Danny Elfman - It's hard to believe...

[DARTH SABER]

that Danny Elfman went from this -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iypUpv9xelg

To making a full and successful transition as a classical film composer.

Not saying his 80's stuff was bad , just surprised by the range of his transition.


DS

 

[Chronos]

Talented fella. :thumbsup

 

[DaddyfromNaboo]

OingoBoingo !!!

That´s Robert Downey Jr. in that video, right ?

 

[agent5]

I don't think it's hard to believe at all. Oingo:Boingo was one of the best bands of the 1980's. Boingo Alive is probably up in my top 20 albums of all time.

 

[Jedifyfe]

That is one of my favorite Oingo Boingo songs. Man I missed the 80's!

Brad

 

[DARTH SABER]

Man I missed the 80's!

Brad

So does Iron Man -

DS

 

[dbuck]

Love (and miss) Oingo Boingo. Have probably a dozen songs in my ipod.

Danny was handed leadership of the band by his brother, who founded the band The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo, in the early 70's. The band won on the Gong Show, of all things.

Danny has irreversible hearing loss and no longer wishes to do any concerts, hence no reunions.

 

[adamata]

Loved that song and loved that band!

I was also amazed to find out that he sang all of the jack Skellington songs in THBC. Still has a great set of pipes

 

[Charles Kline]

You scared the **** out of me with the title. (with the recent unexpected deaths)

I love Danny Elfman's music.
The Nightmare before Christmas songs are some of my favorite.

 

[clonesix]

Danny is straight up genius, and it was clearly apparent in Oingo Boingo.

 

[division 6]

My all time favorite band.
Managed to see them 6 times.

I even have their logo and Dead Mans Party on the front of my Colonial Marine armor.

D6

 

[robstyle]

So Ill be the first to say, hated oingo boingo and cant stand his film scores. Nothing against the guy, just think he is a one trick pony with film scores and all oingo boingo sounded the same to me.
Takes all kids though so im just on the other side of the fence, listening to the good music

 

[dcarty]

Another Elfman fanatic here (way back to Forbidden Zone). Got to see Boingo in concert at Red Rocks back in 1989.

I completely disagree with calling Elfman a one-trick pony (that would be James Horner--who can even write his own tricks). He is one of the few composers left with a distinctive sound which is why he has earned some derision with casual listeners. I'm not saying the man is Miklos Rozsa or Bernard Herrmann but I'd say he's among the best in the business right now.

Everybody knows the goofy manic stuff he writes like Peewee's Big Adventure/Simpson's and the Gothic stuff for Batman/DarkMan/Spiderman/etc (all of which I love). How about his music for Midnight Run or Article 99? I thought his scores for Sommersby and Charlotte's Web were beautiful.

Part of the problem is how the movie business handles composers--usually a director wants a composer to write something that sounds exactly like something else they've done. So after a while things start to sound the same because essentially they are. Occasionally a composer will be given a chance to break the mold that has built up around them and show their chops but that seems to be the exception rather than the rule.

I remember arguing with a friend of mine who was complaining that the theme John Williams wrote for Superman was exactly the same as Star Wars. Apart from the minor technical differences between the two they are essentially both marches, written in a similar heroic style by the same composer and even played by the same orchestra. Besides, what kind of music would you write for Superman--a baroque cantata? Guitar trio?? Norwegian shouting chorus???

Anywho, I've gassed on long enough basically to say I love a lot Danny Elfman's music.

Giggity.

 

[blipper]

I still find this reinvention to this a bit of a head scratcher. I'm not a fan of Mansell's film scores but was a big Poppies fan back in the day.

 

[EvilRocketeer]

danny elfman has a hott wife right? the girl from fast times at richmont high?

 

[dbuck]

No, he's married to Bridget Fonda.

 

[dcarty]

He's married to Bridget Fonda so yes, HOT wife (at least if you think Bridget Fonda's hot).

 

[robstyle]

nobody can tell me the Terminator Salvation score was any different from Batman or anything else he has done. Im just hard headed that way. Not to further dog pile on the guy but he was possibly the worst choice they could have made to score TS. Right away, when the movie started, I expected puppets and claymation characters to start dancing in a grave yard or something. Not saying it wouldnt have made more sense than what we got with TS, but thats what it seemed was going to happen.

 

[Solo4114]

danny elfman has a hott wife right? the girl from fast times at richmont high?

No, he's married to Bridget Fonda.

Who starred with Jennifer Jason Leigh in Single White Female, who was herself in Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

But if you're talking Fast Times hotties, my bet is you're talking about Phoebe Cates. She's married to Kevin Kline. The guy from Dave and A Fish Called Wanda and such.

 

[darth_myeek]

Mmh, I guess he wrote the Simpsons theme song.

-DM