Book of Boba chapter 1: musical first impressions

Today is Wednesday, December 29th, 2021, and The Book of Boba Fett has just premiered on Disney+. I wanted to capture my raw, visceral reactions before I talk to anyone or analyze too much, so here we are. Note:

• These are my sloppy initial reactions, disjointed, thoughts, and first impressions.

• I’m not a neutral critic.

• Composers aren’t the only people responsible for the music we hear onscreen.

• This is formatted as a numbered list, but many of the points are non-sequiturs. I took most of these notes on my phone during my first viewing of the episode, then jotted out some transcriptions later.

• I welcome fact-checking, alternate perspectives, questions, and any comments that build upon my observations! If you have something to say, please leave a comment or tweet me @StarWarsMusMin. Don’t worry about using proper music lingo.

• Music commentary for this episode will be Sunday 1/2 at 4pm PT. My collaborators James Waterman and Justin Scheid will be joining me, so the perspectives will hopefully be varied. This will take place on Youtube.

---

1) [00:00] - New music for the Disney+ helmet logo. It’s a low C drone with a lightsaber hum-buzziness to it. Glints of a minor 9th (Db) on top. Then, a minor 7th (Bb) inflection. I can’t help but note that The Bad Batch, had a minor 7th motif for Crosshair. I don’t think they’re related, but my ear is primed to be reminded of Crosshair now.

2) [00:25] - The logo’s C-drone-with-Bb-on-top blends into the opening sequence of the episode, establishing the first sound of the show. The ^m7 glints of Bb sound metallic. We’re on Tatooine. We move into the interior of Jabba’s (now Boba’s?) Palace. Boba is floating in a bacta tank with a tube in his mouth.

3) Jabba, Bib, and Boba all have two B’s in their first name.

4) Hissing, hydraulics, bubbly sound effects milieu. Cool.

5) First signs of melodic movement [00:52]. Low-pitched vocals sing “Ahhhh-ahhhh-ahhhh.” (C, Db, C) followed by (G, Ab, G). Is that a drawn-out Imperial siren coming in on top [01:08]? The basically-F pitch might point that direction.

6) Flashback to Kamino. Flashback to young Boba picking up his father’s helmet. A hint of tender music. The images are a bit cheesy and on-the-nose for me, but I don’t have a heart. I get why it’s there.

7) [01:50] Can confirm, the inside of a sarlacc looks as gross and sticky as expected. I hear drums. I hear a throbbing heartbeat (reminding me of The Mandalorian). Does the heartbeat belong to the sarlacc though? That thing must be alive and pumping.

8) Metallic stringy-synthy sustain in the background [02:00-02:30]. Pretty cliche horror music trope, but it is effective. The sustain rises a bit, but not as much as I expected (it gets slightly louder, but the frequency doesn’t shift all that much). Maybe this was a sound mixing thing.  

9) [2:41] Boba punches a hole through the sand-ground (?), kicking off a G droney thing. Mixed meter cycle: three bars of 3/4 followed by a 2/4 (3+3+3+2 or 3+3+5 or 6+5 or whatever). “Ahhh” vocals. Low basses hold down a G drone. Mid basses (I don’t know what to call them; all the voices are low voices) move from C to Db (rubbing the tritone for good luck). Then, skipping the D, we go back down to C, then D as a passing tone to Eb and some other voices that make this remind me of the Mars Holst chord. Take this observation with a grain of salt; it’s just a feeling, and I haven’t done the work to flesh out the notes. Actually, you know what — it’s more than the notes. It’s the way the chords slowly unfold over the sustained drone (or ostinato) that also reminds me of “Mars.” Not a bad thing. Just an observation.

this is roughly what i’m hearing at 2:41

10) More of what I assume is Boba’s theme [03:02]. Blaring horns, voices, church bells. Electronic kick drum emphasizes the meter change. Again, it’s the 3+3+3+2 pattern.

11) [4:20] “…Huuuuuum…(tambourine)..Huuuumm…(tambourine)…Hummm…(tambourine)…Hummmm…” so on and so forth. Even the slower paced parts feel so metered. Four Tuskan Raiders are approaching Boba Fett’s sprawled, unconscious body. Are they gonna sing “Be Prepared” from Lion King?

12) [05:00] No Lion King. More 3+3+3+2 vocal “ahhh” stuff. Sounds a bit Dune-y (2021). I’ll put a transcription below, but my counting is off and I don’t wanna rewrite it.

I think this is what I hear around 5:00. I wasn’t counting too carefully, so the bars are probably off.

13) [05:39] Plucked instrument (or a pair of them) enters, playing the riff in thirds. It’s probably not a bouzouki, probably not a mandolin, but it’s something that does crisp melodic plucks with a plectrum of sorts. Note to self: Look this up later.

14) Christ, there are so many church bells.

15) Boba is dragged by the wrists across the sand. Montage with music out in the open. The banthas are riding single file. We are grooving. Trombones blasting out on top.

16) The Tuskans drop Boba Fett in a seemingly random spot. The trek is over. Dissonant sustained cluster chord in strings. Rattles. Aerial shot focuses on Boba, panning out and up to capture the fuller scope. The music gets all…smooth-like. The dissonance melts into open 5ths, reminiscent of the THX logo. Drums enter, establishing a meter and tempo. (ONEandtwoANDTHREEAND-ONEandtwoANDTHREEAND- ONEandtwoANDTHREEANDFOURFIVE) Clear pathway setting up the next big...BUM BUM on a dominant-sounding D…

17) Here we go! [6:42] G minor theme. THE BOOK OF BOBA FETT main title cards. Theme song kicks off with a church bell + accented shout that echoes a few times. “HEY! HEY HEy Hey hey hey…” Sort of jaunty G minor melody. The meter is 3+3+3+2 (or 3+3+5 or 6+5 or whatever). Is this the official theme song? 😅 My first impressions are that it is hilarious and cheesy. A matter of personal taste, to be sure, but something about the BoBF theme song is distracting beyond the composition itself. My initial, god honest reaction is “why do the opening violins sounds like the strings preset on my Yamaha toy synthesizer?” I’m so confused. This sounds cheap and lifeless and not in a committed way. But what do I know? The vocals also feel cheesy, particularly the echoes. The church bells and meter are all part of the package too. I don’t think it’s “bad music.” All I’m saying is that it sounds bad to me.

18) [12:13] Fennec Shand says “wake up, boss,” bringing Boba back from his flashback into present reality. I must’ve spaced out during the past 5-6 minutes of Tuskan Raider stuff, because I don’t remember much about the music except some tritones here and there.

19) I really hope Fennec ends up being more than just a sidekick/assistant/personal assassin in this show. I’ll reevaluate at the end of the episode or later in the season.

20) I also hope I end up caring more about Boba. Attack of the Clones, The Clone Wars, and The Mandalorian warmed me up, but so far I’m eh. This show will hopefully be the thing to change that, and I look forward to that!

21) [13:02] Boba and Fennec are suiting up. Here, have some light trap beats and an 808-esque sub-bass drop.

Making Boba cool again with EDM trap.

22) I enjoy the kick drum heartbeat motif carrying over from Mandalorian. It might be a coincidence, but that’s okay. Time will tell if anything interesting happens with it.

23) [13:30] Plucky, spritely, lighthearted comedy underscore (complete with “ding” bells). This is where my patience cracks. This might be my least favorite scoring trope in general. Let’s see how long it lasts.

24) [15:37] Still going. This is cringe. This majordomo interaction is cheesy. Would I have liked it with different music? Possibly. Whatever comedy is occurring here is not for me. The comedy in the sequel films was hit or miss with people as well, but the underscore here is what kicks it over the edge for me. I wonder if the lighthearted music is meant to make Boba less scary; to show a fumbling new ruler who clearly did not get the guide book before usurping the throne. I’m really curious how much this will stick out to people (or not).

25) Boba says “I’m confused. I’m the crime lord. He’s supposed to pay me,” to which Fennec whispers "Shall I kill him?" Boba responds that the majordomo is something something related to someone important and thus should be preserved. I don’t follow the logic, and thus, I am not invested. What are their intentions? Crime lord lol. Is this a “Boba Fett is cool” moment? What is happening? I don’t love Fennec’s lines here.

26) [17:30] Boba spares two Gamorreans. The bouncy music is back — dotted D octave thing. I’m confused by the dialogue. Boba asks if the Gamorreans will be loyal to him if he spares their lives. I honestly can’t tell if this is supposed to be a joke or an example of Boba being a more benevolent ruler? The music makes me the scene feel like a joke, so I’ll go with that. It’s reminiscent of the end credits scene in season 2 of Mandalorian, which I also perceived as kind of a joke. I didn’t expect the spin-off show to literally be following those same vibes.

27) Crescendo to D theme-y thing. Flat 2nd scale degree, 6th scale degree, major submediant (F#). Wait, are we in a Zimmer score?

28) [18:36] Cantina Band cover. It’s “Mad About Me” from A New Hope but more of a tropical Mediterranean resort arrangement. The plucky instrument does sound like bouzouki (again, I’m not sure though). I don’t love this Cantina cover, but I guess I don’t hate it. My judgment is very clouded; I can’t hear this and not put myself in the shoes of a gigging musician who has had to arrange the same popular songs dozens of times in various “easy listening” formats for various low-paying gigs. I plead the 5th.

29) Whoa, Jennier Beals!

30) Forgettable action cue and thus scene. Maybe I’ll explain what I mean by this one day. Again, I’m not saying it’s bad or that it’s anyone’s fault. (See the points at the top.) It’s just so boxy and templated. It’s like drag and drop scoring, quite literally. It’s like this damn website, hosted on Squarespace. It does the job, snaps to grid when I need it to, and streamlines certain processes. You have to basically stay within the lines (or in this case, the metronome), which kills certain creative choices right off the bat but has the benefit of making it easier to interlock with the other moving pieces. Oops, got off topic.

31) Neat colors [25:11].

32) [25:22] Oh no, I hear some jaunty plucking coming on...”Boom chuck-chuck.” Bouncy G bass notes with bouncy violin 8th notes. For fucks sake, it’s the Boba theme with comedic vibes. I do not like this. Or maybe I just don’t like comedy. That’s possible. Because this is comedy, I feel.

33) I actually think this show is probably rated for kids. The music in it is what I associate more with kids shows and cartoons. Bad Batch vibes for some of the comic parts.

34) [26:37] 808 sub-bass. Synthy heartbeat stuff. Bass grows louder. Cliiiick trackkkkkk.

35) Church bells and jingle bells have been occurring. There’s also another instrument that I forgot to mention before. It sounds kind of like PVC pipe. It’s probably a synth, but I like that synth and want to use that synth at some point, hence my curiosity. 😅

36) [28:55] Comic relief Boba theme again. I get that this is actually supposed to be a funny scene though, with Boba and the young Tuskan playing off of one another.

37) [29:00] I was not prepared for the Rodian’s exclamation. That got a laugh out of me. And then again at [30:39]. Things are tense.

38) [31:25] Ripped Godzilla with lots of arms. Machamp + Tyranitar. Looks kind of Marvel-y.

39) [33:01] Boba strangles the lizard, and I think this is supposed to be a triumphant moment. Unison A blares out. Cutoff. Thud (lizard). Drumroll to Boba standing up in slow-mo atop the slain beast. He smiles and clutches the chains in his hand. Moments like this actually make me sad. I understand that dominating other beasts is a rite of passage for many a heroic figure, species, and race. I don’t want to go on my rant about sentience in Star Wars here, but suffice it to say, I am not particularly impressed when characters gain the respect of characters from other species by killing a different species. Hope that makes sense. I’m not saying that they should just let themselves by lizard meat. I’m just bored of the particular lens of the storyteller that decides to constantly foreground these tired rituals, create new scary beasts, and give us the manly conqueror song and dance instead of thinking of other ways a person might gain respect.

40) I’m just honestly bored by all these scenes of Boba with the Tuskans in general. Because what’s the point? To assuage us (the audience) that Boba Fett has earned the respect of these indigenous inhabitants so we don’t feel guilty about it?

