Amores Perros The 2000 Mexican film Amores Perros, directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, is a powerful and gritty triptych of interconnected stories set against the backdrop of Mexico City. Its emotional intensity is significantly heightened by the masterful score by Argentine composer, Gustavo Santaolalla. Santaolalla’s […]

“One Battle After Another” is an action-comedy-thriller film directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, loosely adapted from the 1990 Thomas Pynchon novel Vineland. Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood composed the film score, marking his sixth collaboration with Paul Thomas Anderson. I love all things Radiohead, and Jonny […]

The Glinting of Waking Fields I wrote the “The Glinting of Waking Fields” to evoke a morning’s gentle beginning. The song represents a landscape in the first light of dawn, with dew or sunlight creating a shimmering, sparkling effect across fields as they come to […]

Kids “Kids”, by synth composers Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein, is a central theme from the Stranger Things soundtrack. It perfectly captures the show’s sense of wonder and 1980’s retro vibe. Of all of the musical motifs from the Netflix show, I think Kids (called […]

American Primeval American Primeval is an incredible Netflix (Western) miniseries. It takes place in 1857 during the Utah War. The show examines the fight to gain control of the Utah territory — and the violent clash between the LDS Church, native tribes, settlers, and the […]

Superman On Monday 12/16/24 James Gunn released a graphic on Instagram announcing the Superman (2025) trailer. Within the graphic there’s an ethereal and slightly Celtic version of John Williams’ original theme. I thought I was beautiful, and immediately grabbed my guitar to create a fingerstyle […]

Closing “Closing” is the title theme of the film, We Live In Time — a poignant romantic drama that explores the complexities of love, loss, and the passage of time. The film stars, Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh. The music is from Bryce Dessner, who […]

Beyond Desolation Gustavo Santaolalla’s haunting and evocative score for The Last of Us Part II — exemplifies his mastery of cinematic sound. His melodies accompany Ellie’s journey, with a signature blend of traditional Latin American instruments and modern electronic sounds. The music perfectly captures the […]

Leaves From The Vine Leaves From The Vine was recommended to me by one of my guitar students. This piece is from the original anime series, Avatar: The Last Airbender. I thought it was beautiful and poignant. There’s also a nice orchestrated version from the […]

A Model of the Universe This has been one of my all time favorite pieces by the late composer, Johann Johannsson. While I love all of his music, The Theory of Everything, won the Golden Globe for ‘best score’ and is widely considered to be […]

The Road This piece, by Nick Cave & Warren Ellis, is the theme from the 2009 film “The Road”; based on the Cormac McCarthy novel (by the same name).  The story details the grueling journey of a father and his young son over a period […]

Simple Harp Variation No. 1 Simple Harp Variation No.1 is a beautiful and minimalist piece of music by British composer, Martin Phipps. This motif is from the Netflix drama-series, ‘The Crown’ which chronicles the life of Queen Elizabeth II from the 1940s to modern times. […]