ANH 15: Band of Weirdos

A NEW HOPE

Jan 31

Riley Silverman joins me to discuss the music and sound of minutes 71-75 of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. This chunk of the film starts with Ben Kenobi telling Luke "The Force will be with you always" and ends with Luke, Han, and Chewie about to find Princess Leia.

Discussion Guide:

00:00 - Hello there!
01:33 - Uniformity of the Imperial base vs. chaos of the Rebel base
25:10 - Chewbacca, shag rug of the Death Star
31:26 - Mouse droids and The Three Stooges
52:41 - Ben Burtt and his friends recorded this in a church
58:28 - Dismissiveness toward Star Wars
1:19:30 - SWMM Questionnaire

Things Mentioned:

Curly's Funniest Moments from 'The Three Stooges' - https://youtu.be/QxxQhZBxo4A

Themes:

16) Imperial March Precursor
1a. Main Theme (A Section)
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/.

Soundtrack:

"Wookiee Prisoner/Detention Block Ambush"
"Mouse Robot/Blasting Off"

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STAR WARS MUSIC MINUTE QUESTIONNAIRE:

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

Epic space magic

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

How do people go about designing music for a scene or character in the first place? Writers start with a blank page and somehow use words to convey scenes; what is the musical/sound version of that process like?

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

Doctor Who, which has gone through dozens of composers over the decades. The original theme was composed by Ron Grainer and realized by Delia Derbyshire.

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Riley Silverman: