ANH 24: Happy Glockenspiel (Minutes 116-120)

Justin Scheid and James Waterman join Xanthe (Band Batch reunion!) in a discussion about A NEW HOPE minutes 116-120, during which Luke Skywalker blows up the Death Star, the Rebels have an awkwardly formal medal ceremony, and Artoo recovers from being zapped.

Timestamps:

00:00 - Hello there!
07:19 - Listening to the start of these minutes.
09:52 - Four drum timpani part.
13:24 - Crash course in crash cymbals.
24:00 - Minor Main Theme.
29:45 - Analysis of the musical shift during the "Use the force, Luke" part.
38:02 - What is this bassline?
46:30 - Heroic descending tetrachords + us trying to figure out the beats.
51:00 - Main Theme variations and the (Not) Death of Artoo.
1:02:20 - Hard mallets vs. soft mallets on timpani.
1:05:25 - The visual interface of the war room screen.
1:10:25 - Main Theme where "all the harmonies are wrong"
1:17:10 - Death Star go boom! End of the Disney ride. Happy glockenspiel.
1:19:03 - Difference between glockenspiel, xylophone, vibraphone, marimba.
1:29:27 - Feeling stressed about Artoo getting zapped in the Battle of Yavin.
1:35:25 - The Throne Room AKA Star Wars Pomp and Circumstance.
1:43:09 - Why is the medal ceremony so formal?
1:51:15 - Is the music during the medal ceremony diegetic? A debate.
2:00:09 - B section of the Main Theme that barely gets any love.
2:05:40 - SWMM Questionnaire

Things Mentioned:

"Symphonie Fantastique" by Hector Berlioz - https://youtu.be/5HgqPpjIH5c
"Entrance of the Gladiators" by Julius Fucik - https://youtu.be/_B0CyOAO8y0
Medal ceremony/"Trumph of the Will" comparison: https://imgur.com/gallery/JDWlR3Z
Carol of the Bells - violin, synth, electronics! - Chrysanthe Tan and Justin Scheid - https://youtu.be/k1rDgM1FN8A
SWMM: TLJ 3: Falling Jedi Steps (Minutes 11-15 with James Waterman) - https://youtu.be/1nQ2EzZih8A
SWMM: TLJ 20: Palpatine's Musical Legacy (Minutes 96-100 with Justin Scheid) - https://youtu.be/AeSB3oNtbo8

Themes:

18) Descending Heroic Tetrachords
17) Heroic Determination
3) Martial Chords
3. Force
1b. Main Theme (B Section)
9. Throne Room
Note: I use the theme names and numbers established in Frank Lehman's Complete Catalogue of the Musical Themes of Star Wars. You can download it free at his website: https://franklehman.com/starwars/.

Where are we in the soundtrack?

"The Battle Of Yavin (Launch From The Fourth Moon/X-Wings Draw Fire/Use The Force")
"The Throne Room/End Title"

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STAR WARS MUSIC MINUTE QUESTIONNAIRE:

1. In exactly 3 words, what does Star Wars sound like?

Justin: pew pew pew
James: The Band Batch

2. What's something related to Star Wars music or sound that you want to learn more about?

James: The idea that John Williams composes with pencil and paper. What is his writing process like? James wants to know all the little factoids.
Justin: How all the sound effects were made. Justin would love to be a fly on the wall while the sound designers and foley artists are doing their thing.

3. What's a score or soundtrack you're fond of besides anything Star Wars?

Justin: The village (composed by James Newton Howard)
James: Hereditary (composed by Colin Stetson)

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THE BAND BATCH = Xanthe, James, and Justin. Join us for music commentary livestreams on YouTube whenever new Star Wars shows come out!

Check out our coverage of The Bad Batch season 1: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLE4n8ygyS0MI9s-a1nJOMYqpE8G_tlxLW
Check out our coverage of Star Wars: Visions season 1: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLE4n8ygyS0MJh0BOUIeScYaGSOjPVhxh-
Check out our coverage from The Book of Boba Fett: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLE4n8ygyS0ML0GLUcTVpaEUlV58BNkljs

James Waterman

Bandcamp: https://jerichojericho.bandcamp.com/
https://www.youtube.com/jameswaterman
https://www.instagram.com/jameswatermanmusic
https://www.jameswatermanmusic.com/
https://open.spotify.com/artist/2GI8X12qG1udx4RMKCE7Xa?

Justin Scheid

https://www.instagram.com/jcscheid/
https://www.soundcloud.com/rain-goat-music
https://raingoatmusic.bandcamp.com
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrlciBsEZTCnF7uK3S1NBXw

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