A Score To Settle
A Score To Settle is both a podcast and blog about music composed for Film and TV.
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Episodes
Friday Feb 10, 2023
Friday Feb 10, 2023
Happy New Year to all listeners out there and welcome to the first new episode of 2023! In this inaugural episode of the new year, I am accompanied by popular soundtrack album producer and editor Neil S. Bulk, in what has become a perennial, (hopefully) entertaining and often “inside baseball” type of discussion. Neil and I recap his standout projects from the prior year, 2022, for the venerable soundtrack record labels La La Land Records, Quartet Records and Varese Sarabande. As always, I appreciate when Neil can spend time to relay the details and experiences on these albums!
Below are the films and composers represented here, with time index for helpful reference:
FIRST BLOOD (1982), RAMBO: FIRST BLOOD PART II (1985), RAMBO III (1988) (Jerry Goldsmith) - 00:00:00
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS (1971) (John Barry) - 00:15:39
CHAPLIN (1992) (John Barry) - 00:19:10
DR SEUSS' HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS (2000) (James Horner) - 00:26:09
TOMORROW NEVER DIES (1997) (David Arnold) - 00:33:43
THE GODFATHER (1972) (Nino Rota) - 00:44:54
PRESUMED INNOCENT (1990) (John Williams) - 00:55:00
DEATH BECOMES HER (1992) (Alan Silvestri) - 1:01:02
L.A. CONFIDENTIAL (1997) (Jerry Goldsmith) - 1:08:09
THE BURBS (1989) (Jerry Goldsmith) - 1:15:50
Stay safe out there, take care of yourself and each other!
Albums discussed now available at:
https://lalalandrecords.com/
https://www.quartetrecords.com/
https://www.varesesarabande.com/
Connect with the podcast on Facebook and Twitter:
www.facebook.com/ascoretosettle
https://twitter.com/score2settlepod
Email the show at ascoretosettlepodcast@gmail.com
Sunday Dec 04, 2022
Sunday Dec 04, 2022
Welcome back to the show! In an effort to wrap up 2022, I’m concluding with an episode of the Now Playing sub-series of the podcast. This is following on from the previous Now Playing installment (episode 47) in which I primarily covered the first half of the year, including THE BATMAN and TOP GUN: MAVERICK, with additional notable highlights from late 2021. In this episode, enjoy music from John Williams, Lorne Balfe, Junkie XL, Alexandre Desplat among others! Below are the films and composers represented here, with time index for helpful reference:
Title playtime index:
THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER (Michael Giacchino & Nami Melumad) - 00:00:00
NOPE (Michael Abels) - 00:10:29
THREE THOUSAND YEARS OF LONGING (Tom Holkenborg aka Junkie XL) - 00:18:53
THE WOMAN KING (Terence Blanchard) - 00:27:18
THE LOST KING (Alexandre Desplat) - 00:34:41
BLACK ADAM (Lorne Balfe) - 00:42:30
BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER (Ludwig Göransson) - 00:53:07
THE FABELMANS (John Williams) - 1:03:57
Stay safe out there, take care of yourself and each other!
Connect with the podcast on Facebook and Twitter:
www.facebook.com/ascoretosettle
https://twitter.com/score2settlepod
Email the show at ascoretosettlepodcast@gmail.com
Sunday Sep 18, 2022
Sunday Sep 18, 2022
Welcome back to the podcast! In this episode, I present and examine the music composed for the PREDATOR film franchise, from the 1987 original through to the latest installment, PREY, released via the streaming service Hulu in August 2022. My goal is to identify the themes, motifs, instrumentation and approach applied by composer Alan Silvestri (BACK TO THE FUTURE, MOUSE HUNT, THE AVENGERS) to PREDATOR (1987) & PREDATOR 2 (1990) and how this symphonic model was subsequently interpreted in the sequels and spin-offs (or not). Later, PREY eschews much of the previous musical language and charts new sonic territory, with a subtle nod to Silvestri. Additional composers represented in this pulse-pounding episode include John Debney, Brian Tyler, Henry Jackman, Harald Kloser and Sarah Schachner.
Title playtime index:
PREDATOR - 00:00:00
PREDATOR 2 - 00:26:25
ALIEN VS PREDATOR - 00:37:10
ALIENS VS PREDATOR: REQUIEM - 00:44:36
PREDATORS - 00:51:52
THE PREDATOR - 1:04:48
PREY - 1:19:23
Stay safe out there, take care of yourself and each other!
