Art of the Score

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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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.

Show 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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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.

Show 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

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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

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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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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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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 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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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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