Loert 2,511 Posted August 24, 2016 Share Posted August 24, 2016 What has always interested me in music is how it can sometimes sound funny. It seems that certain combinations of notes can make the listener chuckle, or at least understand that the composer is poking fun at something, and/or not taking themselves too seriously. It's something that I find very refreshing in a piece of music and many composers in my "favourites" list are composers who display this kind of wit in their music. Now, I think Williams is an example of a composer who knows how to convey humour through his music. Sometimes I'll be listening to a track of his and come across a short section which makes me go "Ha, that's kinda funny". I'm not necessarily talking about his more deliberate attempts at humour (e.g. "Stalling Around"), but short segments which, because of their contextual placement (or other reasons), come across as sounding witty. A good example of what I mean would be something like the brass in "The Jango Fett Fight" at 1:21: The way that the trumpet ascends, the instruments stop playing, and the trombones come down with the exact same rhythm, like a mirror image, makes me smile. Another example would be Indy's Very First Adventure, particularly the "missing bar" at 5:36: I'm interested in knowing what your favourite funny JW moments are, in particular moments that are shorter and more tongue-in-cheek (this extends into JW's concert work as well). Cerebral Cortex and TownerFan 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thor 7,504 Posted August 24, 2016 Share Posted August 24, 2016 This. Definitely this: Also, his concert work "A Young Person's Guide to the Cello" is intended as a comical piece. Loert 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loert 2,511 Posted August 24, 2016 Author Share Posted August 24, 2016 Hehe, love the harp at 1:41! Jilal 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quintus 5,399 Posted August 24, 2016 Share Posted August 24, 2016 Basket Chase is loaded with musical comedy and I think it's his wittiest cue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post SzPeti42 49 Posted August 24, 2016 Popular Post Share Posted August 24, 2016 Cool, nice examples, this old movie is something I've only heard about now, I'll definitely check it out for the music if nothing else. The Indy films in general are loaded with musical comedy, they are really asking for it, this is my personal favourite, this scene was also one of my biggest laughs as a child. Cerebral Cortex, artguy360, crumbs and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post mrbellamy 6,287 Posted August 24, 2016 Popular Post Share Posted August 24, 2016 I love this topic! Though it is probably one of the most subjective things we could ever talk about, but I agree that it's one of my favorite qualities about Williams, or generally any artist I love. I find Snowy's Theme to be one of his funniest actually. It has all these weird little idiosyncrasies to it. Favorite grin-inducing moments include that rapidly oscillating piano texture around 0:42-3, the bonkers solo at 1:20, the flutes/clarinets jumping in at 1:29, the basses around 1:37-39, the piano farting at 2:03-4ish. This piece doesn't get enough love around here, really, I think it's brilliant whimsy. Here's another lulzy musical pause: His marches in general often have little flourishes, transitions and things that are musically "funny" to me somehow. Or the way he exploits structure, like his infamous false endings. The contrast in the transition at 2:16 between the big brassy cadence and the piccolos kicking off the trio in Midway March comes to mind as something that has a certain effortless wit/charm to me. Or this section of 1941, which I think is sort of funny in the way Buster Keaton is funny. Just that kind of comic-balletic grace that the movie lacked. 2:02 really makes me smile. On 8/24/2016 at 5:25 PM, SzPeti42 said: The Indy films in general are loaded with musical comedy, they are really asking for it For sure, we could go on forever. My favorites are "Nocturnal Activities" and "Bug Tunnel/Death Trap," I think. Last time I watched TOD I really noticed and loved how both of those cues are able to convey the idea of time passing as a "countdown" in really funny ways. Love this little bit in particular, great example of Williams making something extra funny: artguy360, JacksonElmore and Cerebral Cortex 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muad'Dib 1,802 Posted August 24, 2016 Share Posted August 24, 2016 A Whirl Through Academe - at 2:40 the little quote to Brahms Cerebral Cortex and ChrisAfonso 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixon Hill 4,234 Posted August 25, 2016 Share Posted August 25, 2016 The Dune Sea of Tatooine is pretty goofy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bespin 8,482 Posted August 25, 2016 Share Posted August 25, 2016 I don't remember having heard John Williams and spontaneously start laughing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Jay 37,364 Posted August 25, 2016 Popular Post Share Posted August 25, 2016 3 hours ago, loert said: That performance Will, Taikomochi, Naïve Old Fart and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerebral Cortex 3,357 Posted August 25, 2016 Share Posted August 25, 2016 I've always felt that the very quick swelling of Anakin and