The Soundtrack Mute City Music

"James Bond Will Return" graces the end credits of every movie in the series since the 1960s, and for good reason. These films, while perhaps not individually, have collectively stood the test of time by being the driving force in the spy genre while also staying true to the decades in which they were released. In a way, this series is a sort of documentary capturing the world's rich history and cultures through action, adventure, espionage, romance, and of course, music. This episode aims to uncover specific themes and musical patterns (motifs) - the building blocks that create that unique "spy" sound in all the movies. Zack and Jon answer the question, "Why does James Bond music sound he same, yet fresh and original in each movie?" After an epic 3-week 007 marathon that led up to the premiere of Skyfall in 2012, Zack and Jon are excited to get back in the ring to talk about one of their all-time favorite franchises. "For England, James?"

*Mute City Music, LLC is a trademark of E. Zachary Demos. All other trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. The sole purpose of this podcast is for the criticism, commentary, and teaching of copyrighted works*

Much like how Link in Majora's Mask collects a variety of masks to transform into different characters for completing the game, all the music in The Legend of Zelda series has accomplished a similar thing throughout the years. Each and every game in the series has been significant to the franchise as a whole as they all have their own unique aesthetic and style - captured perfectly by the music. Zack explains the value of each style of music within these different tracks throughout the series, as well as the artistic layers that help each song achieve that style. So, in the words of Link's fairy guide, Navi...

"HEY! LISTEN!"

*Mute City Music, LLC is a trademark of E. Zachary Demos. All other trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. The sole purpose of this podcast is for the criticism, commentary, and teaching of copyrighted works*

Alex Reed stops by one more time before returning to L.A. to continue his screenwriting career, but we just couldn't let him go without first discussing his #1 favorite franchise! Reed is a huge Trekkie and his knowledge of that music is no exception. Sit back and relax as we warp through 50 years of film and television soundtracks from the iconic space exploration series!

*Mute City Music, LLC is a trademark of E. Zachary Demos. All other trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. The sole purpose of this podcast is for the criticism, commentary, and teaching of copyrighted works*

Jon and Zack are taking the party to Japan as they share some of their favorite theme songs in the world of Anime! Over a span of 20+ years and from T.V. to internet (Crunchyroll, if you're listening...*cough cough*), Japanese anime has been responsible for some of our all-time favorite shows including Digimon, Trigun, and more recently...One Punch Man!  Get ready for guitar licks and horn rips in this action-packed episode!

YouTube Artist Spotlight --> https://www.youtube.com/user/FamilyJules7X

*Mute City Music, LLC is a trademark of E. Zachary Demos. All other trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. The sole purpose of this podcast is for the criticism, commentary, and teaching of copyrighted works*

What makes a great video game soundtrack? How many different ways can one use music in a game? Why are there so many memorable tracks in games? Why are you being asked all these questions? Using one of the most iconic characters and series of games as an example, Zack attempts to answer all these questions and more by breaking down the phases and aspects of an entertaining adventure game and how music can be created to enhance the player's experience from start to finish. The Donkey Kong Country soundtracks, composed largely by David Wise, effectively demonstrate the possibilities for impact that music can have throughout a game and how the music can set the tone going forward. Get ready for a lot of musical examples and a chat with Sydney Brega, retro gamer and DK superfan!

*Mute City Music, LLC is a trademark of E. Zachary Demos. All other trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. The sole purpose of this podcast is for the criticism, commentary, and teaching of copyrighted works*

This episode is all about The Lord of the Rings as Zack shines a "leit" on the compositional technique known as "leitmotif" as used by Howard Shore throughout the iconic film trilogy. He shares a couple of his favorite tracks before opening up the discussion to his brother, Alex, but just as the Fellowship encountered many surprises during their adventure, there just might be a surprise or two in store for this episode... 

Check out Nerdwriter's analysis of Shore's music at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7BkmF8CJpQ 

Also, a quick shout-out to the London Philharmonic Orchestra, London Voices, New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, and all the incredible soloists for their performances on these soundtracks since Zack forgot to do it during the episode!!*Mute City Music, LLC is a trademark of E. Zachary Demos. All other trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. The sole purpose of this podcast is for the criticism, commentary, and teaching of copyrighted works*