Bowie

"Cinque's Theme": LA DO TI .... SO TI LA (etc) "Listen...." theme : LA DO TI SO MI, TI LA (etc) In other words, their opening notes are exactly the same, except in "Listen", the "SO" is brought forward, and a "MI" is added in its place. (Their response phrases also share some superficial similarities of note and contour, e.g. they both reach up to the higher MI note on the second note of the phrase, etc.) Adding to the familiarity is the fact the Listen theme is introduced on solo horn, then performed by lush, thickly textured strings, while it's the reverse on Cinque's Theme (I'm referring to the concert track available on the Amistad album here): the bulk of the track is the theme presented on lush, thickly textured strings followed by a solo horn statement (2:50 on the track). These French horn passages are also in the same key (E minor). Perhaps as I am a French horn player, it's extra noticeable. It's not a big deal. For some people, the similarities are striking (for whatever it's worth), despite being rather superficial, and for others, they won't notice and don't care even if you point it out. Doesn't mean it can't or shouldn't be discussed.

People. It's okay to critique a piece of John Williams music. John Williams has written something like 150 hours of music throughout his career. It stands to reason a new theme is going to resemble parts of his previous output. It's okay that it does. And it's okay that we, fans, mention it. It's also okay to prefer that these resemblances are more concealed than they are. It's okay to express disappointment or criticism about it. That doesn't mean the music in question isn't also very good or very enjoyable. That goes without saying on a fan site.

Touché. It's those sweeping thick-textured string chords with unexpected modulations, whether in the main Theme track, or Angela's Prayer. But yes, the latter is definitely closer in some regards, but I also think the "triplet" melody plus the intense string clusters we hear in the second half of the "Listen" theme are strikingly similar to the B and C themes used in the main Angela's Ashes track. Nevertheless, that's splitting hairs. Indeed, there's also no escaping the Anakin's Theme comparisons. Some phrase resolutions are distinctly Anakin's Theme, particularly the ones that surprisingly resolve to a major chord.

It's very good. It's memorable and powerful enough for regular audiences, which is relieving, but it borrows a little too heavily from the past, IMHO, making it a bit on the nose. Either way, it's still very enjoyable, and it is not lost on me how miraculous it is that it even exists. If you remove the 2nd and 7th notes, it's almost 1:1 the Close Encounters theme! In fact, it almost makes a perfect call-and-response phrase to the CE theme, as in: re' mi' do do, so... la do ti so mi ti la... This was my first thought. Cinque's Theme (minus flute) married with the Theme from Angela's Ashes (minus piano).

So "Approaching the Throne" and "A New Home" are basically exactly what was on the FYC. Interesting. Everything else is restructured and merged, and/or omitted, one way or another.

Wouldn't surprise me to find it's a global release lining up with midnight East West Coast US. But are we sure it was meant to be midnight of Tuesday 17th into Wednesday 18th? And not 18th into the 19th?

I'm optimistic about his chances among those potential nominees. I expect the most likely nominees will be: Alexandre Desplat, "Little Women" Thomas Newman, "1917" John Williams, "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" And: Hildur Guðnadóttir, "Joker" Randy Newman, "Marriage Story" (with an outside chance of...) Marco Beltrami, "Ford v Ferrari" Michael Giacchino, "Jojo Rabbit" Daniel Pemberton, "Motherless Brooklyn" Alberto Iglesias, "Pain and Glory" I think Williams has a strong shot of standing out among those nominees with Academy voters and actually running away with the win.

Is it the B-section in the Imperial March?

A New Home & Grand Finale

In all seriousness, this is the most fitting title.

With 52, though, we could rank each nominated score according to a deck of cards.

Discuss.

Hope he incorporates subtle elements from "Han Solo and the Princess," such as that distinctive intervalic combination (i.e. re-mi-so-re.... re-ri-fi-ti,-do) This would actually make a great little competition idea for JWFan. Come up with a Solo theme!

At the very worst, Episode 9 will be the next and final thing he works on, and events cause it to remain unfinished. But there are teams of highly skilled craftspeople who'll be ready to sweep in and finish it in his honour if and when that happens. I don't want to jinx it, but I can imagine Williams going for another 5 years or so. Episode 9. Another Spielberg. And Indy 5.

Time for my patented "Best Listening Order". Here's what I've come up with this time: BEGINNINGS... 01. Main Title and Escape 02. Ahch-To Island REVELATIONS... 06. Old Friends 08. Lesson One 10. Who Are You? HEROES YOUNG AND OLD... 07. The Rebellion is Reborn 05. Fun with Finn and Rose 13. The Sacred Jedi Texts DARK FORCES... 03. Revisiting Snoke 04. The Supremacy 17. The Spark 14. A New Alliance DUELS AND FATES... 11. The Fathiers 19. Peace and Purpose 16. The Battle of Crait 20. Finale Tracks left out: Canto Bight, The Cave, Chrome Dome, The Last Jedi