New Podcast! The Baton: A John Williams Musical Journey

[80sFan 118]

Sad to see the podcast end. I have enjoyed the insights and think this series will be looked back as a valuable resource for info on John Williams. I've learned so much from each episode (and liked the comments from your guests as well) 

 

Thanks again for the great work!

[Jurassic Shark 14,491]

Now, Jeff should collect the highlights in a book.

 

[Dr. Rick 1,279]

I found this interview on Twitter last night.  I have finally started to listen to this podcast, currently on Daddy-O

 

 

 

 

[WampaRat 1,575]

Congrats @Trumpeteeron wrapping up a terrific series. As a fellow Arizonan (grew up in Glendale) and swimmer, I’m doubly proud. Bravo!

[SingeMoisi 4]

Reunion of Friends was a great pick. It filled me with nostalgia and a bit of sadness.
Thank you for the podcast, it was truly amazing. I am so glad to have learned so much about John Williams' work.

 

[bollemanneke 3,902]

What a great, great, final episode. Congratulations.

[Erik Woods 742]

 

 

 

[aescalle 123]

It was a great journey. Congratulations.

[Trumpeteer 302]

Thanks for posting those videos, @Erik Woods. I was trying to inform as many people as possible, and forgot the most important place!

 

Here is background on these videos: I hosted a virtual roundtable for 18 John Williams fans, all of whom cohosted "The Baton" with me. We talked for two hours about a lot of topics, including John Williams' legacy and the state of film scoring in the 21st century. There was also some lengthy debate about the music for two Indiana Jones films. But the highlight (at least for me) was a WORLD PREMIERE of a trombone overdub by Jim Nova of "Wide Receiver," the composition Williams wrote for NBC's football coverage.

 

I hope everyone enjoys this special bonus episode of "The Baton."

[Bayesian 1,506]

I just finished watching the first part of the roundtable, @Trumpeteer, and I loved it. Such enthusiasm for JW's music, and such obvious admiration of you and your tireless efforts expressed by your cohosts!

 

I've been collecting all your episodes for the better part of the past year and am eager to listen to them in order in the weeks and months ahead, now that your cycle is complete. (I've listened to parts of several episodes over the past year but held back from doing more than that until I could find time to devote the proper attention to them. That time has finally come.)

 

What you accomplished with The Baton -- an immersive, complete survey of JW's film scores -- will be long recognized as an important and necessary contribution to JW appreciation and scholarship. That alone is worthy of the highest praise. But the fact that you did it like clockwork, 60-90 minutes weekly without fail, is basically superhuman to the likes of procrastinators like me. I am in awe. You are my role model for 2021.

 

Bravo for a wonderful podcast! And thank you!

[Biodome 718]

I'd also like to thank @Trumpeteerfor this amazing journey. For me, being in my 20s, it's difficult to really comprehend what a 60+ year musical career really means, and what it means to have composed 100+ film scores. The realisation that you'd have to spend an hour each week for 2 years in order to get an overview of every John Williams film score, really puts things in perspective. I've never fully appreciated John Williams until I started listening to The Baton, and it really helped me grasp the sheer scale and variety of his creative output. Watching all of those films is now on my bucket list!

[Joni Wiljami 1,215]

Just found this!! Wonderful addition for my daily 1-2 hour corona isolation walks. I started it the other way round, from newest to oldest. Today BFG😎

[Trumpeteer 302]

Thanks @Biodome and @Bayesian for the kind words. They are much appreciated. I am happy that you discovered more music from John Williams and are going to watch some of the films. Many of the scores will be greatly enhanced from matching the music with visuals.

 

Hey @T.RASK you are the first to say that you are going backwards. That feels like reading a book from the last chapter to the beginning, "Memento"-style. Hope you find it enjoyable. 

[bruckhorn 123]

I started in the middle and listened to a few episodes (scores I was familiar with).  I have now downloaded all of the episodes.

I highly recommend them.  The approach is amateur in the truest sense of the word: for the love of it.  Very little techie talk (e.g.: chord progressions, use of pedal tones, use of modes) which usually comes from co-hosts.  Heck, I think he misidentified a recorder as a flute, but I don’t expect him to point out the Wagner tubas in Empire.  (Star Wars Oxygen didn’t mention it).

 

And yet, with all I’ve read/heard about Stars Wars, there was something in his Star Wars episode that was new to me.  That’s something, right?

No, I’m not going to say what it was: you have to listen to it yourself.

 

[Trumpeteer 302]

18 hours ago, bruckhorn said:

I started in the middle and listened to a few episodes (scores I was familiar with).  I have now downloaded all of the episodes.

I highly recommend them.  The approach is amateur in the truest sense of the word: for the love of it.  Very little techie talk (e.g.: chord progressions, use of pedal tones, use of modes) which usually comes from co-hosts.  Heck, I think he misidentified a recorder as a flute, but I don’t expect him to point out the Wagner tubas in Empire.  (Star Wars Oxygen didn’t mention it).

 

And yet, with all I’ve read/heard about Stars Wars, there was something in his Star Wars episode that was new to me.  That’s something, right?

