Settling the Score

“I love this score.” “I know.” Jon and Andy search their feelings about John Williams' score for the 1980 hit sci-fi fantasy sequel The Empire Strikes Back. How important has this score been to our hosts? How does its mastery show itself on different scales? And, what are the odds of successfully navigating this show's longest episode ever?

Jon and Andy go straight down the line through Miklós Rózsa's score for the 1944 film noir classic Double Indemnity. Which elements of this music sound like noir, and which don't? Why do we enjoy stories about bad people? And, where's a good spot in L.A. to sneak into if you want to hear some Schubert?

It's time again for Jon and Andy to strip away the phony tinsel of Hollywood and find the real tinsel underneath, as they consider this year's Oscar nominees for Best Original Score. Is it possible that our hosts are feeling less cranky this year? What are some different ideas these movies have for using music to fill time? And, did you notice that this episode is still shorter than two of these five nominated films?

Come and eavesdrop on Jon and Andy discussing David Shire's score for the 1974 surveillance mystery drama The Conversation. What does Shire's solo piano music express about the main character? How are the themes of the movie embodied in its world of sound? And, will Fred Flintstone be a good father?

Surprise! It's time for a break from the bucket: Jon and Andy look back at all the scores they've talked about since the end of the AFI list, and Andy puzzles Jon with another needle-drop quiz. Can Jon remember all this music? Can you remember it better than Jon? And, like, what have our hosts even been talking about this whole time?

This time Jon and Andy train their attention on John Powell's score for the 2010 animated fantasy adventure How to Train Your Dragon. Just how many themes does this score have? Might their meanings change with repeat viewings? And, what rhythmic pattern will Jon finally let Andy talk about?

In this episode Jon and Andy drink up Jonny Greenwood's score for Paul Thomas Anderson's 2007 period drama There Will Be Blood. How does Greenwood's music seem to get so deeply inside your head? What lines can be drawn between it and his work for Radiohead? And, is either of us even close to getting the Daniel Plainview voice right?

This time Jon and Andy land their spaceship in the middle of Bernard Herrmann's score for the 1951 sci-fi classic The Day the Earth Stood Still! How strongly was Herrmann committed to musical otherness? What peculiar instrumentation did he use to achieve unearthly sounds? And, have we finally cracked Gort’s secret alien robot code?

Join Jon and Andy as they sneak back into the Dolby Theater to discuss this year’s nominees for Best Original Score! Could this be our least impressive slate of contenders yet? What does it mean for music to really speak to the human heart? And, will we succeed in our attempt to keep the episode … Continue reading "#58 – 2023 Oscars Special"

They call this an episode about Quincy Jones' score for the 1967 social drama mystery In the Heat of the Night! How amazingly broad is the scope of Jones' expertise? What effect does it have on the movie that his music feels so good? And, what would YOU say to Rod Steiger?

Get ready for a long haul, as Jon and Andy set out across Ralph Vaughan Williams’ score for the 1948 historical adventure film Scott of the Antarctic. What was unusual about the relationship between this movie and its celebrated classical composer? What techniques did he use to depict snow, ice, and struggle? And, are criticisms … Continue reading "#56 – Scott of the Antarctic"

Crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear Jon and Andy discuss Basil Poledouris' score for the 1982 fantasy adventure movie Conan the Barbarian. From what classical references does Poledouris draw, and what very non-classical things might have drawn from him? What's a quick way to make your music sound archaic? And, waiter, … Continue reading "#55 – Conan the Barbarian"

Jon and Andy catch each other monologuing about Michael Giacchino's score for the 2004 Pixar superhero movie The Incredibles! How did Giacchino become one of Hollywood's go-to composers? What cultural influences wind up shaken and stirred into his music? And, how big of a dork was Jon when he had a chance to ask Giacchino … Continue reading "#54 – The Incredibles"

It's back to Hollywood Blvd. for Jon and Andy as they consider this year's Oscar nominees for Best Score. What has them enthusiastic, and what has them angry? What musical sounds are trendy this season? And, what exciting new mini-segment will they introduce to the show? (Podcaster General's warning: this episode is too long! Recommended … Continue reading "#53 – 2022 Oscars Special"

Jon and Andy are bursting to talk about Jerry Goldsmith's score for the 1979 sci-fi horror classic Alien! How much of what Goldsmith wrote didn't make it into the movie, and why? What musical reptile did he unleash into his orchestra? And, will our hosts finally consider couples therapy?

The fates foretold that Jon and Andy would discuss John Corigliano's score for the 1998 history-spanning musical saga The Red Violin. How does Corigliano draw a musical line to connect the film's disparate episodes, and how darkly does he draw it? What sensibilities did he bring from the world of classical concert composing? And, is … Continue reading "#51 – The Red Violin"

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Once upon a time, Frank Churchill, Leigh Harline and Paul Smith wrote the score for Walt Disney's groundbreaking 1937 animated feature film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. How did the development of cartoons require close musical integration? Have Jon and Andy finally found stair-climbing music they can agree about? And, what's the best method … Continue reading "#50 – Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs"

This time Jon and Andy slooshied Wendy Carlos' music as they viddied the 1971 Stanley Kubrick dystopian satire A Clockwork Orange! How did Carlos pioneer an entirely new musical soundscape? What sorts of meaning does Kubrick get out of it for this film? And, who’s been doing all this mysterious thieving?

