Episode 36: Interstellar

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Time dilation is a funny thing. For many, we understand there’s been a bit of a gap between episodes. For us, however, it’s been mere minutes since our last appearance – but thanks for sticking around nonetheless, as we’re finally back to discuss Hans Zimmer, Christopher Nolan, time, and Interstellar. Join us as we chat all things organs, pianos, space travel, and answer the question of whether Interstellar is Zimmer’s greatest score of all.

 

Episode notes:

01:51 – Did you miss us?
09:02 - interstellar!
13:55 – Hans Zimmer and Christopher Nolan’s time together
15:35 – The piece of paper and early demos
24:31 – soft soft LOUD
27:07 – The discovery theme, and Interstellar’s organ
38:08 – Woodwinds of Change
39:40 – Chastain’s piano
41:25 – Countermelody of doom
45:22 – The hope theme, loops and DAWs
54:10 – Messages from home
59:48 – The tesseract acts
1:02:40 – Finding Anne Hathaway
1:06:48 – Gravity
1:13:35 – 2001: An Interstellar Odyssey
1:20:48 – The humanity theme
1:32:59 – The sound of silence
1:37:55 – Time
1:42:15 – Maths with Poggo
1:49:45 – Dr Mann kind? No, he’s quite mean
1:53:30 – Try spinning, that’s a good trick
1:59:25 – Nick’s favourite ka-cue
2:00:51 – V for Vinterstellar
2:03:26 – Final thoughts

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Episode 35: Studio Fanfares Part 2

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It’s Episode 35, and the long-awaited part two to our investigation of a fascinating and often-overlooked area of film music history – studio fanfares. In this episode we travel from the 1980s to today, taking in the sights and sounds of evergreen studio fanfares from the likes of Jerry Goldsmith, John Williams, the THX Deep Note, and the Buc dynasty of screen composers. And of course, there’s a round of ‘Name That Theme’ with host Andrew Pogson, as well as a look at some of the most contemporary of logo themes – including Marvel, Star Wars, and a curious update of MGM’s Leo the Lion.

 

Episode notes:

2:50 – The Art of the Score fanfare – Nancy Buc (1980)
4:34 – The studio revival in the 1980s
5:42 – Amblin Entertainment – John Williams (1981)
9:14 – The Ladd Company – John Williams (1981)
12:29 – United Artists – Joe Harnell (1982)
15:54 – THX Deep Note – James Andy Moorer (1983)
22:13 – Tri-Star Pictures – Dave Grusin (1984)
25:46 – Carolco Pictures – Jerry Goldsmith (1985)
28:42 – And now, the news
33:10 – Disney – John Debney (1985)
36:26 – THX Cimarron – James Horner (1988)
39:43 – Castle Rock Entertainment – Marc Shaiman (1989)
42:56 – Warner Bros. and an off day in the synth studio
44:30 – The Art of the Score fanfare – Barry Buc (1990)
46:21 – Universal – James Horner (1990)
50:46 – Hollywood Pictures – Danny Elfman (1990)
51:42 – Village Roadshow (1992)
53:53 – Columbia – Jonathan Elias (1993)
56:50 – Studio fanfares you might have heard before…
1:02:28 – New Line Cinema – Michael Kamen (1994)
1:05:34 – United Artists – Starr Parodi and Jeff Eden Fair (1994)
1:09:05 – Disney and Pixar – Randy Newman (1995)
1:10:26 – HBO (1996)
1:11:35 – Dreamworks – John Williams (1997)
1:14:56 – Universal – Jerry Goldsmith (1997)
1:19:31 – Warner Bros. – Gabriel Yared (1999)
1:21:39 – The Art of the Score fanfare – Tobias H. Buc (2000)
1:23:53 – Sony Home Entertainment and Animation (2005/2006)
1:28:16 – Disney – Mark Mancina & Dave Metzger (2006)
1:31:44 – Studio Canal – Alexandre Desplat (2011)
1:36:25 – Paramount – Michael Giacchino (2011)
1:40:02 – Universal, updated – Brian Tyler (2012)
1:41:26 – Marvel – Tyler/Giacchino (2013/2016)
1:47:26 – Netflix – Lon Bender and Charlie Campagna (2015)
1:52:49 – Streaming Star Wars (2019)
1:56:31 – MGM (2021)
1:58:33 – The Art of the Score fanfare – Nicholas Buc (2004)
2:01:25 – “Name That Theme”, with your host, Andrew Pogson

