Music Makes You Lose Control.

Actually, no. Music helps me stay in control. It keeps me focused and I could happily sit through three hours of Painting Fundamentals just so long as I had good music playing absentmindedly in the background. Today was a Hans Zimmer day. Last night I downloaded the soundtracks to Gladiator and The Da Vinci Code and have been listening to them on and off all day today.
While not as good a Pirates of the Caribbean, they come pretty damn close. Gladiator is a lot like Pirates in that its main themes are brash and bold; you can hear the battle raging on as you listen. Interestingly enough, at one point in Gladiator's track three, "The Battle," a theme almost identical to "Jack Sparrow's Theme" staggers in and out of the action. When I heard it today during Drawing, I let out an audible "Ha!" and several people glanced up at me, no doubt wondering what the hell was so funny. Funny or not, those kind of musical moments make listening exciting to me. Zimmer is a master of weaving themes together in great, grand, sweeping suites ("At Wit's End" on the At World's End soundtrack is a prime example) although I must admit, hearing such blatant personal plagiarism came as quite a shock, hence the mid-still-life "Ha!"
The Da Vinci Code score is much more subdued, more ethereal and haunting just like it's ink-and-paper counterpart. Zimmer's use of choir and the female voice is amazing and suites the story perfectly. It is almost as though angels are singing from heaven, addressing the horror, the mystery, the action themselves. The prominent theme (found in its full glory in track twelve, "Chevaliers de Sangreal") is broad and sweeping using the strings to their fullest potential. It is inspiring, as I'm sure it was intended to be.
I didn't intend for this to turn into a review but these things tend to write themselves, you know. All I can say is without music, my life would be silent; and what good is a silent life?

The soundtracks to Gladiator and The Da Vinci Code are both available from the iTunes Store.

Hope you enjoyed this little diversion for the the norm, I know I did.
Miss you all. Stay in touch. See you later.