41) [33:28] Church bell on F# with sustained violin F#. Easy listening guitar vibes are back. I like the chord progression; it’s got some chromatic mediant movement, I think? Kind of reminds me of 90s adult contemporary. Or like the reprise in a musical? You know how it’s like kind of the same theme, but sometimes just an instrumental or chiller version?

42) [34:34] “Hey! Du-du-du-du-du” + church bell + accented drums. Blackout to credits.

43) [34:40] Main theme out in the open during the credits. Glad it’s playing out for longer, so I can hear the full thing in context. So much “HEY!” So much church bell. There’s more of a melody this time around. It’s catchy. I like the meter aspect, but a mixed meter doesn’t make up for the strictly metronomical timing. I don’t think this will bother everyone; it’s just a weird thing I always notice, because strictly metronomical scores that are in a classical-adjacent style make me feel physically trapped. EDM trap stuff enters [35:11]. This part [35:50] reminds me of Christmas carolers.

44) [36:00] I am glad to see the concept art credits. That’s something I really liked about The Mandalorian, and I look forward to seeing more concept art for this show.

45) It’s over now. I don’t get it. I will definitely keep giving it a chance.

46) Fennec is a poorly written character, so far. People will talk about how she’s so badass. Why is she badass? Don’t get me wrong, I want her to be badass, but I want the writer to work harder to make us care about her beyond the sick moves and lines and the fact that Ming-Na Wen looks so great. So far, let’s call it like it is: She's there to advise Boba, give one liners for him to play off of, be an assassin, do some cool moves.

47) Something I’d like to know is why does Boba want to rule at all? I heard his line about wanting to be a different kind of leader (respect, not intimidation?), but that line does nothing for me. It’s just a line. I can’t connect the dots and make myself feel or understand that. I’d love to know more about him. I still feel like I don’t know the least thing about him, other than pure facts about his timeline. That and the fact that he’s a manly man and stuff. Emphasis on “man,” because he walks on his own two feet and is much less gross than Jabba or Bib. This might sound weird, but in order to understand why Boba wants to rule, I think I need to understand what he ever saw in Jabba or Bib Fortuna. It’s not enough for them to be unilaterally bad and for Boba to now be (antihero) good. I need to know whether Boba might has a lot in common with Jabba/Bib after all.

48) Okay, the music. I think you can tell if you’ve read this far. I’m not the biggest fan as of now. I don’t hate it. I just think it’s generic and boxy. I hear a bunch of templates and presets. It’s perfectly serviceable. The theme is catchy. Though it grates on me, it will grow on me, as most themes do. I didn’t love The Mandalorian theme at first, but it grew on me with repeated exposure, and now I like it a lot. The performance/recording of the main theme might be half of the problem I have. It has some elements that make it feel like it’s on the cusp of having character (it’s an upbeat, 3/4, harmonic minor tune with church bells, howling vocals, and trap elements, for god’s sake! that does sound fun!)… but ultimately, I feel that the recording plays it safe. It sounds in tune, perfectly quantized, smooth and clean. All sharp edges trimmed. Polished and genericized, manufactured authenticity. For contrast, check out a similar theme from the Swedish film Ronia: The Robber’s Daughter (Ronja Rövardotter)(by Björn Isfält) https://youtu.be/E_r6MjX_wrI.

49) The Book of Boba Fett score is by Joseph Shirley. Themes by Ludwig Göransson.

50) Forget the main theme and forget the other motifs. The sum of these parts is the most confusing aspect of the score. It feels to me like there are major tonal inconsistencies. Perhaps some indecision on the director’s part about which tone to strike with the show and titular character. It’s trying to be gritty, but not too gritty. It’s trying to be outlandish and bold, yet still smooth, germane, apologetic. On one hand, the score is full of aggressive(ish) war drums, primal(ish) chanting, and blaring pedal points littered with tritones and god-evoking church bells. On the other hand, it’s plunky-plunk, plunky-plunk, jaunty-cutesy-plunkity-plunk. I hope to hear some finer strokes in the coming weeks. I’m not convinced that the director knows what he wants yet, but I remain hopeful and curious.

—Xanthe