Christopher Young is most known for his Gothic, bombastic scores for horror films like Drag Me To Hell and Hellraiser. His wheel house has always been big, bold and scary, which is why his music for The Rum Diary is so very interesting.  This music isn’t scary, it isn’t going to give you nightmares, in fact I think I want to have a Mai Ti with a funny little umbrella in it while I listen to it.

The Rum Diary is a return to the world of Hunter S. Thompson and the music is fits in very well with what you expect from that statement. It has a jazzy, free spirited nature that devolves into some serious kookiness from time to time. The most interesting quirks of this score are the Tom Waits-ian vocals that appear from time to time and a guitar duet with Johnny Depp and JJ Holiday.

Christopher Young, who was originally a jazz drummer, was influenced on big jazz band sounds of the ’50s and ’60s, and you can hear how much fun he is having with this music.

One of the trade mark elements that I love so much about Young’s horror scores is that despite the imagery and pure evil his music represents, you all ways have a since that he is having fun with the music. This trademark is thankfully front and center in this score, I have to smile while I listen.

Living in Los Angeles is awesome. There are hundreds of events, screenings, parties and exclusives that would make any film fan explode from joy. One of those awesome events has just been announced for the end of August. The Fans of Film Music gathering is a wonderful chance for film score aficionados to get together with some of the best composers in the industry to talk about their dual passion, film music.

The 2nd annual event has been put together by Peter Hackman, a film score die-hard who felt the need to keep an annual event going for fans of film music. Of all the niche groups of fans in the film world, film score fans rank amongst the smallest and most spread out. So this event is especially exciting as it brings film fans together from all around the world. And that isn’t hyperbole, Peter literally has people flying in from all over the world for the event.

More details on the event and a full list of attending composers can be found after the jump.