Another factor (especially for movies) might be that the role of music has changed a bit. Today, movie music is considered great if it contributes to the experience without you noticing it. That's different from the past, when the music was put much more into the foreground.

Also, selective memory might play a role for your assessment. It's always a bit tricky to compare the classics of the past to the standards of the present.

I think it is more selective memory an nostalgia.

Considering how many movies and games was released before and how many pieces of music that actually stand out, not many of them did became classics. Take the % of classical pieces from back then, wait 10 years and compare with % of classics from this this decade and I will bet you the result would be very similar.

I find this way of thinking very interesting and funny. If you are interested in it I suggest searching for "declinism" ( = things are not as good as they used to be) and there was a very good BBC radio show about it last week: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01hjs15/Things_Aint_What_They_Used_To_Be/ , it is 40 min long, but well worth listening to if you have the time.

I don't quite get it. I'm not allowed to see the respective youtube video, but do you mean the Pirates of the Carribean with Johnny Depp? If so, since when is that an old movie series to prove that everything was better in the good old days? That's not even a decade ago. And what about Harry Potter? Mirror's Edge? Which movies did you watch recently, which games did you play that you thought were missing a theme (or theme song)? And do you really think all the old movies and games had one?

*confused*

Portal 2 ?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xR6m47fq-kM

Sorry, guys, I can't hear you over the Katamari Damacy series OST.

Bump

Now I feel like reviving one of my old friends by putting a catchy song I heard from a game that came out recently this year.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnxAPrNE7Oc

Modern Shooter Music.

There's still some great music today in film and movies, but I agree that there may be fewer "identifiable" themes or cues.

Usually I don't remember much besides stuff like op/title music, battle/victory screen type music that you would hear a lot.

Exceptions for me are mainly indie (VVVVVV, SMB, Spacechem, etc.)/doujin (Touhou, Umineko) and maybe some other games (FF, SaGa, some of the Ar Tonelico hymmnos, Nier oh my god just Nier several times over)

Been playing a lot of Halo lately and yeah... the music is awesome.

Whats happened to music in movies and games is like movies - composers havent been able to make any memorable scores to match the rehashed movie reboots we've been getting increasingly for a few years now sadly.Lack of creativity or just plain laziness? No idea. Indie game music however - there is some neat stuff out there :)

Maybe, but to me the Skyrim & Battlefield 3 themes were pretty memorable

Music is just too ambience and in the background. There are good musics, Mass effect 3 had good musics, Risen theme is also great. Well, many others. ^^

But mostly game music is like with Half-life.. "finally some music and it's pretty good, wait why did it stop after 15 seconds?"

Heh.. Half-life soundtrack must be hell of a rip-off.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4gQOjpzWBE
Not really.