hahahaha indeed.
I am addressing the topic in general. It appears my views are upsetting enough to you anyway that you took it personally. If it's my take on Williams that upset you this badly, you and he should just get a room. These arguments that take John Williams as some grand exemplar of anything are just tiresome. He's a pro, a musician and orchestrator/arranger par excellence, and if one enjoys his cornball themes they're valid for that person, for whomever finds satisfaction on whatever level, no biggie to me. I mean if it's true that the theme to Star Wars makes Star Wars what it is, it is what it is. I don't find his work underscoring a picture anything to particularly salute, that's my opinion and if it upsets you so, I might suggest the heat's too hot in the kitchen for you right now, if you have to become so animated as to be this condescending to me on a personal level.
My personal estimation of a composer in this century has him/her as a sound designer and someone versed in production, a part of the toolkit just as orchestration is. It's an extension of orchestration chops, really. If Williams gets an automatic out here, that's suspicious.
I don't get how you figure I'm addressing *you* and not the whole thread: eg., 'let alone the incalculable void between that and the Reznors and Zimmers of this world.' is the Apples v. Oranges I addressed at the top of my particular rant. You would hire horses for courses. :shrug: I find that kind of comparison laughable on its own merits...
(You guys posit your own opinions like it's pronouncement of religious doctrine in these threads. It's effing dramatic!) 'For the record', the issue of 'Reznor/Zimmer' is posed v. 'WIlliams!' all over the place in these threads, it isn't mine (that's some hilarious hyperbole though, 'incalculable void' and I am grateful for that bit of amusement).
The problem of classical attitudes I mention is endemic to both composers and instrumentalists. I'm so sorry I wasn't as anal retentive in my presentation as you will have preferred, but for me it is two manifestations of the same problem. Your zeal in reacting sure tends to make my point on 'reactionary', though, innit.
Do I think a Bruckner could handle the complexities of African rhythm, such as my African friend busking downtown Berkeley with his donated kit, handling four independent parts of the drum choir in different times with each limb, all with absolute independence? I most assuredly do not (your rather pathetic and anachronistic straw men notwithstanding). i find western european concert music in so many cases anemic, deficient in rhythm compared to cultures that are actively interested in it. I think nothing much happened in western music until Stravinsky in this regard. I find the equal tempered intonation system *seriously* compromised as per melodic expression, and I know the piano to be extremely problematic in terms of resonance. Too many harmonies are ruined on the instrument (If this all weren't true btw, would VI Pro include just intonation and tutorials on how to use it in an orchestration, to get a better harmony?).
I don't buy the hegemony. I find the tunes in classical music kind of paltry too much of the time. I did not receive the same wisdom about musical value you did. That's the world changing around you - it's upsetting, isn't it. I'm opposed to the hegemony that's been imposed on me throughout my life as a musician, how did you arrive at me being pro-'teenage hegemony' out of that position? Would you like to make a syllogism out of that? It's ridiculous, and you appear unhinged to come up with it. Try decaf.
All you've managed is to try and fit me into a straw man you devised long before I entered the picture. Weak. And predictable. Your need to diss my writing style in lieu of addressing any points is weak also. (I am not having a good time in this frames-based forum structure, it's a real problem to even navigate on a MacBook. OTOH, you may be such a serious critic you're using a serious word processor! [:D])
Since you're acting as literary critic here as well, I would venture to say that your taking 'wake up/smell the coffee' literally as if that's the sting at the end of your rant kind of shows your "I'm a serious critic!" stylee in a somewhat less than impressive light. As does the hilarious 'for the record', ie., 'my opinion is the fact of the matter' bit. Do you take yourself as an expert in sound design? I'm skeptical, having seen you opine in these threads; what you have is 'the academy rules ok!' there and not more (Which IRCAM work vs which of Zimmer's work? The IRCAM work was done towards what end? Is 'IRCAM' ever involved in scoring pictures? Which composer/designer there? This is serious discourse?); Received Authority, from On High (which isn't real consistent with your other opinion calling out academia as problematic, which is interesting as well). You and I likely agree on more than we disagree on, but you seem to need to take my variance with you, per certain precious views you hold, and fit me into your straw men. All you know of my views is exactly what I put before you, and you don't appear particularly able to address them directly, so you have to dismiss me. This is a rank tactic and a known issue in argumentation, it would ruin your score in a moderated debate, as often as it occurred here.
Good luck.