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Episode 34: Studio Fanfares Part 1

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You’re sitting in a darkened movie theatre, and the latest, highly anticipated blockbuster is about to play. The ads are over, the trailers are all done, and the lights dim. What’s this? Why, it’s Art of the Score Episode 34, as we investigate a fascinating and often-overlooked area of film music history – studio fanfares. From 20th Century Fox to MGM’s Leo the Lion roar and many more, over the next two episodes we’ll be revealing the secrets behind the musical moments that open the movies and set the musical agenda, and telling the stories behind the studios and the composers who made them.

 

Episode notes:

6:02 – The origins of the fanfare
8:51 – The studio system and the sound of the Big Five
12:15 – MGM: Lions, Stars, and Celebrities, oh my!
15:31 – RKO: Morse code, crime, and Howard Hughes
20:20 – Paramount Pictures on Parade (allegedly)
21:28 – 20th Century Fox – Alfred Newman (1933)
27:22 – Warner Brothers – Max Steiner (1937)
33:05 – The Little Three (that’s Andrew, Nick, and Dan)
33:33 – Universal Studios, Tchaikovsky, and Superman – Jimmy McHugh (1936)
40:30 – United Artists (so united they didn’t have a fanfare)
41:40 – Columbia – Mischa Bakaleinikoff (1934)
43:21 – Beyond the Big Five and the Little Three
44:33 – Selznick International – Alfred Newman (1936)
47:30 – The Art of the Score fanfare – Thaddeus Buc (1935)
49:54 – Into the 1950s: lawsuits, widescreens, and the birth of television
52:07 – VistaVision – Nathan van Cleeve (1952)
56:11 – CinemaScope – 20th Century Fox – Alfred Newman expands his fanfare (1954)
1:01:39 – MGM – Leo the Lion (1957)
1:02:34 – The Art of the Score fanfare – Jerry Buc (1960)
1:04:38 – The emergence of television and the NBC chime
1:07:44 – Desilu – Wilber Hatch (1966)
1:10:52 – The Art of the Score fanfare – Teddy Buc (1970)
1:15:48 – Paramount’s Parade – Lalo Schifrin (1970), Jerry Goldsmith (1976 and 1977)
1:22:24 – Columbia – Suzanne Ciani (1976)
1:24:48 – Walt Disney Productions - When You Wish Upon a Star (1972)
1:32:04 – PBS – Paul Alan Levi (1971)
1:33:18 – Associated Film Distribution (1978)

Links mentioned:

Yorgason and Lyon’s journal article on Max Steiner’s Warner Bros. fanfare - https://www.mtosmt.org/issues/mto.20.26.2/mto.20.26.2.yorgason_lyon.html
Kirk Hamilton’s Strong Song’s episode on David Bowie - https://strongsongspodcast.com/episode/space-oddity-and-starman-by-david-bowie

We love to hear from our listeners – get in touch via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and if you like The Art of the Score, please take a moment to subscribe, rate and comment.

Episode 33: Arrival

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It’s finally time for Episode 33, and Art of the Score’s analysis of one of the landmark composers of the last decade: Jóhann Jóhannsson. We sit down with special guest, synth (and tape loop) expert Seja Vogel, and Jóhannsson’s soundtrack for Denis Villeneuve’s masterpiece sci fi film, Arrival. Join us for heptapods, looping seals (?), and the only true universal language: film music.

 

Episode notes:

4:41 – Arrival arrives, and Jóhannsson thrives
12:47 – Around the Clock News
15:43 – Arriving in Montana
21:49 – Seja breaks down the Arrival sound
30:05 – Looping with Seja
34:45 – First Encounter
39:12 – Sapir-Whorf
43:00 – Hazmat
49:42 – Heptapod B
58:56 – Non-Zero-Sum Game
1:02:21 – Deciphering
1:06:26 – One of Twelve
1:12:22 – Rise, and Max Richter’s On The Nature of Daylight

We love to hear from our listeners – get in touch via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and if you like The Art of the Score, please take a moment to subscribe, rate and comment.

