Music Monday #45 . . . The One I Nearly Forgot

So I came home today ready to work on this week's blog post and maybe do a little bit of writing in my novel afterword. Then it hit me:

It's Music Monday.

Frantically (well, perhaps not frantically, in the strongest sense of the word), I searched my brain for some song to share. I realized that I've been showcasing a lot of video game tracks as of late, so maybe I should do something from a movie or TV show instead. So we'll be listening to . . .

"The Kraken" from Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

Composed by Hans Zimmer

Whether or not you enjoy the Pirates franchise, you can't deny that their soundtracks are phenomenal. Hans Zimmer, Geoff Zanelli, Klaus Badelt, and the rest of the team have defined what the pirate music genre sounds like, and that's an impressive accomplishment. I own all five soundtracks and love each one, but this track, "The Kraken," remains one of my favorite songs in the entire collection.

Maybe it's because I wrote a story that uses this music for one scene. Maybe it's because I love gigantic monsters in fiction, whether they walk, fly, or swim. Whatever the case, it's an epic song that pulls no punches. It starts off quiet, like a silent, yet terrifying, killer. But then it builds up and just explodes into action.

One of the best parts of this song is that consistent return to the main rhythm--which makes sense, this is basically a suite for the Kraken whenever it attacked in the film. It's pounding, like the hearts of sailors scared out of their wits (perhaps further proved by the heartbeat at the end). All the instruments blend perfectly to create that atmosphere of fright: the percussion, the strings, the male choir, the organ, the electric guitar . . .

Oh, wait. That's actually not an electric guitar. You might be thinking I'm crazy for saying that, but it's true. The real mad lads are the members of the music team for the PotC series. Zimmer said in an interview that "[i]t's the orchestra put through a guitar amp and piped back into the room." What a genius! It legit sounds like they're using a real electric guitar.

I could go on about Zimmer's stellar ideas, but I think the music speaks for itself. Plus, it's getting close to my bedtime, and I don't want to delay this post any longer. So I think I'll stop here, but I will add that if you haven't yet listened to the soundtracks from this franchise, you're missing out on some astonishing music. Whether you want adventurous tunes, battle songs, musical pieces that are whimsy or romantic, gut-wrenching dirges, or head-bopping electronic remixes, you'll be covered with all five albums. They're just that good.

I'll quit nerding out now. What're your thoughts on this song? Were you getting tired of video game tracks? What's your favorite Pirates score and/or movie?