[ggegan]

Elfman did some of the music for "Army of Darkness", which I mixed FX on. I like his music, but IMO he isn't a very effective film scorer. To me he is a good composer of themes, which work great for titles and motifs, but he should leave the actual scoring of movies to others.

I am of the school that believes that in most cases soundtracks should be integrated, meaning that all the elements should be complementary to each other and at times indistinguishable in their role. That means collaborating and handing off to whatever element is the most effective for advancing the story at a given time. I also do not generally like self-conscious soundtracks that draw attention to themselves because in doing so they tend to destroy the suspension of disbelief. When I go to movies, I don't want to be aware of individual film making elements or the mechanics of the process or manipulative devices, I want to get totally lost in the story and forget that I am watching a movie.

Many of Elfman's cues totally hog the sound track. They seem to be written in such a way that they must dominate in order to work. He needs to be in the spotlight, and film scores are an inappropriate medium for that sort of mentality. He should concentrate on concert music.