Welcome to our customary February “Romantic Movie” showdown in honour of Valentine’s Day. *CONTENT WARNING* This year we are looking at two films that look at BDSM relationships. Please note that this makes the episode somewhat more ‘adult’ than usual. We focus primarily on the music and the underlying relationships, but please avoid this episode if discussion of sex, sexuality and bondage is uncomfortable for you (or unsuitable for the environment in which you listen to podcasts). Rounds for th...
Feb 26, 2021•1 hr 33 min•Season 3Ep. 7
Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all, it’s the Soundtrack Showdown Christmas Special. This month we compare Michael Convertino’s score for The Santa Clause and John Debney’s for Elf . Two cult films built around dominant comedians of their generations. Rounds for this month 1 – Santa’s Workshop 2 – The Journey 3 – Showdown with the “villians” 4 – Credits Song 5 – Legacy Stay safe out there everybody. We hope you’ve enjoyed another year of Soundtrack Showdown episodes. If so, the absolute be...
Dec 22, 2020•1 hr 25 min•Season 3Ep. 6
It’s Ella’s favourite time of year again, Halloween! And this year we’re celebrating by going way back into the vaults to two of the earliest soundtracks in cinema history. We consider the work of the “father of film music” Max Steiner in his seminal 1933 score to King Kong. And what could stand against that? Only the equally iconic Franz Waxman and his score for 1935’s Bride of Frankenstein. Rounds for this month 1 – Monster Intro 2 – Romance and Flirting 3 – Rampage and Carnage 4 – Finale and ...
Oct 30, 2020•1 hr 31 min•Season 3Ep. 5
This month we focus on the Mexican film director, screenwriter, producer, and novelist – Guillermo Del Toro. We’re talking about the music for two of his most respected “adult fairytale” films, Pan’s Labyrinth - score by the Spanish composer Javier Navarrete; and The Shape of Water - score by the French composer Alexandre Desplat. Rounds for this month 1 – Main Theme and Main Character [13:12] 2 – The Supernatural [31:50] 3 – Suspense [45:34] 4 – Death And Resurrection [1:04:36] 5 – Legacy [1:18...
Aug 03, 2020•1 hr 37 min•Season 3Ep. 3
We kick off season 3 with a battle of the ages, Marvel vs DC Representing DC, we have Hans Zimmer’s score for Zac Snyder’s 2013 Superman reboot – Man Of Steel And for Marvel we have Marco Beltrami’s score for Logan from 2017, the farewell to Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, directed by James Mangold. Rounds for this month 1 – Main Character Theme 2 – Villain Theme 3 – Action 4 – Emotion and Breakthrough 5 – Legacy Stay safe everyone. An easy way to share us with your friends is to share the advertising...
Jun 04, 2020•1 hr 24 min•Season 3Ep. 1
Social isolation special. We absolutely didn’t intend this. But, as Covid-19 reaches pandemic proportions and social distancing measures are put in place around the world, we find ourselves analysing two films that consider the consequences of social isolation. Rounds for this month 1 – The city 2 – Relationship with women 3 – Guns and violence 4 – Transition 5 – Legacy We hope that this episode brings you some joy and distraction from the current state of the world. But remember, if you’re havi...
Apr 01, 2020•1 hr 32 min•Season 2Ep. 11
It’s our 2020 Valentines Day special and this year we’re looking at two landmark pieces of LGBTQ+ cinema; Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain – score by Gustavo Santaolalla, and Todd Haynes’ Carol – score by Carter Burwell With special guest Mahatma Khandi (@mahatmakhandi) Rounds for this month 1 – Opening 2 – Lovemaking 3 – Loss 4 – Contemporary Music 5 – Legacy Bonus Content: Documentary on Carol - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMoxoFuzESA We hope you’re enjoying these Soundtrack Showdown episodes ...
Mar 04, 2020•1 hr 34 min•Season 2Ep. 10
This month we compare the work of a master and their apprentice. Elmer Bernstein wrote some of the one of the most iconic and enduring scores in the history of cinema. However, he also has a legacy as one of the great teachers of Hollywood. Rising star, Bear McCreary owes a particular gratitude, having been mentored and essentially introduced to the industry by Bernstein. We compare McCreary’s most recent big score - Godzilla: King of the Monsters , with one of Bernstein’s absolute best – The Gr...
