# Do you listen to instrumental soundtrack albums?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-instrumental-soundtrack-albums/979939
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Tags:** movies, music
**Created:** [February 17, 2023, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-instrumental-soundtrack-albums/979939 "2023-02-17T11:03:58Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2023, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-instrumental-soundtrack-albums/979939/1 "2023-02-17T11:03:58Z")
A long time ago I tried to start up a discussion about music with a friend of mine, only to find that our listening preferences didn’t have much in common. I liked mainly rock albums, and he said he mostly listened to film soundtracks. And by “film soundtracks”, he didn’t mean the ones compiled from a bunch of pre-existing pop songs, nor the songs from musicals, but rather the purely instrumental (usually orchestral) score that serves as the main theme and incidental music for certain films.
Now, I like a good John Williams theme as much as the next person, but it never occurred to me that anyone would want to listen to the _entire_ instrumental soundtrack of, say, _Raiders of the Lost Ark_ or _Schindler’s List_, without the accompanying film. (I think the only album I have that halfway counts as an orchestral film soundtrack is _Yellow Submarine_. Like most Beatles fans I bought it only for the Beatles tunes on Side A; I always skip the George Martin pieces on Side B.) In retrospect I suppose my friend’s predilection was not so unusual, since many of these soundtracks are just modern-day classical music, and I do listen to plenty of long-form classical pieces from long-dead composers.
Does anyone here seek out and listen to purely instrumental film soundtracks? Like, not just the catchy main themes, but the entire albums? If so, what’s the appeal for you, and which soundtracks or composers are your favourites?
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### Author:  [@BeepKillBeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeepKillBeep)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2023, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-instrumental-soundtrack-albums/979939/2 "2023-02-17T11:50:49Z")
I do from time to time. Lately, I’ve been listening to (and composing) a lot of classical music. I would not say I listen to entire albums though, but I rarely listen to entire albums of vocal music either. I only listen to the pieces I like. Even with classical music, I will skip things. For example, I listen to Beethoven’s 5th but only the 1st and 3rd movements.
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### Author:  [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2023, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-instrumental-soundtrack-albums/979939/3 "2023-02-17T11:55:09Z")
Yes, I have done for years.
The music needs to be distinctive in some way, usually melodic or with interesting orchestration. The modern school of film composition, where the composer is given a temp track of pre-existing music to emulate and produces a wall of music-flavored accompaniment in response (cf. the gaggle of Hans Zimmer acolytes and imitators), is therefore excluded.
I like Patrick Doyle, for example. His scores for Henry V and Dead Again are terrific and highly listenable. I also liked John Barry; his score for Dances with Wolves was great. And the old virtuosos like Jerry Goldsmith and Elmer Bernstein are always worth a spin.
Of recent scores, I find myself going back to Mad Max Fury Road a fair bit. It’s more wall-of-noise than I typically prefer, but it has some real personality. (Doesn’t hurt that I also adore the movie.)
Oh, and one of my consistent go-tos at the moment is the Conan score by Poledouris. When I’m working at home and starting a task I know will be lengthy and difficult, the opening track energizes me, and then I settle down as the remaining tracks sustain the necessary effort. (His Red October score is also excellent, and gets occasional play.)
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### Author:  [@Tusculan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tusculan)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2023, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-instrumental-soundtrack-albums/979939/4 "2023-02-17T12:14:19Z")
I do, although I should add that I also listen to excerpts/compilations from complete soundtracks.
I do this mostly because I like a particular track from the entire soundtrack and that makes me curious for the entire soundtrack, or also because someone recommended the soundtrack, or because I watched the movie and liked the music. I also listen to incidental music from TV-series. Admittedly I usually listen while also working, so maybe I do not listen in the sense you mean? Using it as background music actually seems to fit the original purpose of the music.
The availability of streaming facilitates this, as I am hesitant to purchase an entire soundtrack but can easily click in a streaming service.
Some examples (I have listened to the entire soundtrack but naturally there are only clips on Youtube):
Georges Delerue: [Day for Night](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krjStqZbnTc), [Le Mépris](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3W86RN_TsE4).
