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  • The bit that you skip #154: James Horner – Main Title

    James Horner always had a bad rep with several soundtrack afficionados. Sure, there is a lot of swiping and interpolation from classical music composers, specially with James Horner’s “danger motif”, which is just Rachmaninov’s Symphony #1. Great composer to steal from, though. I loved Horner’s work. The Mask of Zorro, Patriot Games, Aliens, all have…

  • The bit that you skip #153: Tristram Cary – Centre Music

    Another alumni from the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, Tristram Cary cut his teeth composing film, with The Ladykillers and Quatermass and the pit as fine examples of him being able to tackle “traditional soundtracks”. Quatermass in particular fits Hammer “orchestral horror” mold. That doesn’t mean Cary didn’t indulge into abstract experimentation. Tristram Cary composed and executed…

  • The bit that you skip #152: John Baker – The Caves of Steel

    Isaac Asimov always said that science fiction was a genre that could adapt to any tried and true genre of literature. Time proved him right and his Elijah Baley trilogy consisting of The Caves of Steel, The Naked Sun, and The Robots of Dawn are a concatenation of a hard boiled detective story and speculative…

  • The bit that you skip #151: Brad Fiedel – Desert suite

    Terminator 2: Judgment Day is the definite blueprint of how to make a sequel. Themes from the original are still there, with enough callbacks for the fan, but still original enough to deliver something different. Whereas the doom-laden 1984 classic ended up on a gloomy note, the 1991 sequel leaves the door open, reusing the…

  • The bit that you skip #150: Delia Derbyshire – Zwizih Zwizih

    Delia Derbyshire was a genius and that’s an understatement. Her work at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop was both creative and challenging, serving both the BBC’s ident for radio and tv broadcasts, and as the recognisable scores for many a show, including of course Doctor Who. Derbyshire’s arrangement of Ron Grainier’s composition is perfect. Field recordings…

  • The bit that you skip #149: Barry DeVorzon – Wonder Wheel

    A movie like The Warriors screams drive-in classic. Perhaps because it was due to my first experience with the film being at a drive in when I was a child. Although sporting all the trimmings of a b-movie feast, Walter Hill’s adaptation of Sol Yorick’s novel is a masterpiece of 70s grit. The oppressive atmosphere…

  • The bit that you skip #148: Michael Kamen & Orbital – Lewis & Clark

    By 1997, Michael Kamen was a well-respected composer in Hollywood. After a strong start by composing arrangements for Pink Floyd, Queen, Tom Petty and many monoliths of classic rock, he crossed over to film scores thanks to The Wall’s soundtrack album. What galvanised his status as a master of suspense and action was the trifecta…

  • The bit that you skip #147: Elia Cmiral – Ronin

    John Frankenheimer’s late-career Ronin is a strange beast. Released in 1998, you could swear it’s a lost film from the 70s. From the muted colours on everyone’s clothes, to the action scenes, it’s a movie that didn’t feel “modern” back then. Sure, they had top of the line equipment (for the era) and tracking a…

  • The bit that you skip #146: Brian Hodgson – Cybermen Stab & Music

    Musique Concrète is a genre that goes for found sounds and creates soundscapes through manipulation. Add a splash of reverb, reverse the sound, slow it down, add a delay or a chorus, then reverse again. The BBC radiophonic went for this approach, using things such as lamps, bells, and vocals and render all of these…

  • The bit that you skip #145: Hildur Guðnadóttir – Mortar

    I can’t sleep on a moving vehicle. Bus, car, boat, airplane, you name it, if it’s move, I can’t sleep. I might nod, but no real sleep for me. On long flights, I try to catch up with movies that either I missed or didn’t make it to Mexico and I couldn’t be arsed to…