When Rock Stars Score!
While a musician from a well-known band may write the music for a couple of films, it is a rare instance that person continues scoring films, making it a major part of their occupation, whether they have left their previous gig or not.
Which of these musical change-up artists has made the best transition?
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Which of these musical change-up artists has made the best transition?
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- Composer
- Music Department
- Actor
Regarded as one of the best producers and musicians in rock history, Eno started his career in 1971 with Roxy Music. The band released two albums, "Roxy Music" and "For Your Pleasure", with the two Brians in the lineup (the other one was, of course, lead singer Bryan Ferry); a conflict between the two Brians forced Eno to leave Roxy Music in 1973. Since then, he has released well-acclaimed ambient-music albums, both solo and with collaborators such as John Cale, Robert Fripp and Daniel Lanois. As a producer, Eno has worked with David Bowie, U2, Talking Heads, Devo and James Lumb.Formerly of Roxy Music, has also recorded solo albums and worked on many collaborations
Composer for The Lovely Bones, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, The Jacket (with collaborators), Opera (with collaborators), The Million Dollar Hotel- Composer
- Music Department
- Actor
Graduate of Woodridge High School in Peninsula, Ohio.
Attended Kent State University (1970-73) in Kent, Ohio, to focus on attaining an art degree. While at Kent State Mothersbaugh met Jerry Casale and Bob Lewis, who ultimately joined him in forming the 1970-80s avant-garde band Devo.
Awarded an honorary doctorate degree (2008) from Kent State in humane letters. Dr. Mothersbaugh has reciprocated KSU in diverse fashion as is his style-- gifting it with music & art, as well as time-- which is spent touting the Kent State experience through public promotions & media spots.Currently of Devo
Composer for Thor: Ragnarok, The Lego Movie, The Royal Tenenbaums, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, Happy Gilmore- Composer
- Music Department
- Actor
Stewart Copeland was born on 16 July 1952 in Alexandria, Virginia, USA. He is a composer and actor, known for Rumble Fish (1983), South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999) and Highlander II: The Quickening (1991). He has been married to Fiona Dent since 1993. They have three children. He was previously married to Sonja Kristina.Formerly of The Police
Composer for Wall Street, She's All That, Rumble Fish, Gridlock'd, Good Burger- Composer
- Actor
- Music Department
After his parents, Jack and Sadie, separated when he was 14, he lived with his father, a prosperous accountant, but it was his mother who had the greatest impact on him. At 19, he married Pam soon after leaving Sunderland, but in 1977, she was replaced by Annie Lennox, whom he met in 1977 after she had dropped out of the Royal College of Music. He was so taken with her that he asked her to marry him; instead, they moved in together and formed the band 'The Tourists', splitting up four years later. Some years later, he met Siobhan Fahey, who after leaving 'Bananarama' had formed 'Shakespears Sister'. They married in 1987, eventually having two sons, Sam Hurricane and Django James Lawless.
He has a £2 million house in Encino, Los Angeles, featuring a helicopter landing pad, a swimming pool, and a four-acre garden; a £750,000 converted warehouse in Hampstead, London; and a £2 million apartment in Covent Garden, London. He has a great love of cars, owning a £250,000 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud, resprayed like the cover of his Spiritual Cowboy album, and a 1956 Silver Cloud which was one of only seven made. He's reputed to be worth around £30 million.Formerly of The Eurythmics
Composer for Around the World in 80 Days (2004) (with Trevor Jones), Showgirls, Alfie (2004) (with collaborators), Beautiful Girls, The Ref- Music Department
- Composer
- Actor
As Danny Elfman was growing up in the Los Angeles area, he was largely unaware of his talent for composing. It wasn't until the early 1970s that Danny and his older brother Richard Elfman started a musical troupe while in Paris; the group "Mystic Knights of Oingo-Boingo" was created for Richard's directorial debut, Forbidden Zone (1980) (now considered a cult classic by Elfman fans). The group's name went through many incarnations over the years, beginning with "The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo" and eventually just Oingo Boingo. While continuing to compose eclectic, intelligent rock music for his L.A.-based band (some of which had been used in various film soundtracks, e.g. Weird Science (1985)), Danny formed a friendship with young director Tim Burton, who was then a fan of Oingo Boingo. Danny went on to score the soundtrack of Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985), Danny's first orchestral film score. The Elfman-Burton partnership continued (most notably through the hugely-successful "Batman" flicks) and opened doors of opportunity for Danny, who has been referred to as "Hollywood's hottest film composer".Formerly of Oingo Boingo
Composer for Good Will Hunting, Spider-Man (2002), Batman (1989), Mission: Impossible (1996), Fifty Shades of Grey- Composer
- Music Department
- Actor
Cliff Martinez was born on 5 February 1954 in The Bronx, New York, USA. He is a composer and actor, known for Only God Forgives (2013), The Neon Demon (2016) and Drive (2011).Formerly of Captain Beefheart and Red Hot Chili Peppers
Composer for Drive, The Lincoln Lawyer, Traffic, Sex, Lies, and Videotape, Spring Breakers (with Skrillex)- Music Artist
- Composer
- Actor
Nick Cave is a man of many talents. Musician. Songwriter. Screenwriter. Novelist. Actor. The Australian was born in Warracknabeal, Victoria in 1957, and would go onto form the alternative rock band Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, who have since successfully released a string of hit albums.
In film, Nick has starred in two films with Brad Pitt: Johnny Suede (1991) by Tom DiCillo and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007). He scripted the dark western, The Proposition (2005) and has contributed to over 50 soundtracks including Gas Food Lodging (1992) with fellow rocker J. Mascis of Dinosaur Jr.. His first contribution was in the Marlon Brando film, The Freshman (1990): 'From Her To Eternity'.
Nick is also a lyricist and poet. His first offering was 'King Ink' (1988).Formerly of The Birthday Party, currently of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and Grinderman
Composer for Hell or High Water, The Road, The Proposition, Lawless, War Machine- Composer
- Soundtrack
- Music Department
Michael Penn was born on 1 August 1958 in New York City, New York, USA. He is a composer, known for Girls (2012), Boogie Nights (1997) and Sunshine Cleaning (2008). He has been married to Aimee Mann since 29 December 1997. He was previously married to Kate Dornan.Solo singer/songwriter
Composer for Boogie Nights, Sunshine Cleaning, Sydney, The Last Kiss, The Anniversary Party- Composer
- Music Department
- Actor
Clinton Darryl Mansell is an English singer, musician and film composer known for his collaborations with Darren Aronofsky. He composed Pi, Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain, Black Swan, The Wrestler, Noah, Ghost in the Shell, Peacemaker, Doom Patrol, Loving Vincent, Mass Effect 3, Titans, World Traveler, Smokin' Aces, Doom, The Hole, and Definitely, Maybe.Formerly of Pop Will Eat Itself
Composer for Ghost in the Shell, Requiem for a Dream, Black Swan, Loving Vincent, Moon- Composer
- Actor
- Music Department
Trent Reznor is an American songwriter/musician/producer and sole member of multi-platinum act Nine Inch Nails, and now an Academy Award, Emmy and Grammy Award winning film composer. He began creating music as a child in Western Pennsylvania, first on piano and then taking up other instruments. He eventually moved to Cleveland, OH where he took a job at a local recording studio as an assistant engineer/janitor, recording his own material during unused studio time.
Those recordings became the first Nine Inch Nails album, 1989's Pretty Hate Machine. NIN soon developed a reputation as one of the best live acts in rock and joined the inaugural Lollapalooza tour in 1991. The Broken EP followed in 1992, garnering NIN's first Grammy Award (NIN has received twelve Grammy nominations and won two awards). In 1994, the breakthrough album The Downward Spiral was released and featured the radio hits "Closer" and "Hurt." The controversial music video for "Closer" was directed by Mark Romanek and is considered among the best music videos of all time having won various awards (it is one of the few music videos included in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City). NIN's mud-covered appearance that Summer at Woodstock 1994 is now legendary. Also released that year was the Reznor produced soundtrack to Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers (1994). He returned to film 3 years later, producing the soundtrack for David Lynch's Lost Highway (1997). In 1997, Reznor appeared on Time magazine's most influential people list, and Spin magazine named him "the most vital artist in music."
Five years later NIN's next album, The Fragile, was released - the double album debuted at number one. In 2002, "Hurt" was covered by Johnny Cash to critical acclaim; it was one of Cash's final hit releases before his death. NIN's next album, With Teeth, also reached number one in 2005 as did the single "The Hand That Feeds." Reznor broke new ground by posting the single's source tracks as a free download for fans to edit/remix/sample as they pleased and creating an online community for fans to share their creations. David Fincher directed the video for "Only," With Teeth's second single.
The concept album Year Zero was released in 2007 alongside an accompanying ARG (alternate reality game). Conceived by Trent Reznor and assisted in execution by 42 Entertainment, the ARG progressed through the album release and beyond, featuring no less than 29 websites, hidden messages within NIN merchandise, recordings and bar codes, hot lines, flier and poster campaigns, and even resistance cell "meetings" organized via calls made to pre-paid cell phones distributed to participants. Within two months, the ARG amassed 2.5 million cumulative site visits, 7.5 million cumulative page views and 2 million phone calls. Reznor has developed Year Zero into an HBO/BBC mini-series.
In 2008, free of contractual obligations, NIN released Ghosts I-IV, a 36-track instrumental album, NIN's first independent release. Soon after, a new studio album, The Slip, was released as a free digital download alongside a simple message: "Thank you for your continued and loyal support over the years - this one's on me" - TR (In less than a year, it exceeded 1.8M downloads). Ghosts I-IV and The Slip were both released under Creative Commons licenses allowing extensive use of the material within independent film projects. Following these two releases, NIN embarked on the acclaimed Lights In The Sky Tour featuring groundbreaking production effects, layering and programming that allowed the performers to interact and control aspects of the show's visuals. The tour was recognized by the industry as one of the top-ten most creative tours of all time.
Over the course of his career, Reznor has also collected countless production and remix credits including collaborations with David Bowie, producing Saul Williams and the discovery and production of Marilyn Manson.
In 2010, Reznor composed his first film score; for David Fincher's masterwork The Social Network (2010). The score won the Academy Award for best score and the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score. Additionally, he received a Critics' Choice Movie Award and a Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for best score. He also scored Fincher's next film, the highly anticipated The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011).
In addition to his continued work in Nine Inch Nails, Reznor is recording new music as a member of the group How to Destroy Angels.and Atticus Ross, both currently of Nine Inch Nails
Composer (with Atticus Ross) for Gone Girl, The Social Network, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011), Patriots Day, Before the Flood- Actor
- Writer
- Composer
Robert Fitzgerald Diggs better known by his stage name the RZA, is an American rapper, actor, filmmaker, and record producer. He is the DE factor leader of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan, having produced most albums for the group and its respective members. He is a cousin of two other original Wu-Tang Clan members: GZA and Ol' Dirty Bastard. He has also released solo albums under the alter-ego Bobby Digital, along with executive producing credits for side projects. After forming the Wu-Tang Clan, RZA was a founding member of the horror-core group Gravediggaz, where he went by the name The RZArector.Currently of Wu-Tang Clan
Composer for Kill Bill: Vol. 1, Blade: Trinity (with Ramin Djawadi), Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, Meet the Blacks, The Man with the Iron Fists- Composer
- Music Department
- Actor
Jonny Greenwood was born on 5 November 1971 in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, UK. He is a composer and actor, known for The Master (2012), There Will Be Blood (2007) and Phantom Thread (2017). He has been married to Sharona Katan since 1995. They have three children.Currently of Radiohead
Composer for There Will Be Blood, Phantom Thread, We Need to Talk About Kevin, You Were Never Really Here