Danny Elfman Scores Big
July 29, 2005
Remember Oingo Boingo? Did you love them or where they too goofy and new wave for you? Chances are, you’ve never heard their final and brilliant studio album recorded under the name Boingo, very dark and very cool. It’s the one with the really weird clown cover… Get that CD now. Usually you can find it used, but it’s getting harder. At any rate, that was Danny Elfman’s band and even if you don’t remember them, you’ve heard Danny Elfman’s music. It’s all over the place in great movies. From Edward Sissorhands to Nightmare before Christmas. Danny disbanded Oingo Boingo and has gone on to make millions scoring these incredible films. I’m not a big soundtrack guy. Most film scores are just background music to me without much meat to them. Elfman’s work usually rises above that and can often include vocals and actual songs, not just orchestration. A great example of that is the Nightmare Before Christmas CD. It’s fun and musically very creative. But Danny has topped himself with the soundtrack to the new Johnny Depp movie, Charlie and The Chocolate Factory. This is his best soundtrack by far. It’s fun, clever and manages to incorporate numerous styles without loosing focus. From the Willy Wonka Theme, which sounds like a Barnes and Barnes novelty hit from the Dr. Demento show, to Beatle-esque pop and Queen style rock. Give it a shot!