comPOSERS: The Movie Score Podcast

Unlike what Aaron says a few seconds in, it wasn't two episodes in one month, was it? Well, like Jay says right after that, we decided to space these out since we have no set schedule anymore. So here it is! Jay's birthday episode! Not a Bond, but featuring one—and featuring the music of St. John Williams—it's Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade! 

The Three Musketeers of Mediocrity have returned, and we are live (not really) and in person (yes really, thanks to the baffling generous support of our Patreon listeners). Joined by special guest Amanda Factor (better known as "Jay's girlfriend who's been on the show before") the boys gather in Jay's front room to discuss the excellent 2024 Jason Reitman outing Saturday Night, and its score by the legendary Jon Batiste. 

Happy 2025 everybody! Last year ground to an ignominious end here in comPOSERS territory. A failed attempt at recording an episode about the Jim Carrey Grinch movie robbed us of our holiday spirit, and scheduling conflicts didn't allow for another kick at the Christmas can before the new year was upon us.  But thankfully Krueger and friend of the show Andrew Young took a trip out to the Newd (the new Stude) to record a silly special with Aaron and other friend of the show (and wife of Aaron) Katrina Kelly. So enjoy this Jay-less little Christmas special, a mere two weeks too late. New year, same comPOSERS. 

On the second and final episode of this year's decomPOSERS month, the boys celebrate a SECOND Krueger's 40th birthday! Join us as we bid farewell to the Stude (1.0) to the chilling sounds of Charles Bernstein's iconic score for Wes Craven's A Nightmare On Elm Street! KRUEGER NOTES! 1) For those hoping to hear from our perennial spooky guest, Andy Sell of the Ghoul School podcast, don't worry: just wait until the holiday season! 2) And for those interested, as referenced in the episode, Krueger's wife LP makes spooky shit. Check it out.

Just in time (sort of) for decomPOSERS month, the boys are back! Now how's that for a slice of long-awaited fried gold? On the first of two decomPOSERS episodes, we complete the Cornetto Trilogy with the apocalypse that started it all. It's Shaun of the Dead, with music by Pete Woodhead and Daniel Mudford!

This week, the boys are back in Aaron's backyard to talk about a guest pick! The Fifth Beatle, Andrew Young of Geek Hard, joins us to talk about Uncle Hans Zimmer's kinda-bizarre (and kinda-original) score for Quentin Tarantino's first-ever script. It's True Romance and we are comPOSERS: the movie score podcast! 

Like the Americans joining World War 2, we're here in the nick of time (just before you unsubscribed, probably) to save the fucking day! This week, the boys gather in Aaron's backyard for a long-awaited recording session to tackle a long-awaited listener request (sorry Mitch). And we have a guest—our friend and fifth Beatle Andrew Young of Geek Hard! It's 1990's Memphis Belle, with music by George Fenton.

Pour a tall glass (?) of applejack and watch for flying dip, because the comPOSERS are ringing in Krueger's 40th birthday (and Father's Day, as it turns out) with one of the weirdest and most-fun movies we've ever covered on this show. It's 2022's Hundreds of Beavers, with music by Chris Ryan*! *As you'll hear, we looked high and low for the score/soundtrack to this movie, but it does. not. exist. Apologies.  

Set speed to warp factor FUN because we're fucking back baby.  After an extremely long hiatus thanks to various Krueger calamities (Kalamities? probably not, right?), we celebrate the old man's 40th birthday with a journey to the Final Frontier...literally! It's Star Trek 5: The One Shatner Directed, with music by the inestimable "King" Jerry Goldsmith! 

Hello listeners. As you might have guessed by now, comPOSERS is on a bit of a break. Jay, Aaron and I are all working a lot right now, and I've had a lot of insurance- and physiotherapy-related bullshit on my plate to boot, so we're struggling to find time. We do plan to be back soon, so please watch this space for updates. In the meantime, thanks to those of you who've reached out through email to make sure we're okay. We're not, but no worse than anybody else in the late-stage capitalist hellscape of 2024! Anyway, have a Patreon special from two years ago. This one was a lot of fun. Thanks for listening and be good to yourselves and one another, because you're all worth it. -Krueger

You thought "oh no, March is over and they haven't released the last of Jay's Bond", didn't you? Well April Fool's, you maniacs: now have a Moonraker (with music by the OG, John Barry)!

Bond. JAY'S Bond. Yes, it's our funniest comPOSER's 40th birthday, so we're giving him both episodes this month, which means of course two weeks of gadgets, girls and guns (and martinis, but it doesn't fit the alliteration). First up: it's Tomorrow Never Dies with music by the incomparable David Arnold!