Episode 32: The Mummy

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It’s Episode 32, and we come back to you from the city of the lockdown with the crown jewel of 1990s action adventure: Jerry Goldsmith’s wonderful score for The Mummy. Goldsmith has for some time been one of Art of the Score’s most requested composers, so join us as we journey to 1920s Egypt and scheme among the pyramids with Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, and that incredible music.

 

Episode notes:

5:05 – That’s Goldsmith, Jerry! Goldsmith!
8:04 – Podcast recommendation: The Goldsmith Odyssey
10:04 – The Universal history of the Mummy
19:03 – Hamunaptra theme
24:18 – A brief introduction to the film’s other themes
26:58 – Hamun it up
32:40 – Hamajor Hamontage
36:58 – Jerry’s percussion
39:11 – Imhotep’s motif
44:21 – Nick comes clean about his bullying ways
47:01 – The love theme
52:20 – Luteish love and handy hand percussion
56:41 – The power of French Horns propels you
1:00:06 – A romantic finale
1:05:12 – Rick’s theme
1:12:27 – Here come the baddies
1:15:47 – The Mummy Strut
1:18:47 – A sourcey rag
1:22:14 – The Musicians of the Nile
1:27:26 – Hollywood’s sound of Egypt
1:34:44 – Do camels have scales?
1:38:21 – The key is octatonic
1:46:13 – Frightening mummy
1:53:52 – Imhotep’s death (or, that’s a wrap folks!)

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Episode 31: How To Train Your Dragon

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It’s Episode 31, and we’re swooping into the new year with one of the most widely loved family films – as well as the film score buff’s film score – in How To Train Your Dragon. John Powell’s soundtrack has been one of Art of the Score’s most-requested episodes over the years, so join us as we get under the hood of this contemporary classic and pick apart its many main melodies and old-fashioned sound.

 

Episode notes:

5:56 – How To Train Your Dreamworks
8:41 – The John Powell Up
12:31 – Nick leaves his wife for John Powell
14:43 – The Friendship theme
16:38 – Toothless’s theme
19:56 – Bagging Bagpipes
25:27 – Hammering Dulcimer
32:43 – Tin whistle and bodhran
35:26 – Let’s b (theme) friends
39:42 – Powell-chords
45:16 – Toothless in three
49:10 – Toothless Face/Off
51:05 – The Band with a Dragon Tattoo
54:17 – The Berk theme
59:47 – A point of pronunciation
1:02:56 – Father and Son
1:09:08 – The cavalry arrives
1:12:33 – The Viking theme
1:18:31 – How To Write A Dragon Melody
1:24:21 – Dragon scales
1:26:39 – Astrid’s theme
1:35:56 – The Evolution of Powell’s style
1:38:38 – Battle theme
1:44:10 – Telling the Tail
1:49:53 – John Powell’s best score?

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Episode 30: The Little Mermaid

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It’s Episode 30, and we at Art of the Score are finally tackling two genres we’ve so far overlooked – animation and the musical, combined in the form of the great Disney revival musical, The Little Mermaid. Join us as we celebrate the 30th anniversary of this wonderful film and explore the cabaret roots of Ursula, the perfect pop song for Ariel, and the debatable reggae of Under The Sea in Alan Menken’s joyous and groundbreaking score.

 

Episode notes:

4:10 – The Art of the Mailbag?
5:12 – The Disney Dark Ages
8:15 – Alan Menken: the secret to Disney’s revival
12:52 – Ariel’s theme: Part of Your World
15:33 – “I want”
19:26 – Ariel’s verse
25:01 – Ariel’s verse (Hoarders edition)
28:41 – Creative voicing
32:47 – A pre-chorus?
35:33 – Recorders on the beach
38:44 – Ariel’s musical maturity
42:17 – Ursula’s theme: Poor Unfortunate Souls
45:03 – Craberet
50:40 – Fortunate Souls
54:35 – Poggo’s Unfortunate Lyrics
56:44 – Scheming eels
1:00:49 – Prince Eric’s Roadshow
1:06:02 – Eric’s Organ Announcement
1:09:48 – Triton’s Fanfare
1:13:04 – Triton’s Minor Fanfare
1:15:53 – Scuttle’s scuttlebutt
1:24:11 – Mickey Mouse-ing
1:34:26 – Le Chef, and Nick’s waltzing tangent
1:42:04 – Andrew’s Chef genocide tangent
1:44:51 – Under the C
1:49:45 – Dan’s reggae tangent
1:59:37 – Fathoms Below and the opening song

