StarWaves

Joe Kosinski's first feature film Tron: Legacy was released in 2010. I went to see it in theatre immediately and it blew me away. Even till this day, I immensely enjoy the stunning visuals blended with perfectly fitting score by the French electronic duo Daft Punk, which has gone gold since then, and practically redefined movie music.

While Tron wasn't a huge hit at the box office, it still made enough money to allow Kosinski to direct his dream project and another big budget sci-fi movie, Oblivion, that will star Tom Cruise, Morgan Freeman and Olga Kurylenko, among others. The film hits theatres on April 19 and the trailers look rather fantastic so far, once again promising lectures on design and architecture. I am stoked.

More interestingly, though, Kosinski recruited yet another high profile and well-respected act for work on the film's soundtrack. Just like Daft Punk, M83, fronted by Anthony Gonzales, seems like a logical choice, and an excellent one, too. M83's last album was a huge critical and commercial success, almost topping my AOTY list of 2011 and spawning the hit single Midnight City. I honestly have no doubts this will turn out great.

Anthony Gonzales (left) and Joe Kosinski

Just yesterday, Rolling Stone premiered a new song from the soundtrack, called StarWaves, and you can stream it on their website. Seriously, studios and directors need to hire more people like Gonzales to show the way for others and stir the still waters of blockbuster music, largely dominated by Hans Zimmer and his crew of sound-alikes. (I still sort of can't get over the fact, that Jack White backed off from Verbinski's The Lone Ranger and was replaced by, shockingly, Zimmer. With White on board, it might have been my most anticipated movie of the summer.)

Anyway, I expect no small things from the soundtrack. Your thoughts?

The best songs of 2011

With a little free time on my hands, I decided to look back at the year 2011 once again and make a list of songs that were somehow exceptional for me during the past 365 days. I hope you'll enjoy them.

Foo Fighters
Dear Rosemary
Out of all the great songs from the new album, this was by far my favourite...

Albums of the year, part III

Part I
Part II

#3 Hurry Up, We're Dreaming
M83

The single most atmospheric album of 2011. It delivers exactly what the title promises. This record most of all reminds me of The Suburbs from the last year, in terms of grandiosity, anticipation and achievement. Even if you're not a fan of electronic pop, close your eyes and let the music sink in. It will grow on you, I promise.

Best tracks: Midnight City, My Tears Are Becoming a Sea, Splendor



#2 Neighborhoods
blink-182

Just when I was beginning to fear that the album would never come out... Blink took their time, didn't leave anything to chance and it paid them off big time. Neigboorhoods eventually surpassed any expectations, if it's even possible, and people showed they still cared about Mark, Tom & Travis. The best thing about the whole album, though, is its lasting value. I can still spin Neighborhoods endlessly and never get bored with it. This will be the landmark album of 2011 for me.

Best tracks: Natives, After Midnight, MH 4.18.2011



#1 Welcome Home Armageddon
Funeral For a Friend

For weeks preceding the release, the number of rave reviews giving the album 9 out of 10 stars had been rapidly increasing. No wonder my expectations had been pretty high, if not unrealistically. That fact, of course, lead to me being a little underwhelmed by the final product at first. But it's not uncommon, that the best albums take time to grow on me. In the course of the following weeks, I slowly started to appreciate Welcome Home... more and more, and it eventually turned out to be that killer record I'd hoped for it to be.

It's perhaps their heaviest album to date, most of all reminding of their debut, Casually Dressed and Deep in Conversation. Screaming vocals and heavy guitar riffs mark yet another change of direction for the band, who turned away from the more mainstream sound present on their last two full-lengths. The answer to whether this was a good decision or not is a resolute and loud yes.

Their last album also hit the top spot on my list of that year, so I might be a little partial here...

Best tracks: Front Row Seats to the End of the World, Sixteen, Welcome Home Armageddon

Midnight City

Check out new music video for M83's song Midnight City. His latest album, Hurry Up, We're Dreaming, is one of this year's essential records.

Hit the jump to view the video.