Jon and Andy seem to have talked for a very long time about Hugo Friedhofer's score for the Best Picture of 1946, The Best Years of Our Lives! How many different ways does Friedhofer engage with the drama? In what sense is this music American? And, when is the 3D version coming out already?

Walk this way to hear Jon and Andy discuss John Morris' score for the 1974 Mel Brooks monster movie spoof Young Frankenstein! How does Morris help the movie's zaniness and sincerity to coexist? What techniques make the music sound old-fashioned, and what light can a visit from the show's go-to violin expert – Jon's wife … Continue reading "#47 – Young Frankenstein"

This time, the red carpet comes to Jon and Andy: join us as we delve into the score nominees for this year’s unusual Oscars. Are film score fashions shifting? Who’s on what wavelength, and who might not be? And, are Jon and Andy being even crankier than usual, or is it just a weird year?

We’re back, with Brad Fiedel’s score for 1991’s box office champion, Terminator 2: Judgement Day! How did the improving technology change Fiedel’s approach between the first movie and its sequel? What’s the unexpected provenance of some of the score’s key sounds? And, why are we still talking about Henry Mancini?

This was some kind of a score; what does it matter what Jon and Andy say about it? In Henry Mancini’s score for Orson Welles’ 1958 film noir Touch of Evil, how does the music that’s playing in the next room cast a menacing pall? Why do we get to hear two different musical approaches … Continue reading "#44 – Touch of Evil"

While we’re still ringing in the New Year, let’s ring in this old one again too: join Jon and Andy as they pan across the landscape of 1995 film music. Was it a less complicated time?  How did America sound? How many Oscars for score were awarded? How many more movies than Jon did Andy … Continue reading "#43 – 1995 Extravaganza"

It’s about time! Jon and Andy finally get around to Alan Silvestri’s score for the hit 1985 sci-fi comedy adventure Back to the Future. What does its main theme have in common with some other memorable movie melodies? How does a film’s score have to breathe with its editing? And, where we’re going, do we … Continue reading "#42 – Back to the Future"

George Kaplan? No, you must be mistaken, I’m an episode about Bernard Herrmann’s score for the 1959 madcap wrong-man adventure North by Northwest. What’s behind Herrmann’s extremely process-derived writing style? Does this movie really make any sense, and what can the music do about it? And, what did this movie inspire Jon to attach to … Continue reading "#41 – North by Northwest"

This time, Jon and Andy go on and on about James Horner’s score for the 1997 epic disaster romance Titanic. What pop artist did director James Cameron originally want to score the movie? What powerful chord change is a keystone of both the score and the movie’s famous song? And, just how many famous paintings … Continue reading "#40 – Titanic"

Let’s cut to the chase – this episode is about Lalo Schifrin’s score to the 1968 detective thriller Bullitt. What does it really mean to be “cool?” Were the late 1960s a “dark age” for film music? And, just how many TV dinners did Steve McQueen eat every week?

So you want us to talk about Mark Knopfler’s score for the 1987 fairy tale adventure The Princess Bride? As you wish. How is this score sensitive to the twists and turns of the dire straits in which our heroes find themselves? Can a movie have a good score without having good music? And, when … Continue reading "#38 – The Princess Bride"

It’s lined up in our sights and we’re ready to pull the trigger on Ennio Morricone’s score for the 1966 iconic Spaghetti Western The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. How did he arrive at the combination of ingredients that created such a memorably distinctive sound? Is the main theme meant to evoke an animal … Continue reading "#37 – The Good, the Bad and the Ugly"

It’s time once again to find out who Jon and Andy are wearing on the Oscar red carpet! How does this crop of nominees for Best Original Score stack up to previous years’? What did each movie want from its music? And, what stupid schtick did they put at the beginning of this one?

Yo! In this corner is Bill Conti’s score for the 1976 boxing drama Rocky! How did this whole movie wind up punching above its weight? How do some chords that start out weak later find themselves getting strong now? And, how many times as long as the score is this episode? (Answer: 5)

I am an episode about Spartacus! I’m an episode about Spartacus! There’s a lot for Jon and Andy to grapple with in Alex North’s score for this 1960 swords-and-sandals epic. Is this the “most composed” score ever? How much can it, should it, and does it add to the picture? And, would the podcast be … Continue reading "#34 – Spartacus"

Just in time for Halloween, this episode is all for you! Hear what Revelations are in store as Jon and Andy discuss Jerry Goldsmith’s score to the 1976 horror flick The Omen. Should a horror film’s music know that it’s in a horror film? Where are all these voices coming from? And, is Neil Diamond … Continue reading "#33 – The Omen"

