Rein This song is from the film, Biutiful, directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu (The Revenant, Babel, Birdman). Biutiful stars Javier Bardem who plays Uxbal: a conflicted criminal in Barcelona’s underground. Learning that he is ill and has just a few months to live, Uxbal races […]

The Ballad of the Lonesome Cowboy I love Chris Stapleton’s music. The guy might be the best singer in Americana music today. Between he and Jason Isbell — you can’t go wrong sound-tracking any road trip across the heartland. Stapleton’s Lonesome Cowboy (from Toy Story […]

The Night King (part three) My third (and final) installment of Ramin Djawadi’s The Night King is the crescendo of the whole 9 minute piece. It’s also the most memorable motif. My lasting impression of this music is that of total brilliance. When I first […]

The Last of the Starks I was not disappointed in Game of Thrones season 8. I see it as an extension of season 7. If viewed that way – the story doesn’t feel rushed. The show-runners didn’t have enough source material to work from. I […]

The Night King (part two) As I’ve been arranging Ramin Djawadi’s The Night King (from Game of Thrones Season 8) I’ve become obsessed with the piece. For me, it began as a challenge to transcribe a nearly 9 minute orchestration for guitar. I was only […]

The Night King (part one) Ramin Djawadi’s The Night King, from Game of Thrones Season 8, is nearly 9 minutes long. I am strategically breaking it up into two or three sections — so I can really flesh out the song appropriately. I know my […]

The Office  My wife and I plowed through The Office in 2019. All of my teenage guitar students had been imploring me to watch it. The series turned out to be just the right thing for us — as I get home late from work […]

The Long Night I loved the end credits theme from Game of Thrones, Season 8 Episode 3. The Episode is called The Long Night and the end credits song is called Not Today. This piece served as an abbreviated preamble of Ramin Djawadi’s, The Night […]

Jenny of Oldstones This was a great tune performed in Game of Thrones (Season 8, Episode 2). It was hauntingly reprised during the end credits by Florence + the Machine. My classical guitar version is based on the end credits. With a song like Jenny […]

The Last of Us (Astray) Astray is basically an iteration of the main title theme played on a Fender guitar bass: a six string bass that looks and feels more like a baritone guitar. Gustavo Santaolalla employed the guitar bass on other selections from The […]

Until the Heart Whispers Back Listen on Spotify. I wrote this song for my wife Jennifer. She’s the sole reason why I’m a father, and play guitar for a living. As it happens, music is my best currency – and nothing cements my feelings for […]

Isolated System I love this instrumental piece by Muse. It worked perfectly as the theme song for Brad Pitt’s World War Z in 2013. Using it was a brilliant stroke — as it set a tenor of unease, right from the beginning of the film. […]