Comptine d’un autre été, l’après midi Comptine d’un autre été, l’après midi (Nursery rhyme from another summer, the afternoon) is a piece of music by composer, Yann Tiersen. As the principle song from Amelie, it’s by far his most popular song at 326 million plays […]

An Ending, a Beginning Dustin O’Halloran might be my favorite composer next to Gustavo Santaolalla. Chances are you’ve heard his music and just didn’t realize it. He was nominated for an Oscar, and a Golden Globe for Lion (2016). That music was written in collaboration with […]

The Departure HBO’s The Leftovers begins three years after the “Sudden Departure” — where 2% of the world’s population suddenly vanished.  The series focuses on a police chief (played by Justin Theroux) and other grieving families as they struggle to adjust to life after The […]

Arrival of the Birds I’ve always liked The Cinematic Orchestra, and their piece, Arrival of the Birds, was recommended to me by a reader. Such beautiful music. It instantly became on one of my favorites. This song is from Disney’s The Crimson Wing: Mystery of […]

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 […]

On the Nature of Daylight Post-minimalism — or neo-classical, depending on who you ask — is a genre of contemporary music that sits somewhere between classical and electronic. It’s slower, more emotive, and deliberately cinematic. The composers who’ve mastered it have found a natural home […]

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 […]