Podcasts by Settling the Score
Join Jon and Andy as they explore the world of film music, one score at a time. Each episode is an in-depth discussion of a classic film score: what makes it tick, how it serves the movie, and whether it
Further podcasts by Jon & Andy
Podcast on the topic TV und Film
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#53–2022 Oscars Special from 2022-03-23T07:08:01
It’s back to Hollywood Blvd. for Jon and Andy as they consider this year’s Oscar nominees for Best Score. What has them enthusiastic, and what has them angry? What musical sounds are trendy this se...
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#51–The Red Violin from 2022-01-18T08:07:01
The fates foretold that Jon and Andy would discuss John Corigliano’s score for the 1998 history-spanning musical saga The Red Violin. How does Corigliano draw a musical line to connect the film’s d...
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Special Announcement! from 2021-12-14T08:02:02
Yup, we’re finally starting a Patreon. There’s already bonus content! Check it out: http://www.patreon.com/settlingthescore
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#50–Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs from 2021-11-30T08:01:10
Once upon a time, Frank Churchill, Leigh Harline and Paul Smith wrote the score for Walt Disney’s groundbreaking 1937 animated feature film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. How did the development ...
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#49–A Clockwork Orange from 2021-10-12T07:23:42
This time Jon and Andy slooshied Wendy Carlos’ music as they viddied the 1971 Stanley Kubrick dystopian satire A Clockwork Orange! How did Carlos pioneer an entirely new musical soundscape? What so...
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#48–The Best Years of Our Lives from 2021-08-17T07:09:41
Jon and Andy seem to have talked for a very long time about Hugo Friedhofer’s score for the Best Picture of 1946, The Best Years of Our Lives! How many different ways does Friedhofer engage with th...
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#47–Young Frankenstein from 2021-06-22T07:22:43
Walk this way to hear Jon and Andy discuss John Morris’ score for the 1974 Mel Brooks monster movie spoof Young Frankenstein! How does Morris help the movie’s zaniness and sincerity to coexist? Wha...
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#46–2021 Oscars Special from 2021-04-20T07:52:38
This time, the red carpet comes to Jon and Andy: join us as we delve into the score nominees for this year’s unusual Oscars. Are film score fashions shifting? Who’s on what wavelength, and who migh...
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#45–Terminator 2: Judgment Day from 2021-04-06T07:11:45
We’re back, with Brad Fiedel’s score for 1991’s box office champion, Terminator 2: Judgment Day! How did the improving technology change Fiedel’s approach between the first movie and its sequel? Wh...
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#44–Touch of Evil from 2021-03-02T08:32:16
This was some kind of a score; what does it matter what Jon and Andy say about it? In Henry Mancini’s score for Orson Welles’ 1958 film noir Touch of Evil, how does the music that’s playing in the ...
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#43–1995 Extravaganza from 2021-01-21T08:29:47
While we’re still ringing in the New Year, let’s ring in this old one again too: join Jon and Andy as they pan across the landscape of 1995 film music. Was it a less complicated time? ...
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#42–Back to the Future from 2020-10-13T07:02:25
It’s about time! Jon and Andy finally get around to Alan Silvestri’s score for the hit 1985 sci-fi comedy adventure Back to the Future. What does its main theme have in common with some other memor...
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#41–North by Northwest from 2020-08-12T07:02:57
George Kaplan? No, you must be mistaken, I’m an episode about Bernard Herrmann’s score for the 1959 madcap wrong-man adventure North by Northwest. What’s behind Herrmann’s extremely process-derived...
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#40–Titanic from 2020-06-30T07:19:50
This time, Jon and Andy go on and on about James Horner’s score for the 1997 epic disaster romance Titanic. What pop artist did director James Cameron originally want to score the movie? What power...
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#39–Bullitt from 2020-05-12T07:46:14
Let’s cut to the chase – this episode is about Lalo Schifrin’s score to the 1968 detective thriller Bullitt. What does it really mean to be “cool?” Were the late 1960s a “dark age” for film m...
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#38–The Princess Bride from 2020-04-14T07:02:04
So you want us to talk about Mark Knopfler’s score for the 1987 fairy tale adventure The Princess Bride? As you wish. How is this score sensitive to the twists and turns of the dire straits in whic...
