:: Captain's Personal Blog ::

Stardate: Tuesday, June 17, 2003

John Williams is the best

You know, some may think of me as mildly handicapped. Not necessarily in the physical sense. I just don't listen to the radio. I also don't watch music television. Reason being that I can't find anything that I want to listen to. Instead of listening to most popular music (I pretty much listen to some forms of modern jazz and oldies rock, ala EARLY Beatles) I listen to film and television scores.

More than any form of music that I have been exposed to, these pieces of music are the ultimate in mood music. You can take from them their original meaning (their usage in the films/shows that they are from) or use them to score moments in your life. Either way, it works for me.

Now, the other day, for no reason whatsoever, I started humming a piece of music from THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK. Before you leap to conclusions, it was not THE STAR WARS THEME or THE IMPERIAL MARCH. Instead of those more popular pieces of music, I began humming the piece of music called THE ASTEROID FIELD. This is a piece that I have heard in my life more times than I can count, and is probably my favorite whole piece of music from the film.

It begins with variations on THE IMPERIAL MARCH which signify the Star Destroyers chasing the Millennium Falcon. Then, John Williams uses the orchestra to narrate the humor/tension of the situation. The scrambling to find out what is wrong with the ship and why it won't go to lightspeed. Then, an ominous rhythm to signify the entrance to the Asteroid Field. Williams' clever use of the orchestra almost gives voice to the colliding asteroids. Then, a hero motif of the Millennium Falcon flying through the field, dodging asteroids with Tie Fighters crashing behind it. Some more humor/tension in the cockpit, followed by a crescendo to the final fly through the final, large asteroid, ending in the explosions of the final fighters. Then, musically, we follow the Falcon as it loops through the air, and into its hidey-hole.

Now, my explanation of the piece certainly doesn't do it justice, but I defy you to watch the film, at that point, and say that it isn't one exceptional piece of scoring. Of course, the actors and the wizards at Industrial Light and Magic helped, but Williams adds dimension that is remarkable. Of course the score to the rest of the film is phenomenal as well. THE BATTLE OF HOTH is a wonderful suite (it is about 15 minutes in length) which is comprised of most, if not all, of the major themes from the film. It too, tells the narrative. If you are familiar with the movie, and only hear the score you should be able to divine almost exactly what is happening. This is the sign of a truly exceptional score.

John Williams has a wide range, and has worked on more an extensive list of films and television shows. He is a frequent collaborator with Steve Spielberg, which accounts for his scores being associated with some of the most famous films ever made. Star Wars, Superman, Indiana Jones Trilogy, Harry Potter Films, Jurassic Park, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, ET, The Poseidon Adventure, and dozens more. His iMDB entry alone has 199 unique entries. He's everywhere and he is amazing at what he does.

BTW, the end to the story about humming THE ASTEROID FIELD? I wound up wanting to watch the movie REALLY BADLY. And so I did. Go figure.
:: J 1:18 PM [+] ::
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