> This is a stellar write-up, one of your best.

> That said, I have this nagging sense that a score like Dune doesn't really
> deserve to be treated to such a detailed analysis any more than many, many
> other scores that have as much thought put into them. Zimmer has made
> himself such a lightning rod and built such an effective hype machine that
> we can't help but agonize over his scores and whether they're masterpieces
> or transforming film music as we know it (and whether that's good or bad),
> when the reality is often that they're far less innovative or distinct or
> varied in quality than they seem at first.

> Setting aside my 'rating' of Dune (I think it's fine/solid, like you),
> there's not really anything all THAT truly remarkable about it (in terms
> of things worth dissecting in a deep dive analysis), at least in
> comparison to lots of other scores that try to tailor techniques to their
> film's narrative/world and have interesting stories behind their creation.
> And yet, it's Dune, Dunkirk, Blade Runner, Interstellar, Inception, etc.
> that have gotten a far greater amount and depth of analysis than any other
> scores from the past decade+ - from people who like and dislike them, and
> everyone in between. It 'makes sense' - he's the most important composer
> of the last 30 years, he's got a huge public profile, he's scoring each
> year's biggest films, he's bridged the gap between film and pop music,
> there's more available/relevant information out there about him and his
> scores to build upon, etc. - but I would love to see more (from you or
> anyone) of this level and quality of analysis for non-Zimmer scores.

> If it isn't clear this isn't any knock against you. This is an absurd
> undertaking and the result has been so impressive, including this bit on
> Dune. But all of this is why your Solo write-up was so enjoyable: that
> truly was a unique moment in time, for Powell, for Williams, for the
> biggest film score(s) of all time, and the result stands alone - not just
> in terms of quality, but in terms of the characteristics of the end
> result, especially in comparison to past Star Wars-extension scores, and
> as part of the new trend it signaled, extending the sound of the universe
> - so insight into how it came to fruition is fascinating. (Although, part
> of me feels similarly about how much discursive oxygen Star Wars eats up.)
> And that sort of writing on scores doing as many if not more interesting
> things than Zimmer's would be awesome - some recent ones that come to mind
> are Black Panther, The Green Knight, The Last Duel, and Arrival.

> It's not a zero-sum game, of course, and it's funny to raise this now,
> after you just spent months spending an inordinate amount of time
> analyzing scores that were never given the time of day (or at least not
> recently), countering the whole point of this post. But it's something
> I've thought more and more when I see debates about Zimmer's scores, so I
> thought, why not share it now!

I both Dune and Solo can have a long write up, but I disagree that Dune doesn't deserve a long write up. It was Zimmer's second Oscar. Dune is a critically acclaim movie that has a sequel coming up. Zimmer made a lot of comments about the scoring process so it makes sense to compare it to the end result. Also, Dune is an interesting score to write up because of how polarizing it is. IFMCA nominated for score of year, but Filmtracks and some users absolutely hates the score. That is what makes a great write up.

From lasting impact perspective, Solo doesn't deserve a long write up. The movie was a failure. People probably already forgotten about its existence. The score was popular among film music circles only. With that said, I think the most interesting thing about Solo is how Powell and Williams work with each other and adapting the themes. And that itself certainly could be a write up.

In short, I think are multiple variables that make for an interesting write up beyond what you think the quality is.