Nick Bicat: [Lace](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myCboRYwR1g).
Alberto Iglesias, [Hable con Ella](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PylY86kukd8), [second clip](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lh1TlX2aqI).
And others: [Mr and Mrs Smith](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNk9rvacryo), [L’as des as](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uXQQzccLAI), [The Magnificent seven](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yulmgTcGLZw), [Ryuichi Sakamoto - The Last Emperor - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcGY0dStHuA).
Also Michel Legrand, but that may be cheating to you as there are several musical movies (Les Parapluies de Cherbourg etc.).
The reason I listen to soundtracks is that the pieces I like are (in my opinion) actually good music, in the sense of pleasing and not trite, even if not groundbreakingly original. I’m interested in hearing the entire context and not merely the solitary piece.
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### Author:  [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2023, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-instrumental-soundtrack-albums/979939/5 "2023-02-17T12:17:16Z")
> [@Tusculan](#):
>
> I also listen to incidental music from TV-series. Admittedly I usually listen while also working, so maybe I do not listen in the sense you mean? Using it as background music actually seems to fit the original purpose of the music.
What a fantastic idea. As befitting the seriousness of my (scientific) profession, the following will now serve as the usual soundtrack to my working day.
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Whj5gwhcpc)
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### Author:  [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2023, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-instrumental-soundtrack-albums/979939/6 "2023-02-17T12:23:33Z")
I bought the soundtrack CD for _Blade Runner_ so I could learn to play this piece on the piano.
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cg0cmhjdiLs)
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### Author:  [@wjChia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wjChia)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2023, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-instrumental-soundtrack-albums/979939/7 "2023-02-17T12:47:50Z")
Not movies/tv, but I do listen to game soundtracks. There’s a lot of bangers out there!
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUN6Kqd9xgs)
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVukkhUI-xM)
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### Author:  [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2023, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-instrumental-soundtrack-albums/979939/8 "2023-02-17T12:54:11Z")
Oh yeah, my daughter listens to the Horizon Zero Dawn game soundtrack while doing homework. Some terrifically creative stuff in there.
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### Author:  [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2023, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-instrumental-soundtrack-albums/979939/9 "2023-02-17T12:55:58Z")
No, as much of it just seems like muzak to me. My oldest son and his wife, who are in their 50s, listen almost exclusively to soundtrack music, particularly from Marvel movies, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and the like. I guess they can associate the music with the action going on in the films, as they also are obsessed with that genre. To each his own.
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### Author:  [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2023, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-instrumental-soundtrack-albums/979939/10 "2023-02-17T13:13:20Z")
Basil Poledouris’ soundtrack for _Conan the Barbarian_ is better than the movie. I listen to the CD more often than I watch the DVD.
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### Author:  [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2023, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-instrumental-soundtrack-albums/979939/11 "2023-02-17T13:46:16Z")
I have a pretty large soundtrack/score collection on CD. Back when I was making student movies in uni, I could drop bits of them into my shot-on-VHS student flicks. Nearly thirty years later, I find they’re great for either driving, or for studying/reading when lyrics would be distracting. _Blade Runner_, _The Crow_ (Graeme Revell score album), a bunch of Eric Serra’s scores for Luc Besson films (especially the two-disc version of _Le Grand Bleu_) and _Paris, Texas_ are some of my favorites.
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### Author:  [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2023, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-instrumental-soundtrack-albums/979939/12 "2023-02-17T14:13:07Z")
Back in the day, I saw a music video for a track off the soundtrack from The Piano. I liked it, bought the album and discovered that, on the album, the same track was split between two or three places and not one four minute or so composition like in the video. That was disappointing and, although I still enjoyed the album overall, it was the start and end of my film instrumental soundtrack collection. Not that I’ve been tempted much; I prefer something I can sing along with.
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### Author:  [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2023, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-instrumental-soundtrack-albums/979939/13 "2023-02-17T14:44:44Z")
> [@mbh](#):
>
> Basil Poledouris’ soundtrack for _Conan the Barbarian_ is better than the movie. I listen to the CD more often than I watch the DVD.