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Episode 29: The Film Music of Nick Cave & Warren Ellis

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Episode 29 marks Art of the Score’s first ever live episode, recorded in August at the Melbourne International Film Festival. Exploring the film music of Nick Cave and Warren Ellis (The Proposition, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, and The Road), the live talk also preluded a concert later that week where the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra played Cave and Ellis’s music as arranged by our very own Nicholas Buc. Join us for a very special live episode as we try and find out what makes the film music of Cave and Ellis so good.

 

Episode notes:

0:54 – A very special live episode
5:27 – The Nick Cave and Warren Ellis sound
6:26 – Alice Wading
7:58 – A band process for film music
10:34 – The Proposition
12:41 – The meat pie western
14:05 – The drone, the voice, the piano
18:05 – Nick’s singing (The Rider)
21:11 – Martha’s Dream
22:55 – The Cave Waltz
26:38 – The Rider Song
29:20 – The Assassination of Jesse James
31:26 – The celeste
35:14 – A Rather Lovely Thing
37:17 – An arresting chord progression
39:45 – The Assassination lullaby
41:54 – Song for Bob
45:14 – The Road
49:35 – The Mother
52:09 – The Far Road
54:49 – The House
58:07 – The ray of hope
59:49 – The Ellis Cave DNA

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Episode 28: The Empire Strikes Back - Part 2

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In Episode 28, we conclude our time with The Empire Strikes Back, and our exploration of perhaps the best Star Wars film and score ever made. In this episode, we make our way through some remaining themes and motifs, as well as the major action setpieces of the film, and ask the biggest question of all: is this the best film score ever written?

 

Episode notes:

2:41 – The Days of Han and Leia
6:37 – Tchaikovsky’s Star Wars
11:51 – Han’s Soli
14:21 – Williams’ melodic patterns
15:27 – A polite argument (for strings)
20:14 – Melodus interruptus
24:22 – Bespin Cellos
25:51 – I love cue (I know)
30:48 – Resolving Solo and the Princess
36:32 – Bassoon Fett
43:36 – The droids dance
52:43 – The droids return in Solo
54:18 – Hyperspace strings
58:28 – Empire’s action ostinati
1:05:24 – Lando’s palace, where all your dreams come true
1:07:42 – A choir in the clouds
1:11:34 – The magic tree
1:15:10 – The synth side of the force
1:17:52 – John Williams’ best action cue, ever?
1:25:08 – The space tritone
1:28:31 – Looping the woodwinds
1:29:43 – The battle in the snow
1:34:29 – The Carbonite Procession, and John Williams’ greatest finale ever?
1:40:32 – The end credits
1:45:43 – The greatest score ever written?

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Episode 27: The Empire Strikes Back - Part 1

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In Episode 27, we finally return to the world of Star Wars with the film and the score that many consider to be the series’ best: The Empire Strikes Back, or Episode V to its friends. Director Irvin Kershner created with Empire unquestionably the best-looking Star Wars film, but does John Williams’ music live up to the challenge? We think so. In the first of a two-part examination of the Empire score, we look at the new and returning themes for the galaxy far, far away.

 

Episode notes:

5:15 – First among sequels
9:45 – Empire of the Son
22:10 – The Return of the Themes
24:23 – Luke’s theme
28:17 – The force theme and Leia’s theme
31:11 – Twenty-First Century Fox Fanfares
33:07 – The Minor Skywalker
37:36 – The Imperial March
45:00 – The first of (Imperial) March
53:11 – The Vader proximity alarm
1:00:10 – Dan’s favourite cue, Nick’s favourite scene
1:04:02 – The Buzz Side of the Force
1:05:47 – I am your father
1:11:06 – ESB ESP
1:17:56 – Darth Vader: the early years
1:20:18 – Discuss Yoda’s theme, we do
1:24:45 – The Yoda bridge
1:27:18 – Appears, Yoda does
1:35:13 – Luke doesn’t lift
1:41:24 – The Thinking of Yoda theme
1:44:48 – Yoda phones home