Jan 29, 2020•1 hr 22 min•Season 2Ep. 9
Christmas Special - The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) v The Grinch Who Stole Christmas (2000) Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all, it’s the Soundtrack Showdown Christmas Special. This month, Ella and Tristan compare Danny Elfman’s score for The Nightmare Before Christmas and James Horner’s for The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. Rounds for this month 1 – Christmas 2 – Villains 3 – Plots and Plans 4 – The Christmas Delivery/Raid 5 – Legacy We hope you’ve enjoyed another year of Soundtrack S...
Dec 16, 2019•1 hr 14 min•Season 2Ep. 8
This month Ella and Tristan embrace the negative and talk about six soundtrack trends that really grind our gears. 1: Poor music placement/editing 2: Inconsistent Sound 3: Weak Hero Themes 4: Percussion tracks (and ostinatos) 5: The decline of Danny Elfman 6: Overuse of unusal instruments or non-instruments Warning: Some minor spoilers for the 2017 movie “It”. To find out more, or leave us a message you can reach us at @tristellarmusic on your favourite social media (twitter, facebook and insta)...
Nov 30, 2019•1 hr•Season 2Ep. 7
This month we compare two social-message horror films. The Stepford Wives – Composer Michael Small, and Get Out – Composer Michael Abels Rounds for this month 1 – Opening Theme 2 – Something’s wrong 3 – Reveal 4 – Suspense 5 – Legacy If you missed our September Episode (aka S02E05, or Episode 17) that’s because it was a Twitch stream. You can see the episode on our YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/GJAK5XFCZG0 . You can also follow our Twitch Channel at https://www.twitch.tv/soundtrackshowdown...
Oct 31, 2019•1 hr 35 min•Season 2Ep. 6
This month we go Look at mega-fantasy film franchises from 2001. We analyse Howard Shore’s score for the Fellowship of the Ring and John Williams’ for Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Rounds for this month 1 – Prologue 2 – The Ordinary World/Innocence 3 – Action 4 – Evil 5 – Legacy Special Treats The Music of the Lord of the Rings Films – book by Doug Adams, a great read if you are into the films and the music. The most comprehensive study on any film score that I have read - his blog i...
Aug 31, 2019•1 hr 35 min•Season 2Ep. 4
A titanic battle between two small screen blockbusters as we compare Ramin Djawadi’s score for Game of Thrones (2011-2019) and Brian Reitzell’s score for American Gods (2017 - ) Rounds for this month 1 – Main Themes 2 – Characters 3 – Songs 4 – Musical Story Telling 5 – Legacy Special Treats Tristan’s video essay on the Game of Throne main theme Excellent detailed analysis of Light of the Seven from ‘The Week’ (not Verve, or whatever I said in episode, which is not even a real publication) Spoti...
Aug 02, 2019•1 hr 29 min•Season 2Ep. 3
This month we go back to the world of superheroes as we compare two African-American-centric Marvel movies. We analyse Mark Isham’s score for Blade (1998) and Ludwig Göransson’s Oscar-winning score for Black Panther (2018) plus the commercial music that was used in both films. Rounds for this month 1 – Heroes 2 – Villains 3 – Action 4 – Pop Songs 5 - Action To find out more, or leave us a message you can reach us at @tristellarmusic on your favourite social media (twitter, facebook and insta) or...
Jul 03, 2019•1 hr 24 min•Season 2Ep. 2
Welcome to Season 2 of Soundtrack Showdown Kicking off our second year we compare two animated classics. Alan Silvestri’s score for FernGully (1982) and David Newman’s score for Anastasia (1997)
Jun 07, 2019•1 hr 27 min
Ella and Tristan compare the music of Final Fantasy VII and the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. And yes, we talk about One-Winged Angel!