Padmé's love theme during their first kiss before quickly fading when Padmé recoils to be a comedic moment. Not sure if it's meant to be comedic, but I interpret it as such. Great thread, by the way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrbellamy 6,287 Posted August 25, 2016 Share Posted August 25, 2016 Definitely cheeky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post aviazn 273 Posted August 25, 2016 Popular Post Share Posted August 25, 2016 2 hours ago, Jay said: That performance Almost as good as Peter Griffin's. leeallen01, ins, Naïve Old Fart and 4 others 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Not Mr. Big 4,639 Posted August 25, 2016 Share Posted August 25, 2016 3 hours ago, Jay said: That performance It sounds like it performed by a high school marching band in a bathroom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artguy360 1,843 Posted August 25, 2016 Share Posted August 25, 2016 Great topic. To me Gilderoy Lockhart's theme is pure humor and over the top pomposity. In contrast, I think Dobby's Theme has a kind of warm, subtle humor to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romão 2,274 Posted August 25, 2016 Share Posted August 25, 2016 5 hours ago, mrbellamy said: I love this topic! Though it is probably one of the most subjective things we could ever talk about, but I agree that it's one of my favorite qualities about Williams, or generally any artist I love. I find Snowy's Theme to be one of his funniest actually. It has all these weird little idiosyncrasies to it. Favorite grin-inducing moments include that rapidly oscillating piano texture around 0:42-3, the bonkers solo at 1:20, the flutes/clarinets jumping in at 1:29, the basses around 1:37-39, the piano farting at 2:03-4ish. This piece doesn't get enough love around here, really, I think it's brilliant whimsy. I adore Snowy's theme, it's an absolute charmer of a cue. I also love in how in one of Williams' alternate main titles for Tintin the orchestra hits are synchronized with the typing machine on screen mrbellamy and Once 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted August 25, 2016 Share Posted August 25, 2016 6 hours ago, Lonnegan said: Basket Chase is loaded with musical comedy and I think it's his wittiest cue. A stunning mix of wit and excitement Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quintus 5,399 Posted August 25, 2016 Share Posted August 25, 2016 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incanus 5,714 Posted August 25, 2016 Share Posted August 25, 2016 Yeah that is a great little comedic march but I like how Williams manages to inject with something manic and almost violent in the way it suddenly grows in intesity towards the end, suggesting that the villains of the piece are not entirely about bumbling buffoonery. All Indy scores contain great examples of musical wit and humour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loert 2,511 Posted August 25, 2016 Author Share Posted August 25, 2016 11 hours ago, mrbellamy said: I find Snowy's Theme to be one of his funniest actually. It has all these weird little idiosyncrasies to it. Favorite grin-inducing moments include that rapidly oscillating piano texture around 0:42-3, the bonkers solo at 1:20, the flutes/clarinets jumping in at 1:29, the basses around 1:37-39, the piano farting at 2:03-4ish. This piece doesn't get enough love around here, really, I think it's brilliant whimsy. Oh man, I love Snowy's theme. Particularly the bits with the piano. Definitely one of JW's wittiest themes. 10 hours ago, Muad'Dib said: A Whirl Through Academe - at 2:40 the little quote to Brahms Yeah, it's quite funny how Williams plays with that melody. In general the action music in JW tends to have some humour attached to it. In Whirl Through Academe I also like the fast strings starting at about 1:40. It's like the strings have gone crazy, and the rest of the orchestra keeps trying to stop them but to no avail! "The Snake Pit" is also really witty. Also this moment: This is one of those cases where the music on its own wouldn't sound especially funny, but the big chord at 0:12 perfectly sums up that "oh shit" feeling, despite the fact it's a major chord (+ Indy's super-serious delivery of the "I think we've got a big problem" line). Oh yeah, and 1:34! 7 hours ago, Cerebral Cortex said: I've always felt that the very quick swelling of Anakin and Padmé's love theme during their first kiss before quickly fading when Padmé recoils to be a comedic moment. Not sure if it's meant to be comedic, but I interpret it as such. Great thread, by the way. *bloop* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Datameister 2,043 Posted August 25, 2016 Share Posted August 25, 2016 The drunk music in E.T. made me laugh out loud the first time I heard it on album. I'm also a big fan of that cringeworthy penultimate chord in Aunt Marge's Waltz - so close to the traditional, expected ending...and yet so, soooooo far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,364 Posted August 25, 2016 Share Posted August 25, 2016 9 hours ago, Cerebral Cortex said: I've always felt that the very quick swelling of Anakin and Padmé's love theme during their first kiss before quickly fading when Padmé recoils to be a comedic moment. Not sure if it's meant to be comedic, but I interpret it as such. Great thread, by the way. Definitely meant to be comedic! 