Sunday, March 27, 2011

Thief (1981) Soundtrack - Tangerine Dream


Tangerine Dream at its Vintage Best + OST/Movie Links

Apologies for the long hiatus. It’s all been work, more work and even more work – not that I am getting any richer, just that making money is getting more arduous these days but that’s an entirely different story so let’s focus on the more pleasant things in life.

So what better way to break my blogging jinx than listening to an incredible soundtrack of an equally brilliant film? I am referring to Michael Mann’s Cannes’ (Golden Palm nominated) mainstream debut – the 1981’s noirish crime thriller “Thief”. An intense look at a world few have ever known -- where lives are in an almost constant state of jeopardy, a dark world in which James Caan plays an ex-con who's desperately trying to pull his jumbled life back together. And who should know about those perilous shady worlds better than Miami Vice/Silence of the Lambs creator Mann? Co-starring Tuesday Weld, Willie Nelson besides James Belushi, Robert Prosky, Dennis Farina and William Peterson (in their film debut)

Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and based on the bestselling novel “The Home Invaders” by real-life jewel thief – John Seybold who wrote it under the pseudonym "Frank Hohimer", this movie (initially called Violent Streets) features splendid performances from all its leading stars particularly Caan and Prosky, breathtaking night cinematography, an intricate attention to detail (both typical Mann trademarks) and an impressive hit soundtrack by the German electronic trio of Edgar Froese, Christopher Franke and Johannes Schmoelling, more popularly known as Tangerine Dream.

For some strange reasons (believe it or not), Thief’s soundtrack was nominated for 1982’s Razzie Award for the Worst Musical Score but that should not deter you from listening to it. It’s a rare, hard to find filmscore featuring Tangerine Dream at its vintage best - with twanging guitars, buzzed up synthesizers, thumping percussion and a whole medley of other electronic sound gear that all beautifully meld with the movie’s storyline.

Released in 2 different versions - one originally featuring Tangerine Dream alone and the other featuring additional compositions by Craig Safan, both these soundtracks are considered rarities now. Present below are download links to both the versions that I have segregated for your listening pleasure. It isn’t 100% accurate though but I hope I have done justice to the original listings. And if you have never seen this outstanding movie yet, I have also added DVDrip video download/streaming links. Enjoy!

Thief OST - Original Version
8 tracks in playlist, average track length: 4:46
Playlist length: 38 minutes 8 seconds

1. Tangerine Dream - 01 Beach Theme (San Diego Beach Love Scene) (3:44)
2. Tangerine Dream - 02 Dr. Destructo (3:17)
3. Tangerine Dream - 03 Diamond Diary (Tailed/The Break-In) (9:58)
4. Tangerine Dream - 04 Burning Bar (Sam's Forge) (3:10)
5. Tangerine Dream - 05 Scrap Yard (Chicago Courtroom) (4:38)
6. Tangerine Dream - 06 Trap Feeling (2:57)
7. Tangerine Dream - 07 Igneous (Metascore) (4:48)
8. Craig Safan/Tangerine Dream - 08 Confrontation (5:36)

Thief OST - Alternate Version/Extras
12 tracks in playlist, average track length: 5:51
Playlist length: 1 hour 10 minutes 20 seconds

1. Tangerine Dream - Main Titles/The Heist (10:47)
2. Tangerine Dream - Frank Is Set Up (4:30)
3. Tangerine Dream - Chicago Courtroom (5:18)
4. Tangerine Dream - Tailed / The Break-In (4:46)
5. Tangerine Dream - Beach Theme [Alternate 1] (6:11)
6. Tangerine Dream - Beach Theme [Alternate 2] (6:47)
7. Tangerine Dream - Destruction (4:12)
8. Craig Safan/Tangerine Dream - Confrontation (4:12)
9. Tangerine Dream - Diamonds & Dust (9:06)
10. Tangerine Dream - Diamonds & Dust (Berlin Encore 81) (6:12)
11. Tangerine Dream - Diamond Diary (Live Warsaw 97) (3:01)
12. Tangerine Dream - Labeo (5:18)

Free MP3 Download – Zipped Folders

1. Original Version - 56.06 MB – Megaupload link
2. Alternate Version - 98.68 MB - Megaupload link

THIS IS A NON-COMMERCIAL DOWNLOAD. IF YOU LIKE TANGERINE DREAM, PLEASE BUY THEIR ORIGINAL MUSIC & PROMOTE THEM

You can buy original CDS/DVDs and Mp3s of Tangerine Dream at their website or emusic, amazon, itunes, other online stores or your nearest music and movie retailer

Movie DVDRIP Download/Streaming Weblinks - Megaupload, Stagevu or VeeHD

Friday, March 4, 2011

Branding, Identity or Logo! What Is It Really?


Isn't It Time We Decoded Branding Correctly?

It is a great, huge disgrace that the word 'Branding' has been so overused in recent years. More and more agencies (small and big alike) and clients tout the ‘Branding’ word about as though it were going out of fashion… which of course, some people would like it to do.

But the fact is that many of these so-called proponents of Branding simply don't understand what a brand is, or how Branding works. Branding has come to mean very little to a lot of people, largely because it is so regularly misunderstood, and is used so vaguely and liberally. The word 'Brand' is often used interchangeably (and incorrectly) with words like 'identity' and 'logo', and clients who simply need a visual identity are tempted to request a Branding programme because, quite simply, it's been the buzzword of choice for the past couple of years.

A brand is like a unique individual personality. It is the sum of a great many parts, and is made up of an elusive set of characteristics and traits, all of which combine to provoke an emotional response from anybody who comes into contact with it. A person's personality is made up of their attitudes, their values and their beliefs. And the way we perceive someone's personality is influenced not simply by what they say, but by how they say it, what they wear, what they look like, how they behave and more.

The subtleties of perceiving someone's personality are just as evident when it comes to perceiving an organization or their products and services. People have personality traits, organisations have brand values. But they are the same things. Think about Pepsi, Apple or Porsche and the chances are you'll have a fairly similar view of each of them to the guy next to you. This is no accident. These brands have been carefully and skillfully managed to be consistent – wherever you come across them.

A brand can be a valuable business asset, increasing loyalty and revenue from customers, increasing share value and reducing staff turnover, whilst at the same time paving the way for future business growth and roll-out of related but separate sub-brands. Get it right, and your business can flourish. Get it wrong, or mistakenly think you are creating a brand when you are simply designing a logo, and you will be back at the drawing board much sooner than you wanted.

When Ford bought Jaguar, its physical assets were estimated at only 16% of the total value, and when Vodafone, the world’s largest telecommunications company bought Orange its physical assets were estimated at just 10%. The purchase values were therefore largely the result of an intangible set of assets which an accountant might describe as 'goodwill'... and which we would simply call the brands. Vodafone has since bought over many brands including most recently Hutch in India for similar reason while Tata Motors took over Jaguar from an ailing Ford in 2 June 2008 for around £1.7 billion.

As soon as Branding sorts out its identity crisis and is recognized to be more about personality and culture than a simple logo and typeface, the world will be a better place - not just for brand-driven agencies, but for clients and business the world over. Like it or loathe it, 'Branding' as a concept is here to stay, so isn't it about time we started using the term quite correctly?
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