Apr 29, 2019•1 hr 24 min
It’s a very special episode as we review two scores for the SAME FILM. Ridley Scott’s 1985 film Legend was released with two different scores. A Jerry Goldsmith orchestral score in Europe, and a Tangerine Dream electronic score in North America (and Russia, go figure)
Mar 31, 2019•1 hr 25 min
In our first annual romantic special this month we compare Clint Mansell’s score for The Fountain (2006) and Anne Dudley’s score for Tristan + Isolde (2006)
Mar 02, 2019•1 hr 29 min
Happy New Year This month we compare Thomas Newman’s score for Side Effects (2013) and Johnny Greenwood’s score for You Were Never Really Here (2018) Rounds for this month 1 – Opening Themes 2 – Murder 3 - Anxiety 4 – Production and techniques 5 - Legacy and Impact To find out more, or leave us a message you can reach us at @tristellarmusic on your favourite social media (twitter, facebook and insta) or via our website - www.tristellarmusic.com
Jan 30, 2019•1 hr 35 min
Merry Christmas everybody! This month we compare Michael Kamen’s score for Die Hard (1988 – totally a Christmas movie) and John William’s score for Home Alone (1990) Rounds for this month 1 – Christmas 2 – Schemes 3 - Action 4 – Emotion, Family, Relationships 5 - Legacy and Impact Added bonus – Does Kevin McCallister grow up to be Jigsaw from the Saw franchise? http://grantland.com/hollywood-prospectus/did-kevin-from-home-alone-grow-up-to-be-jigsaw-a-deadly-serious-investigation/ To find out mor...
Dec 21, 2018•1 hr 30 min
We discuss our favourite soundtracks. The music that moves us, inspires us and has shaped our development as composers. Soundtracks discussed – Braveheart (1995) Edward Scissorhands (1990) Shadows of the Colossus (2005) Interview with the Vampire (1994) Finding Nemo (2003) 3X3 Eyes (1991) A Page of Madness (1927) – Soundtrack 2004 Link to the Spotify Playlist featuring these (and more!) - https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0uVGSMzGHMlSR8SD576Jxq To find out more, or leave us a message you can rea...
Dec 02, 2018•2 hr 7 min
It’s our first annual Halloween Special! This month we compare Jerry Goldsmith’s classic score for The Omen (1976) and a more modern example, The VVitch (2015) score by Mark Korven. Along the way we share some of our (perhaps contentious) views on the horror genre generally. Rounds for this month 1 – Opening music 2 – Missing Children 3 - Matricide 4 – Horror Scenes 5 - Legacy and Impact Added bonus – the Apprehension Engine by Mark Korven http://www.markkorven.com/Apprehension_Engine.html Video...
Oct 31, 2018•1 hr 27 min
This month we do two firsts, our first foreign language film (not counting Mad Max) and far more importantly our first movies scored by female composers - Micah Levi’s score for the disturbing Under the Skin and Emilie Simone’s for the adorable La Marche de l’Empereur (which was released with some changes for the English-speaking world as The March of the Penguins)
Oct 01, 2018•1 hr 27 min
In the most explosive Soundtrack Showdown so far, we talk about the representation of women in film music, the politics of the Mexican-US border, and the meaning of the word 'doof'.
Jul 17, 2018•1 hr 30 min
Episode 2 of Soundtrack Showdown. We look at two movies about Batman vs his arch-nemesis the Joker. Danny Elfman’s score for Batman (1989) and Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard’s score for The Dark Knight (2008). In a spirit of light-hearted (but often quite heated) competition we break the scores down over five rounds, in which we discuss how well the music works in key areas, then declare an overall winner. This week, our rounds are – 1 – Batman Themes 2 – Joker Themes 3 – Style 4 – Action M...
Jun 06, 2018•1 hr 10 min
In episode 1 of Soundtrack Showdown, we look at two classic horror film scores, Bernard Herrmann’s score for Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960) and John Williams’ score for Steven Spielberg’s Jaws (1975). In a spirit of light-hearted but sometimes heated competition, we break the scores down over five rounds, discuss and analyse how well the music works in key areas, and then declare the overall winner. This week, our rounds are: 1 – Monster Motifs 2 – Main Themes 3 – Techniques and Production 4 –...
May 02, 2018•58 min
