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Exemplary Artists: Thomas Newman

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Well, what better occasion would I receive, to write of the magnificence I have experienced in the past three years, ever since I started listening to a living legend’s music, than his 64th birthday? Yes, Thomas Newman, it is – the exemplary whose works can get you into places that you wouldn’t want to visit initially but would delight staying in once you’re accustomed to it.

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Thomas Newman is a music composer who comes from a lineage of musicians right from his dad, uncles, and siblings and is based in the United States of America (USA). It has to be understood from the Career section of his Wikipedia page that as of 2019, he has spent about four decades working with his instruments, fellow musicians, notes, mind, and more importantly if I am not mistaken, his soul. His soul, I reckon, because of his intense ability to reach each of ours or at least mine.

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There is an aura of serenity that is formed around my being, to be frank, my entire being – the physical, psychological and spiritual parts, whenever I listen to his tunes and nothing, to date, has given me a better replacement than his works. Of course my other favorite composers Hans Zimmer, Gustavo Santaolalla, Marco Beltrami et al. have given all of us pieces that can take us through a mix of different emotions that are unparalleled but somehow Newman stands out in the simplicity that lies in his music, but certainly not in the emotions that we take home with us through those notes.

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I am no music person to be able to accurately judge the notes that Newman uses in his work but all a commoner like me expects of it is such magnificence. Even though I don’t know much about music, I am planning to take up to learning the Guitar and the Keyboard soon, the latter of which will certainly be an effort to try and master the notes that Newman has carved into my soul through his music.

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All said and done, what makes it an icing on the cake is how it fits perfectly to most of the portions of the films where his music is inserted. Of course, film directors work along with them but it is as though Newman’s music cannot have a better replacement wherever we find it. I wouldn’t be making a mistake and neither would I be over-exaggerating if I say that even the portions where Hans Zimmer’s music are existent can have suitable replacements but not Newman’s.

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As we speak of Newman, let us take a look at a list of ten works, from films and an album, which I think are some of his best. As always, you are most welcome to share any of your comments and / or a few suggestions that can replace some or all of the below-mentioned works of Thomas Newman –

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Spectre – Donna Lucia

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Finding Nemo – Haiku

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Spectre – Secret Room

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Tolkien – Fellowship

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American Beauty – Any Other Name

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Album – Ghosts

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Shawshank Redemption – Brooks Was Here

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Less Than Zero – Julian’s Dead

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Spectre – Out of Bullets

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Spectre – Madeleine

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Since four out of the ten titles mentioned above are from the film Spectre, you won’t be wrong if you interpret that I got introduced to Thomas Newman through the not-very-popular Bond film. Though the die-hard Bond fanatics wouldn’t have liked the flick or felt that it was below par in trying to show an integral part of Bond’s life, I felt that there were very intense scenes that made me want to watch at least those scenes many, many, many times – and you won’t believe even today, after about four years of its release. Yes, it was indeed to revisit Thomas Newman’s piece and how it perfectly blends with Mendes’ (director) screenplay, Hoytema’s (cinematographer) picturing and the actors’ (Craig, Waltz, Fiennes, Seydoux to name a few) presence and emotions.

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It is unfortunate that he won’t return to play the notes for Daniel Craig’s last hand at playing the fancy spy. I hope ‘No Time To Die’ will not become ‘No Time To Live’ because of Newman’s absence. Yes, I am going a little over the top but I am sure you understand what I mean, given the fact that my ears have been glued to the above list of his works and more for quite a long time now, without any fuss or feeling of boredom.

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Gosh, neither does he look like he is 64 nor does his music seem so especially considering the fact that many of the ones mentioned in the above list are those not from very far ago.

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Either way, let us hope for more scintillating works to tingle our ears more often and I will hope that he finds someone to mentor and carry on his lineage because I believe music will have a very huge role in shaping the world, let alone making it a better place to live in. As many of us may know, perhaps Albert Einstein’s time with the Violin too had a profound impact on his work so let us just hope for good music to keep making people contemplate life much better.

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