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#37–The Good, the Bad and the Ugly from 2020-03-24T07:21:09
It’s lined up in our sights and we’re ready to pull the trigger on Ennio Morricone’s score for the 1966 iconic Spaghetti Western The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. How did he arrive at the combination...
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#36–2020 Oscars Special from 2020-02-04T08:01:29
It’s time once again to find out who Jon and Andy are wearing on the Oscar red carpet! How does this crop of nominees for Best Original Score stack up to previous years’? What did each movie want f...
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#34–Spartacus from 2019-12-17T08:04:48
I am an episode about Spartacus! I’m an episode about Spartacus! There’s a lot for Jon and Andy to grapple with in Alex North’s score for this 1960 swords-and-sandals epic. Is this the “most compos...
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#33–The Omen from 2019-10-29T07:49:32
Just in time for Halloween, this episode is all for you! Hear what Revelations are in store as Jon and Andy discuss Jerry Goldsmith’s score to the 1976 horror flick The Omen. Should a horror film’s...
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#32–Batman from 2019-10-15T08:25:39
Holy film score discussion, this time it’s Batman! Join Jon and Andy in Gotham City as they talk about Danny Elfman’s classic 1989 score. How does Elfman sell the sound of a dark comic book world? ...
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#31–The Man with the Golden Arm from 2019-09-17T07:03:22
Jonesing for a fix of score analysis? This time Jon and Andy lock themselves in a room with Elmer Bernstein’s score for the 1955 noir drama of drug addiction, The Man with the Golden Arm. How did i...
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#30–Interstellar from 2019-08-06T07:09:47
Some inexorable interdimensional force seems to have drawn Jon and Andy to talk about Hans Zimmer’s score for the 2014 outer space epic Interstellar. Why was a pipe organ such an unusual but ...
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#29–American Beauty from 2019-07-09T09:59:27
The first score the fates have assigned to Jon and Andy, as their voyage continues past the AFI’s list, is Thomas Newman’s score for the 1999 Oscar-winning dramedy American Beauty. What interesting...
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#28–AFI Wrap-Up from 2019-05-21T07:21:57
After finishing their task of discussing and reordering the American Film Institute’s Top 25 Scores, Jon and Andy kick back and take stock of what they’ve done. What did they learn? What did they g...
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#27–Star Wars from 2019-04-09T07:22:30
A long time ago… Jon and Andy started working their way down the AFI’s list of the Top 25 Scores, and they’ve finally reached #1 – Star Wars! This Star Destroyer-sized episode tac...
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#26–2019 Oscars Special from 2019-02-20T08:23:51
Jon and Andy try for their own EGOT – Episode Glutted with Oscar Talk – as they hit the red carpet and present their takes on this year’s nominees for Best Score. The field includes one...
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#25–Gone with the Wind from 2019-01-15T08:08:51
As God is our witness, #2 on the AFI’s list is Max Steiner’s score for 1939’s Gone with the Wind. Will Jon and Andy butt heads over stair-climbing music, again? Will they see eye to eye about the c...
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#24–Lawrence of Arabia from 2018-11-20T08:17:42
We’ve arrived at the Top Three on the AFI’s list, with Maurice Jarre’s score for the 1962 sweeping historical epic Lawrence of Arabia – so it is written! How does Jarre’s big main theme make ...
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#23–Psycho from 2018-10-23T07:06:41
Find out how much praise we shower on the AFI’s #4 – Bernard Herrmann’s score for 1960’s Psycho! How did arguably the most famous of all film score cues result from ignoring Hitchcock’s speci...
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#22–The Godfather from 2018-09-25T07:00:19
We’ve made you a podcast you’d be hard-pressed to turn down! We finally cracked the AFI’s top five, with Nino Rota’s score for 1972’s The Godfather. What far-reaching historical traditions do...
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#19–The Magnificent Seven from 2018-07-17T07:15:07
Thumbing their nose at the chance for some numerical serendipity, the AFI put Elmer Bernstein’s score for the 1960 epic Western The Magnificent Seven at #8 on their list. What makes this theme such...
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#18–Chinatown from 2018-06-12T08:25:42
What’s the AFI’s #9 score, by Jerry Goldsmith – did you forget it? It’s Chinatown. What behind-the-scenes intrigue brought Goldsmith to work on this picture? Why is his main theme such a perf...
