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PODCAST

Settling the Score

Join Jon and Andy as they explore the world of film music, one score at a time. Each episode is an in-depth discussion of a classic film score: what makes it tick, how it serves the movie, and whether it"s, you know, any good. It"s a freewheeling, opinionated conversation with an analytical bent, richly illustrated with musical examples. No expertise required. The series began by tackling “100 Years of Film Scores," the AFI"s list of (purportedly) the 25 greatest scores in American cinema history,

tv & film music commentary

All Episodes

3:28

Special Announcement!

Settling the Score ·

2021/12/14

Yup, we're finally starting a Patreon. There's already bonus content! Check it out:http://www.patreon.com/settlingthescore

en-US

1:32:13

#50 – Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Settling the Score ·

2021/11/30

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 for changing your clothes?

en-US

1:28:02

#49 – A Clockwork Orange

Settling the Score ·

2021/10/12

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?

en-US

1:57:02

#48 – The Best Years of Our Lives

Settling the Score ·

2021/08/17

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?

en-US

1:10:55

#47 – Young Frankenstein

Settling the Score ·

2021/06/22

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 Becky - shed on them? And, what is the sweet mystery of life, anyway?

en-US

1:57:58

#46 – 2021 Oscars Special

Settling the Score ·

2021/04/20

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?

en-US

1:11:15

#45 – Terminator 2: Judgment Day

Settling the Score ·

2021/04/06

We’re back, with Brad Fiedel’s score for 1991’s box office champion, Terminator 2: Judgment 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?

en-US

1:18:30

#44 – Touch of Evil

Settling the Score ·

2021/03/02

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 to the film’s famous opening shot? And, what odd jobs did Welles scrounge up on the side while he was making this movie?

en-US

1:58:38

#43 – 1995 Extravaganza

Settling the Score ·

2021/01/21

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 watch? And, which of them should be rewritten as musicals?

en-US

1:31:39

#42 – Back to the Future

Settling the Score ·

2020/10/13

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 need roads?

en-US

1:21:55

#41 – North by Northwest

Settling the Score ·

2020/08/12

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 himself?

en-US

1:18:33

#40 – Titanic

Settling the Score ·

2020/06/30

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 have actually been on the bottom of the ocean this whole time?

en-US

1:03:12

#39 – Bullitt

Settling the Score ·

2020/05/12

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?

en-US

1:06:13

#38 – The Princess Bride

Settling the Score ·

2020/04/14

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 Rob Reiner said no one else could have scored the movie, did he mean it? (Anybody want a peanut?)

en-US

1:29:46

#37 – The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Settling the Score ·

2020/03/24

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 call, a lone gunslinger, a dream, or all of the above? And, what does Jon’s cat think of this score?

en-US

2:01:06

#36 – 2020 Oscars Special

Settling the Score ·

2020/02/04

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?

en-US

1:14:58

#35 – Rocky

Settling the Score ·

2020/01/21

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)

en-US

1:29:53

#34 – Spartacus

Settling the Score ·

2019/12/17

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 improved by recording it in a bathtub?

en-US

1:12:21

#33 – The Omen

Settling the Score ·

2019/10/29

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 really a Satanist?

en-US

1:15:44

#32 – Batman

Settling the Score ·

2019/10/15

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 ever written on an airplane?

en-US

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