TLJ 17: Yoda's Neapolitan Chord

THE LAST JEDI

May 28

Yoda comes bearing delicious Neapolitan and Lydian gifts! Joining me today is Star Wars Minute host Alex Robinson. We explore the harmony in this infamous scene, compare it to themes from other franchises, talk about digital technology's impact on film scoring, and discuss the artistic process.

Discussion topics/Highlights:

The Force theme with a Neapolitan chord replacing the Major IV chord.
Neapolitan chord may also be called IIb, flat two, flat II, Neapolitan 6th
Neapolitan chords in Yoda's theme, Indiana Jones theme, Superman theme
Marvel vs. Star Wars film scores
trash compactor music from A New Hope
Music as a manipulative narrative device
The effects of digital technology on filmmaking, including film scoring
Author's intent vs. audience interpretation
The Imperial March within Young Anakin's theme
The difficulty in defining artistic inspiration/process
Puppets, Muppets, Miss Piggy, Dark Crystal
Shoutouts to Pete the Retailer, Tony Thaxton, and the past week on Star Wars Minute

Themes Referenced (in order of appearance): Rey's theme, Force theme, Yoda's theme

Where we are in the soundtrack: 13. The Sacred Jedi Texts

Links Mentioned:

YouTube playlist of Star Wars Minute's corresponding episodes talking about the same minutes: Last Jedi Minutes 81-85: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLE4n8ygyS0MKwlklsCBX18zZRJDlvDa6R
Star Wars Minute Rogue One Minute 101: Three Mountains: https://www.starwarsminute.com/2020/04/06/rogue-one-minute-101-three-mountains
Trouble in the Trash Compactor with Unused Score: https://youtu.be/gtRD2Vfsigg
I couldn't find a supercut of all the Luke/Ben flashbacks as they appear in the movie, but here's one with different music: https://youtu.be/LqPEPPytDzI (If anyone finds one with John Williams' music included, please send it my way!)

Alex Robinson: