ChrisAfonso

This might be comparison bias with the episode as aired, but I thought the concept stated at its beginning - that the drug would totally flash the user - was played much too subtle, so this was actually much more in keeping with the supposed premise.

I like it - it brilliantly plays with the concept of genre perception distortion and IMHO takes the weakness of the scene (as elaborated above: too little genuine tension for a supposedly dramatic chase) and full-on acknowledges it by turning it into "it's like a game". The mix between the chiptune/rock/orchestra hybrid elements sounds very well done, too.

I've only really dug into The Towering Inferno yet, but that alone already made the set worthwhile for me - the main title is an all-time classic (which I previously only knew from that old RealAudio sample page...), comparing the vastly different score/OST mixes is really ear-opening, and although my attention tends to wander off a bit during some of the more low-key cues of the score, there are a lot of outstanding highlights. Earthquake seems a good candidate for listening when in a mood for fun, quirky music. Poseidon seems to be the most challenging score of these to really get into. But I'm glad to have them all at my disposal for when curiosity strikes

Yared's can be pretty swashbuckling, too:

That was an interesting conversation to watch, thanks for doing it! Sadly there were a few audio dropouts in the recording...

What Jay is probably thinking of is the moment in Ark Trek, where the second half of the medallion theme does appear as the b section of the Ark theme, creating a single moment of unity of the two themes. Following your interpretation, this could be seen as the point in the story where the raw power of the Ark and the corrupt ambition to use it finally come together?

Why not both? I'd hope they make more if this sells well.

Here's also a small look behind the scenes: This album is a great listen! Materia Collective is putting out awesome VGM arrangements time and again (like the fully orchestral "Hero of Time" OoT concept album a few years back).

They have a high bar to match for sure, but with Druckmann being involved and after seeing what Mazin achieved with Chernobyl, they might just be able to.

Unexpected! This used to be one of my favorite Williams scores back in the day, but I never felt that anything essential was missing from the OST... looking forward to the samples!

That is actually a rare case that I don't mind so much, because the cue was dialled out of the original arena scene and so was used for the first time in the temple scene. What's bad about it is the fact it's repeated twice in a very noticeable way...

I'd guess even though he will not get paid a share of the nonexistent sheet music rental or purchase, he gets performance royalties from the usual performance rights organizations?

I feel sorry for this guy: He's the only one

That's interesting, because I've heard the exact opposite reasoning - that the cellos project better towards the audience when they sit in the middle (good when they have a lot of melodic lines), and thus someone else has to sit on the outside. Whether that's the violas or second violins will then depend on the preference for having antiphonal vs homogeneous violins. Which one's true, no idea - depends on the hall, maybe.

I would be thrilled if he'd come back next year with a programme of, say for example, the Geisha suite, Five Sacred Trees, and a lengthy suite of War of the Worlds film cues. Something completely different. Of course for an occasion like this first Vienna concert ever it absolutely makes sense to do a best-of selection containing all the favorites (thankfully with quite a few welcome surprises thrown in the mix!). But in general it seems to me that the common program selections for concerts with film music are akin to every Beethoven concert containing the first movement of the fifth symphony and ending with the Ode to Joy. (Slight tangent following:) I've heard more than once from more classically-minded listeners that (regardless of the musical quality) the music for e.g. Indiana Jones were very monotonous with only the same theme being repeated over and over - and being surprised to hear that in the actual score the Raiders March is used very sparingly and the variety of music is much greater. That's a thing that I hope the proliferation of live-to-projection concerts helps with, making more of the audience aware of the actual scope and musical diversity within the score.