Unchained Melody Unchained Melody is nearly 70 years old. It was initially written (by Alex North and Hy Zaret) as a theme for a prison film entitled, Unchained (1955).  The song was popularized by The Righteous Brothers a decade later in 1965. My favorite is […]

Amor y Paz On March 24th (2020), at the beginning of the pandemic, Gustavo Santaolalla posted this short piece to his Instagram and YouTube channel. So far as I can tell, he’s calling it Amor y Paz (Love & Peace). It was a musical offering […]

The Ecstasy of Gold The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is the best of Sergio Leone’s Dollars Trilogy starring Clint Eastwood. The film is considered the definitive Spaghetti Western — with it’s use of long shots and close-up cinematography. Even though it’s the last […]

Marion’s Theme The score for Raiders of the Lost Ark (and the subsequent Indiana Jones movies) is one of my childhood favorites. The collaboration of John Williams and Steven Spielberg created truly everlasting music. ‘Marion’s Theme’ from Raiders of the Lost Ark, is one of […]

Resurrection The Passion of the Christ is one of the greatest films of all time. If you’re a believer, it serves as a cinematic Stations of the Cross; an experiential work of pure art. In it’s wake, all faith-based film making seems tepid by comparison. […]

Laurie and Jo on the Hill I’m always on the hunt for good content. More than a few of my guitar students recommended the film, Little Women. I was really exited to see that Alexandre Desplat was the film’s composer. The piece, Laurie and Jo […]

The Mandalorian Set in the Star Wars universe, The Mandalorian takes place five years after the events of Return of the Jedi and follows a bounty hunter beyond the reaches of the New Republic. It’s filmed as “a Western” and it’s the best Star Wars […]

Haven Haven is a little gem by Gustavo Santaolalla. It’s from HBO’s The Last of Us. I have no idea which (if any) episode this song was used in — but it did make the soundtrack, and it’s a beautiful composition. Haven is actually played […]

Never Let Me Down Again Never Let Me Down Again, is a song by the English band Depeche Mode, who were pioneers of electronic and “alternative” music in the 1980’s. This song is from their 6th album, Music for the Masses (1987) My arrangement is directly […]

Video Games I’ve always loved the song, Video Games by Lana Del Rey. With her usual deft lyricism and poetry — Lana sings about the relationship she has versus the relationship she fantasizes. It’s all stylized with her signature ‘longing in California’ vibe. Composer Ramin […]

The Poet Acts Philip Glass (1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass is the godfather of the post-classical movement – as his music is minimalist, and built upon repetitive phrases. It […]

Reclamation I’m frequently involved with (or commissioned for) short-films. Often, these filmmakers are professionals on much larger projects. ‘Short-films’ are a vehicle for their own talents, and a way to display their skill sets. Sometimes these projects make it to the film festival circuit. Most […]