I seem to be able to think of nothing other than music right now.  I think its because I picked up the Tron: Legacy soundtrack today.  It is easily one of the best soundtracks I’ve heard in a very long time.  Google Music has it on sale right now for $4.  I highly recommend a purchase.  Daft Punk‘s blend of orchestral and electronic music is seamless and so epic.  It’s music on a grand scale and it stands not just as an amazing soundtrack, but also as an excellent stand alone album.

Speaking of soundtracks, I’m reminded of the soundtracks to two shows I’ve been watching recently, The Walking Dead and Being Human (US Version).  Both are in their second season and both feature a standout score.  The Walking Dead’s soundtrack is done by Bear McCreary, who did an unbelievable job with the Battlestar Galactica reboot.  His soundtracks are so atmospheric, yet incredibly engaging.  He can set just about any mood he cares to with just a few notes.  The soundtrack for the US version of Being Human (which, BTW, is REALLY diverging from the UK version) is done by FM Le Sieur.  He’s previously done the music for a little known South African sci-fi show called Charlie Jade.

Let me take a moment to talk about Charlie Jade.  This show tragically got only a single season and was already cancelled by the time it made it stateside.  It was one of the more unique shows I’ve seen, with a real eye towards cinematography that really helped sell the concept.  Briefly, the main character found himself moving between three alternate universes.  Aside from the obvious differences that would arise from a parallel world story, the look of each world was very heavily influenced by how it was filmed.  You knew instantly which world you were in, and the music really played into that.  In some aspects, it was like FM Le Sieur was scoring three different shows, with little musical hooks to tie each one together.

Getting back to Being Human, the music in this show is almost like another character.  It somehow manages to be both immediate and upfront while intertwining with the story and characters on the screen.  It steps back when it needs to and knows when and how to fade away, but there’s that ever present feeling that it can pop back up at any time.  Every dramatic moment in the show is accompanied by a unique strain that still fits into the whole.  Its a whole pile of contradictions, but its damn good contradictions!

Moving away from soundtracks, I wanna highlight an artist I first heard at Electric Zoo this past year.  He goes by the name of Pretty Lights and his music is a pretty cool blend of hip hop, lounge, and electronic.  A lot of what I’ve heard so far is definitely not fast paced and has a very cool groove to it.  I’ve only heard a few tracks with vocals so far, and as often as not, the vocals aren’t words, but voices blended with the music.  That’s actually something I really enjoy.  For whatever reason, it makes the song stick in my head that much more and I find myself humming it when I can’t actually listen to music (like when I’m slowly withering away at work).  I was at his website moments ago, and it appears that most (if not all) of his music is freely available to download from there.  There’s a donation button there that you can use to give a little to help defray bandwidth costs.  I don’t know about you, but the high quality of music aside, I’m inclined to give just because I want to show my support for an artist who isn’t terrified of piracy.  A musician who isn’t hostile to his fans coughMetallicacough definitely deserves wider exposure.  As I write this, I’m listening to his first album on Rhapsody, and if the rest of his music is this good (as I suspect it is), then I’ll be downloading it directly from his website and donating a sum of money greater than what I would have paid buying it from my usual music peddlers (Google Music, Amazon, eMusic, Rhapsody).  The best part about that is that he gets the entire amount.  I highly recommend anyone reading this give his music a listen.  If you like what you hear, download it!  And maybe it happens you want to send something his way for the aural delight.  Everyone wins!  Except for the major music labels execs.  Those guys can get right the fuck off my lawn.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got some listening to do before I go to bed.