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Behind the Moon - a Substack column about John Williams: A Composer's Life


Maestro

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3 hours ago, Maestro said:

Thanks for reading, everybody. Lots more to come!

 

 

I'll definitely be expounding on this (somewhat surprising) aspect, and the intimidating act of dialoguing with him when he's not jovially promoting something. He is the smartest person I have ever met.

 

Absolutely. Looking forward to more. Also, once again leaving it on a cliffhanger. I love it! I can't wait to read about the next meeting next week.

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I'm really enjoying reading these blog posts. To read how JW went from personally asking you not to write the book to giving you a full on critique of your first chapter is a pretty big turnaround. Great stuff!

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11 hours ago, mrbellamy said:

I think infra dig is pretty much the official JWFan motto.

Is it infra dig to listen to soundtracks?

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5 minutes ago, Meredith McKay said:

Is it infra dig to listen to soundtracks?

Not at all, when listened in isolation without the distraction of the film.

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20 hours ago, Loert said:

Why does this read like the opening to a fan fic? :lol:

Now that I think of it, it reads exactly like the fanfic Wagner wrote about meeting Beethoven....

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/30/A_pilgrimage_to_Beethoven%3B_a_novel_(IA_cu31924022158822).pdf

Quote

image.jpeg

 

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2 hours ago, Tom said:

Wagner later realized that knocking on Beethoven's door wasn't the best way to get his attention.   

Go Away Interview GIF by FoilArmsandHog

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7 minutes ago, Marian Schedenig said:

 

No, that's the other Tim (@mahler3)… :P

 

 

 

In fairness, when the book comes out, I'm sure Tim will be on it like white on rice.

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@Maestro is it revealed in the book how Ken Wannberg got his nickname “Wampi” (or is it Wompi?)? It’s used in a few cue titles and we found out a little while ago it was a nickname, but then it got a little more confusing when you see it in cue title (“Wompi Intro/Outro” for the JP Theme album track, and “Wompi’s Wrench” from The Lost World).

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35 minutes ago, Brando said:

@Maestro is it revealed in the book how Ken Wannberg got his nickname “Wampi” (or is it Wompi?)? It’s used in a few cue titles and we found out a little while ago it was a nickname, but then it got a little more confusing when you see it in cue title (“Wompi Intro/Outro” for the JP Theme album track, and “Wompi’s Wrench” from The Lost World).

 

Even more confusingly, it always reminds me of "Wumpus".

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1 hour ago, Brando said:

@Maestro is it revealed in the book how Ken Wannberg got his nickname “Wampi” (or is it Wompi?)? It’s used in a few cue titles and we found out a little while ago it was a nickname, but then it got a little more confusing when you see it in cue title (“Wompi Intro/Outro” for the JP Theme album track, and “Wompi’s Wrench” from The Lost World).

Wait when?

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1 hour ago, Meredith McKay said:

Wait when?

When it was revealed? I believe Mike or Jay mentioned it somewhere kind of off handedly as if it wasn’t one of JWFans biggest mysteries (WHAT THE HECK DOES WOMPI’S WRENCH MEAN?!?!?!).

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20 minutes ago, Brando said:

When it was revealed? I believe Mike or Jay mentioned it somewhere kind of off handedly as if it wasn’t one of JWFans biggest mysteries (WHAT THE HECK DOES WOMPI’S WRENCH MEAN?!?!?!).

All I remember is @Jay talking with Mike on Legacy of JW, and I suggested he ask about it, and then him NOT asking about WOMPI lol.

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3 hours ago, Maestro said:

That nickname was given to him by Lionel Newman. Neither JW nor Wannberg could remember how or why the name got mutated into that, but it stuck!

 

Only thing I can think of is maybe he was saying "Wannby" and they misheard it as "Wompi".

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1 hour ago, Meredith McKay said:

All I remember is @Jay talking with Mike on Legacy of JW, and I suggested he ask about it, and then him NOT asking about WOMPI lol.

Wompi/Wampi came up in the Legacy of John Williams podcast interview with the woodwind player Phil Ayling, who mentioned it in passing during the interview.