No, I’m not going to say what it was: you have to listen to it yourself.

 

Just as a reminder: I mention in the first episode that I am not a trained musician, so approach this podcast knowing that. Plus, I would personally be bored if every episode was a music theory lecture. My frequent cohosts add that when needed and I am very thankful for that.

 

@bruckhorn I am curious to know the new piece of information you learned in the Star Wars episode. Send me a private message.

[Trumpeteer 302]

As we all know, John Williams' 89th birthday is tomorrow (Monday), and I will be posting a special video episode of "The Baton" to celebrate. I will be joined by 12 of my podcast's cohosts as we share how we celebrate the Maestro's birthday, and talk about some of Williams' music we would use to introduce a new fan.

 

This video will make its debut as a YouTube "live" Premiere at 9 am Eastern on Monday, February 8. Link is below. I invite you to the Premiere to chat with other John Williams fans as the video plays. If you can't make the "live" video, it will be available at the same link as an on-demand video.

 

Celebrating John Williams' 89th birthday

[Jurassic Shark 14,491]

Will JW make a guest appearance?

[Trumpeteer 302]

6 hours ago, Jurassic Shark said:

Will JW make a guest appearance?

I would love that, but unfortunately no. The biggest celebrity I could get for this show was @Erik Woods.

[Jurassic Shark 14,491]

Not bad - even I have heard of that guy!

[Trumpeteer 302]

Hi, folks! I brought in some of my cohosts from my John Williams podcast to offer their thoughts about the upcoming Indy 5 film and score. And since we recorded this close to Star Wars Day, I asked everyone to let me know their favorite "Star Wars" musical moments. Some were surprising, but most gave responses that were expected. Enjoy!

 

[Toillion 344]

Started listening to the podcast recently and just made it through the 60s. I don’t listen to podcasts often but I’m enjoying this one very much! I’m also taking this opportunity to go through my personal collection and hopefully fill in some of the holes. 

[Trumpeteer 302]

Hello, everyone! It's been a while since I've posted on this topic, not really a surprise since I posted the last episode in December 2020. But, as you know, two new John Williams scores are coming out soon, and The Baton is coming back to continue the John Williams musical journey!

 

I plan on releasing the episode covering the music for "The Fablemans" and the work Williams has done since "Rise of Skywalker" soon. And the episode for Indy 5 will be out shortly after that movie's release. I'm waiting to hear the music for both films until I hear them in the movies. (Though I broke my rule and listened to the music from Indy 5 premiered at the Hollywood Bowl.)

 

In the meantime, I'm working on another podcast, called The Best Song Podcast. It will debut in January 2023, and, like The Baton, will be an oral history of music through multiple decades. This time, I'll be discussing the songs that were nominated for an Academy Award in the first 90 years of the award, from 1934 to 2023. I'm having a lot of fun with the research, and listening to many of the songs has been a thrill and an education.

 

The research has been extensive, and I've started a Kickstarter campaign to raise the $2,200 for preproduction costs. That includes buying lots of biographies of songwriters, hiring a graphic designer to create a logo and a professional voiceover artist to record the opening and closing of each episode. I hope you can give something to help me cover these costs. I don't get a dime of it unless the entire $2,200 is raised, so please give what you can.

 

Here's the link: The Best Song Podcast Kickstarter

[Romão 2,377]

I know I'm very late to the party, but I started listening to this podcast yesterday and I'm already 10 episodes in.

 

Wonderful job, @Trumpeteer. It is particularly helpful in getting to know some of JW's lesser known scores and how the music plays works in the context of the film. I've been enjoying it tremendously and love your selection of clips. I think by the end of next week, I might've gone through the whole thing.

 

Besides the work you've put into getting to know the music, I'm particularly amazed and thankful for your dedication in watching all the movies JW scored and how that helps color one's opinion of the score. 

 

I stumbled upon your podcast when searching Spotify for the Sleepers soundtrack, and your episode was the first result I got. And even for score such as this, which I consider to be a personal favorite and which I assumed to know very well, I was pleasantly surprised by your insights on how the music works in the film (for all the love I have for the score, I've never really watched movie more than a couple of times).

 

Great work, that's all I wanted to say. You're helping make my working day all the more pleasant

[Bryant Burnette 747]

I've been downloading these episodes and archiving them forever, but had not gotten around to actually listening to any of them until this week.  I'm up to the Bachelor Flat episode now, and just wanted to say that it's a very enjoyable and informative show.  Pretty thrilled I get to listen to the rest of Williams's career this way!  Thanks, and keep kicking ass!

[Trumpeteer 302]

On 16/11/2022 at 7:36 PM, Bryant Burnette said:

I've been downloading these episodes and archiving them forever, but had not gotten around to actually listening to any of them until this week.  I'm up to the Bachelor Flat episode now, and just wanted to say that it's a very enjoyable and informative show.  Pretty thrilled I get to listen to the rest of Williams's career this way!  Thanks, and keep kicking ass!

Thanks, Bryant! A new episode is in the works to discuss "The Fabelmans." I hope to have it produced before Christmas.

