Hello, looks like I’ve remembered once again that I have a personal blog.* Who knows what nonsense lies ahead of us?… well, I mean I do but then I’m writing this post so I don’t think that counts.

Nearly twelve months have passed us by since my last post. In that time there’s been a constant miasma of shitty politics (Britain is well and truly fucked innit), terrible world events (humanity appears well and truly fucked dunnit**) and not nearly enough chocolate.

To combat this hugely disappointing turn of events I have decided to make one of my many, many obsessions into a new hobby.

Some of you will know I read quite a lot. I waffle about all manner of bookish stuff over on The Eloquent Page. When I’m not reading I tend to be consuming all manner of other entertainments. TV, console games, and films fill my free time more so than just about anything else. One of the things I love about these various distractions is the music that is associated with them all.

Music is a constant in my life, there are always sounds on in the background whenever I am doing anything. Of late, probably since the beginning of the pandemic, I have been listening almost exclusively to soundtracks. Over the years I’ve been picking them up fairly regularly but I hadn’t realised quite how all-consuming this preoccupation has become. I started tallying everything up on a spreadsheet (I do love a good spreadsheet) and it turns out I’ve managed to accumulate around 400 hundred of the buggers.

So what is required for a soundtrack to earn a place in the Cheesecake Hall of Fame? It’s pretty easy really. I have to hear it and like it. Simples. What with living in the future and having access to 21st tech like Spotify finding new favourites is no problem at all.

I tend to go through phases where certain soundtracks get heavy rotation, usually just after I’ve discovered them. For example, currently, Crimes of the Future by Howard Shore is making my ears very happy. I’m not a huge fan of David Cronenberg‘s films but the soundtrack is something else entirely. Its a fantastic mix of electronic and classic tracks that blend together creating something quite extraordinary. Having listened to The Lord of the Rings soundtracks, also by Shore, many times in the past this new work was revelatory. Modern yet also timeless in a single stroke. Masterful stuff indeed.

The other thing my soundtrack obsession allows me to do is seek out those musical oddities that make life worth living for. David Arnold‘s Bond homage album Shaken and Stirred is a perfect example. Where else could you discover David McAlmont channelling his inner Shirley Bassey?

Or perhaps the album of Alpine-flavoured yodelling from Alexandre Desplat that accompanies The Grand Budapest Hotel. Weird as all Hell but awesome nonetheless.

One of the best things about soundtracks is even crappy tv, games or films can still have a cracking score.

Dont believe me? Check out King Arthur: Legend of the Sword. The Guy Ritchie movie is not great by any stretch of the imagination. The soundtrack by Daniel Pemberton however is an absolute gem. X-men: Dark Phoenix is another good example. The film is incomprehensible nonsense but the Hans Zimmer (yes, that Hans Zimmer) soundtrack is magnificent.

I’ll round out this music-related waffle with a recommendation. Seeing as it’s Halloween tomorrow I’d suggest checking out the soundtrack to Guillermo Del Toro’s Cabinet Of Curiosities. There are eight episodes in season one and, as it’s an anthology show, every episode has a different composer on soundtrack duties.

My intention is to try an post about my new hobby regularly (once a month maybe?) but I’ve made such extravagant claims before. Anyway. Feel free to recommend any favourites you might have, old or new it doesn’t matter. I’d be over the moon if it leads me to something I’ve never listened to before.

Till next time, stay frosty people.

*Fuck knows why I even continue to pay for the hosting. It can’t be terribly cost-effective can it? One post a year?

**I’m less upset about that than I should be if I am entirely honest. We’ve had our chance and we’ve screwed it. Time to move on world.