I could say the same about “Gladiator”. I’ve got the DVD but haven’t bothered watching it for years. I also have the soundtrack CD by Hans Zimmer and listen to it every so often.
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### Author:  [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2023, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-instrumental-soundtrack-albums/979939/14 "2023-02-17T14:50:19Z")
I have several on a playlist. I’m quite fond of _The Human Stain_, _Battlestar Galactica_, _Antonia’s Line_, _Sixth Sense_, and to a lesser extent _Chocolat_, all of which are good for when you’re doing the kind of work where lyrics are a distraction and catchy melodies a bit so as well, but mood music is perfect.
ETA: oh, and _Conquest of Paradise_ too.
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### Author:  [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2023, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-instrumental-soundtrack-albums/979939/15 "2023-02-17T14:57:02Z")
This is the only original soundtrack I’ve bought since _Star Wars_ when I was 14. I still listen to this one and think it is Phillip Glass’s best work.
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9rB33JnvyM)
ETA: I forgot. I also bought _[Last of the Mohicans](https://youtube.com/watch?v=aVjwBNsiOv0&feature=share)_ by Randy Edelman and Trevor Jones back in the 1990s.
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### Author:  [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2023, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-instrumental-soundtrack-albums/979939/16 "2023-02-17T14:57:02Z")
Frequently, and I have since I was a teenager. For me, they make great background music for reading, and we also often use them as background music for role-playing game sessions.
In addition to the soundtracks from all of the Star Wars movies (I know, you’re all surprised), some of my favorites are:
- The _Lord of the Rings_ soundtracks
- _Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan_
- _Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl_
- _The Mummy_ and _The Mummy Returns_ (the Brendan Fraser/Rachel Weisz films)
- _Crimson Tide_
- _King Arthur_ (2004)
- _Tron: Legacy_
- _Conan the Barbarian_
- _The Magnificent Seven_
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### Author:  [@salinqmind1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind1)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2023, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-instrumental-soundtrack-albums/979939/17 "2023-02-17T16:03:54Z")
The Last of the Mohicans soundtrack is so beautiful it brings tears to my eyes.
A long time ago, in the 60’s, I had a vinyl album of movie music soundtracks. I remember now only some James Bond movie music, and the march music from Quo Vadis 🤔. I’ve always liked the common-man type of classical music (the highlights: Strauss waltzes, familiar bits from opera - yeah, ‘kill the wabbit, kill the wabbbbit!’)
There were a few ‘Hooked on Classics’ albums we enjoyed, short speeded up snippets jumping from one to the other. Only seconds long. It was like they picked out all the cherries from vats of fruit cocktail and put them all on one album.
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### Author:  [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2023, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-instrumental-soundtrack-albums/979939/18 "2023-02-17T16:19:46Z")
> [@salinqmind1](#):
>
> There were a few ‘Hooked on Classics’ albums we enjoyed, short speeded up snippets jumping from one to the other. Only seconds long. It was like they picked out all the cherries from vats of fruit cocktail and put them all on one album.
I had the first of those albums; it was arranged by a guy named Louis Clark, who was also the arranger for the string sections on Electric Light Orchestra’s albums, so he seemed to have specialized in making classical-style music into pop music.
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### Author:  [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2023, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-instrumental-soundtrack-albums/979939/19 "2023-02-17T16:27:35Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#):
>
> This is the only original soundtrack I’ve bought since _Star Wars_ when I was 14. I still listen to this one and think it is Phillip Glass’s best work.
My favorite Philip Glass score is _Candyman_ (the 1992 one), but sadly I don’t think it ever got its own proper CD release. I think the leitmotif pops up on horror compilations once and a while, but I’m not 100% certain of that.
Another lost one is Michael Been’s score for _Light Sleeper_, which does have a few vocal tracks but is mostly moody instrumentals. It exists, but they must have pressed about a dozen copies of it, as I’ve never once turned up a copy despite looking in several countries. Managed to download it years ago, though.
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### Author:  [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2023, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-instrumental-soundtrack-albums/979939/20 "2023-02-17T16:38:01Z")
**Donnie Darko** and **Requiem for a Dream**. I like to shuffle the tracks, which are mostly very short pieces. Weird atmosphere.
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