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Episode 26: Blade Runner 2049

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In Episode 26, we return to the world of Blade Runner for the 1982 film’s long-belated sequel. Directed by Denis Villeneuve, and with a soundtrack by Benjamin Wallfisch and Hans Zimmer, Blade Runner 2049 has a different sound and a different set of thematic ideas. But how does the music work, and what is all this interlinked stuff about, anyway? To help us answer those questions – and more – we’re once again joined by the brilliant synth expert Seja Vogel (whose fantastic podcast, where she interviews musicians, you should check out here: www.sejamusic.com).

 

Episode notes:

5:01 – How the sequel came to be
8:06 – Jóhann Jóhannsson, and what could’ve been
12:43 – Benjamin Wallfisch and Hans Zimmer
16:52 – The opening title card (the Memory theme)
19:25 – Or is it the Puzzle theme?
21:24 – The 2049 Melody (the Soul theme)
27:36 – Sapper Morton’s musical secret
35:08 – Voices in the furnace
38:30 – Sound design
40:48 – The rebel’s fan fair
45:44 – The return of the opening chords
49:18 – Synth talk with Seja
52:32 – Seja talks us through her reconstruction of 2049’s opening cue
1:03:11 – The final product
1:08:26 – Joi’s theme
1:12:56 – Wallace’s throat singing
1:25:05 – Flight to the LAPD
1:29:03 – Sea Wall
1:36:18 – Tears In (The) Rain
1:41:15 – The Mesa Melody
1:46:09 – The scoreless moments
1:49:10 – D for Diegetic
1:52:44 – Punching with Presley
1:55:48 – One For My Baby, and One For The Replicant
2:02:40 – Peter and the Wallace
2:11:13 – Final thoughts

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Episode 25: Blade Runner

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In Episode 25, we’ve seen things you wouldn’t believe. A guest synth expert to tell us all about the great Yamaha CS-80’s attack and delay, and the shoulders of its Orion filter envelopes. We’ve watched Vangelis glitter in the dark, near Wagner’s Tannhäuser Overture. All these moments will be recorded in time, on podcast recording equipment, and released online, like tears in rain.

 

Episode notes:

3:20 – A special Art of the Score guest
4:57 – A history of Blade Running
12:21 – The Vangelis sound
16:34 – Sound design versus music
20:37 – The Blade Runner main theme
26:48 – Synth talk with Seja: the Yamaha CS-80
31:52 – Aftertouch
35:32 – Oscillators and ring modulators
40:22 – The pitch ribbon
43:20 – Seja recreates the Blade Runner theme
52:44 – Pronunciation fun with Dan
55:02 – Tears In Rain
56:51 – Blade Runner and the film noir sound, from Double Indemnity to L.A. Noire
1:10:33 – The Blade Runner Blues
1:14:34 – Rachel’s theme
1:19:15 – The Love theme
1:23:49 – The ‘ethnic’ influences on the score – Blush Response
1:26:22 – Tales of the Future
1:31:10 – Damask Rose
1:36:15 – One More Kiss Dear and Blade Runner’s world of jazz
1:40:11 – The End Titles

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Episode 24: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - Part 2

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In Episode 24 we end our journey through Harry’s third year at Hogwarts with a deep listen to the unparalleled variety in John Williams’ score for Prisoner of Azkaban. We breakdown bebop, compare Italian waltzes, play with fugues, minimalism, swing, and some of the most dangerous flute music you’ve ever heard. Mischief most definitely managed.

 

Episode notes:

2:51 – Aunt Marge’s waltz
12:20 – The jazz bus
14:31 – A short ride in a magical machine
17:28 – Bebop patronum
24:48 – A stretchy middle eight
29:51 – A fugue for quidditch
35:07 – Willow whomps
40:10 – A danger to birds and flute players
45:23 – Snowfights and woodwind bites
48:02 – Swing, swing, boggart
54:05 – Carried on the voices
57:50 – Book cranks and classic horror
1:01:28 – Sirius Black to the future
1:10:12 – Watch me if you can
1:14:51 – The John Williams greatest hits album

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Episode 23: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - Part 1

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In Episode 23 we return to the wizarding world with the first of a two part look at Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Far from resting on prior achievements, the final John Williams Potter score knocks it out of the park, giving us everything from medieval music to waltzes, bebop jazz, and some of the most majestic flight music ever written. Join us, as we solemnly swear we are up to no good and journey with Harry and co for their third year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

 

Episode notes:

2:32 – Dan makes a big claim
6:35 – Some Azkaban homework
14:45 – Hedwig’s theme goes on holiday
16:23 – Something wicked this way hums
27:50 – Crumhorn, Sackbut, and Azkaban’s medieval sound
30:51 – Meeting Buckbeak
33:04 – Searching for the Fat Lady
35:33 – Some sleeping celeste
39:09 – The renaissance fair
46:49 – A Window to the Past
1:00:00 – Some serious Sirius
1:04:13 – Pettigrew’s motif
1:07:12 – Buckbeak’s brilliant flight
1:13:15 – Buckbeak’s equally brilliant second flight
1:17:26 – The Dementor’s dialectic. Thesis: aleatoric horror
1:21:39 – Antithesis: the angelic Patronus
1:23:06 – Synthesis: the Dementors converge

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Episode 22: Conan the Barbarian

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In Episode 22 we travel to the distant Hyborian era with Basil Poledouris’ muscular score for 1982’s Conan the Barbarian. As the gold standard for high fantasy prior to Howard Shore’s Lord of the Rings epics, Poledouris’ lush and orchestral score creates entire musical worlds and carries much of the emotion in this sparsely-dialogued film. Join us as we take a journey with the Riders of Doom and listen to this fantastic work of musical fantasy.

 

Episode notes:

5:35 – The secrets to Conan’s success
9:22 – John Milius’s machismo
13:38 – Basil Poledouris’ score
19:54 – Conan’s canon – what era does the music come from?
22:45 – Anvil of Crom: the Hyborian rhythm and Nick’s rave remake
30:20 – Twenty-four French Horns and Total Recall’s Barbaric Recall
38:28 – Conan’s theme
48:10 – Double reeds and the passing of time
58:21 – The love theme, and saying more than Arnold through music
1:10:00 – The Riders of Doom theme
1:14:55 – O Fortuna’s influence on Conan (and film music generally)
1:19:34 – Conan’s Battle on the Ice
1:21:44 – The Wheel of Fifths
1:24:51 – Doom’s Dies Irae
1:38:16 – The Wheel of Pain’s ostinato
1:43:06 – Waltzing through theology
1:47:42 – The villain’s music for the hero’s journey – in the kitchen
1:49:28 – Waltzing through an orgy
1:57:07 – The Pit Fights and the Mountain of Power, via 1950s sword and sandal epics
2:03:49 – Conan’s Firebird finale

We love to hear from our listeners – get in touch via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and if you like The Art of the Score, please take a moment to subscribe, rate and comment.

Episode 21: Journey

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In Episode 21 we finally make good on our long-held promise to explore the world of videogame music, with Austin Wintory’s beautiful score for thatgamecompany’s Journey. Crucial to the experience of Journey, Wintory’s music was recognized with a Grammy nomination and is widely held to be one of the greatest videogame scores of all time. Join us as we take a videogame diversion and analyse this gorgeous soundtrack.

 

Episode notes:

