John Williams--Like or Not?

He might not be the best, but he makes a LOT of $$$ doing what he does.

You can say the same thing about Brittaney Spears.

You can say the same thing about Brittaney Spears.

Uggh. You should be banned for mentioning her name on this site.

But unfortunately, you're right. A lot of people suck at what they do, but they still make a lot of money doing it. Why? Because my tire went flat last tuesday at exactly 2:56 PM EST.

~Kal

Ahah... funny thoughts and conversations! I appreciate what M. Williams is doing (quiet better than some other grand names of that field). I hope for him that he has a great team to work with for a composer such cannot do this all alone... unless named Mozart or Bach or Vivaldi or such... but well, that could be also. He's writing a lot. But you have to understand that a distinction must be made between music composer in research and music writers for movies... the main research of film music is to orchestrate more effectively... that and no much more. Most of the poeple don't do that distinction... and that maybe a part of why you dislike him. Of course his harmony is standard, his orchestration is strandard even though very effective and to-the-point which is really good qualities... but he isn't in the same line as Stravinsky at all... Stravinsky early works where researchs of new forms, new harmony, etc. This Williams doesn't do in his film music... well, not much in any case.

So here I say : I think that we should not compare the grandiose works of John Williams with those of Stravinsky or our dear Britney ! (or Celine Dion we would say down here... which I also have respect for the work she's doing... but that's another topic)

Thats what I thought it was...a trick question.

As a dedicated soundtrack fan (of course) I love John Williams, probably have got more inspiration from Danny Elfman hehe, but I love John Williams, particularly his music from the E.T. Soundtrack, though I wouldn't pick any one above the other. (Bother.....Guess I just did that)

He's a very diversified composer (As Film composers go) ranking up there with other greats like Bernard Herrmann, John Barry, (My Personal Favorite) Erich Wolfgang (Most composers are) Korngold ect...

I would never compare a film composer with a non film composer UNLESS, (That's Important) one has done a bit of the other, it's like a whole different style of music......it IS

Bottom Line:

For me "Williams" and "Great" got together. :wub:

Thanks for Reading!

I would never compare a film composer with a non film composer UNLESS, (That's Important) one has done a bit of the other, it's like a whole different style of music......it IS

John Williams has written plenty of pieces that aren't for films. And my comparison of him to Brittney Spears was simply to show that the highest-grossing artist doesn't necessarily equal the most talented/skilled, etc. Like Robert T. Kiyosaki said once, there's a difference between being best-SELLING and best-WRITING.

Oh, and there was nothing "trick" about this question--it's an issue that a lot of fellow musicians have discussed with me. In fact, at college, it seemed to be a pretty even 50-50 split of Williams-likers and Williams-dislikers/haters.

Oh no!!!!!!!! I'm so sorry PianoManGidley!!!:wub:

I didn't realize it might have seemed as though this:

"And I edited my post a bit. I still stand by my point though; he's HORRIBLY WRONG about the music in film thing and as far as I can tell also the criticizing-John-Williams-of-being-a-thief thing, and thus an idiot, regardless of how good of a composer he is."

Was directed you. I'm so sorry!!!!!!:P

It was directed at Stravinsky because Stravinsky had that quote about the music in film that I strongly disagree with, he also appears to have openly criticized John Williams of plagarism, and M is D's post before that post of mine implied that I should give Stravinsky special treatment because of the music he's composed. I'm very, very, very sorry if you thought it was directed at you!!!!!:D I'll definitely be certain to be more clear about these things from now on.:(

...

I guess so. The thing is that "like" and "dislike" are personal/opinionative words that rather address how much the music at hand fits that person's preference in music than it does evaluate the composer's talent. "Hate" is a whole 'nother issue that takes a lot of describing, (simply) because hatred is a rather strong emotion that must come from somewhere deeper than simply just hearing a song a few times (so that's all I'm going to say about it, at least for now). I will admit that a lot of people use the word "hate" as a synonym for "dislike" when referring to music, but that's not at all what it really means.