Connect with the podcast on Facebook and Twitter:
www.facebook.com/ascoretosettle
https://twitter.com/score2settlepod
Email the show at ascoretosettlepodcast@gmail.com
Sunday Jun 26, 2022
Sunday Jun 26, 2022
Welcome, everyone, to the next episode of the podcast! In this episode, I revisit a sub-series of the show called "Now Playing", during which I showcase recent soundtrack albums to which I’ve been listening. This can include music for both current film releases and classic scores newly issued on album. Below are the titles (and artists) that I present, mostly from the end of last year and the first half of 2022:
VENOM: LET THERE BE CARNAGE - Marco Beltrami
ARMY OF THIEVES - Hans Zimmer & Steve Mazzaro
THE KING'S MAN - Matthew Margeson & Dominic Lewis
DEATH ON THE NILE (2022) - Patrick Doyle
UNCHARTED - Ramin Djawadi
DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS - Danny Elfman
THE BATMAN & JURASSIC WORLD: DOMINION - Michael Giacchino
TOP GUN: MAVERICK - Harold Faltermeyer, Lady Gaga, Hans Zimmer & Lorne Balfe
FIRESTARTER (1984) - Tangerine Dream
Stay safe out there, take care of yourself and each other!
Connect with the podcast on Facebook and Twitter:
www.facebook.com/ascoretosettle
https://twitter.com/score2settlepod
Email the show at ascoretosettlepodcast@gmail.com
Sunday Apr 24, 2022
Sunday Apr 24, 2022
Hello again and welcome back to the podcast! In this somewhat "super-sized" installment of my multi-part trek through the music of Science Fiction cinema, I attempt to close out the decade of the 1980's. The previous installment in this series focused on titles from the years 1980-82. Here, I cover the remaining years of the decade with examples of the competing and sometimes collaborative film music trends - pop & electronic and orchestral.
The 80’s were a peak time of musical surprises, somewhat akin to the 1960’s when we heard a mix of traditional orchestral scores, jazz, pop & rock-based colors as well as avant garde music derived from concert techniques. Following its revival, the large scale orchestral approach continued reigning over much of cinematic Science Fiction, now bolstered by electronic and choral elements. Parallel to this were the experiments in synth and pop styles, connecting the genre to present day (for the time) musical trends. To help identify these unique sonic qualities, I'll sample music from TERMINATOR (Brad Fiedel), 2010 (David Shire), ENEMY MINE (Maurice Jarre), KRULL (James Horner), SPACEHUNTER: ADVENTURES IN THE FORBIDDEN ZONE (Elmer Bernstein) and THE ABYSS (Alan Silvestri), amid more!
*Correction - During this episode, I mistakenly attributed the theme song for the TV series "Cheers" to composer Craig Safan. In fact, while Safan provided the series bumpers and underscore cues, the theme was composed by Gary Portnoy and Judy Hart Angelo.
Stay safe out there, take care of yourself and each other!
Connect with the podcast on Facebook and Twitter:
www.facebook.com/ascoretosettle
https://twitter.com/score2settlepod
Email the show at ascoretosettlepodcast@gmail.com
Sunday Feb 06, 2022
Sunday Feb 06, 2022
Welcome to the next new episode! I am pleased to be joined once more by soundtrack album producer and editor, Neil S. Bulk. As heard in previous years, which long-time listeners may recall, I’ve invited Neil back to reflect on his notable projects from the prior year, in this case 2021, for the various soundtrack record labels such as La La Land Records and Varese Sarabande. Topics range from work continuing during lockdown, rescores, film score presentations vs original albums and guessing as to what was happening in 1989 with recorded cues now missing. Titles discussed in this episode include:
THE NEXT KARATE KID (Bill Conti/William Ross)
STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN, GLORY, FIELD OF DREAMS (James Horner)
STRIPES (Elmer Bernstein)
CABOBLANCO, THE STRIPPER, S*P*Y*S, TORA! TORA! TORA!, ACE ELI AND RODGER OF THE SKIES (Jerry Goldsmith)
THE TIME TUNNEL (1960's TV series) (John Williams, various)
THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK (Alfred Newman)
LOVE ACTUALLY (Craig Armstrong)
DANTE'S PEAK (James Newton Howard/John Frizzel)
Stay safe out there, take care of yourself and each other!
Albums discussed now available at:
https://lalalandrecords.com/
https://www.varesesarabande.com/
Connect with the podcast on Facebook and Twitter:
www.facebook.com/ascoretosettle
https://twitter.com/score2settlepod
Email the show at ascoretosettlepodcast@gmail.com
Sunday Jan 16, 2022
Sunday Jan 16, 2022
Welcome to 2022, everyone! In this first episode of the year, my multi-part journey into the music of Science Fiction cinema and its evolving soundscape through the decades continues. We’re now crossing over into the 1980’s, following on from the seismic shift in film scoring which occurred with the unexpected arrival of STAR WARS in 1977 and its John Williams-penned symphonic score, hearkening back to the sounds of the classical Hollywood era.
