Art of the Score Andrew Pogson, Nicholas Buc and Dan Golding

It’s Episode 35, and the long-awaited part two to our investigation of a fascinating and often-overlooked area of film music history – studio fanfares. In this episode we travel from the 1980s to today, taking in the sights and sounds of evergreen studio fanfares from the likes of Jerry Goldsmith, John Williams, the THX Deep Note, and the Buc dynasty of screen composers. And of course, there’s a round of ‘Name That Theme’ with host Andrew Pogson, as well as a look at some of the most contemporary of logo themes – including Marvel, Star Wars, and a curious update of MGM’s Leo the Lion.

Show notes:

2:50 – The Art of the Score fanfare – Nancy Buc (1980)
4:34 – The studio revival in the 1980s
5:42 – Amblin Entertainment – John Williams (1981)
9:14 – The Ladd Company – John Williams (1981)
12:29 – United Artists – Joe Harnell (1982)
15:54 – THX Deep Note – James Andy Moorer (1983)
22:13 – Tri-Star Pictures – Dave Grusin (1984)
25:46 – Carolco Pictures – Jerry Goldsmith (1985)
28:42 – And now, the news
33:10 – Disney – John Debney (1985)
36:26 – THX Cimarron – James Horner (1988)
39:43 – Castle Rock Entertainment – Marc Shaiman (1989)
42:56 – Warner Bros. and an off day in the synth studio
44:30 – The Art of the Score fanfare – Barry Buc (1990)
46:21 – Universal – James Horner (1990)
50:46 – Hollywood Pictures – Danny Elfman (1990)
51:42 – Village Roadshow (1992)
53:53 – Columbia – Jonathan Elias (1993)
56:50 – Studio fanfares you might have heard before…
1:02:28 – New Line Cinema – Michael Kamen (1994)
1:05:34 – United Artists – Starr Parodi and Jeff Eden Fair (1994)
1:09:05 – Disney and Pixar – Randy Newman (1995)
1:10:26 – HBO (1996)
1:11:35 – Dreamworks – John Williams (1997)
1:14:56 – Universal – Jerry Goldsmith (1997)
1:19:31 – Warner Bros. – Gabriel Yared (1999)
1:21:39 – The Art of the Score fanfare – Tobias H. Buc (2000)
1:23:53 – Sony Home Entertainment and Animation (2005/2006)
1:28:16 – Disney – Mark Mancina & Dave Metzger (2006)
1:31:44 – Studio Canal – Alexandre Desplat (2011)
1:36:25 – Paramount – Michael Giacchino (2011)
1:40:02 – Universal, updated – Brian Tyler (2012)
1:41:26 – Marvel – Tyler/Giacchino (2013/2016)
1:47:26 – Netflix – Lon Bender and Charlie Campagna (2015)
1:52:49 – Streaming Star Wars (2019)
1:56:31 – MGM (2021)
1:58:33 – The Art of the Score fanfare – Nicholas Buc (2004)
2:01:25 – “Name That Theme”, with your host, Andrew Pogson

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You’re sitting in a darkened movie theatre, and the latest, highly anticipated blockbuster is about to play. The ads are over, the trailers are all done, and the lights dim. What’s this? Why, it’s Art of the Score Episode 34, as we investigate a fascinating and often-overlooked area of film music history – studio fanfares. From 20th Century Fox to MGM’s Leo the Lion roar and many more, over the next two episodes we’ll be revealing the secrets behind the musical moments that open the movies and set the musical agenda, and telling the stories behind the studios and the composers who made them.

Show notes:

6:02 – The origins of the fanfare
8:51 – The studio system and the sound of the Big Five
12:15 – MGM: Lions, Stars, and Celebrities, oh my!
15:31 – RKO: Morse code, crime, and Howard Hughes
20:20 – Paramount Pictures on Parade (allegedly)
21:28 – 20th Century Fox – Alfred Newman (1933)
27:22 – Warner Brothers – Max Steiner (1937)
33:05 – The Little Three (that’s Andrew, Nick, and Dan)
33:33 – Universal Studios, Tchaikovsky, and Superman – Jimmy McHugh (1936)
40:30 – United Artists (so united they didn’t have a fanfare)
41:40 – Columbia – Mischa Bakaleinikoff (1934)
43:21 – Beyond the Big Five and the Little Three
44:33 – Selznick International – Alfred Newman (1936)
47:30 – The Art of the Score fanfare – Thaddeus Buc (1935)
49:54 – Into the 1950s: lawsuits, widescreens, and the birth of television
52:07 – VistaVision – Nathan van Cleeve (1952)
56:11 – CinemaScope – 20th Century Fox – Alfred Newman expands his fanfare (1954)
1:01:39 – MGM – Leo the Lion (1957)
1:02:34 – The Art of the Score fanfare – Jerry Buc (1960)
1:04:38 – The emergence of television and the NBC chime
1:07:44 – Desilu – Wilber Hatch (1966)
1:10:52 – The Art of the Score fanfare – Teddy Buc (1970)
1:15:48 – Paramount’s Parade – Lalo Schifrin (1970), Jerry Goldsmith (1976 and 1977)
1:22:24 – Columbia – Suzanne Ciani (1976)
1:24:48 – Walt Disney Productions - When You Wish Upon a Star (1972)
1:32:04 – PBS – Paul Alan Levi (1971)
1:33:18 – Associated Film Distribution (1978)

Links mentioned:

Yorgason and Lyon’s journal article on Max Steiner’s Warner Bros. fanfare - https://www.mtosmt.org/issues/mto.20.26.2/mto.20.26.2.yorgason_lyon.html
Kirk Hamilton’s Strong Song’s episode on David Bowie – https://strongsongspodcast.com/episode/space-oddity-and-starman-by-david-bowie

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It’s finally time for Episode 33, and Art of the Score’s analysis of one of the landmark composers of the last decade: Jóhann Jóhannsson. We sit down with special guest, synth (and tape loop) expert Seja Vogel, and Jóhannsson’s soundtrack for Denis Villeneuve’s masterpiece sci fi film, Arrival. Join us for heptapods, looping seals (?), and the only true universal language: film music.

Episode notes:

4:41 – Arrival arrives, and Jóhannsson thrives
12:47 – Around the Clock News
15:43 – Arriving in Montana
21:49 – Seja breaks down the Arrival sound
30:05 – Looping with Seja
34:45 – First Encounter
39:12 – Sapir-Whorf
43:00 – Hazmat
49:42 – Heptapod B
58:56 – Non-Zero-Sum Game
1:02:21 – Deciphering
1:06:26 – One of Twelve
1:12:22 – Rise, and Max Richter’s On The Nature of Daylight

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It’s Episode 32, and we come back to you from the city of the lockdown with the crown jewel of 1990s action adventure: Jerry Goldsmith’s wonderful score for The Mummy. Goldsmith has for some time been one of Art of the Score’s most requested composers, so join us as we journey to 1920s Egypt and scheme among the pyramids with Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, and that incredible music.

Episode notes:

5:05 – That’s Goldsmith, Jerry! Goldsmith!
8:04 – Podcast recommendation: The Goldsmith Odyssey
10:04 – The Universal history of the Mummy
19:03 – Hamunaptra theme
24:18 – A brief introduction to the film’s other themes
26:58 – Hamun it up
32:40 – Hamajor Hamontage
36:58 – Jerry’s percussion
39:11 – Imhotep’s motif
44:21 – Nick comes clean about his bullying ways
47:01 – The love theme
52:20 – Luteish love and handy hand percussion
56:41 – The power of French Horns propels you
1:00:06 – A romantic finale
1:05:12 – Rick’s theme
1:12:27 – Here come the baddies
1:15:47 – The Mummy Strut
1:18:47 – A sourcey rag
1:22:14 – The Musicians of the Nile
1:27:26 – Hollywood’s sound of Egypt
1:34:44 – Do camels have scales?
1:38:21 – The key is octatonic
1:46:13 – Frightening mummy
1:53:52 – Imhotep’s death (or, that’s a wrap folks!)

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It’s Episode 31, and we’re swooping into the new year with one of the most widely loved family films – as well as the film score buff’s film score – in How To Train Your Dragon. John Powell’s soundtrack has been one of Art of the Score’s most-requested episodes over the years, so join us as we get under the hood of this contemporary classic and pick apart its many main melodies and old-fashioned sound.

Episode notes:

5:56 – How To Train Your Dreamworks
8:41 – The John Powell Up
12:31 – Nick leaves his wife for John Powell
14:43 – The Friendship theme
16:38 – Toothless’s theme
19:56 – Bagging Bagpipes
25:27 – Hammering Dulcimer
32:43 – Tin whistle and bodhran
35:26 – Let’s b (theme) friends
39:42 – Powell-chords
45:16 – Toothless in three
49:10 – Toothless Face/Off
51:05 – The Band with a Dragon Tattoo
54:17 – The Berk theme
59:47 – A point of pronunciation
1:02:56 – Father and Son
1:09:08 – The cavalry arrives
1:12:33 – The Viking theme
1:18:31 – How To Write A Dragon Melody
1:24:21 – Dragon scales
1:26:39 – Astrid’s theme
1:35:56 – The Evolution of Powell’s style
1:38:38 – Battle theme
1:44:10 – Telling the Tail
1:49:53 – John Powell’s best score?

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It’s Episode 30, and we at Art of the Score are finally tackling two genres we’ve so far overlooked – animation and the musical, combined in the form of the great Disney revival musical, The Little Mermaid. Join us as we celebrate the 30th anniversary of this wonderful film and explore the cabaret roots of Ursula, the perfect pop song for Ariel, and the debatable reggae of Under The Sea in Alan Menken’s joyous and groundbreaking score.

Episode notes:

4:10 – The Art of the Mailbag?
5:12 – The Disney Dark Ages
8:15 – Alan Menken: the secret to Disney’s revival
12:52 – Ariel’s theme: Part of Your World
15:33 – “I want”
19:26 – Ariel’s verse
25:01 – Ariel’s verse (Hoarders edition)
28:41 – Creative voicing
32:47 – A pre-chorus?
35:33 – Recorders on the beach
38:44 – Ariel’s musical maturity
42:17 – Ursula’s theme: Poor Unfortunate Souls
45:03 – Craberet
50:40 – Fortunate Souls
54:35 – Poggo’s Unfortunate Lyrics
56:44 – Scheming eels
1:00:49 – Prince Eric’s Roadshow
1:06:02 – Eric’s Organ Announcement
1:09:48 – Triton’s Fanfare
1:13:04 – Triton’s Minor Fanfare
1:15:53 – Scuttle’s scuttlebutt
1:24:11 – Mickey Mouse-ing
1:34:26 – Le Chef, and Nick’s waltzing tangent
1:42:04 – Andrew’s Chef genocide tangent
1:44:51 – Under the C
1:49:45 – Dan’s reggae tangent
1:59:37 – Fathoms Below and the opening song

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