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#17–High Noon from 2018-05-22T07:10:35
Don’t worry, we won’t forsake you – we’ve finally cracked the AFI’s top ten, with Dmitri Tiomkin’s score for the classic 1952 western High Noon. How did this movie inadvertently change the wh...
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#16–The Adventures of Robin Hood from 2018-05-08T08:52:04
What ho! – #11 on the AFI’s list is Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s score for the 1938 Technicolor romp The Adventures of Robin Hood. Why did Korngold at first think he was the wrong man for the jo...
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#15–Vertigo from 2018-04-23T07:45:15
We won’t keep you hanging – #12 on the AFI’s list turns out to be Bernard Herrmann’s score for the 1958 Hitchcock psychological thriller Vertigo! How do Herrmann’s mus...
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#14–King Kong from 2018-03-26T07:09:21
Rampaging onto the AFI’s list at #13 is Max Steiner’s score for the 1933 fantasy adventure classic King Kong. Did Steiner invent film music in the first place? Does this music have more in common w...
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#13–E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial from 2018-03-12T07:41:24
John Williams makes his first appearance on the AFI’s list at #14, with his 1982 score for E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Why does this movie ask so much of its music? What’s the relations...
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#12–2018 Oscars Special from 2018-02-19T09:07:47
In this special super-sized episode, Jon and Andy take a break from their countdown of the AFI’s list, and examine the five films and composers nominated for this year’s Best Original S...
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#11–Out of Africa from 2018-01-29T08:38
Look, up in the sky, it’s John Barry’s score for 1985’s Out of Africa! In the #15 score on the AFI’s list, does the melody for the famous airplane scene get enough use through the movie? When shoul...
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#10–Sunset Boulevard from 2018-01-15T11:02:54
Franz Waxman’s score for 1950’s Sunset Boulevard is ready for its closeup! Jon and Andy bring some differing viewpoints to their discussion of #16 on the AFI’s list. What musical reference joke doe...
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#9–To Kill A Mockingbird from 2017-12-12T08:43:07
Jon and Andy are excited to welcome a special guest onto the show! After their discussion of Elmer Bernstein’s score for 1962’s To Kill A Mockingbird, stick around to hear a chat with Emilie Bernst...
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#8–Planet of the Apes from 2017-11-20T16:49:46
Jerry Goldsmith’s score for the 1968 sci-fi landmark Planet of the Apes was #18 on the AFI’s list the whole time! What technique does Goldsmith call on to sound so alien? What wacky instruments doe...
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#7–A Streetcar Named Desire from 2017-11-13T13:00:17
Another Kazan/Brando collaboration turns up as the AFI’s #19: it’s Alex North’s score for the 1951 film adaptation of Tennessee Williams’ stage classic A Streetcar Named Desire. Why is North’s grou...
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#6–The Pink Panther from 2017-11-06T15:55:40
Now it’s time for the AFI’s #20: Henry Mancini’s score for the 1963 farce The Pink Panther. Why is the iconic Pink Panther tune such a great melody? When does Mancini feel the nee...
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#5–Ben-Hur from 2017-10-30T13:00:14
Miklós Rózsa’s score for the 1959 super-spectacular Ben-Hur trumpets its way onto the AFI’s list at #21. How were biblical epics like comic book movies? In such an immense film with suc...
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#4–On the Waterfront from 2017-10-23T17:34:38
Counting down to #22 on the AFI’s list takes us to Leonard Bernstein’s score for the 1954 classic On the Waterfront. Were Lennie and Elia Kazan making the same movie? Is this the pretti...
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#3–The Mission from 2017-10-16T16:42:07
#23 on the AFI’s list is Ennio Morricone’s score for the 1986 period drama The Mission. Why is the music accompanying Robert De Niro’s redemption so powerful? Is the “Gabriel’s Oboe” theme too nood...
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#2–On Golden Pond from 2017-10-16T16:41:07
Next up is #24 – Dave Grusin’s score for On Golden Pond (1981). When does Grusin decide to just score the scenery, and when does he dare to get inside Katherine Hepburn’s performance? What ch...
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#1–How the West Was Won from 2017-10-16T16:39:59
Jon and Andy kick off their show by talking about #25 on the AFI’s list – Alfred Newman’s score for the 1962 epic western How the West Was Won. As they figure out what they’re doing, they con...
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