Soundtracks are
often important to writers. For many of us, songs with lyrics tend
to be distracting; instrumental songs, on the other hand, have the
ability to inspire us and shape our work.
There are a number
of soundtracks that inspire me. And because I love analyzing things,
I compiled a list of my favorites, numbered them, and wrote down why
I loved them so much.
If anything, it's
something fun to read; and perhaps you'll find some stunning new
soundtracks you had never listened to before. I hope they inspire
you the way they have inspired me.
There are some
songs that are not included in this list; first, because there are
just so many good soundtracks; and second, because the main purpose
of this list is not only to find awesome soundtracks, but moving
ones. Accordingly, I have left out some awesome songs, such as
“Battle” from Narnia, which was my number thirteen pick, and
“He's a Pirate” from Pirates of the Caribbean, which was right
behind.
The other disclaimer I have is that, unlike my list of favorite stories, this list is subject to much more fluctuation. This list is true for the time being: I have no idea whether all of it will be true next month.
Now
presenting...my Top Ten Greatest Soundtrack Songs!
10. “Song of Freedom”
by Murray Gold
This
one made it to number ten for a number of reasons. One of them is
because it's a great piece of composing.
But
what makes it really wonderful is the Doctor Who episode it comes
from. I won't spoil anything, but it comes from one of the show's
highest and happiest points. (My sister cried all the way through
the scene.) In a way, it embodies the joy of that moment, and that
is what makes it so beautiful.
9. “Rise” by Hans
Zimmer
“Rise”
is a track that starts out remixing some of the earlier themes from
the soundtrack of The Dark Knight trilogy, including the main theme
right off the bat. (Pun intended.)
Just
after two minutes in, however, the track is catapulted from good to
great. One of the things about great soundtracks is that they embody
an ideal or emotion. That particular theme embodies Bruce Wayne's
struggle for justice and his paradoxical relationship with fear. He
“rises” above his fear and becomes it, one last time.
This
“struggle” soundtrack fit well with the climax of Tornado C. I
was sitting at the floor at the time, and wrote for an hour straight
with this song on repeat—and not only did this soundtrack fuel my
writing, it shaped it. The struggle of the song became the struggle
of my character, and without this song I don't think the climax would
have been half as good.
8. “Concerning
Hobbits” by Howard Shore
“Peace,
quiet, and good tilled earth.” “Concerning Hobbits” evokes
this feel very well, and every time I watch The Lord of the Rings and
come to this scene, it makes me feel wistful and nostalgic.
“Concerning Hobbits” captures the wonderful simplicity of the
Shire that Frodo left to save.
And
it's just plain beautiful stuff, too.
7. “Day of the Doctor Theme” by Murray Gold
(Disclaimer: the soundtrack I posted above is not the exact soundtrack that I had in mind when I listed this song, but a variation of it.)
One of
the trademarks of Doctor Who is dazzling twists, hints and strands of
plot that eventually bear fruit later in the episodes. And that's
what this song evokes: the final scenes where the last strand is
unraveled and the Doctor triumphs.
This
soundtrack also comes in my favorite part of Day of the Doctor, where
the Doctor flies in to the Tower of London hanging from the bottom of
the TARDIS. Ridiculously triumphant and confident, cocky and
laughable. It captures the spirit of the Eleventh Doctor
excellently.
6. “The Doctor's Theme” by Murray Gold
Eerie
and haunting. Alien and otherworldly. This is the theme of the
Tenth Doctor—heavy and lonely, but nevertheless hopeful and
soaring.
It
sends chills down my spine.
This is
also my tribute to “Vale Decem”, which I didn't put on the list.
It contains much of the same tune, but as the last song of the Tenth
Doctor shortly before he regenerated. It's heartbreaking and sad—I
don't listen to it so that I don't spoil the episode. That
contributed, at last partially, to the placement of this song.
5. “This is
Gallifrey” by Murray Gold
In “The
Sound of Drums”, there is a scene in which the Doctor talks of his
home planet, destroyed long ago. It's rich in nostalgia, haunting
and bittersweet and poetic. This is the soundtrack of that scene,
and it fits like a glove.
It is
haunting. It is bittersweet. It is nostalgic. It's a unique
song—no soundtrack that I know of has captured that same sort of
soaring nostalgia. Sad and wonderful, a fitting song for Doctor Who.
A bit
of a personal note here; I remember listening to it for the first
time while driving through a massive windmill farm in western Kansas.
The windmills, lonely and framed against the setting sun, seemed to
fit the haunting tune perfectly.
4. “Strength of a
Thousand Men” by Two Steps from Hell
There are a lot of excellent Two Steps from Hell songs, but this one is definitely my favorite. It's dark and deep and epic in the best sense of the word. Then it rises to a climax in the middle and simply flies from there, makes me shiver.
And
like someone fighting with the strength of a thousand men, it does
have a sort of intense and fierce quality about it that characterizes
a desperate conflict where good beats all odds and prevails in the
end. It's a feat of composing, that's for sure. My dream is to get
someone to haul a large portable speaker along behind me and play
this song whenever I do something awesome.
3. “The Greatest
Story Never Told” by Murray Gold
There
are a lot of Doctor Who soundtracks that could be called bittersweet,
but this one can claim the description more than most. Indeed, this
is a song that, perhaps, describes Doctor Who the best. Perhaps it is
more sweet than bitter—the beginning is beautiful and soaring.
Then it gets quieter and darker, with a mix of the “All the
Strange, Strange Creatures” theme thrown in. Then it reaches back
up into the heights with another soaring part, and then goes into the
Tenth Doctor's theme. Then it flies one last time and goes out with
a bang.
This
song is perhaps more personal than all the rest. I put this on
repeat when I wrote a short story called Dreamtreader. Besides
Tornado C, Dreamtreader is a personal favorite of all the stories
I've written, novels included. It's bittersweet and wonderful. I'm
not sure if the story simply fit the song or if the song shaped the
story; but either way, Dreamtreader and “The Greatest Story Never
Told” are tied together.
2. “The Breaking of
the Fellowship” by Howard Shore
My
favorite part in all the Lord of the Rings trilogy is the scene at
the end of the Fellowship of the Ring. Frodo decides to leave his
companions and go out alone, but Sam finds him out and swims after
him into the river. I've run out of adjectives to describe things,
so pardon me if I say, one last time, that it's a beautiful scene.
And
likewise, it's a beautiful soundtrack. It captures the emotion in a
way that few songs do, and as the flute plays alone, I can almost
hear them saying, “Don't you leave him, Samwise Gamgee. And I
don't mean to.”
Besides
The End of Time, no movie has ever come closer to making me cry, and
the soundtrack never fails to move me. It's wonderful, it's
touching, it's inspiring.
1. “Coming Back
Around” by John Powell
Why
this track, you might ask? Why is it number one?
Not
necessarily because I love the movie (although I do) or that it's my
favorite movie ever (it isn't). But judging the soundtrack on its
own merits, it's positively incredible. John Powell has the ability
to write a theme and manage to make it big and majestic without
drowning out the other instruments. And my goodness, the drums!
And
this one is marvelous. I've used the word soaring before, but I'll
use it again: this soundtrack soars.
It's almost made of the stuff. It's happy and sweeping and moving,
and then it kicks into
another gear entirely, leaving you nearly breathless at the end.
This soundtrack also, in some ways, represents the entire How To
Train Your Dragon soundtrack. The whole thing is a work of art.
(I'm particularly fond of “This is Berk”.) Although I've not listened to the whole album yet, I'm getting it in a package in the next week or two.
--
Well, there you have it—some of my favorite soundtracks. What are
some of your favorite instrumental songs? Any you think I missed
that ought to be on this list?
I hope you enjoyed hearing a few new songs—and, perhaps, revisited
a few old ones.
