Ray Barnsbury

March.

E.T. is undoubtedly the better score, but choosing between the themes themselves is actally pretty difficult. Hmm.

Solo for the win!

The Ark theme...much more interesting!

Has voting for "5" ever been easier?

That sounds fantastic! I missed seeing any "Holiday Pops" programs on PBS this year.

Getting back to the whole Broughton/Home Alone issue, someone (I think it's Columbus) says in the Home Alone bonus features that it was a case of one puzzle piece being replaced by a better puzzle piece. Can't say I disagree, but I don't imagine Broughton would've enjoyed hearing that.

As wonderful as the love theme is, the Slave Children theme wins.

I like it. When I first heard the rendition at the end of the credits, I was really pleased that Williams had seemingly been inspired enough to write a whole new variation on the familiar march, rather than just rehashing it.

I think most people celebrate New Year's Ever moreso than New Year's Day.

The day Williams fills our stockings with that will be a merry Christmas indeed!

I have more of a problem with the fact that I had to spend a hundred bucks this weekend because you infested my dog's fur. Jerk!

The Water Horse, by James Newton Howard.

Yeah. Though I like what Doyle did with Hedwig's theme, Newell made it sound like he begrudgingly used it at the command of studio execs, and even then went to great lengths to make it sound as different as possible. Kind of a weird attitude.

I'll take a lump of coal, thanks!

Is is the theme's inappropriateness (or at least, your perception of its inappropriateness) in the context of the film what you don't like, or the actual music itself?

God - er, John Williams - bless us - I mean, uh, continue to compose great music for us - every one!

Yes. There's plenty of new material to make it a worthwhile score, but it's not original or structured well enough to compare with the first (for example, that wonderful Kevin-running-downstairs-on-Christmas-morning version of "Somewhere in My Memory" from the original is used at least twice very close together in HA 2, sort of diffusing its effectiveness).

Which version is that? I can't think of any offhand that are better than those in "Follow That Kid!", "Setting the Trap," "The Attack on the House," and the song sung by the church choir.

Hmm. I certainly see his point, and it's a fine line between portraying such a horrific subject with a glimmer of hope and just downplaying the absoute horror of it all. But still, the fact is that in times of suffering and anguish, there often is hope (or kindness, or humanity, or whatever you want to call it). And I think it's good to acknowledge that in the face of such tragedies.

"Star of Bethlehem" farts in your general direction!

"Christmas Star" farts in your general direction!

Something I've never been clear on is if they can "get" you just by downloading songs, or if you have to be sharing material from your own computer to be detected.

Considering that he referred to the lion in the beginning of Last Crusade as a tiger twice at the Detroit concert earlier this year, I wouldn't be surprised. "In Harry Potter, I wrote a little theme for those wonderful six-legged creatures that Harry and his little friends followed all over the school."

Eh, it's pretty close in melody and rhythm too. I'm sure it was temp-tracked.