ANH 25: A New Hope Season Highlights

A NEW HOPE

Apr 13

Xanthe dissects the End Credits of A New Hope, calls 1-800-PHONE-THX, reviews the thematic census, covers trending topics from the season, and answers some epic listener questions about the music of Star Wars.

Discussion Guide:

00:00 - Hello there!
01:57 - The final five minutes of the film.
14:55 - Calling 1-800-PHONE-THX.
18:24 - Structure of the End Credits music.
22:48 - Throne Room/End Credits vs. Concert Arrangement.
32:00 - A New Hope season stats, thematic census, trending topics, recurring conversation points, highlights.
49:20 - Listener Questions/Comments
51:02 - Besides the opening crawl, does the Main Theme (B Section) show up anywhere in A New Hope? (Asked by multiple people)
55:52 - Is the oboe a heavy instrument? (Question from Jay Cooper)
59:30 - Why do "The Battle of Yavin" (Star Wars) and "Desert Chase" (Raiders of the Lost Ark) sound kind of similar? (Question from Phillip Liebold)
1:23:37 - How does transposition work? (Question from Joshua Scheide)
1:35:38 - Was there a deliberate decision not to talk much about Holst throughout the season? (Comment from Alex Cunningham that I turned into a question)
1:40:00 - Comment from Alex Cunningham about hypothetically diegetic "Throne Room" and Tolkien.
1:42:04 - Question from Tim Bobrowski about the "music of leveling up."
1:56:58 - What does Star Wars sound like? (according to all the guests from this season)
2:01:15 - Answering the SWMM Questionnaire

What Does Star Wars Sound Like? (according to all guests this season)

Majestic French horns. (Alex Robinson)
Aunt Beru's kitchen. (Pete the Retailer)
Beyond the horizon. (Element7)
California radio voiceovers. (Ender from AurekFonts)
Action, danger, romance. (Mat from Blue Bantha Milk Co.) Expansive. Dramatic. Romantic. (Aiden Feltkamp)
Dissonant pedal notes. (Frank Lehman)
Minor planing triads. (Frank Lehman)
Pwsh vrrrrum shhpt. (Justin Leo Kennedy)
John Williams. (Elizabeth Lain)
Triumphant brass fanfares. (Alex Ludwig)
Ominous contrapuntal warblings. (Alex Ludwig)
A galactic symphony. (Star Wars Lawyer)
Galactic thematic masterpiece. (Justin Mitnik)
Sweeping expressive proclamations. (Ralph Attanasia)
Analog but magical. (Moe from Triad of the Force)
Beepbeep! Kshh-Paaa. Grrrrrwwwwwrr! (Gus from Triad of the Force)
James Earl Jones. (Nani from Triad of the Force)
Ben. John. James. (Brandon from Talking Bay 94)
Epic space magic. (Riley Silverman)
Opera without words (Jeremy Sawruk)
The heroes win. (Steele Saunders)
Mythic orchestral memory. (Dan Golding)
Raw triumphant heroism. (Father David Mowry)
Timeless space adventure. (Trevor Mowry)
Original space opera. (Nick Norton)
John. Ben. James. (Alex Cunningham)
Hope, bravery, curiosity. (Mollie Damon from Star Wars Explained)
Bwaaap tscheww pew! (Alex Damon from Star Wars Explained)
Powerful, evocative, grandiose. (Samantha Tripp)
Pew pew pew. (Justin Scheid)
The Band Batch. (James Waterman)
The Cosmic Force (Chrysanthe Tan)

Things Mentioned:

Complete Catalogue of the Musical Themes of Star Wars (Dr. Frank Lehman): https://franklehman.com/starwars/
A Guide to the Musical Themes of Indiana Jones (Dr. Frank Lehman) https://franklehman.com/indiana-jones-themes/
"Desert Chase" from Raiders of the Lost Ark (John Williams) - https://youtu.be/0XUKgbOXXdc
"The Battle of Yavin" from Star Wars (John Williams) - https://youtu.be/aHQrcyerVQQ
"Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" (Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky) performed by the Portland Youth Philharmonic - https://youtu.be/Xbsla8G_kV4
Set theory (music): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Set_theory_(music)
My John Williams concert review from September 2021: https://youtu.be/X66-gW7cujo

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Star Wars Music Minute Questionnaire (Xanthe's answers):

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

The Cosmic Force.

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

I'm curious about how other people experience and engage with the music of Star Wars, on both a macro and micro level. I want to know how other people are making sense of it or analyzing it with frameworks different than mine. Basically, I'm interested in doing what this podcast already gives me the excuse to do -- talk to people about Star Wars music.

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

There Will Be Blood (composed by Jonny Greenwood)

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Become a patron (this is how you join my Discord server): https://patreon.com/chrysanthetan
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