Traitor Free download on SoundCloud. I’ve taught Olivia Rodrigo’s Traitor at least a dozen times to my guitar students. It’s an excellent song both lyrically and melodically. The lyrical theme is brilliant. The “boyfriend dates girl that ex-girlfriend doesn’t like” is an ageless conflict that […]

Free download of this performance on SoundCloud. 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 […]

Cowboys & Aliens Free download of this performance on SoundCloud. Cowboys & Aliens is a 2011 American space Western film directed by Jon Favreau. It stars Daniel Craig, Oliva Wilde, and Harrison Ford. The film is based on the 2006 graphic novel of the same […]

Brokeback Mountain Suite Free download of this performance on SoundCloud. About 10 years ago, Gustavo Santaolalla performed the Brokeback Mountain Suite for the Latin program, Encuentro en el Estudio. To date, it’s his best performance of the Brokeback Mountain score (and I’ve watched them all). […]

Hurt Free download of this performance on SoundCloud. Hurt was originally written and performed by Nine Inch Nails (Trent Reznor). It was actually a pivotal NIN song long before the seminal Johnny Cash cover. [The dissonant note in my intro is an ode to the […]

Wicked Game Free download of this performance on SoundCloud. For my money, the two greatest unrequited love songs are: U2’s With or Without You, and Chris Isaak’s Wicked Game. The former can prompt one to hold a lighter in the air and bellow “…and you […]

All Gone (Seasons) Free download of this performance on SoundCloud. The Last of Us Volume 2, is the supplemental soundtrack for ‘The Last of Us: Left Behind’ – downloadable expansion content that would be later bundled into ‘The Last of Us Remastered’. The music features […]

Breathe Me Free download of this performance on SoundCloud. Sia’s Breathe Me, is from her 3rd album, Colour the Small One (2004). The song was used to great effect in the poignant finale of Six Feet Under — a landmark HBO drama that premiered 20 […]

Mare of Easttown (no spoilers!) Free download of this performance on SoundCloud. Mare of Easttown was an awesome limited series on HBO. I was emailing back and forth with my friend Derek about the finale this week. His synoptic take was better than anything I could […]

Flight Free download of this performance on SoundCloud. In 2017, I wrote this song in about 15 minutes while in flow state. Artists, musicians, and creators experience the ‘flow state’ to some degree. It’s often called “the zone” — fully immersed in a feeling of […]

Rush Free download of this performance on SoundCloud. Directed by Ron Howard, Rush is a sports biography film based on the rivalry of Formula One drivers; James Hunt and Niki Lauda during the 1976 Formula 1 season. I love Hans Zimmer’s “driving” and thematic music. […]

The Departure Free download of this performance on SoundCloud. 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 […]