Falstaft

If anyone's curious, I did a little feature with the local Boston NPR station on The Last Jedi score and Star Wars music in general. (I actually thought I was going to be talking about all 5 Oscar Nominees, but they just wanted me to talk about SW! No problem there). They cut down about 100 minutes of me talking about the score to 13 minutes of highlights, but I'm pretty pleased with the results. And forgive me, purists, for changing one note in the Luke & Leia theme as it appears in The Spark from Db to C! I'm too used to the original (correct, I dare say ) structure of the melody at that point which uses the leading tone instead of tonic pitch. Oh well...
 
http://www.wbur.org/radioboston/2018/03/02/music-star-wars

I really like Luke's Exile Theme now. When I first heard it I kept expecting to lead to something else - it seems a lot like a bridge section he might use in a concert arrangement. But I've been doing a bit of playing around with it on the piano and I keep coming back to it. The similarities with the opening 7-note figure of Rey's Theme are unmistakable; it's like he was foreshadowing this theme with her's and tapping into the mythology of the Jedi while doing so. I dig it.

If anyone's curious, I did a little feature with the local Boston NPR station on The Last Jedi score and Star Wars music in general. (I actually thought I was going to be talking about all 5 Oscar Nominees, but they just wanted me to talk about SW! No problem there). They cut down about 100 minutes of me talking about the score to 13 minutes of highlights, but I'm pretty pleased with the results. And forgive me, purists, for changing one note in the Luke & Leia theme as it appears in The Spark from Db to C! I'm too used to the original (correct, I dare say ) structure of the melody at that point which uses the leading tone instead of tonic pitch. Oh well...
 
http://www.wbur.org/radioboston/2018/03/02/music-star-wars

If anyone's curious, I did a little feature with the local Boston NPR station on The Last Jedi score and Star Wars music in general. (I actually thought I was going to be talking about all 5 Oscar Nominees, but they just wanted me to talk about SW! No problem there). They cut down about 100 minutes of me talking about the score to 13 minutes of highlights, but I'm pretty pleased with the results. And forgive me, purists, for changing one note in the Luke & Leia theme as it appears in The Spark from Db to C! I'm too used to the original (correct, I dare say ) structure of the melody at that point which uses the leading tone instead of tonic pitch. Oh well...
 
http://www.wbur.org/radioboston/2018/03/02/music-star-wars

If anyone's curious, I did a little feature with the local Boston NPR station on The Last Jedi score and Star Wars music in general. (I actually thought I was going to be talking about all 5 Oscar Nominees, but they just wanted me to talk about SW! No problem there). They cut down about 100 minutes of me talking about the score to 13 minutes of highlights, but I'm pretty pleased with the results. And forgive me, purists, for changing one note in the Luke & Leia theme as it appears in The Spark from Db to C! I'm too used to the original (correct, I dare say ) structure of the melody at that point which uses the leading tone instead of tonic pitch. Oh well...
 
http://www.wbur.org/radioboston/2018/03/02/music-star-wars

If anyone's curious, I did a little feature with the local Boston NPR station on The Last Jedi score and Star Wars music in general. (I actually thought I was going to be talking about all 5 Oscar Nominees, but they just wanted me to talk about SW! No problem there). They cut down about 100 minutes of me talking about the score to 13 minutes of highlights, but I'm pretty pleased with the results. And forgive me, purists, for changing one note in the Luke & Leia theme as it appears in The Spark from Db to C! I'm too used to the original (correct, I dare say ) structure of the melody at that point which uses the leading tone instead of tonic pitch. Oh well...
 
http://www.wbur.org/radioboston/2018/03/02/music-star-wars

If anyone's curious, I did a little feature with the local Boston NPR station on The Last Jedi score and Star Wars music in general. (I actually thought I was going to be talking about all 5 Oscar Nominees, but they just wanted me to talk about SW! No problem there). They cut down about 100 minutes of me talking about the score to 13 minutes of highlights, but I'm pretty pleased with the results. And forgive me, purists, for changing one note in the Luke & Leia theme as it appears in The Spark from Db to C! I'm too used to the original (correct, I dare say ) structure of the melody at that point which uses the leading tone instead of tonic pitch. Oh well...
 
