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Even though John Williams has scored plenty of tense or dark moments, I don't consider the vast majority of his music in those instances "evil". He has such a sense of underlying humanity that his music for these moments, consciously or not, capture a pervasive sense of compassion--something he actually explicitly comments on in the ROTS doc. There's a huge difference in my mind between scoring evil and writing an evil score. I'm trying to think of a score that sounds truly, irretrievably brutal, sadistic, and unfeeling. Oh crap I forgot we banned the Oxford com This pretentious asshole has been banned for 24 hours.

Like Williams said in the interview, his concert works and film works form a symbiotic circle, what happens to one of them will affect the other. You must understand this.

Looks like this is fairly recent: https://www.steinway.com/news/features/owners/john-williams Short, but lovely!

So, there's still not quite enough information for complete OST and FYC breakdowns, but getting pretty close now: OST Breakdown 1 Fanfare and Prologue 4:35 0:00-1:26 1M1 Main Title 1:26-2:06 1M22 The Ninth Beginning 2:06-end 1M8 Approaching the Nursery 2 Journey to Exegol 2:49 0:00-1:01 1M7 Journey to Hell 1:01-1:42 1M10 Ready To Be A Jedi 1:42-end 1M15 Vader’s Castle 3 The Rise of Skywalker 4:18 The Rise of Skywalker 4 The Old Death Star 3:17 0:00-0:48 5M10 Landing At ? 0:48-1:20 4M30 It Fits! 1:20-2:21 5M10 Landing At ? [continued] 2:21-end 5M12 Off The Waterfront 5 The Speeder Chase 3:21 0:00-0:35 3M1 Before the Chase 0:35-3:08 3M3 [untitled speeder chase cue] 3:08-end unknown 6 Destiny of a Jedi 5:12 0:00-0:22 7M2 Rey Meets Luke 0:22-1:13 6M20 Sabre Toss 1:13-3:01 7M3 Luke's Advice 3:01-end 7M10 Leia's Sabre 7 Anthem of Evil 3:24 0:00-1:48 unknown 1:48-2:00 1M8 Approaching the Nursery 2:00-2:48 unknown 2:48-3:07 6M12 Six Twelve 3:07-end unknown 8 Fleeing from Kijimi 2:52 0:00-1:38 5M1 Meddling and Poe's Crush 1:38-end 5M7 I'm The Spy 9 We Go Together 3:17 0:00-2:33 2M6 The Medal 2:33-end 2M7 Ship Trip 10 Join Me 3:43 0:00-1:31 5M8 Genealogy 1:31-2:58 8M4 Psalm of the Sith 2:58-end 5M8 Genealogy [continued] 11 They Will Come 2:50 0:00-1:29 7M4 The Meeting 1:29-end 7M5 March of the Resistance 12 The Final Saber Duel 3:58 0:00-1:05 6M7 Stop and Start 1:05-2:54 6M8 Healing Wounds 2:54-end 5M30 Under A Blanket 13 Battle of the Resistance 2:51 0:00-1:19 7M12 Seven Twelve 1:19-end 7M12A Horses #2 14 Approaching the Throne 4:16 0:00-2:18 7M20 Approaching the Throne 2:18-3:54 7M30 More Action 3:54-4:03 7M20 Approaching the Throne [continued] 4:03-end 1M26 