On 10/11/2022 at 4:06 PM, Romão said:

I know I'm very late to the party, but I started listening to this podcast yesterday and I'm already 10 episodes in.

 

Wonderful job, @Trumpeteer. It is particularly helpful in getting to know some of JW's lesser known scores and how the music plays works in the context of the film. I've been enjoying it tremendously and love your selection of clips. I think by the end of next week, I might've gone through the whole thing.

 

Besides the work you've put into getting to know the music, I'm particularly amazed and thankful for your dedication in watching all the movies JW scored and how that helps color one's opinion of the score. 

 

I stumbled upon your podcast when searching Spotify for the Sleepers soundtrack, and your episode was the first result I got. And even for score such as this, which I consider to be a personal favorite and which I assumed to know very well, I was pleasantly surprised by your insights on how the music works in the film (for all the love I have for the score, I've never really watched movie more than a couple of times).

 

Great work, that's all I wanted to say. You're helping make my working day all the more pleasant

I'm glad you have a new appreciation for Sleepers. I was never a huge fan of the movie or score after seeing it for the first time in 1996, but after producing the podcast episode, I find some aspects of the score very enjoyable.

 

Keep your eyes out for a new episode coming in a few days!

[Trumpeteer 302]

Folks,

 

Happy New Year! If you have not had the chance to listen to the new episode of The Baton  featuring a discussion of the score to The Fabelmans, you can watch it in the player below. It was fun returning to the show after a two-year hiatus.

 

Also, I'm also starting a new podcast that will take us through the first 90 years of the Academy Award for Best Original Song. That podcast, called The Best Song Podcast, will mention John Williams at various points when he earns Oscar nominations for songwriting. Until then, I hope you'll enjoy the episodes, which will be found at this website and on the Podbean app beginning tomorrow (January 2) until it's approved for other podcast platforms.

[Trumpeteer 302]

Hello, again! Episode 113 of The Best Song Podcast is now available This episode covers the score for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, which brings Williams full circle through five Indy films. I also detail the un-retirement announcement that Williams made earlier this year, and what it means for his future in film scoring.

 

Enjoy!

 

 

[Bryant Burnette 747]

I've only made it up to 1941 so far!

[Jurassic Shark 14,491]

13 hours ago, Trumpeteer said:

Hello, again! Episode 113 of The Best Song Podcast is now available This episode covers the score for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

 

I love the Helena song!

[Gurkensalat 364]

I think I detected some small errors there. So you think @Falstaft did only mention the battle music in his article, because there is no other great music in the film?? Perhaps the article was already finished and ready to go and he just managed to add one sentence just before print? Did you ask him about your interpretation?

Also, the theme at the end of Prologue is not an artifact theme, but the Archimedes theme. And Tintin was 2011, not 2012, and for me it is obvious that Mangold DID know about that score, and that the Duel music from Tintin was on the temp track and was consciously used as a template, if we like it or not. Perhaps it was a subtle reminder to Peter Jackson to get off his butt and make the promised second Tintin movie as long as Williams is still able to compose the music :-) But that is only speculation on my part, of course. 

 

 

[Holko 11,172]

25 minutes ago, Gurkensalat said:

So you think @Falstaft did only mention the battle music in his article, because there is no other great music in the film?? Perhaps the article was already finished and ready to go and he just managed to add one sentence just before print?

yep

On 07/07/2023 at 7:48 PM, Falstaft said:

I actually wrote this well before Dial came out, but was glad I was able to sneak in a last minute edit about "The Battle of Syracuse."

 

[Trumpeteer 302]

Thanks, Holko, for putting in that post from Frank. I did not know he had thrown in the analysis of "Battle of Syracuse" at the last minute, though it makes sense because an article like that takes weeks of research and analysis. I had not planned to mention Frank's article, mostly because I had read it after I finished most of my script and didn't think it was important to mention it. But, it's an article about John Williams in one of the most well-known publications in the world. It deserved a mention and I hope it draws more attention to it.

 

Thanks also for the points about Tintin. My apologies for getting the date wrong. You have a good point about Mangold possibly using it as a temp track, something I did not think about when pondering its use.

 

On 13/07/2023 at 12:15 AM, Bryant Burnette said:

I've only made it up to 1941 so far!

Take your time. Hope you are enjoying what you hear.

[Bryant Burnette 747]

5 hours ago, Trumpeteer said:

Take your time. Hope you are enjoying what you hear.

 

Most definitely!

[Jay 41,617]

On 12/07/2023 at 1:20 PM, Trumpeteer said:

The Best Song Podcast

 

?

[Trumpeteer 302]

On 20/07/2023 at 6:35 AM, Jay said:

 

?

The Best Song Podcast is my newest podcast, which started in January 2023. The show is very similar to "The Baton," in that it is doing a year-by-year analysis of movie music. This time, I am giving the history of the 450-plus songs nominated for the Best Original Song Academy Award in the first 90 years of its existence (1934-2023). There are stories to tell about songwriters such as Sammy Cahn, Henry Mancini, and Irving Berlin, as well as the men and women who wrote nominated songs who didn't get much of their 15 minutes of fame.

 

Check it out: