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John Powell's SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY (2018) - Deluxe Edition 2020 / Intrada 2-CD edition October 31, 2023


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16 minutes ago, publicist said:

 

Oh, it's not about me, i think you have a pound of worthwile tips for a better daily conduct for everyone here!

 

if u want that, follow the mstrox thread.  I'm only here in this thread to talk about bicycles and Han Solo.

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53 minutes ago, Disco Stu said:

Is it just me or does that Robert Kraft guy who cohosts Score the Podcast come off as a real Hollywood phony type?

 

Well he is what you'd call a "suit" but I think he's probably a pretty decent guy.

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Just now, TGP said:

 

Well he is what you'd call a "suit" but I think he's probably a pretty decent guy.

 

Probably.  He can just come across as quite shallow and fixated on commercial success in that way that corporate managers often do.

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8 minutes ago, MikeH said:

Do we think John T and John P took bike rides together while discussing the score?

Spin Class in tights, to get the grey cells working!

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7 hours ago, PrayodiBA said:

Powell just kinda sick with this talk, he confirmed it though (he edited his original post):

 

Here’s your final list of brand new material to look for in Solo: A Star Wars Story:
1. Han Theme (by John Williams)
2. Love Theme

3. #Chewbacca Theme

 

So there's a "Han" theme, a "Chewbacca" theme, and a "Han and Chewbacca" theme?

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One thing that Powell said in that podcast that is sort of tripping me up is when he says "I'd always said if we were gonna do a movie, can we get Yoda?"

 

Because that almost makes it sound like it was his own idea to get Williams, which I don't think is true? If nothing else, seems like this is fulfilling some sort of vague fantasy he had of doing a Star Wars score with John Williams. Considering how much of his career has been built on collaboration and where he came from with Zimmer and everything, it actually makes sense that he'd be so into this. A new theme by John Williams is just a cool toy to get on your Star Wars score.

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11 minutes ago, mrbellamy said:

One thing that Powell said in that podcast that is sort of tripping me up is when he says "I'd always said if we were gonna do a movie, can we get Yoda?"

 

Because that almost makes it sound like it was his own idea to get Williams, which I don't think is true? If nothing else, seems like this is fulfilling some sort of vague fantasy he had of doing a Star Wars score with John Williams. Considering how much of his career has been built on collaboration and where he came from with Zimmer and everything, it actually makes sense that he'd be so into this. A new theme by John Williams is just a cool toy to get on your Star Wars score.

 

He specifically says in the podcast that he said yes because of the opportunity to work with Williams, that he was already on board

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6 minutes ago, PrayodiBA said:

i have an underwhelming feeeling about this...

 

Why let other people decide how you feel about a score? Calm down, it hasn't even been released yet...

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I don't like reviews when it comes to music. Never have. I mean.... I think everyone should just judge for themselves. Music is subjective. I'm going to love things and hate things and then someone else on this board will have the opposite reaction to the same score. If you aren't going to judge it musically, what's the point of just saying it fades into the background and is not memorable? Maybe fading into the background means it was great and did it's job and you just didn't notice anything because "you" were sitting there enjoying the film... Or maybe it's clouded by the fact that "you" didn't like the film and so you were glancing at your watch the whole time so everything was just lackluster. Even with composers I do not credit as being able to write for orchestra, I go in and judge it on my own and hope they all succeed. I never take into account what any critic says about a score unless they are an orchestral composer. And in case someone thinks I am saying that no one can judge a score unless they can write for orchestra, that is not what I mean. What I mean is this. if you are going to judge it MUSICALLY, be able to write for the orchestra and/or know your harmonies and theory and history. If you are going to judge it based on if it is your cup of tea... Well that part is totally subjective. Britney Spears is pretty much shite music but I love dance remixes of most of her songs. Who doesn't want her shouting "You Better Work Bitch" when your doing abs at the gym?! I know I do!!!

 

Also for anyone, Gia, Powell, McNeely, etc, you can't compare their scores to what Williams has done because they need to sound like themselves as well as staying in that harmonic language that defines Star Wars. Parallel minor chords, big themes that denote characters, etc etc. It's not fair to judge them to anyone but themselves. Then we either like the output or not subjectively unless it is so far out of left field that it is bad. From what I am reading, Powell's just sounds fine so far!

 

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1 hour ago, Disco Stu said:

He specifically says in the podcast that he said yes because of the opportunity to work with Williams, that he was already on board

 

I guess what I meant was what are the odds that Powell gets offered the gig, wants a chance to work with JW, Williams agrees and that gets Powell most excited to sign, even if he would have signed anyway.