Lightspeed Skipping 15 The Force Is With You 3:59 0:00-2:10 7M38 I Am All The Sith 2:10-2:28 7M44 Name That Tune 2:28-3:02 7M38 I Am All The Sith [continued] 3:02-end 8M10 Success and Sliding 16 Farewell 5:14 0:00-0:48 8M11A Dropping the Sabre Alt 0:48-2:50 8M14 Ben to Rey 2:50-3:07 10M1 Rey and Ren 3:07-end 8M14 Ben To Rey [continued] 17 Reunion 4:05 9M3 Bows 18 A New Home 1:47 9M5Alt Return to Tatooine 19 End Credits 10:52 0:00-0:32 8M15 Horn Solo 0:32-end 8M16 End Credits FYC Breakdown 1 Prologue 1:46 0:00-0:08 4M2 Rey's Incredible Hand 0:08-0:36 1M10 Ready To Be A Jedi 0:36-0:56 1M15 Vader's Castle 0:56-1:28 6M13 Rey's Trip to P 1:28-1:38 1M22 The Ninth Beginning 1:38-end 4M3 Chewie's Interrogation 2 Falcon Flight 2:22 0:00-0:31 1M26 Spy's Message 0:31-end 1M26 Lightspeed Skipping 3 We Go Together 2:11 2M6 The Medal 4 In The Desert 2:27 4M1 Rey Senses Ren's Approach 5 A Prisoner 1:24 0:00-0:28 1M8 Approaching the Nursery 0:28-end 4M12 Ship Walk and Talk 6 To Kijimi 1:38 0:00-0:27 4M5 To the End 0:27-0:48 4M5B Good Ship, Bad Ship 0:48-1:16 2M6 The Medal 1:16-1:29 2M4 The Emperor Lives 1:29-end 1M13 Tell Me What They Are 7 Fleeing From Kijimi 1:53 5M1 Meddling and Poe’s Crush 8 Hallway Shooting 2:11 5M3 Hallway Shooting 9 Hard To Get Rid Of 2:20 0:00-0:43 5M6 Hard To Get Rid Of 0:43-0:50 8M14 Ben To Rey 0:50-1:57 5M6 Hard To Get Rid Of [continued] 1:57-2:01 4M3 Chewie's Interrogation 2:01-end 5M6 Hard To Get Rid Of [continued] 10 Join Me 2:22 0:00-1:17 5M8 Genealogy 1:17-1:46 8M4 Psalm of the Sith 1:46-2:00 7M12 Seven Twelve 2:00-end 5M8 Genealogy [continued] 11 The Old Death Star 2:15 0:00-0:43 5M10 Landing at ? 0:43-1:20 4M30 It Fits! 1:20-1:27 3M4 Quicksand! 1:27-1:43 0M1 Children’s School 1:43-end 7M1 Seven One 12 Off The Waterfront 1:04 5M12 Off The Waterfront 13 Final Saber Duel 1:38 6M7 Stop and Start 14 Healing Wounds 2:50 0:00-1:44 6M8 Healing Wounds 1:44-end 5M30 Under A Blanket 15 Advice 1:54 7M8 Father Knows Best 16 Battle of the Resistance 1:54 0:00-1:19 7M12 Seven Twelve 1:19-end 7M12A Horses #2 17 Approaching the Throne 4:17 0:00-2:18 7M20 Approaching the Throne 2:18-4:04 7M30 More Action 4:04-end 7M20 [continued] 18 Parents 1:57 0:00-1:48 7M21 Parents 1:48-end [from The Last Jedi] 1M9 Revisiting Snoke 19 Coming Together 1:45 7M32 Make The Sacrifice / Jedi Are Dead 20 Seeing Sights 3:17 0:00-2:20 7M38 I Am All The Sith 2:20-2:36 7M44 Name That Tune 2:36-end 7M38 I Am All The Sith [continued] 21 Rescue 1:11 8M10 Success and Sliding 22 Farewell 4:27 0:00-2:04 8M14 Ben To Rey 2:04-2:24 10M1 Rey and Ren 2:24-end 8M14 Ben To Rey [continued] 23 A New Home 1:43 9M5Alt Return To Tatooine