2 hours ago, loert said: Also this moment: This is one of those cases where the music on its own wouldn't sound especially funny, but the big chord at 0:12 perfectly sums up that "oh shit" feeling, despite the fact it's a major chord (+ Indy's super-serious delivery of the "I think we've got a big problem" line). Oh yeah, and 1:34! Yes, all around! Man, do I LOVE this score! And film! Love her delivery of "and I hate YOU" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TownerFan 4,983 Posted August 25, 2016 Share Posted August 25, 2016 16 hours ago, loert said: Now, I think Williams is an example of a composer who knows how to convey humour through his music. Sometimes I'll be listening to a track of his and come across a short section which makes me go "Ha, that's kinda funny". I'm not necessarily talking about his more deliberate attempts at humour (e.g. "Stalling Around"), but short segments which, because of their contextual placement (or other reasons), come across as sounding witty. There's an awful lot of wit and humor in Williams' film music, imho. More often than not, I find myself grinning like a kid when a certain passage occurs. It can be for a variety of reasons--use of harmony, the subtlety of the orchestration or the deliberate fun he usually puts into his music. In this sense, he's very Mozart-ian, imho. It's difficult for me to find specific examples right now, I should think about it. Definitely The Witches of Eastwick comes to mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will 2,215 Posted August 25, 2016 Share Posted August 25, 2016 7:20-7:29 in "Dream Country" always strikes me as slightly comedic somehow (and just plain awesome!). It's like Williams is teasing us -- it feels like it's time for the wild (and wonderful) winds to enter, but Williams says, "No, not yet," so the strings are just switching from note to note, passing the time (and increasing the anticipation, ultimately). And then finally it's time for the crazy winds to enter. I can't remember what was on screen at this point, but I've actually always thought that moment sounded kind of like Sophie or the BFG was trying to chase a dream but wasn't sure what direction to run (the teasing strings), and then finally they find the right course and sprint towards the dream (the rolling strings with wild winds). There's also this, another "teasing" moment: Yet another teasing moment in that cue, and one that some have found quite frustrating, is when the rolling strings and crazy winds bit near the end of the cue (mentioned near the beginning of this post) just deflates rather than breaking out into a massive thematic statement. You think you're being funny, Johnny, depriving us of our big thematic statements? Shame on you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex 2,835 Posted August 26, 2016 Share Posted August 26, 2016 I find "Parade of the Ewoks" fairly amusing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naïve Old Fart 9,528 Posted August 26, 2016 Share Posted August 26, 2016 Unlike the titular creatures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
publicist 4,643 Posted August 26, 2016 Share Posted August 26, 2016 Home Alone, obviously. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naïve Old Fart 9,528 Posted August 26, 2016 Share Posted August 26, 2016 "The Tennis Game" is pretty humorous. Scratch that: it's witty. I also think that there is a lot of sweet humour in "For Gillian". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex 2,835 Posted August 26, 2016 Share Posted August 26, 2016 I also like the *boing* in "Frolic" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will 2,215 Posted August 26, 2016 Share Posted August 26, 2016 I often find JW's more overt attempts at humor a tad annoying, but some of the shorter bits of the type that @loert is talking about can really add a sense of fun to the cue. Jilal 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Not Mr. Big 4,639 Posted August 26, 2016 Share Posted August 26, 2016 The music that accompanies the snap-zoom on the Falcon in "The Falcon". 3:50 or so. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sarFZJl3h0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pieter Boelen 740 Posted August 29, 2016 Share Posted August 29, 2016 How about the opening of "I Can Fly Anything"? More specifically, the complete version. There is something about it there that just doesn't sound at all serious to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jilal 569 Posted August 29, 2016 Share Posted August 29, 2016 On 26-8-2016 at 7:02 PM, Will said: I often find JW's more overt attempts at humor a tad annoying, but some of the shorter bits of the type that @loert is talking about can really add a sense of fun to the cue. Same here. Will 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gnome in Plaid 219 Posted September 2, 2016 Share Posted September 2, 2016 All of the Wet Bandits theme statements are great, but there's something especially amusing about this first one, the way it starts with quick rip into the main phrase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loert 2,511 Posted September 3, 2016 Author Share Posted September 3, 2016 A tiny thing... The woodwind from 3:49: I love the way they pause at 3:53, only to return a second later (presumably to allow the players to catch their