This symphonic shadow loomed large over Sci-Fi movies of the 80's, as heard here in music composed by James Horner (BATTLE BEYOND THE STARS, STAR TREK II), John Scott (THE FINAL COUNTDOWN) and Elmer Bernstein (SATURN 3, HEAVY METAL). However, the incorporation of synthesizers into soundtracks increased, both combined with large orchestras and also in solo efforts, such as John Carpenter's ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK (1981) and the inimitable Vangelis score for BLADE RUNNER (1982).
Stay safe out there, take care of yourself and each other!
Connect with the podcast on Facebook and Twitter:
www.facebook.com/ascoretosettle
https://twitter.com/score2settlepod
Email the show at ascoretosettlepodcast@gmail.com
Sunday Oct 17, 2021
Sunday Oct 17, 2021
Greetings everyone! In this new episode of the podcast, my sonic journey through the music for Science Fiction cinema through the decades continues, by closing out the 1970's. This will focus on titles from the 1977-1979 years, and more specifically STAR WARS and the ripples created by that seismic shift of its musical score composed by John Williams. The electronic and avant garde sounds of the genre heard during the early Seventies found themselves supplanted by the return of those of the Golden Age of Hollywood, being the more traditionally symphonic soundscapes.
John Williams features prominently as expected, by way of not only STAR WARS but both CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND and SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE, along with titles by Jerry Goldsmith (DAMNATION ALLEY, ALIEN, STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE), John Barry (STARCRASH, THE BLACK HOLE), Laurence Rosenthal (THE ISLAND OF DR MOREAU, METEOR), Brian May (MAD MAX) and others...
Stay safe out there, take care of yourself and each other!
Connect with the podcast on Facebook and Twitter:
www.facebook.com/ascoretosettle
https://twitter.com/score2settlepod
Email the show at ascoretosettlepodcast@gmail.com
Sunday Aug 22, 2021
Sunday Aug 22, 2021
Hi again everybody! In this episode of the podcast, my multi-part deep dive into the malleable soundscape of Science Fiction cinema continues, with the focus today being the 1970’s. Well, to be more specific, this episode focuses on the first half of the 1970's.
It was a period when the sweeping symphonic sound of the Golden Age had briefly faded, mostly supplanted by either pop inflected scores and songs, tracked in classical works or experimental, often electronic tones. Sci-fi film scores (and composers) represented here include COLOSSUS: THE FORBIN PROJECT (Michel Colombier), THE OMEGA MAN (Ron Grainer), SILENT RUNNING (Peter Schickele), SOYLENT GREEN (Fred Myrow), LOGAN'S RUN (Jerry Goldsmith) and a suite of music from the four PLANET OF THE APES sequels.
Stay safe out there, stay cool, take care of yourself and each other!
Connect with the podcast on Facebook and Twitter:
www.facebook.com/ascoretosettle
https://twitter.com/score2settlepod
Email the show at ascoretosettlepodcast@gmail.com
Sunday Jul 18, 2021
Sunday Jul 18, 2021
Welcome back to the podcast! In this episode I continue on to the next chapter of a multi-part deep dive, into the evolving music of Science Fiction cinema through the decades, with my focus today being the 1960’s. Thus far, we’ve journeyed through the 1950’s scores which were brimming with electric violins, theremins, Novachords, jarring stinger chords and harsh onslaughts of brass and percussion.
Now, as we advance into the 1960's, we'll hear sumptuous symphonic scores for THE TIME MACHINE (1960) and MASTER OF THE WORLD (1961), pop and jazz influences in PANIC IN YEAR ZERO! (1962) and BARBARELLA (1968) and avant garde concert techniques expressed in the music for FANTASTIC VOYAGE (1966) and PLANET OF THE APES (1968). Composers featured here include Bernard Herrmann, Jerry Goldsmith, Les Baxter, Russell Garcia, Akira Ifukube - plus vocal crooning by Frankie Avalon! I also include samples of Alex North's original, unused score for the Stanley Kubrick directed, game-changing 1968 classic 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY.
Stay safe out there, take care of yourself and each other!
Small correction: I mistakenly attribute the score for 1954's 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA to Paul Sawtell and Bert Shefter, but it was composed by Paul J. Smith. Thanks to my attentive listeners!
Connect with the podcast on Facebook and Twitter:
www.facebook.com/ascoretosettle
https://twitter.com/score2settlepod
Email the show at ascoretosettlepodcast@gmail.com