HOT SOUNDTRACKS FROM THE FAR EAST

Over the last several years, I've reviewed a lot of film and TV music for "Soundtrack!" "Film Score Monthly" magazines and the "Videohound Guide to Soundtracks." While American scores have often become, as "Star Trek's" Dennis McCarthy once termed "sonic wallpaper," Japanese scores have matured into an art form that makes maximum use of the medium's power to touch our souls. Composers no longer limit their approach to just one style, but rather use whatever best suits the image onscreen. With the new generation of directors jumbling film styles to produce something fresh, it takes a like minded composer to bring it all together.

NOW ON DVD

The scores to two hot Japanese DVDs now on sale in the U.S. are still available for a limited time.

NOW ON CARTOON NETWORK

The undisputed queen of anime, Yoko Kanno has scored many of the genre's best. She has also raised the bar on what is expected from the composers of TV scores. Her work on "Cowboy BeBop" was particularly groundbreaking. "Wolf's Rain," her latest magnum opus premiered April 24th on the channel. Click on her name for other Kanno titles currently available.

OTHER GET ANIME TITLES

Get a jump on these new releases!

LUPIN THE THIRD CHRONICLES

As John Barry is to suave secret agent James Bond 007, so is Yuji Ohno to that master thief with a heart of gold, Lupin III. Japan's Columbia Music has launched a "Music File" series to preserve the complete scores to all the films and TV series.

GODZILLA'S COMPOSERS - WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

It's not too hard to locate a non-"Godzilla" score by Akira Ifukube or Masaru Satoh, but what about the new generation who have scored the "Millennium" series? Here are a few recent titles by them.

Takayuki Hattori scored the second to last of the "Heisei" series "Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla" and "Godzilla 2000," which launched the "Millennium" series.

Michiru Oshima has made the "Millennium" series her own by composing a powerful and memorable new "Godzilla Theme," but also attaining the honor with "Godzilla, Mothra, MechaGodzilla: Tokyo SOS," of the first film not to utilize Ifukube's theme in almost 20 years!