breath). It reminds me of children who throw temper tantrums; they run around screaming but sometimes they'll stop suddenly if something catches their eye or they're distracted, only to resume their flailing a few seconds later. It's just a funny image which pops into my head when I hear that bit. There are other witty moments in that track as well, such as the sudden "unwinding" at 3:34, or the grotesque "oom-pah"s at 5:27. I admit I'm unfamiliar with the scene for which this music was written (though I remember watching it many years back), but I'm guessing the former instance underscores something falling or "failing" in the actual film. Oh yeah, and 2:46. And 2:50! Cerebral Cortex 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon McBride 113 Posted September 5, 2016 Share Posted September 5, 2016 I was watching the Force Awakens earlier today and I thought the timpani roll when the falcon breaks through the trees on starkiller base was pretty funny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will 2,215 Posted September 5, 2016 Share Posted September 5, 2016 5 hours ago, Hawmy said: I was watching the Force Awakens earlier today and I thought the timpani roll when the falcon breaks through the trees on starkiller base was pretty funny. @TownerFan mentioned that too a while back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skelly 261 Posted September 5, 2016 Share Posted September 5, 2016 Williams incorporates a bit of dry humor in the "Dursleys vs. Owls" montage in the first Potter film, as Harry peeks out to see Vernon drilling the mailslot shut. He used some pizzicatos that were directed to play "non-espr [expressive]”; they're not making comment either way, so the humor of Vernon's silliness is more inferred than apparent. In the extended edition for the second film, which contained a longer cut of the Dobby/cake scene, Williams used the same figure, albeit at a slower tempo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hlao-roo 389 Posted September 5, 2016 Share Posted September 5, 2016 John Williams's music is definitely laughable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naïve Old Fart 9,528 Posted September 5, 2016 Share Posted September 5, 2016 INCOMING! Will 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrbellamy 6,287 Posted September 5, 2016 Share Posted September 5, 2016 1 hour ago, Skelly said: Williams incorporates a bit of dry humor in the "Dursleys vs. Owls" montage in the first Potter film, as Harry peeks out to see Vernon drilling the mailslot shut. He used some pizzicatos that were directed to play "non-espr [expressive]”; they're not making comment either way, so the humor of Vernon's silliness is more inferred than apparent. Williams uses pizzicato strings better than most film composers I can think of. It's often one of my least favorite accompaniment techniques because it's typically so blandly done for quirky purposes, but JW gives it a more appealing light touch for me. It's rarely the centerpiece of a cue -- though even stuff like "Flight from Peru" or "Chasing Scabbers" have enough frantic complexity to not just make it feel trite -- and with that HP cue, it just somehow conveys that very slight "raised eyebrows" humor. It doesn't really feel like mindless "plinky-plunking" to me but has those silences, some dynamic changes, accents, the triangle adds a little color. It's detailed, or more bluntly sounds like a human with taste wrote it.... I like his more coloristic uses of it as well, the way the basses will casually add to a big sweeping cue underneath, or how he uses plucked strings to double the horns and woodwinds with the Weasleys at the station. Not Mr. Big and Sharkissimo 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leeallen01 2,136 Posted September 8, 2016 Share Posted September 8, 2016 From my favourite Williams score. Also I've always found it funny in 'The Catamaran Race' whenever it switches back and forth from the 2-note Jaws theme. Will 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Datameister 2,043 Posted September 9, 2016 Share Posted September 9, 2016 On 9/5/2016 at 11:52 AM, mrbellamy said: Williams uses pizzicato strings better than most film composers I can think of. It's often one of my least favorite accompaniment techniques because it's typically so blandly done for quirky purposes, but JW gives it a more appealing light touch for me. It's rarely the centerpiece of a cue -- though even stuff like "Flight from Peru" or "Chasing Scabbers" have enough frantic complexity to not just make it feel trite -- and with that HP cue, it just somehow conveys that very slight "raised eyebrows" humor. It doesn't really feel like mindless "plinky-plunking" to me but has those silences, some dynamic changes, accents, the triangle adds a little color. It's detailed, or more bluntly sounds like a human with taste wrote it.... I like his more coloristic uses of it as well, the way the basses will casually add to a big sweeping cue underneath, or how he uses plucked strings to double the horns and woodwinds with the Weasleys at the station. QFT. It's easy to write pizzicato passages that sound clichéd and overly cutesy, but Williams' attempts are sublime. (I especially love those weird ones, like in "Flight From Peru.") Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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