Holy crap.

If you ask me what the first thing I said after watching the movie There Will Be Blood, that's all I can really say.

Holy crap.

My jaw was dropped almost the entire 158 minutes of this film.

Holy crap.

OK, before this starts sounding like a badly written poem, I should probably explain why I'm talking about a movie when this is clearly a music blog. This isn't 'Nam, there are rules!

Well, I'll tell you why, good sir or madam. The music contained in this body slam of a film was downright fantastic. Not since my young ears heard the theme to Requiem for a Dream have I been so excited about a film score.

And who is responsible for this outstanding score? Of course, a member of Radiohead. Frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if Thom Yorke unveiled a new line of toasters that also buttered your toast for you. Radiohead will probably soon be responsible for everything righteous and good in this world (I may have compared Radiohead to God, but I haven't been to church for a while so the Big Guy may not have heard me).

Anyway, sacrileges aside, back to this magnificent score.

The music in There Will Be Blood is so haunting, so eerie and at the very same time so unforgiving. I think Ebert or some movie critic said this, but it's as if the score is a character itself. The camera seems to almost move in unison with the music, giving it an even more powerful feeling of exploration.

I actually bought this soundtrack before I even saw the movie. I was in City Lights Records, 316 E. College Ave., and just passing the time with a roommate when I saw it there for $8.99. I took a look at it and, combined with the beautiful cover art and the fact that Jonny Greenwood was the composer, I had to get it.

As I listened, it sounded very dark and scary. Like something out of a horror movie. But after watching this film, it is a completely new beast. The music has changed faces essentially.

This makes me think about other great soundtracks. Like previously mentioned, Clint Mansell and the Kronos Quartet's score for Requiem for a Dream and also The Fountain. Wendy Carlos's score for Clockwork Orange comes to mind. Who can forget Ennio Morricone's work on The Good, The Bad & The Ugly? John Williams, Danny Elfman, you get the point.

What all these compositions have in common is that the music works so well with the movie. In some cases, viewers become more excited for the music in the movie than the actual movie itself. There Will Be Blood could be classified as one of these films, but honestly, this film is a masterpiece itself.

I may be hyping the shit out of this, and if I am, I apologize but I rarely geek out when I see movies, but this is one of those times. If you're reading this blog so far, then my opinion has been interesting enough to get you this far, so take my advice.

Stop what you're doing. Stop learning. Get out of whatever online course you're currently trying to do work in. Stop playing Bloons. Stop doing whatever it is you do on your computer.

Go see this film now. If not for the movie, than for the score. The thing is freakin' fantastic. It'll make you say "Holy crap."