Yep, 100%: it phases and everything! Plus, there’s actually sheet music visible in the documentary that shows 7M21 Parents (as written) continues past this artificially created ending. cc: @crumbs

100% this. John Williams simply doesn't have the capability to create something "evil". Scary? Tense? Dark? Menacing? Absolutely. But Williams has been touched by God, and he couldn't compose something truly evil even if he wanted to.

I used to be disappointed that his concerti were not like his film music. But as I age, one, I have come to see how little actually separates them, two, the two are complimentary, three, we have hours and hours and hours of his film music--it is not like he is doing all that many fewer films to write concert stuff, four, his concert music is brilliant (well, aside from the flute concerto), and finally, it is not like I have him on retainer to write music for me--he is an artist who should do as he pleases. ps. is there an award around here for run-on sentences?

His concert work is not that far from his film work. The same spirit is there, often the same sort of technical complexity. The main difference is that the overall and thematic structures are more angular.

I’ve always found this to be suitably creepy and or evil:

Mr. Spielberg, I'm honored, but it's spelled The Fabulins.

Indeed, that title does not bode well for the movie. You know you're in trouble when you can't say "man!" after the title: "Say, old chump, what's your favorite movie?" "The Fabelmans, man! The Fabelmans!"

As part of the Pops' "virtual" season this May/June, they will be broadcasting a newly recorded concert of John Williams music (essentially the usual Film Night of seasons past) available from May 20 through June 19. The concert will feature video of Williams interview segments. Looks like you have to pay at least $9 for a 7 day pass to view the concert once it becomes available https://www.bso.org/brands/bso/features/bso-now.aspx https://a5974837ba.site.internapcdn.net/images/uploads/brochures/2021Spring-PopsBrochure.pdf

It must have been difficult to find any cues in the film that weren't hacked up or partially replaced with other cues for that FYC. That they included a track with music from a totally different score really sums up the farce. Would still love to know what the first minute of Journey to Exogol is. My best guess is something involving Kylo Ren in the earlier versions of reel one.

IMO The Shadow complete is one that should always stay in print — my favorite Goldsmith score of the 90s! Of course since I already have a copy there are many more expansions and premieres I still want, first. Yavar

I know whachu mean. To address your question, @Edmilson, I think an "evil" score would depend more on the life condition of the composer(s) beyond any subject matter or inspiration. To slightly expand on my initial post, I see one of the deep causes of evil to be a lack of empathy based on fundamental ignorances of the connectedness of life...and I'm drawing hella blanks on thinking of any music, let alone a movie soundtrack!, that feels, or as Not Me Nick posted, has a spirit, coming from that place.

And not only 'fantasy' dark. Some the darkest music he's ever written is for one of the darkest scenes he's ever scored - the molestation scene in SLEEPERS, building with the drumkit as the camera pans through the corridor, into the light and the time jump to the 80s.

John Williams - The Reivers (Masters of Film Music CD edition) A recent purchase of mine, I bought it because people here said it had better sound quality than the 1995 Sony CD. Well, maybe it does (I haven't heard the 1995 CD in a minute), but the sound quality is still bad! Muffled and full of clipping! It's fun music but boy, it's long overdue for a proper remaster...

This week I received from Amazon the "Masters of Film Music" edition of The Reivers Now that I own both this and the 1995 Sony edition, a proper expansion is sure to be arriving soon... right!?

Funny you mentioned Superman. I always thought the March of the Villains was one of the LEAST menacing evil themes I've ever heard.

I'd welcome Elfman's Sommersby. Another unusual but warm Elfman score. That would be great to have.

I think those are also obvious but the whole Omen trilogy by Goldsmith is clearly an ode to evil.

I don't do jokes. Here's another, pretty "evil" cue from ol' JW:

Joker.

Just to correct myself -- I now remember that I didn't see this John Williams/Steinway (at least I think it was Steinway; it was some form of piano) ad on any of my film music magazines, but an old National Geographic from the 70s or 80s. My dad has subscribed to NG since the early 70s, and I've often looked through them. I was utterly surprised to find the ad on the back cover on one of them. Out of left field, for sure.

So you're saying one of us needs to show up there one day and play Star Wars on a piano until he walks in? This interview was very sweet! The interviewer got Williams off on the right start by talking about his daughter, I think Williams responded to the human element from there.

Indeed, the book was fascinating. And with Rylance playing the Pope and Oscar Isaac playing the adult Edgardo...it could've been something really interesting and potential new avenues for JW

A belated Star Wars Day gift for us. Welcome the game, Signum Saxophone Quartet! This is really cool: UPDATE: Holy cow! This is even better!

Since you asked nicely, here is a nice little one. The full concert suite gives the flute several moments of crazy fast playing virtuosity, but this one plays like a movement in a concerto (with two flutes).

Don't make me post a bunch of BFG.

This is what I've always done. I don't think you can get to Tanglewood without a car. Anyone want to carpool? Along with the website, you could try buying tickets over the phone. Sometimes it's faster. Although I think the online ticketing system is better than it used to be. If there were going to be any film night concerts in Boston this summer, they would have announced them by now, right? As much as I love Tanglewood, Boston is easier logistically for those of us who don't live in the area.