 

https://thelegacyofjohnwilliams.com/2024/05/30/phil-ayling-podcast/

 

 

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Fascinating stuff.

 

"I learned pretty quickly that if I asked about most of his film scores, he could call up barely any details; that was simply data he had chosen not to store."

 

This struck me as interesting... One might be tempted to read something into it.

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33 minutes ago, Mr. Hooper said:

Fascinating stuff.

 

"I learned pretty quickly that if I asked about most of his film scores, he could call up barely any details; that was simply data he had chosen not to store."

 

This struck me as interesting... One might be tempted to read something into it.

I have heard numerous times that John really doesn't listen to his own scores all that much, or really like *like* listening to them, as he always feels he could have done more.  A note here, and accidental there, to make it better.

 

IIRC, one of the only pieces of his that he likes is Yoda's theme...

 

/Don't quote me on these though, I am 95% sure I have heard these things.

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3 minutes ago, geom_00 said:

I have heard numerous times that John really doesn't listen to his own scores all that much, or really like *like* listening to them, as he always feels he could have done more.  A note here, and accidental there, to make it better.

 

IIRC, one of the only pieces of his that he likes is Yoda's theme...

 

/Don't quote me on these though, I am 95% sure I have heard these things.

 

Timestamp: 8:47.

 

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41 minutes ago, Mr. Hooper said:

Fascinating stuff.

 

"I learned pretty quickly that if I asked about most of his film scores, he could call up barely any details; that was simply data he had chosen not to store."

 

This struck me as interesting... One might be tempted to read something into it.

Immense, marvelously developed and specialized working memory and a rapid pace of work. Wiliams gets the job done and then moves to the next one. He is a tactician more than a strategist. Like a computer program that calculates but does not save most of the results.

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Excellent read.  You have lived out every fanboy's dream--you must have wished upon the right star.  

 

 

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Thank you! Again, apologies for potential repetition, but have you ever talked about, or considered, releasing all your audio interviews? Is that something that might ever happen in some way or another, or were those just the means you happened to need to write the book and are they not for listening?

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1 hour ago, bollemanneke said:

Thank you! Again, apologies for potential repetition, but have you ever talked about, or considered, releasing all your audio interviews? Is that something that might ever happen in some way or another, or were those just the means you happened to need to write the book and are they not for listening?

All these Audio and Video interviews should be released in that superfan 15-DVD box that I am dreaming of together with all of Spielberg's videos from Williams' scoring sessions. 

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5 hours ago, Mr. Hooper said:

Fascinating stuff.

 

"I learned pretty quickly that if I asked about most of his film scores, he could call up barely any details; that was simply data he had chosen not to store."

 

This struck me as interesting... One might be tempted to read something into it.

 

Tim, does anything come to mind regarding his film scores that you were particularly surprised he didn't have an answer for? Or even a whole line of questioning that you abandoned because he just wasn't into it or it was just obviously a dead end?  

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10 minutes ago, mrbellamy said:

Tim, does anything come to mind regarding his film scores that you were particularly surprised he didn't have an answer for? Or even a whole line of questioning that you abandoned because he just wasn't into it or it was just obviously a dead end?  

 

Also: Were it specifically the film scores he didn't have particular recollections about, or the entire projects as well? I.e. were there other aspects about the film projects he was involved in that left more memories related to the actual projects, like (since you mentioned people) the people he collaborated with?

 

Continued thanks for sharing these insights, Tim. They feel like part of the book already, and at the same time make it even harder to wait for the actual proper book.

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Wouldn't these chapters from "Behind the Moon" together with selected essays from "The Legacy of John Williams" potentially make a nice fan-sourced follow-up book?

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Another fantastic blog post. It must have been both a privilege and rather intimidating to have JW apply his exacting nature and high standard he holds for his own music to your writing. What an amazing experience you've had!

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All we can read here about Williams' ambition about what a good biography is, makes it to me unlikely that he is happy with the "Music by John Williams" documentary.

 

I am looking forward to the book.

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