Holy film score discussion, this time it’s Batman! Join Jon and Andy in Gotham City as they talk about Danny Elfman’s classic 1989 score. How does Elfman sell the sound of a dark comic book world? What peculiar path led him to film music in the first place? And, is this the best movie theme … Continue reading "#32 – Batman"

Jonesing for a fix of score analysis? This time Jon and Andy lock themselves in a room with Elmer Bernstein’s score for the 1955 noir drama of drug addiction, The Man with the Golden Arm. How did its use of jazz influence the sounds of the subsequent decades? How is that jazz able to suggest … Continue reading "#31 – The Man with the Golden Arm"

Some inexorable interdimensional force seems to have drawn Jon and Andy to talk about Hans Zimmer’s score for the 2014 outer space epic Interstellar. Why was a pipe organ such an unusual but apt choice for Zimmer? How does he sculpt tonal colors that range from quite delicate to maybe-too-loud? And, what would happen to … Continue reading "#30 – Interstellar"

The first score the fates have assigned to Jon and Andy, as their voyage continues past the AFI’s list, is Thomas Newman’s score for the 1999 Oscar-winning dramedy American Beauty. What interesting and powerful hybrid compositional process does Newman employ? What kooky instruments does it include? And, how much worse is Jon’s acting than Wes … Continue reading "#29 – American Beauty"

After finishing their task of discussing and reordering the American Film Institute’s Top 25 Scores, Jon and Andy kick back and take stock of what they’ve done. What did they learn? What did they get wrong? How in the world did Andy expect Jon to recognize the clips he chose for his quiz? And, what … Continue reading "#28 – AFI Wrap-Up"

A long time ago… Jon and Andy started working their way down the AFI’s list of the Top 25 Scores, and they’ve finally reached #1 – Star Wars! This Star Destroyer-sized episode tackles such questions as: What were our hosts’ origin stories as film music nerds? Can you name that tune in fewer notes than … Continue reading "#27 – Star Wars"

Jon and Andy try for their own EGOT – Episode Glutted with Oscar Talk – as they hit the red carpet and present their takes on this year’s nominees for Best Score. The field includes one repeat customer, and four composers making their debuts on the podcast. Who will win? Who should win? Who shouldn’t … Continue reading "#26 – 2019 Oscars Special"

As God is our witness, #2 on the AFI’s list is Max Steiner’s score for 1939’s Gone with the Wind. Will Jon and Andy butt heads over stair-climbing music, again? Will they see eye to eye about the correct way to use a highlighter? And, how well were they each able to get into a … Continue reading "#25 – Gone with the Wind"

We’ve arrived at the Top Three on the AFI’s list, with Maurice Jarre’s score for the 1962 sweeping historical epic Lawrence of Arabia – so it is written! How does Jarre’s big main theme make such a compelling case for the romance of the desert? What far-fetched scheme did the producer originally have in mind … Continue reading "#24 – Lawrence of Arabia"

Find out how much praise we shower on the AFI’s #4 – Bernard Herrmann’s score for 1960’s Psycho! How did arguably the most famous of all film score cues result from ignoring Hitchcock’s specific instructions? What did Herrmann see in this film beyond even what Hitchcock perhaps intended? And, how would you spell the Psycho … Continue reading "#23 – Psycho"

We’ve made you a podcast you’d be hard-pressed to turn down! We finally cracked the AFI’s top five, with Nino Rota’s score for 1972’s The Godfather. What far-reaching historical traditions does the main theme come from? What somewhat nearer reaching did Rota do for some of the other music? And, how would this list look different … Continue reading "#22 – The Godfather"

You’re not gonna need a bigger podcast – this one’s about John Williams’ 1975 score for Jaws, the #6 score on the AFI’s list! How did Williams change Spielberg’s conception of his own movie? In a score often remembered for its simplicity, how many different complex flavors does he actually bring? And, what one weird … Continue reading "#21 – Jaws"

Not only is it the face in the misty light, but Laura – and its 1944 score by David Raksin – is the #7 on the AFI’s list! What in Raksin’s personal life helped inspire the famous theme melody? Why was it so bewitching for so many performers, for so many years? And, is it … Continue reading "#20 – Laura"

Thumbing their nose at the chance for some numerical serendipity, the AFI put Elmer Bernstein’s score for the 1960 epic Western The Magnificent Seven at #8 on their list. What makes this theme such an all-time great? Does this movie deserve it? And, Jon didn’t dare to write more parody lyrics, did he?

What’s the AFI’s #9 score, by Jerry Goldsmith – did you forget it? It’s Chinatown. What behind-the-scenes intrigue brought Goldsmith to work on this picture? Why is his main theme such a perfect fit for this story? And, what eye-opening scoop did our crack research staff (Andy) uncover?

Don’t worry, we won’t forsake you – we’ve finally cracked the AFI’s top ten, with Dmitri Tiomkin’s score for the classic 1952 western High Noon. How did this movie inadvertently change the whole landscape of the entertainment industry? How successful was Tiomkin at becoming an eccentric fixture on 1950s television? And, to what depth of … Continue reading "#17 – High Noon"