It's a Krueger weekend update! Give it a listen! And sorry there's no episode. 

HORNSMITH continues this week as we revisit a perhaps-underappreciated score from the golden age of thrillers. It's Hannibal Lector versus a motherfucking bear in 1997's The Edge with music by King Jerry Goldsmith! 

HORNSMITH IS UPON US! This month we're covering one film each from the electrifying compositional duo brought together by the power of Jerry Goldsmith's daughter. This week: 1995's epic historical drama about a time when Mel Gibson was a sought-after actor. It's Braveheart with music by the inestimable James "Horny" Horner!

Time to grow a stupid braid and murder some Tuskens, everybody, because Johnuary continues with our second foray into the much-maligned prequel trilogy. It's Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, with music by Old Whatsisname. NOTE: This was supposed to go up last week, but I got screwed up by the new "two episodes a month" schedule and forgot. Sorry everybody. Tune in next week for us being back on schedule. -Krueger

Get ready to punch some Nazis and retrieve some artifacts, because the boys are going on one last (?) adventure with Harrison Ford's hat and whip. What better way to kick off JOHNuary than with the final ride of the icon he helped shape? It's Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, with music by that young up-and-comer John Williams. 

It's the last (regular) episode of the year, quite unexpectedly, but a series of hilarious mishaps before and during recording nearly led to no show, so we're getting while the getting's good. And it's good this week with Tan Dun's Oscar-winning score to the martial arts classic Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Watch this space for maybe a special, otherwise we're back in 2024! Happy holidays from Aaron, Jay, and Krueger!

Don't forget to lock up when you're done screwing around on your wife! This week the boys are in the Stude and joined by the Fifth Beatle, Andrew Young of the Geek Hard show, who's brought a delight from yesteryear: 1960's The Apartment, with music by British composer (we're serious) Adolph Deutsch!

Whether themed months remain a thing on this podcast remains to be seen, but for now let's pretend it's No Nonsense November, a month about serious movies. And we begin with a seriously-good movie that also happens to star Ron Perlman as a caveman. Check out Quest for Fire (1981), with it's seriously-good score by Phillipe Sarde!

Something dorky this way comes as Jay and Krueger embark on a rare Aaron-free special: a spiritual sequel to our horror game soundtrack special. Join the Statler and Waldorf of film composition podcasts for a frighteningly civil conversation about their favourite spook-adjacent video games. Bleep! Bloop! BOO! 

It's the final movie installment of this year's DEcomPOSERS, and that can mean only one thing: the return of horror movie expert (and host of the Ghoul School podcast) Andy Sell! This year, Andy helps us break the curse of Dario Argento's Three Mothers trilogy (and the curse of podcasting technical difficulties) with 2007's Mother of Tears and its music by Claudio Simonetti! NOTE: We don't have a regular episode planned for the Sunday before Halloween since Aaron is on vacation, but check this space that day anyway. You know, just in case. BOO.

DEcomPOSERS gets schlocky this week as Jay/Aaron bring us the cult hit Re-Animator, with music by Richard Band (very special thanks to Bernard Hermann too). 

Another year, another comPOSERS reminder to stay out of the ocean. DEcomPOSERS month continues with 1998's Deep Rising, with music by "King" Jerry Goldsmith!

As was foretold, comPOSERS has returned! And, thanks to our new two-episodes-a-month schedule, we're diving directly into our yearly spooky season. First up for DEcomPOSERS, a quirky Krueger pick that we're hoping was worth waiting for (spoiler alert: probably not). It's Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon, with music by Gordy Haab! 

Hey look, it's not a new episode! Again! We're sorry! Sort of! This is a really fun outdoor recording we did a couple of years ago during the height of the pandemic, previously a Patreon exclusive,  that's extra-long and extra-silly. Plus, Krueger has recorded a couple of minutes at the beginning to explain our absence and provide some important updates. Hope you enjoy it!

And we're back...sort of! This week, Aaron takes the boys deep into the wild world of math-based sports, which Krueger mostly understands. It's 2011's Moneyball, with music by Mychael Danna! NOTE: We recorded this in May, before one of us came up with the idea of doing June Williams. That's why you will hear no mention of our extended absence. Come back on August 20th for our newest-recorded episode and a full explanation of our new schedule!

What the fuck is this, now? Why it's Patreon content, dear listeners, offered during our July hiatus for absolutely goddamned free. If you like what you hear, three bucks a month gets you access to the rest of our back catalogue including a couple dozen more specials, a bunch of Kruegerecords, and a few other odds and ends we keep in there (Stereo Mix, Backstage Bonecon, and somewhat more). And there will be more coming, albeit sporadically, in the coming months, so feel free to sign up! Or do the smart thing and wait for us to milk the Patreon for content when we're too tired to make more.  Anyway, here are our favourite film composers as of two years ago yesterday (originally aired July 8, 2021). 

Remember when we said we were going on a break?  Krueger lied.  We're stoked to announce a new joint-venture show, created collaboratively with the Reverend Brent Chittenden of Darkside Radio and the True North Nerds podcast.  Each month, Krueger and Brent will dive into music you haven't heard that you should be listening to. Moving forward the episodes will appear exclusively on the True North Nerds and comPOSERS Patreons (yes, we're still flogging that particular deceased horse), but this one's just for you, dear listener. This week: Canadian bands you should be listening to! LINER NOTES Here's the link to the Spotify playlist of all the songs we covered this month Krueger's picks: Odds King of the Heap (Neopolitan, 1991) The Little Death (Bedbugs, 1993) The Last Drink (Good Weird Feeling, 1995) Wordburglar Rhyme O'Clock (3rdburglar, 2012) Rhyme O'Clock music video! Call Destro (Welcome to Cobra Island, 2013) Lenny Boutilier (Burgonomic, 2022) Dala Northern Lights (Everyone is Someone, 2009) Hockey Sweater (Who Do You Think You Are, 2007) Good as Gold (Best Day, 2012) Brent's picks: Actors Face Meets Glass (It Will Come To You, 2018) Love You More (Acts of Worship, 2021) Crosses (It Will Come To You, 2018) Art Bergmann Message from Paul (Remember Her Name, 2017) Bound for Vegas (Sexual Roulette, 1990) Faithlessly Yours (Remember Her Name, 2017)  Faithlessly Yours cover by Craig Northey of Odds! Front Line Assembly Millennium (Millennium, 1994) Mind Phaser (Reclamation, 1997) Feeder (Feeder, 2020)

June Williams concludes in whip-cracking form as we tackle a famously-controversial adventure, before the three of us enjoy Saint John's final ride in theaters with the good Doctor Jones. Get ready to cheer for Short Round and Indy one more time, because it's Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom! Tracks this week:  Short Round's Theme Slave Children's Crusade Full playlist And don't forget, folks: we're taking July off from the main show, so expect some specials from the archives, and some bonus content (including a Kruegerecords special coming next Sunday)!

June Williams can't be stopped — not even by us! Those of you waiting for the next movie will have to hang onto your hats (and whips) for one week more thanks to some scheduling issues, but thankfully we have one in the chamber — from behind the Tempaywall of Doom! Last year, the boys got together to record a tribute to St. John in honour of his 90th birthday, and we threw it on our Patreon for our most dedicated listeners (all sixteen of you). And since your Short Round fix is still a week away, we've decided to share it with you, the world at large.  Enjoy a Williams buffet, courtesy of the comPOSERS! 

It's the podcast episode 65 million years in the making! To celebrate the 30th anniversary of objectively the best dinosaur movie ever made (and yes, it's the exact anniversary TODAY) we're finally honouring the movie from which we shamelessly ripped off our logo. June Williams (aka John June) continues with 1993's immortal Jurassic Park and its score by the man himself.

Yousa better sit down, because this week we're kicking off JUNE WILLIAMS, a month of St. John scores in advance of the release of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. This week we're going back to 1999 to talk about that Star Wars movie. You know the one. With the stuff. It's The Phantom Menace, everybody, with music way better than this movie deserved.

Musical May comes to an end in the most comPOSERS way imaginable, and honestly, it nearly takes us with it. It's fucking Cats, everybody, with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber.  *** KRUEGER NOTE: As I mentioned in the episode, musical superfan Caleb McRobb sent me the two videos below. They're genuinely interesting and super informative if you want to learn more about this loopy goddamned movie, and they're way more in-depth than anything we're capable of providing on this lousy show. Why is Cats? (Lindsay Ellis, 57:29) Why the music in 2019's "Cats" is worse than you thought (Sideways, 1:04:42)

Krueger's birthday coincided with Musical May, and as a professed musical non-fan, he's brought the most far-fetched interpretation of the genre for us to discuss. It's another movie-turned-musical for the sad bastards out there: 2007's Once, with music by Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová (with special guests Interference)!

Musical May continues with a movie musical based on a musical based on a movie, and also there are Nazis! It's the most recent incarnation of Mel Brooks' immortal "love" letter to the Third Reich, and more importantly, Jay's pick for the month: The Producers (2005) starring Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick, with music by Mel Brooks and Glen Kelly!

Welcome to Musical May, wherein we discuss movies adapted from the stage — the kind where everybody sings and dances (much to Krueger's confusion, we'll learn). This week, we start the month off with a true banger — and unsurprisingly, Aaron's pick: 2002's Chicago, with music by John Kander and Fred Ebb!

When this podcast started, it featured three drunken out-of-shape dorks in a basement talking shit about movie scores. Two hundred (or so) episodes later, we are less drunk, still in a basement, and the shit we're talking has incrementally more credibility than it used to.  Just kidding; we're the same old assholes. Come celebrate two hundred (or so) episodes of comPOSERS: The Movie Score Podcast with an exceptionally long fireside chat about the highs and lows of the last four years. We're genuinely sorry about all of this.

This week, the boys bid farewell to series 13 and stare down the barrel of two hundred God damned episodes by covering an uplifting film about prison! What we have here is a failure to quit while we're ahead: it's Cool Hand Luke (1967) with music by Lalo Schifrin! 

We know you were expecting Leon the Professional, but after watching half of it and then showering eight or nine times, Krueger decided on something a little more "treasured childhood memory" and a little less "jail the director". It's 1963's The Sword in the Stone, with music by George Bruns and songs by the legendary Sherman Brothers. A RARE KRUEGER WARNING: We spend some time at the top talking about Leon: The Professional and why Krueger decided not to do the movie, so if you don't have space for Redacted-Redacted's grossness, feel free to skip ahead to around the 5 minute mark.

This week, we'll live to see you enjoy the score, but we hope you leave room for our podcast, because we're going to ram it into your earholes and break your goddamned brain! Okay, that was very aggressive, but can you blame us? It's The Running Man, with music by Harold Faltermeyer!

This week, the boys go hunting for a stolen nuclear weapon that we must insist you STOP SHOOTING AT. It's Broken Arrow, with a classic 90s score by Uncle Hans Zimmer!

It's Jay's birthday, and that can mean only one thing: it's time to grab a satchel full of wildly-impratical gadgets and don your best leisure wear, because it's Live and Let Die, featuring music by George Martin and a Bond song courtesy of Paul and Linda McCartney!

Well, we all knew this was coming. Back in January we announced we'd be more-or-less retiring the Patreon and threading our specials back onto the main feed, and we're staying true to our word. Back in September 2019 we visited our favourite PC game music from our youths through to today, and this week we're jumping back in. Join us for an extended in-person chat about the music of the games we're playing! 

Six months ago, Aaron and Krueger embarked on a great adventure: a limited series deep dive into the iconic miniseries Band of Brothers, brought to you by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, with music by Michael "The K-Man" Kamen.  Today, we continue that journey. Welcome to POD OF BROTHERS, episode two!  THIS WEEK: E03 CARENTAN / E04 REPLACEMENTS

Just in time for St. Patrick's Day, the boys venture back to the Emerald Isle with playwright-turned-director Martin McDonagh in his fourth-ever feature film, 2022's bleakly gorgeous The Banshees of Inisherin, featuring truly incredible performances by Colin Farrell's eyebrows and Brendan Gleeson's fingers, not to mention a very unusual Oscar-nominated score by Carter Burwell. 

WE DON'T LOSE! WE WIN! THAT'S WHAT WE DO! This week on comPOSERS we ruminate on Milton, Faust, and most importantly: Pacino. It's The Devil's Advocate, with music by James Newton Howard!

This week, we bid farewell to another Soundtrack Appreciation Month with a nod to (arguably?) the most famous accordion player ever. It's Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (2022) with music by the man himself and underscoring by Leo Birenberg and Zach Robinson. 

Soundtrack month wouldn't be complete without Edgar Wright! This week, the boys cover the third and final installment of the Cornetto Trilogy while discussing the merits of pub crawls and thrill to a Madchester soundtrack, not to mention some great classic score elements from the one and only Steven Price. Get free, get loaded, and have a good time: it's the World's End! 

Soundtrack month continues with the best-selling soundtrack album of all time, brought to us by the musical clairvoyance of one — Kevin Costner? It's The Bodyguard, with music by Whitney Houston among others (and a wee bit of score courtesy of Alan Silvestri!) 

It's Soundtrack Appreciation Month, part two! This time around, Krueger redeems his last pick with an absolute banger and arguably one of the best soundtracks ever produced. It's 2000's O Brother, Where Art Thou, with music produced and chosen by T Bone Burnett, and performed by various artists including the Fairfield Brothers, Harry McClintock and Alison Krauss.  And stick around til the end to hear a very special performance by a surprise musical guest!