http://www.wbur.org/radioboston/2018/03/02/music-star-wars

If anyone's curious, I did a little feature with the local Boston NPR station on The Last Jedi score and Star Wars music in general. (I actually thought I was going to be talking about all 5 Oscar Nominees, but they just wanted me to talk about SW! No problem there). They cut down about 100 minutes of me talking about the score to 13 minutes of highlights, but I'm pretty pleased with the results. And forgive me, purists, for changing one note in the Luke & Leia theme as it appears in The Spark from Db to C! I'm too used to the original (correct, I dare say ) structure of the melody at that point which uses the leading tone instead of tonic pitch. Oh well...
 
http://www.wbur.org/radioboston/2018/03/02/music-star-wars

If anyone's curious, I did a little feature with the local Boston NPR station on The Last Jedi score and Star Wars music in general. (I actually thought I was going to be talking about all 5 Oscar Nominees, but they just wanted me to talk about SW! No problem there). They cut down about 100 minutes of me talking about the score to 13 minutes of highlights, but I'm pretty pleased with the results. And forgive me, purists, for changing one note in the Luke & Leia theme as it appears in The Spark from Db to C! I'm too used to the original (correct, I dare say ) structure of the melody at that point which uses the leading tone instead of tonic pitch. Oh well...
 
http://www.wbur.org/radioboston/2018/03/02/music-star-wars

If anyone's curious, I did a little feature with the local Boston NPR station on The Last Jedi score and Star Wars music in general. (I actually thought I was going to be talking about all 5 Oscar Nominees, but they just wanted me to talk about SW! No problem there). They cut down about 100 minutes of me talking about the score to 13 minutes of highlights, but I'm pretty pleased with the results. And forgive me, purists, for changing one note in the Luke & Leia theme as it appears in The Spark from Db to C! I'm too used to the original (correct, I dare say ) structure of the melody at that point which uses the leading tone instead of tonic pitch. Oh well...
 
http://www.wbur.org/radioboston/2018/03/02/music-star-wars

If anyone's curious, I did a little feature with the local Boston NPR station on The Last Jedi score and Star Wars music in general. (I actually thought I was going to be talking about all 5 Oscar Nominees, but they just wanted me to talk about SW! No problem there). They cut down about 100 minutes of me talking about the score to 13 minutes of highlights, but I'm pretty pleased with the results. And forgive me, purists, for changing one note in the Luke & Leia theme as it appears in The Spark from Db to C! I'm too used to the original (correct, I dare say ) structure of the melody at that point which uses the leading tone instead of tonic pitch. Oh well...
 
http://www.wbur.org/radioboston/2018/03/02/music-star-wars

If anyone's curious, I did a little feature with the local Boston NPR station on The Last Jedi score and Star Wars music in general. (I actually thought I was going to be talking about all 5 Oscar Nominees, but they just wanted me to talk about SW! No problem there). They cut down about 100 minutes of me talking about the score to 13 minutes of highlights, but I'm pretty pleased with the results. And forgive me, purists, for changing one note in the Luke & Leia theme as it appears in The Spark from Db to C! I'm too used to the original (correct, I dare say ) structure of the melody at that point which uses the leading tone instead of tonic pitch. Oh well...
 
http://www.wbur.org/radioboston/2018/03/02/music-star-wars

"Great" is a value judgment, and not an objective fact, so if he thinks it's great, it's great.

Luke’s theme appears 7 times in the score, not counting the main title and the end credits. 
During the opening battle  Luke reunited with R2 BB8 fighting with the guards on Canto Bight BB8 disguise himself with a trash can Leia stuns Poe Leia and Holdo saying goodbye  The slave children are playing with a Luke Skywalker doll. 2, 3, 7 = OST
1, 7 = FYC
4, 5, 6 = unreleased 

I know you're being facetious but Snoke clearly has his own motif in TLJ:
 
 
I'm not even sure if this is a reworking of the low male chorale material in TFA. I've never been able to deduce the thematic writing there, if any.

I must have stumbled into an alternate universe of willful ignorance, where people simply ignore the actual contents of the score when critiquing it. The same universe where Rose's Theme, Holdo's Theme and Luke's Exile Theme don't exist, where they don't feature in a bounty of variations throughout the film in unreleased cues, alongside a further handful of new motifs that reoccur throughout the complete score.
 
I understand people being disappointed in the score as presented on album (I could do without the multiple appearances of Yoda's Theme in favour of unreleased Holdo material), as it created a very skewed representation of the score's material. Yes, it's undeniable the score relied more on existing themes than TFA did (which Williams claims only had 7 minutes of existing material), but to outright trash the entire score when you could just as easily create an alternate 78 minute presentation of only new material, is just being ignorant. You could just as easily create alternate OSTs for 4 or 5 of the other sequels which skew the ratio of new vs old.
 
