A Score To Settle Podcast - Episode 47, Now Playing... ”The Batman”, ”Death On The Nile”, ”The King’s Man” and more!

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

I hope that everyone who listens will enjoy the episode and kindly forgive any technical or factual gaffes. Below is the embedded player from which you can listen or simply click on the website link to head directly to where the podcast is hosted on Podbean. 

Feel free to subscribe and download the episode via iTunes, just search their store for "a score to settle" or launch from the link below. If you do listen through iTunes, take a moment to rate the show and write a review, it will help bring me more notice. The podcast is also available on Spotify! Check out the links to the Facebook and Twitter accounts, the latter of which can be found at @score2settlepod. Thanks again!

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A Score To Settle Podcast - Episode 46, The Evolving Sound of Science Fiction Cinema, Part 6 - The 1980's cont

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 1980’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!

I hope that everyone who listens will enjoy the episode and kindly forgive any technical or factual gaffes. Below is the embedded player from which you can listen or simply click on the website link to head directly to where the podcast is hosted on Podbean. 

Feel free to subscribe and download the episode via iTunes, just search their store for "a score to settle" or launch from the link below. If you do listen through iTunes, take a moment to rate the show and write a review, it will help bring me more notice. The podcast is also available on Spotify! Check out the links to the Facebook and Twitter accounts, the latter of which can be found at @score2settlepod. Thanks again!

*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.

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A Score To Settle Podcast - Episode 45, Guest Neil S. Bulk, soundtrack album producer and editor, 2021 in review

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)

I hope that everyone who listens will enjoy the episode and kindly forgive any technical or factual gaffes. Below is the embedded player from which you can listen or simply click on the website link to head directly to where the podcast is hosted on Podbean. 

Feel free to subscribe and download the episode via iTunes, just search their store for "a score to settle" or launch from the link below. If you do listen through iTunes, take a moment to rate the show and write a review, it will help bring me more notice. The podcast is also available on Spotify! Check out the links to the Facebook and Twitter accounts, the latter of which can be found at @score2settlepod. Thanks again!

iTunes

Spotify

A Score To Settle Podcast - Episode 44, The Evolving Sound of Science Fiction Cinema, Part 5 - The 1980's

Welcome to 2022, everyone! In this first podcast 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).

I hope that everyone who listens will enjoy the episode and kindly forgive any technical or factual gaffes. Below is the embedded player from which you can listen or simply click on the website link to head directly to where the podcast is hosted on Podbean. 

Feel free to subscribe and download the episode via iTunes, just search their store for "a score to settle" or launch from the link below. If you do listen through iTunes, take a moment to rate the show and write a review, it will help bring me more notice. The podcast is also available on Spotify! Check out the links to the Facebook and Twitter accounts, the latter of which can be found at @score2settlepod. Thanks again!

iTunes

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A Score To Settle Podcast - Episode 43, The Evolving Sound of Science Fiction Cinema, Part 4 - The 1970's cont

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.

I hope that everyone who listens will enjoy the episode and kindly forgive any technical or factual gaffes. Below is the embedded player from which you can listen or simply click on the website link to head directly to where the podcast is hosted on Podbean. 

Feel free to subscribe and download the episode via iTunes, just search their store for "a score to settle" or launch from the link below. If you do listen through iTunes, take a moment to rate the show and write a review, it will help bring me more notice. The podcast is also available on Spotify! Check out the links to the Facebook and Twitter accounts, the latter of which can be found at @score2settlepod. Thanks again!

iTunes

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A Score To Settle Podcast - Episode 42, The Evolving Sound of Science Fiction Cinema, Part 3 - The 1970's

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.

I hope that everyone who listens will enjoy the episode and kindly forgive any technical or factual gaffes. Below is the embedded player from which you can listen or simply click on the website link to head directly to where the podcast is hosted on Podbean. 

Feel free to subscribe and download the episode via iTunes, just search their store for "a score to settle" or launch from the link below. If you do listen through iTunes, take a moment to rate the show and write a review, it will help bring more notice. The podcast is also available on Spotify! Check out the links to the Facebook and Twitter accounts, the latter of which can be found at @score2settlepod. Thanks again!

iTunes

Spotify