Tanglewood is actually significantly closer to Albany NY than it is to Boston MA I live in MA and have always just driven there (it's an hour 45 mins from my house) so aren't really learned on public transport options. I think Steef took a train from Boston the last time he went, because he was vacationing in Maine beforehand. Somebody else flew into Albany to attend once..... I forget who Maybe it was @Marian Schedenig?

https://www.bso.org/Home I don't even remember off the top of my head, but it's very reasonable There's lots of airBNBs. Steef stayed at one within walking distance of Tanglewood last time he went

The Sanskrit choir for ToD is terrifying. Palpatine's theme is very menacing. And the music for the Dementors in PoA is dark and creepy. Williams can go (very) dark when he wants to.

You’re playing four soundtracks at once, Bespin? Highly impressive.

According to the person who runs this site, Intrada‘s Scissorhands is complete: https://chrono-score.blogspot.com/2015/12/edward-scissorhands.html?m=1 They don’t use any of the isolated score in their playlist anymore; it’s all Intrada’s release. The only thing not on Intrada’s release are a few cassette tape demos exclusive to the Elfman/Burton box. Honestly, it’s such a slight expansion and the OST is a much better listening experience anyway.

It'd be worth 4 times as much for the suites alone! They're a fantastic slightly evolved look back at the material in a freer setting.

That would never work--he'll surely be bald by then.

Yeah, I've checked that, and as far as I can tell what's listed there amounts to the 4 albums I mentioned above, plus 3 EPs that are partial presentations of the songs on two of those albums. So I guess that technically adds to seven, but the sense I got from this quote from Dyer was that there were 7 distinct albums "It was several years, however, before Williams became a full-time film composer. First came a contract with Columbia Records, and, concurrently, television. For Columbia, Williams made two jazz band albums of his own (“They didn’t sell”) and arranged albums for such singers as Andy williams, Vic Damone, Jackie & Roy, and Doris Day (“Very strange; she had begun as a big band singer, but she was afraid of singing and of musicians – she wanted to bve in a booth where they couldn’t see her; a very inhibited lady”). And, of all things, Williams arranged seven albums for Mahalia Jackson. “I had to work with Mildred Falls, Mahalia’s three-hundred-pound pianist, who could drown out my whole sixty-piece orchestra. I took everything down from the the way Mildred played, because Mahalia believed the way she did it was the way the Lord meant it to be. It was a circus of a time: A tewelve-song LP would take a week to write and record and edit. Compare that to a rock album, where it takes three or four months to get thirty-five minutes worth of music. The business has changed so much in the last twenty years that it seems like a different world.” (Source: https://www.jwfan.com/?p=4494)

Very cool interview! I love when he talks at any level of detail about his actual craft.

A similar albeit more brief example that often comes to mind as a highlight from TLJ. 0:52 to 1:01 is such an awesome isolated passage!

That is actually a real mindfuck I know you are a Blank Check listener, it's like how Griffin always mentions Paul Giamatti and Vin Diesel are the same age.

I was able to listen to the first 45 minutes or so during my commute to the office this morning. I was surprised to see when I got here that there was still 2 hours left in the episode! So I won't be done with it until I'm back at home tomorrow Already however, the first 45 minutes were fascinating. The Sound of Music element deteriorating story had been told by Mike on podcasts before, but pretty much everything else was all brand new. It's nice to hear an "origin story" for how someone came to love film music that didn't start with Star Wars or Jaws, but actually Fiddler on the Roof! And the talk about being bullied at school for liking film music was fascinating too - in general, Mike really opened up and talked about more personal things on this podcast than I've ever seen him do before anywhere. It was also great to revisit How To Steal A Million! It reminded me how I really have not paid enough attention to that score. I know what I'm listening to today now!

I don't mean to nerd out, but the actual novelization of KOTCS (yes i read it lol) addresses Indy coming to terms with his age for a bit, when he's relieved of his duties as professor. He really does begin to question what he should be doing at such an age. I remember really wishing that concept made it to the film. It being my first time reading a novelization of a major film, it was a welcome surprise at how in depth they could be. Now obviously nobody should have to read the novelization of these feature films to achieve such knowledge of the character. So I echo your post and agree it's a great idea to explore with Indy.

I'm really looking forward to some new map/trek music. KOTCS lacked in that department with the rehash of 'Flight from Peru' from Raiders and the Peruvian source music.

The movie can be The Room levels of bad that I wouldn't care, as long as Williams delivers another masterful score.

Hot take: I've always liked his Indiana Jones scores more than his Star Wars ones

Nope.

Personally, I think this is the version everyone has been waiting for