Regardless, the film features an undeniable synergy between music and imagery, again embarrassing the output of his contemporaries and exceeding what he achieved with TFA (and I always thought that score fit the film like a glove, but the edits and crappy mix do it a huge disservice). If the level of craft on display in cues like Holdo's Resolve, Escape or The Spark is now considered "mediocre" film scoring, examples of "great" modern film cues must be truly orgasmic.

Complaining about TLJ's use of older themes is like complaining about the Force Theme in Losing A Hand from ESB because it's a theme he wrote for ANH.
 
Williams' usage of existing themes in TLJ, most notably TFA themes, is undeniably masterful. Retrospectively it'd be nice to think he was intentionally holding back on TFA from developing the new themes to their fullest potential (which is unusual for Williams and more in line with what Shore did for LOTR -- a concept I was hounded down about because, "Williams just doesn't develop themes that way.")
 
Personally I think it's more likely his health condition on TFA prevented him from extrapolating upon those themes to their fullest potential in TFA, but TLJ's plotting (taking place directly after TFA) conveniently allowed him to write music he probably intended for TFA. Regardless of your thoughts on the score, it's undeniable that TLJ is filled with energy and vibrancy that TFA often lacks, resulting in a restrained score which, in hindsight, works perfectly as an introductory score to a new trilogy of scores.

I guess this will also be available on demand as usual, but for anyone who wants to hear it live, there it is.

If anyone's curious, a little essay of mine on the score just went up: http://musicologynow.ams-net.org/2018/02/quick-take-motives-modulations-and.html
 
It may not convince those of you who are still unimpressed with TLJ, but hopefully it does show how Williams's artistry extends not only to themes, but also characteristic harmonies and modulations. And, there's a nice little lesson at the end about the dangers of analyzing just from the soundtrack album or film score proper.

what boring and pointless complaining.
 
thank you @Falstaft for actually meaningfully talking about the score, this is a very entertaining read so far and I am very much a fan of the dispersal of hyperlinks that prove the point you're making in the article. it was a real treat to hear back-to-back renditions of the March of the Resistance that evoked a very different emotional feel. would love to see more from you on TLJ!

If anyone's curious, a little essay of mine on the score just went up: http://musicologynow.ams-net.org/2018/02/quick-take-motives-modulations-and.html
 
It may not convince those of you who are still unimpressed with TLJ, but hopefully it does show how Williams's artistry extends not only to themes, but also characteristic harmonies and modulations. And, there's a nice little lesson at the end about the dangers of analyzing just from the soundtrack album or film score proper.

If anyone's curious, a little essay of mine on the score just went up: http://musicologynow.ams-net.org/2018/02/quick-take-motives-modulations-and.html
 
It may not convince those of you who are still unimpressed with TLJ, but hopefully it does show how Williams's artistry extends not only to themes, but also characteristic harmonies and modulations. And, there's a nice little lesson at the end about the dangers of analyzing just from the soundtrack album or film score proper.

If anyone's curious, a little essay of mine on the score just went up: http://musicologynow.ams-net.org/2018/02/quick-take-motives-modulations-and.html
 
It may not convince those of you who are still unimpressed with TLJ, but hopefully it does show how Williams's artistry extends not only to themes, but also characteristic harmonies and modulations. And, there's a nice little lesson at the end about the dangers of analyzing just from the soundtrack album or film score proper.

If anyone's curious, a little essay of mine on the score just went up: http://musicologynow.ams-net.org/2018/02/quick-take-motives-modulations-and.html
 
It may not convince those of you who are still unimpressed with TLJ, but hopefully it does show how Williams's artistry extends not only to themes, but also characteristic harmonies and modulations. And, there's a nice little lesson at the end about the dangers of analyzing just from the soundtrack album or film score proper.

If anyone's curious, a little essay of mine on the score just went up: http://musicologynow.ams-net.org/2018/02/quick-take-motives-modulations-and.html
 
It may not convince those of you who are still unimpressed with TLJ, but hopefully it does show how Williams's artistry extends not only to themes, but also characteristic harmonies and modulations. And, there's a nice little lesson at the end about the dangers of analyzing just from the soundtrack album or film score proper.