus/
― my opinionation (Hamildan), Friday, 21 September 2012 20:51 (7 months ago) Permalink
that's not from '88
― stop swearing and start windmilling (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 21 September 2012 20:53 (7 months ago) Permalink
Downloading the Christine score right now but kinda wish the soundtrack was literally all the music from the film, droney synth score interspersed with echoey fragments of 1950s pop songs.
― Room 227 (cryptosicko), Sunday, 4 November 2012 04:18 (6 months ago) Permalink
Halloween III is maybe his best overall soundtrack.
― Ask The Answer Man (sexyDancer), Sunday, 4 November 2012 04:34 (6 months ago) Permalink
this was on telly the other night, not great but the music, especially the end credits, is incredible.
― second only to popcorn (or something), Sunday, 4 November 2012 07:49 (6 months ago) Permalink
yes
― sisilafami, Sunday, 4 November 2012 11:23 (6 months ago) Permalink
I used to listen to that soundtrack while driving around in my car -- and then my two year-old told me to play the "London Bridge" one where the clown or whatever is trying to get all the kids to come to the factory to kill them again and again. She literally used to make me sing her to sleep with it.
― Naive Teen Idol, Sunday, 4 November 2012 13:20 (6 months ago) Permalink
rocking escape this morning. will probably move onto halloween iii next.
― throwing john shade (strongo hulkington's ghost dad), Sunday, 4 November 2012 14:51 (6 months ago) Permalink
Ha, I watched Halloween 3 the other night. What a ridiculous movie.
― I wish to incorporate disco into my small business (chap), Sunday, 4 November 2012 17:26 (6 months ago) Permalink
yeah, it's completely ridiculous:
I love the sleazy tom atkins character and how his family doesn't seem to respect him. the opening credits are really awesome too.
and yeah, halloween iii score might be his most consistent but I really love some of the funkier cowbell-heavy stuff on escape from new york.
probably like the soundtracks to both of em better than the movies themselves now that I think about it.
― (⊙_⊙?) (Alan N), Sunday, 4 November 2012 17:42 (6 months ago) Permalink
Christine score better than the movie itself, and The Thing score is at least as good.
― Room 227 (cryptosicko), Sunday, 4 November 2012 18:25 (6 months ago) Permalink
assault on precinct 13 is a tough call because the movie and the soundtrack both totally rule
― (⊙_⊙?) (Alan N), Sunday, 4 November 2012 18:27 (6 months ago) Permalink
― Naive Teen Idol, Sunday, 4 November 2012 18:53 (6 months ago) Permalink
The studio wouldn't let JC do his own score, so he hired the best replacement possible!
― Ask The Answer Man (sexyDancer), Sunday, 4 November 2012 18:54 (6 months ago) Permalink
"lets have some music in here boiler."
― meisenfek, Sunday, 4 November 2012 19:09 (6 months ago) Permalink
aw hell yeah
― emo canon in twee major (BradNelson), Wednesday, 2 January 2013 21:44 (4 months ago) Permalink