My love affair with movie soundtracks

When I was growing up, new movies often got previewed by Mom and Dad before us kids got to see them. The next day the six of us would swarm them and ask all the usual questions... "Did you like it? How was the story? Who was the soundtrack composer?" ...what, who was the what?! Yes, we asked. And it was a big deal.

Assessing movies in my family is really a two-part question: how was the story and how was the soundtrack. It was not unusual (and still isn't) for us to go out to buy the soundtrack and leave the movie. (French Kiss and Legends of the Fall are some examples) Names like John Williams, James Horner, Danny Elfman, Hans Zimmer, Howard Shore, Alan Silvestri, Trevor Rabin, John Powell, Harry Gregson-Williams, George Fenton, Alan Menken and Michael Giacchino are staples in my music selection. It's ridiculously geeky but most of my siblings can identify the film composer before the lead actor's name...

Today, I want to give a shout out to what I consider some under-appreciated soundtracks. These tracks are my go-to pieces, in no particular order. What are some of yours?

• Terry Davies - "Always Summer", Brideshead Revisited
• George Fenton - "The Execution", Anna & The King
• Haygood Hardy - "Morgan Harris", Anne of Green Gables: The Continuing Story
• Jan A.P. Kaczmarek - "Why Did She Have To Die?", Finding Neverland
• Alan Menken - "Kingdom Dance", Tangled
• David Holmes - "11, 12 & 13", Ocean's Thirteen
• John Powell - "Test Drive", How To Train Your Dragon
• Harry Gregson-Williams - "Jake Lonergan", Cowboys & Aliens
• Joe Hisaishi - "The Wind Forest", My Neighbor Totoro
• Lesley Barber - "I Missed You", Mansfield Park

First Post - D-Day Tribute

Welcome to Raindrops on Roses! This blog will be not only a collection of my favorite things... photography, music, clothes, travel, beauty, writing... but also my thoughts on virtue, faith, politics, and social trends. I'll be light for the most part, packing my posts with fun pictures and the little details that make everyday-life adventurous! I'm starting off a bit heavy though, today is the 66th anniversary of D-Day, the Allied invasion of Normandy, so that's my first topic. (actually, its after midnight now, so just think June 6th)

I'm not exactly a history buff, but I love learning about WWII. If you want an excellent movie about the planning and execution of Operation Overlord (the invasion of Europe by the Allies to retake it from the Axis powers), you have to watch Ike: Countdown to D-Day. I just love Tom Selleck anyway, but his portrayal of Eisenhower is fabulous. Here's the first 5 minutes if you want to check it out.

I'd like to pay tribute to the Allied troops who gave their lives, as Ike put it in the film, "all determined to do their best to free a world gone half mad." I honor them for their sacrifice of blood and their courage, despite their fear. I'd also like to hold them up as inspiration for young Americans - lets be willing to call injustice evil and declare a lie unacceptable, no matter the personal cost. Most of the time it will just be our popularity or a party invite that will get sacrificed, but I believe that all of us will have at least one moment in our lives when we can defend justice and truth. Whether that moment is in a relationship, within your own heart, or on a national or global stage someday, don't let it pass you by.