5:20 – How does videogame music differ from film or television?
8:50 – Dan’s complicated menu music
10:05 – thatgamecompany’s journey to Journey, and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s ‘flow’
16:12 – The rise of independent videogame development and aesthetics
18:20 – Nascence and Wintory’s main Journey theme
21:50 – Tina Guo’s cello, Amy Tatum’s flute, and Charissa Barger’s harp
26:30 – Solo cello in Tan Dun’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and Hans Zimmer’s The Last Samurai
31:20 – Journey’s central weenie
33:45 – The Call, the sonic palate cleanser
38:10 – The Mountain
41:33 – Sound design and music in Journey
44:02 – The First Confluence and the absence of a downbeat
48:48 – The Bridge and the Second Confluence
51:50 – The first encounter and Journey’s dance
55:30 – ‘I was born for this’
58:05 – The Desert’s Threshold and the musical interactivity of Journey
1:04:10 – The melancholy beauty of the machines
1:10:25 – The Descent, and Nick’s musical snowboarding adventures
1:20:16 – The Belly of the Whale’s Serpent
1:26:08 – The gaze of the sentinals
1:28:18 – Journey’s achingly beautiful string writing and Arvo Pärt’s Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten
1:34:40 – Atonement and the giant structure
1:38:56 – Journey’s Buddhist links
1:47:03 – The ascent to the peak (‘The Crossing’)
1:55:12 – The nadir
2:01:10 – Apotheosis and the hero realised
2:12:24 – The return to Tina Guo’s solo cello
2:18:28 – What does Journey mean? Is it a metaphor?
2:21:22 – The Return?

Finally, if listeners are unfamiliar with Journey, we highly recommend checking out this video recording of a playthrough of the game from start to finish: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkL94nKSd2M

We love to hear from our listeners – get in touch via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and if you like The Art of the Score, please take a moment to subscribe, rate and comment.

Episode 20: James Bond - Part 3

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In Episode 20 we conclude our three-part retrospective of the music of Bond, James Bond. Having already covered the pioneering Bond sound of John Barry and the funk of the Moore era, in our final episode we make it through the emergence of David Arnold as the Bond musical heir apparent, and Thomas Newman’s recent work. Join us as we finally answer the question to end all questions: which is the greatest Bond score of all time, and which is the greatest song?

 

Episode notes:

3:45 – Arnold, David Arnold
7:04 – Tomorrow Never Plays the Fanfare
11:25 – The fanboy composer?
13:05 – Surrender’s presence in the score
19:23 – Arnold’s neo-Barry romance writing
23:48 – The World Is Sort Of Enough
28:00 – Arnold’s muscular action writing – the submarine escape
33:48 – Score Another Way (electronically) in Die Another Day
40:04 – Bond joins the choir
44:25 – Blond, James Blond
50:18 – Parkour percussion
54:10 – You Know My Chord Progression
59:20 – Vesper’s Theme
1:01:28 – Quantum of Solace
1:05:08 – Watery woodwinds at the opera
1:07:40 – DC3s, tempo, chromaticism, and the peak of Arnold’s action music
1:10:48 – Thomas Newman, Bond’s new man
1:12:35 – M’s retiring brass statements
1:16:50 – Bond on a boat
1:19:47 – Severine and Newman’s romantic strings
1:26:45 – A Spectre haunts 007
1:30:10 – The Writing’s On The Train
1:32:08 – At the end: our favourite score, and our favourite song

We love to hear from our listeners – get in touch via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and if you like The Art of the Score, please take a moment to subscribe, rate and comment.
 

Episode 19: James Bond - Part 2

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In Episode 19 we continue our ambitious attempt to analyse every James Bond score ever. Having covered the Connery classics in Episode 18, we’re now onto the 1970s, 1980s, and even the early 1990s, covering Moore, Dalton, and a little bit of Brosnan as James Bond goes from funk to disco to acid jazz and even a little early hip-hop. Join us as we look at some of the kitschiest Bond music out there – and, some of the all-time greats.

 

Episode notes:

3:38 – Roger Moore’s more George (Aston) Martin Bond music
9:11 – The 1970s funk boat chase
12:45 – Nick has a problem with The Man With the Golden Gun’s parallel motion
16:43 – The Spy Who Wrote A Fantastic Opening Song
18:10 – James ‘Disco Stu’ Bond
24:30 – The singing pyramids
28:33 – The Space Who Loved Me
32:45 – Bossa, James Bossa
35:38 – Bill Conti’s For Your Funk Only
43:40 – John Barry’s finale: Octopussy, A View To A Kill, and The Living Daylights
49:12 – Dalton’s daylight drum machine
54:50 – Michael Kamen’s License to Trill
1:01:04 – Bond’s power ballad romance
1:04:50 – Serra’s synth sound for Goldeneye and the sonic reinvention of James Bond
1:13:34 – Acid James
1:17:40 – Escaping the Archives
1:19:04 – Goldeneye’s Tank Chase and John Altman’s replacement music

We love to hear from our listeners – get in touch via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and if you like The Art of the Score, please take a moment to subscribe, rate and comment

Episode 18: James Bond - Part 1

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In Episode 18 we begin one of our most ambitious musical projects yet – the music of the James Bond franchise. Over the next three episodes, we’ll be looking at the sounds of Bond, James Bond, across 50 years, 24 films, and a great many composers, theme songs, and one-liners. In this first episode, we’re covering everything from the birth of the cinematic Bond to the end of the Sean Connery era, with a particular focus on how John Barry created that classic – and timeless – Bond sound.

