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I thought I’d make a thread that recognises the role that music has played in Who over the years. Would you guys agree that the pioneering traits of Who music have plummeted in New Who? Delia Derbyshire’s contributions to the programme marked a milestone in pioneering electronic music, and 60s Who would subsequently utilise atmospheric stock music to similar effect. Tristram Cary’s score for The Daleks is particularly unnerving, and during the Troughton years, stories like The Enemy Of The World and The Web Of Fear would utilise music composed by Bartók (Miraculous Mandarin and Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta- the latter of which would later be used in Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining). The early 70s became more experimental with their electronic scores, and eventually delved into low key orchestra with Dudley Simpson, though these scores still gave the programme a unique identity, as did many of the excellent and underrated synth 80s scores.
Murray Gold’s music is fine to listen to on its own, but it rarely strives for genuine dread or atmosphere, and comes across as considerably generic compared to the more experimental efforts of previous eras, encapsulating the generally conservative approach of New Who and its lack of endearing uniqueness compared to the original series. The 60s scores always adhered to me especially as a younger age due to how strange they sounded, and so elicited a fascinated response from me in spite of the age of the stories, indicative of Classic Who’s longevity in terms of atmosphere- something I’ve never got out of Gold’s music even if it is well composed.
Would you agree with my interpretation here? And what are your favourite scores from the original series?
(Note: This thread’s probably already been made somewhere else, so I apologise if this results in potential monotony, but this subject has always intrigued me.)
Murray Gold’s music is fine to listen to on its own, but it rarely strives for genuine dread or atmosphere, and comes across as considerably generic compared to the more experimental efforts of previous eras, encapsulating the generally conservative approach of New Who and its lack of endearing uniqueness compared to the original series. The 60s scores always adhered to me especially as a younger age due to how strange they sounded, and so elicited a fascinated response from me in spite of the age of the stories, indicative of Classic Who’s longevity in terms of atmosphere- something I’ve never got out of Gold’s music even if it is well composed.
Would you agree with my interpretation here? And what are your favourite scores from the original series?
(Note: This thread’s probably already been made somewhere else, so I apologise if this results in potential monotony, but this subject has always intrigued me.)