I agree with your point of "there's a difference between being best-SELLING and best-WRITING" 100% though. The words "over-rated" and "under-rated" (yes, I'm aware that one, the other, or even both probably aren't real words) have been thrown around countless times at the other forums I've frequented, and I believe I've come to a fairly intelligent conclusion on this matter:

No matter what, everything will either be over-rated or under-rated due to word of mouth. Simply put, a vast amount of people don't actively seek out the entertainment that they would most enjoy themselves, but rather rely on others' opinions and preferences to get a sub-par entertainment experience from them. Also, the growth in the success of a show, movie, composer, etc. is exponential due to word of mouth. For these reasons, there will always be artists who are more successful than they should be and artists who are less successful than they should be. Where exactly the middle, where an artist is neither over-rated nor under-rated, is something that neither I nor anyone can truly make claim to without seeming arrogant (why is what you say more important what another person says?).

****. We're talking about music aren't we? Alright, well, just throw into the mix how a) the vast amount of people aren't even true to themselves with their musical preferences and b) how much influence record company support can or cannot have on a composer's success.

i like williams' modern yet classical composing

although some of his works can become annoying, i do think he has a talent for capturing story in his music

I love John Williams' music and I respect him as a composer. But he only really uses one instrument for his music. The trumpet.

Might want to rethink what you said, I would say the instrument John Williams uses the most is the orchestra, which is the same instrument that most composers use.

Sure there some instruments he likes to use especially that are not always used much in orchestra harp, xylophone but if it came to brass the French Horn would be what he uses more not the trumpet, the other thing is why not use it if you can.

Note: for those of you that are particular, I said the harp and xylophone are not always used, I didn't say they wern't....just saving you from having to point that out.

I don't like John Williams. He's not very musical. He fills in the blanks fairly well. His best music was written in 1977, as far as I know. Elfman > Williams. Friedhoffer > Elfman+Williams. |(Elfman+Williams) x Korngold + Friedhoffer^2| = Beethoven.

Elfman > Williams.

YEAH!:whistling:

No way. I have never heard Elfman music that tugs at me as much as the theme for Schindler's list. I also have never found ANYTHING of his that, to me, tops such songs as "Luke and Leia," "Anakin's Theme" (from episode I), and I so many of his other songs. John Williams is by far my favorite composer, and no matter what anyone says he will always be my favorite composer.

I don't like John Williams. He's not very musical. He fills in the blanks fairly well. His best music was written in 1977, as far as I know. Elfman > Williams. Friedhoffer > Elfman+Williams. |(Elfman+Williams) x Korngold + Friedhoffer^2| = Beethoven.

Absolute value signs? Are you suggesting that either Elfman, Williams, or Korngold might be negative? And if so, which one? Surely not Korngold... :P

Put me on the "John Williams lover" list, for a variety of reasons.

First of all, he does the job of an incidental music composer brilliantly. The music coincides well with the events, and I feel that many of the movies he did would be terribly boring without his scores. When I saw Close Encounters of the Third Kind at a friend's super-nice home theater, it blew me away. He effectively writes powerful music that supports the plot and events.

Secondly, he tends to use more brass than most composers. I'm a big fan of the big dramatic brass sound, so his music appeals to me.

Lastly, and this ties in with the second reason, I'm a trombonist, and being a trombonist in an orchestra is frequently a boring and unrewarding task. We sit around for hours, then usually play some unnecessary boring backround notes. But on the few opportunities that I've gotten to play stuff by Williams, it's like the heavens have opened up and a beam of holy light is shining down upon my music. Look at all the fun stuff I get to play! Look at all the black dots! I even get the melody sometimes? Thanks, John! Last summer I got to play the original orchestrations of a bunch of exerpts from the Star Wars score, and it was much more fun than pretty much everything else I've ever played in an orchestral setting.

He might steal, but as has already been mentioned, he steals from the best.

The problem I have with John Williams, is that most of his music seems to sound the same. Like he found his own "Chord of Life" while writing the music for Star Wars or something. Not that I have a problem with this mind you, but it would be nice to hear something completely different out of him once in awhile.

Not that I have a problem with this mind you, but it would be nice to hear something completely different out of him once in awhile.

I think his score for War of the Worlds was a bit different--it seemed more along the lines of a Jerry Goldsmith score, IMO.