bannercone

Oh BrotherMovie Soundtracks. When I say the words Star Wars, most people immediately hear the orchestra play in their minds. Movie scores have become so much a part of culture that you may not even realize how many songs you know. For example, many people enjoy the music by Vangelis from Chariots of Fire or Somewhere in Time even if they haven't seen the movie.

Since the advent of the Academy award for best song and score, music from movies have been popular. Gone with the Wind and the Wizard of Oz are two early examples. Sometimes the entire soundtrack is popular while at other times, a single hit emerges such as Mrs. Robinson from The Graduate or Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

Moulin RougeMusicals have natural soundtracks. For example, Frederick Loewe brought us Paint Your Wagon, My Fair Lady, Gigi, Camelot, and Brigadoon. Even young people who never saw the theatre production or movie know the chorus to Oklahoma or the Do Re Mi song from Sound of Music.

With hits like Star Wars, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and Raiders of the Lost Ark, the work of John Williams really brought soundtracks into the area of popular music. The work of John Barry in Out of Africa, The Piano with Michael Nyman, and English Patient with Anthony Minghella have made many lasting impressions. Recently popular composers such as James Horner with Titanic, Danny Elfman with Spiderman and Hans Zimmer with Gladiator and Pearl Harbor have gained attention.

EvitaCollected works are a good way to enjoy many of these soundtracks. For example, you can get a collection of all the Academy Award Songs in a set of CDs.

The soundtrack to the movie O Brother, Where Art Thou? became even more popular than the movie. Soundtracks are becoming increasingly popular as producers focus on new ways to market their movies. For example, Moulin Rouge contained songs originally popularized by Sting and Elton John.

Many soundtracks such as Top Gun and Flashdance reflected the popular music of their time. Others include Saturday Night Fever, Tommy, Pulp Fiction, and the Big Chill. Stand By Me and American Graffiti brought back the music of the early 1960s.

Television Soundtracks. How many television show theme songs can you sing? How about Gilligan's Island, Beverly Hillbillies, or Brady Bunch? Can you hum the soundtrack to Star Trek, Hawaii 5-0 or Twilight Zone? How about the current favorites, CSI and Spongebob Squarepants? Friends, and Ken Burn's Jazz or The Civil War from PBS are a few television programs with popular soundtracks.

HairsprayShowtunes. From New York, New York to And All That Jazz, broadway hits are some of the most recognizable songs in the music collection. Rodgers and Hammerstein's many musicals include Oklahoma, South Pacific, and the King and I. Andrew Lloyd Webber's broadway hits include songs from The Phantom of the Opera, Cats, Evita, and Joseph to name a few.

There's always a controversy when music CDs are produced. Some people prefer the broadway version while others like the movie. For example, I wanted Madonna's version of Evita and Donny Osmond's version of Joseph. Some people prefer the video version of Fiddler on the Roof or Grease while others like the music CD.

Although some people enjoy collected works such as the Tony winners collections, others enjoy listening to the entire show.

New hits include Mamma Mia, Hairspray, and the Producers.

GrobanOpera. In some areas, opera has a strong following while in other locations there may be little interest. One way to promote opera is by combining audio titles with video and books. For example, EMI Classics produce books that contain compact discs. Users can read the history of the opera and follow the script as they listen in both the native language and English. The Marriage of Figaro by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is part of this Black Dog Opera Library series.

Vocalists. Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra, Barry Manilow, and Barbara Streisand are classic vocalists. While Celine Dion, Andrea Bocelli, and Josh Groban are newer favorites.

Selected Online Resources

 

| eduscapes | IUPUI Online Courses | Teacher Tap | 42explore | escrapbooking | About Us | Contact Us | ©2006 Annette Lamb and Larry Johnson