 

But really, he probably would have just said that. More likely Williams either wanted to be involved or was asked to contribute and agreed but not to do the whole score, and when they offered the job under conditions of working with JW, Powell was not only up for it but excited by the idea. 

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On 5/10/2018 at 7:21 AM, PrayodiBA said:

 

Another clip with Powell score.

Nice!

 

Wait, is that E.T. danger theme at around 0:37 ?

At 25 seconds, the theme there is from that sheet music SilverTrumpet posted. Starting two bars before the bottom 3 lines (staves) on the left hand side (first page). Where it sas something like (Search Me) in brackets onwards. Same tune.

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1 hour ago, TGP said:

Film critics on the whole should not bother talking about music.  I can't think of any that have ever had anything useful to say on the subject.

 

Sure, because the "general public" doesn't know what they are talking about, since they don't know anything, right?

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A slight mention from Empire's review... "Interestingly, we learn that the Imperial March is actually the theme-music for the Empire’s holographic recruiting ads." :lol:

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12 minutes ago, Bofur01 said:

A slight mention from Empire's review... "Interestingly, we learn that the Imperial March is actually the theme-music for the Empire’s holographic recruiting ads." :lol:

Oh no. Why? WHY?

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49 minutes ago, Disco Stu said:

I love when non-diegetic music becomes diegetic.

 

Its the kind of thing that I sometimes love and sometimes decidedly don't.

 

I think the issue here is:

 

1. Its a first for a theatrically-released Star Wars film, so it feels like an aesthetic departure.

2. Its unusual given how this world's character (and, by extension, its diegetic music) is different to the scores it merited. Williams' scores are about this world, but not very much of it. So the Imperial March feels out-of-place as part of the diegetic sound, which always tended more towards jazz. All the films where I like the crossover are ones where the scores feel appropriately of the world of the film, and are in the same timbral and harmonic vein as its diegetic music: e.g. Braveheart, Middle Earth films.

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59 minutes ago, Disco Stu said:

I love when non-diegetic music becomes diegetic.  Like in Octopussy!  It’s fun.  Take the stick out of your bum!

 

I saw an instance of this in something recently!! And I can't remember what film it was... but it really threw me off because it was quite a well known theme. Possibly even a Williams theme. Was Hedwig's Theme used somewhere diegetic in Fantastic Beasts? Or the JP theme in JW?

 

I'm not just thinking of HGW's Prometheus theme in Covenant, I don't think.

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15 minutes ago, crumbs said:

Was Hedwig's Theme used somewhere diegetic in Fantastic Beasts?

 

Nope. It was used in one of the first three Harry Potter films: Hagrid plays it on a recorder, I believe. Again, its the kind of world that lends itself to traditional, instrumental music, and I believe that whatever diegetic music is actually in those films, is indeed in that vein.

 

The world of Star Wars traffics in jazzy source music and/or "ethnic" one (e.g. Tatooine Street music), both of which suit the character of the world. The same cannot be said for the romantic-period orchestral (not to mention choral) music of the Williams scores and its spin-offs. That's why it may feel "off".

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36 minutes ago, Chen G. said:

Nope. It was used in one of the first three Harry Potter films: Hagrid plays it on a recorder, I believe. Again, its the kind of world that lends itself to traditional, instrumental music, and I believe that whatever diegetic music is actually in those films, is indeed in that vein.

 

 

I'm thinking of something else then, but it was definitely a famous melody, probably from a Williams or Goldsmith or Silvestri movie, used in a distracting diegetic way that made no in-universe sense.

 

Someone should start a thread about such diegetic music!

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Reminds me of Luke humming along to Imperial Attack:
 

 

Hopefully it is not the Kevin Kiner version:
 

 

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20 minutes ago, crumbs said:

 

I'm thinking of something else then, but it was definitely a famous melody, probably from a Williams or Goldsmith or Silvestri movie, used in a distracting diegetic way that made no in-universe sense.

 

 

 

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37 minutes ago, Fargo said:

I always thought it was nice Seth McF appreciates good music in his work. It's just too bad his work plain sucks.

Even The Orville?

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The first 3 episodes or so of The Orville are kind of cringey-bad, but then the entire rest of the season is great!  One of my favorite shows of 2017 without question.  And the score is FANTASTIC.

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1 minute ago, Jay said:

How many episodes did you watch?

 

All of them.  By the end it had graduated to "Fine."  My position remains that I'm completely in love with the idea of a really positive, optimistic, TNG inspired sci-fi show.  I just don't think this is the best version of that, but Seth is the only one who can make it these days so I still watch of course.  I'm really hopeful for it to get better with time like TNG did, and I'm just glad it's getting a chance to.

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