 

Episode notes:

4:45 – Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass make an unscheduled appearance
6:35 – The evolution of the Bond franchise and its importance in film history
10:23 – “The best Bond film is the next Bond film”
12:40 – The birth of the Bond theme, with Monty Norman’s sitar
15:30 – John Barry’s swinging ‘60s style
22:23 – Monty Norman’s Dr. No score
24:10 – ‘Three Blind Mice’ and Norman’s Jamaican grooves
26:30 – Bond and orchestra swat a bug
31:12 – Lionel Bart’s ‘From Russia With Love’, the first title song
38:15 – John Barry’s 007 theme
42:11 – John Barry’s idiosyncratic action cues and quotations of the main theme
45:47 – James Bond’s travelogue music
51:13 – Goldfinger’s swinging ‘Into Miami’
55:55 – ‘Alpine Drive’ and ‘The Raid on Fort Knox’
1:00:34 – Thunderball’s alternate themes
1:07:14 – Barry’s underwater fight scenes
1:10:05 – The brass-fanfared evil lair
1:13:08 – You Only Live Twice’s slow-moving villainous space capsule
1:20:48 – Nancy Sinatra’s ‘You Only Live Twice’
1:23:05 – The ‘Japanese’ music in You Only Live Twice
1:27:43 – On Her Majesty’s Australian Service
1:31:09 – ‘We Have All The Time In The World’
1:35:04 – “This never happened to the other synth”
1:41:00 – The horny saxophone
1:43:11 – Diamonds Are Forever
1:46:33 – The creepy saxophone

We love to hear from our listeners – get in touch via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and if you like The Art of the Score, please take a moment to subscribe, rate and comment.

Episode 17: Gladiator

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In the year 2000, the sword-and-sandal epic was revived, with Russell Crowe trebucheted to international stardom as the star of Ridley Scott’s hugely successful film, Gladiator. But fame was also found for Hans Zimmer, today the biggest music man in Hollywood, but who along with Australian composer and singer Lisa Gerrard wrote some of the most influential film music in decades for Gladiator. In Episode 17, we take a look at what makes Zimmer’s sound so pervasive, how Lisa Gerrard’s voice intensifies the film’s emotions, and just where all that strength and honour comes from.

 

Episode notes:

3:02 – Gladiator as the breakthrough Hans Zimmer score
5:09 – Some background on the significance of Gladiator, sword and sandal films, epics, and peplum
14:24 – Hans Zimmer style and the 1990s action film
21:00 – Hans Zimmer and the synth
23:52 – The unusual instrumentation of Gladiator
25:25 – A duduk demonstration
27:10 – The themes of Gladiator – Commodus’ theme
33:15 – The power of Lisa Gerrard’s voice
39:48 – Maximus’ hymn
43:00 – Maximus’ polyrhythms
45:32 – Zimmer’s Vangelis’ moment
48:01 – Once Upon a Time in Ancient Rome
53:11 – The Earth theme – Gladiator’s musical soul
1:00:56 – Lucilla’s theme
1:05:17 – The Gladiator waltz
1:08:15 – A Holst heist?
1:12:34 – Gladiatorial piracy
1:16:41 – The death of an emperor (or, Mozart’s Da Vinci Code)
1:21:02 – To Zuccabar
1:24:00 – Gladiator’s establishing music (and a surprise)
1:29:21 – Zimmer’s answering horns
1:31:43 – The Might of Wagner
1:39:18 – The Hans Zimmer Olympics
1:41:27 – Gladiator’s finale: Now We Are Free

We love to hear from our listeners – get in touch via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and if you like The Art of the Score, please take a moment to subscribe, rate and comment.