Shuffleboard 11

1. "The Departure of Boromir" by Howard Shore from The Fellowship of the Ring
Howard Shore. The man is an enigma to me. He came out of nowhere (for me, at least), wrote hours of outstanding music for the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and hasn't written anything close since.
Nevertheless, his music for the epic movies is indeed epic in it's own right.
This track is from the "Complete Recordings" album, which adds even more outstanding music to an already outstanding score. It plays during the fight against the Uruk-Hai near the end of the first movie, playing over Frodo's separation from the Fellowship, and Boromir's heroic last stand to try to save Merry and Pippin.
Shore's sad pieces are heart-rending. Mournful strings, absolutely gorgeous french horn parts, eerie choral parts, and bittersweet oboes make for an earthy-feeling lament that is second-to-none.
Listen to some of it here.


2. "Run The Night" by John Reuben from Hindsight
Hindsight was an outstanding breakout album from one of two Christian rappers I can actually listen to (the other being Lecrae). Reuben can rhyme with the best of them, and his lyrics are usually deep and thought-provoking.
"Run the Night" is a party tune, and sadly one of Reuben's more standard tracks. It's about running a good party, or something like that. His other tracks are more accessible and poignant, methinks. It's still a good jam, don't get me wrong, it's just not his best.
I do like his last verse with all the different uses of night, though. Good stuff.
Unfortunately, there's no youtube link. Here's the amazon.com mp3 store one.

3. "Leave No Man Behind" by Hans Zimmer from Black Hawk Down
It's no secret that Hans Zimmer is one of the best/laziest composers around today. So many of his action cues sound identical to older ones of his that sometimes it's distracting (see: Gladiator and Pirates). But about 75% of the time, his music rocks.
And I think that Black Hawk Down was his best score, hands down. I wrote this last August for another Black Hawk Down track:

Hans Zimmer wrote a great, if predictable, score, that basically invented the rock/Arabic crossover music that's used so heavily in video games now.

"Leave No Man Behind" is one of the score's slower and more mournful pieces, using only a piano and strings (and I think some sort of flute snuck in there, too). Overall, it's a great somber tune.


4. "Sleepwalk" by The Brian Setzer Orchestra from The Dirty Boogie
Say what you will about his hair, Setzer is still one of the better guitarists around today. He almost single-handedly brought about swing's weird comeback in the 90s, and it was well worth it.
"Sleepwalk" is a great bluesy instrumental tune (from 1959), and probably my favorite on this album. It showcases Setzer's talent for manipulating great sounds out of his Gretsch, and the dirty overdrive effects on the sound make this song sound like a weird hybrid of the 90s and 50s. The big band sound in the background also adds a great backing.
Oh, and I don't know if I've ever heard anyone use the whammy bar like this. Great stuff.


5. "Exogenesis: Symphony Part 3 (Redemption)" by Muse from The Resistance
Oh Muse, can you make bad music? Methinks not.
"Redemption" is the last track of the album, and it finishes out a three-part rock symphony that blows me away every time I listen to it.
I reviewed the whole album back when it came out in September, and I had this to say about this track:

The piano part dies, and then quits. It starts again with a mellow waltz melody. It's actually giving me some chills right now. The bass and higher strings gently come in a minute in, adding to the great orchestral feel. Drums start ticking off quarter notes, things start speeding up, and an almost orchestral version of "Bliss" starts, with piano, strings, and light drums and bass. The vocals are restrained, but soar above the strings quite well. Chris and Dom shine as backup vocals (they are severely underrated singers). It falls back to piano and low strings again, and gently ends with a few low digital effects on the piano.

Those opinions still stand, even after more than 20 listens.
And for something completely different, here's a video of people figure skating to this track.