The Theory of Everything The Theory of Everything (2014) is a  biographical romantic drama film set at the University of Cambridge. It details the life of the theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking. The exquisite music, by the late Johann Johannsson, won the Golden Globe for best […]

Fossils I have long been a massive fan of Dustin O’Halloran’s music. Both his solo material, film work, and (side project) A Winged Victory for the Sullen. His music has a tenderness that is unmistakable. I don’t know much about piano — but O’Halloran appears […]

Mary Magdalene (2018) Mary Magdalene is a 2018 film directed by Garth Davis. It stars Rooney Mara, and Joaquin Phoenix. This is one of Johann Johannsson’s final film scores before his sudden death in 2018. This film dispels the myth (by Pope Gregory in 591) […]

But for the Fall of Rain This is piece of music I wrote for Adam Taylor’s micro-short animation, But for the Fall of Rain. [Parents, although it’s an animation, there is an F-bomb in there.] Adam is a Hollywood based editor and filmmaker. The voice […]

Sign of the Times Harry Styles’ moonshot is much like Robbie Williams’ ascension in the early 2000’s: former British “boy-band” member goes solo, combining songwriting chops with sensational stage presence and charisma. The American version of this story would be Justin Timberlake. Songwriting craftsmanship is […]

On the Nature of Daylight The post-classical genre is a (popular but controversial) genre of contemporary music that combines classical and electronic music. Usually, the music is slower and emotive. The top composers of this genre have found a home for their music in modern […]

A Christmas Carol (2019) “What was the purpose of our gross accumulation?” – Jacob Marley A Christmas Carol (2019) is a British miniseries (starring Guy Pearce) based on the 1843 novella of the same name by Charles Dickens. It aired on FX in the United […]

To the Stars As of this writing, To the Stars, is the first released song from Brad Pitt’s deep space epic, Ad Astra. I think about Pitt’s career often. His IMDb page is ridiculously good. From early in the 90’s his roles where carefully chosen […]

Odi et Amo This is perhaps the greatest piece by the late Johann Johannsson (next to The Sun’s Gone Dim and the Sky’s Turned Black). Odi et Amo (I Hate Love) is at once devastating and futuristic. Although I prefer the sonic heaviness of the […]

Between the Shadow and Soul “I don’t love you as if you were a rose of salt, topaz, or arrow of carnations that propagate fire: I love you as one loves certain obscure things, secretly, between the shadow and the soul.” – Pablo Neruda, Love […]

A Game of Croquet A Game of Croquet is one of Johann Johannsson’s best pieces from his Golden Globe winning score for, The Theory of Everything. The piano arpeggios of Croquet did not lend themselves well to the guitar. However, the overall chord progression did. […]

We Move Lightly This has always been one of my favorite pieces by Dustin O’Halloran, who is among best contemporary composers. I performed We Move Lightly on years ago on this blog, but I wanted to do a refreshed performance. Although We Move Lightly is […]