This week, we will look back once more at the Emmys to listen to the songs that got nominated for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics:

1. "Settle for Me" from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend - This piece of music is a nice Broadway-style solo.  It has a good amount of class with just a bit of drums in the background and an accompaniment by symphonic string instruments.  It's got the exact tone of a jazzy big-city standard that makes you want to roam around on the streets in a tuxedo.

2. "Good People" from Empire - This song is a smooth R&B hit, with a constant drum beat and a straining male voice.  Empire revolves around a record company, so most of the music is very well-written and smooth.  "Good People" possesses a modernized style of class with a lot of soul behind it.

3. "A New Season" from Galavant - Hilariously written and reminiscent of Monty Python comedies, "A New Season" mocks its own renewal.  I have no idea what Galavant is about, but this song makes me really want to watch the show.  One of the highlights of this song is the music writer, Alan Menken.  If that name sounds familiar to you, it should because he composed for The Little Mermaid, Beauty and The Beast, Aladdin, and a lot of other films. 

4. "Frozen Lullaby" from Garfunkel and Oates: Trying to Be Special - A few years ago, I won free tickets to see Garfunkel and Oates at The Neptune in Seattle.  The experience was uncomfortable, but quite interesting with their feministic music writing.  This song is a lot like their other writings, edgy and full of references to ovaries.  I respect that they are clever and fighting to help women through music.

The Emmy went to:
5. "Til it Happens to You" from The Hunting Ground - I'm not sure exactly how this was nominated for an Emmy considering it is a film, but I must approve the win because of the power that this song has.  Lady Gaga brought the audience at the Oscars to tears with her message against rape and colleges hiding cases.  The song places the listener in the shoes of a rape victim, but also reminds us that we have no idea what it is like.  Overall, the piece of music is brilliant with a glorious build-up to create strength.  Then, it closes with a stripped-down chorus to create an echoing presence that haunts the listener and leaves a definitive impact.

Watch the nominated shows:

With all of the festivities surrounding Star Trek's 50th anniversary, I decided to go back and listen to Michael Giacchino's original score for the first reboot film.  Giacchino creates a dramatic entrance with the brass theme that opens the movie, leading us into space in a grand fashion.  Symphonic melodies are put together to create a new theme for an iconic franchise.  Giacchino respectfully contributes a new score full of string suspense and strong brass elements.  The brass works really well for in the context of space.  Percussion is also added at times to give odd rhythms that deliver us into the unknown worlds that the Enterprise crew continue to explore.  A choir also attributes to the strangeness of space as a sort of homage to Gustav Holst's compositions.  For those of you unfamiliar with Holst, he is the composer of The Planets.  The Planets is one of the most commonly used pieces of music in cinema, especially with any film revolving around the subject of space.  Finally, we get to hear the original theme at the very end of the film, leaving our palette satiated with a return to Star Trek: The Original Series.

Notable Tracks:
"Star Trek"
"Nailin' the Kelvin"
"Enterprising Young Men"
"Nero Death Experience"
"End Credits"

Image credit: ​By Cristiano Del Riccio →This image, which was originally posted to Flickr.com, was uploaded to Commons using Flickr upload bot on 22:28, 16 March 2010 (UTC) by Tabercil (talk). On that date it was licensed under the license below. - →This file has been extracted from another file: Michael Giacchino.jpg, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=20441701

I'm still having trouble getting over the passing of Gene Wilder.  This week, I've decided to go back and listen to the soundtrack from one of his most iconic films.  The soundtrack for Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory has impacted our souls since its release.  Every track on the album is singable, from "The Candy Man" to "Pure Imagination."  The tracks flutter through our minds with surreal concepts of a made-up world, with a chocolate factory at its center.  We are brought through tracks of joy with "(I've Got a) Golden Ticket."  The track cheers us up as Charlie and his grandpa finally gain their dream.  The string instrumentals grant us a sweet taste of the confectionary journey that Charlie and his grandpa endeavor in.  Finally, we are brought into an unreal chocolate factory with Gene Wilder's perfectly sung "Pure Imagination."  Along the journey, oddities are introduced to us with the articulate and mysterious theme, "Oompa Loompa."  At the end of the journey, we escape from Wonka's strict mind with an out-of-this-world theme that accompanies a magical elevator ride.  What more could you ask for in a soundtrack?

Notable Tracks:
"The Candy Man"
"(I've Got a) Golden Ticket"
"Pure Imagination"
"Oompa Loompa"
"I Want It Now/Oompa-Loompa"

So far, this is definitely in my top five soundtracks of 2016.  The movie may not live up to everyone's expectations, but the soundtrack is fantastic!  This mesh of rap and rock puts a bunch of popular music artists together to create an original motion picture soundtrack.  The first track on the album sets a tone for the film, which prides itself as a bad guy film.  Rick Ross and Skrillex spastically drown our ears in hardcore electronic rap.  After the first track, we get to hear a lot of familiar artists ranging from Imagine Dragons to Twenty One Pilots to Eminem to Creedence Clearwater Revival and so many more.  We even get a cover of "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Panic! at the Disco.  Finally we arrive at "I Started a Joke" which feels like a hauntingly bold conclusion for a soundtrack.  There is something on this soundtrack for everyone to enjoy, but it really reaches out to young adult audiences.

Notable Tracks:
1. "Sucker for Pain"
2. "You Don't Own Me"
3. "Bohemian Rhapsody"
4. "I Started a Joke"

Image credit: ​By b7378q8 - https://www.flickr.com/photos/b7378q8/18618604511/, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=41954069

The only film this year that I have given 5 stars on Letterboxd has a worthy soundtrack to accompany the picture.  From the very beginning of the film, we get a sense that this is going to be an emotional arc full of melancholy but also moments of joy.  The soundtrack starts off with "The Ballet" which is a slow and dark string reflection which lasts for six-and-a-half minutes.  I especially like the acoustic guitar which has a Latin influence.  The soundtrack also features progressive and repetitive tracks which build the intensity of the story as it unravels into confusion.  Composer Marcelo Zarvos (Brooklyn's Finest) displays his experience with the classical style with his sweet and rich string melodies that often accompany the guitar and piano which are featured throughout the soundtrack.  This soundtrack presents us with a type of class where we feel as if we are reading the novel in a sophisticated setting, rather than sprawling out on the bean-bag chair.  It pulls you further and further into the minds of the creators, perfectly setting the tone for the film as a whole and adding to every aspect of the performances.  The music creates yet another reason for this film to be my favorite of the year so far.

Notable Tracks:
1. "The Ballet"
2. "Journey to Bern"
3. "You're a Good Man, Professor"
4. "Our Kind of Traitor"

This week we look at the new movie, Independence Day: Resurgence.  Today is pretty much becoming Independence Day day because I reviewed the first film and will be seeing the new one tonight.  The new soundtrack takes us into unknown territories.  Starting off with a theme reminiscent of Bernard Herrmann's artistic style, the soundtrack pulls us straight into the intensity of encountering new life forms with the track, "Traveling Through Space."  From there, we continue to explore space themes with quick string motifs and a lot of symbol clashes, leading us to "More Stimulation."  Throughout the soundtrack there are more Herrmann-esque themes but with a bit more brass involved.  These themes also remind us of the Star Trek series, probably because the films are similarly based in space.  The soundtrack also gives us a few more glorious themes that bring us back to the original film's soundtrack.  These include "Whitmore's Choice," "Humanity's Last Stand," and of course "Independence Day Resurgence Finale."  Overall, its a fun soundtrack filled with symphonic melodies reminiscent of Bernard Herrmann, Gustav Holst, a bit of Igor Stravinsky, and the original film from 1996.

Notable Tracks:  
1. "More Stimulation"
2. "The Only Family I Got"
3. "Independence Day Resurgence Finale"
4. "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)" by Annie Trousseau and Sonny Bono (I don't know why this is on the soundtrack yet, but I love this song so much and this version is fantastic)

Image credit: ​https://i.ytimg.com/vi/1t--FdeksqE/maxresdefault.jpg

Other soundtracks released this week: Free State of Jones, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Swiss Army Man

Here's a new section that will be the Friday feature on the blog.  Based on my previous radio show experience, I will be discussing a new soundtrack of a film each week.  You can enjoy the soundtracks as you read the review to have the best experience and test my actual listening skills.

I will be starting off the series with a look at the Central Intelligence soundtrack.  This soundtrack is composed by Theodore Shapiro (The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Tropic Thunder) and Ludwig Goransson.  The first few tracks are reminiscent of spy soundtracks, heavy with the drum beats and synthesized harmonies.  Easy to hear are the similar compositions to the film, Spy (also composed by Shapiro).  The song, "Central Intelligence" feels like a sort of CSI intro with a modern pop twist.  Most of the album is similar to this genre with a few love interludes to connect the probable chase scenes that are on screen.  This can be heard in the tracks, "Sleepover" and "Homecoming King."  These string melodies are mysterious but also somewhat inspiring as they glide between the other tracks of the score.  Overall the score acts as another addition to Shapiro's filmography, but there is nothing really special about it.

Other soundtracks released this week: Finding Dory

Image Credit: http://www.lyricsoundtrack.com/wp-content/uploads/Central-Intelligence-Soundtrack.jpg