1923 1923 is a Yellowstone origin story, where the Duttons face challenges to the ranch, in the early 20th century. I particularly like the character of Spencer — a WW1 soldier suffering from PTSD who’s biding time as ‘man-eater’ hunter in Africa. Kind of like […]

The Pale Blue Eye I was REALLY excited to see The Pale Blue Eye – as the whole thing was shot around my hometown of Pittsburgh. Western PA is filled with well-preserved colonial sites that are located within state parks. Specifically, I spend a lot […]

The Whale The Whale is a film directed by Darren Aronofsky, and stars Brendan Fraser as a reclusive English teacher, who tries to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter. Brendan Fraser is easy to like. His career is in a renaissance — as he’s reinvented […]

21 Grams I completely lifted my right-hand technique from composer, Gustavo Santaolalla. He effectively arpeggiates chord shapes by rolling through them with his fingers. This is a beautiful way to voice chords, and pretty easy to do with a little practice. The best way to […]

Yellowstone Yellowstone is a Paramount TV series created by Taylor Sheridan — the writer behind Sicario, Hell or High Water, and Wind River. Kevin Costner plays John Dutton, a father fighting to protect his ranch — the largest in the United States — from land […]

The Haunting of Hill House I loved this Netflix series from writer/director Mike Flanagan. The music by The Newton Brothers almost acts like an additional character (or ghost). If you’ve seen the series, you’ll agree the music and film are inextricably linked. This is also […]

Blood Theme Dexter was an excellent Showtime series (2006 – 2013) set in Miami. The series centered on Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall), a forensic technician, who leads a secret parallel life as a vigilante serial killer. The Blood Theme, by composer Daniel Licht, is […]

Werewolf by Night Werewolf by Night is the directorial debut film debut of (A-list composer) Michael Giacchino. It is a TON of fun. The “creature feature” is stylized in black & white with a run time of only 53 minutes. It’s an old-time monster film […]

Andor Andor is unlike anything else in Star Wars canon. It’s a slow burn, clearly designed for adults — don’t expect The Mandalorian. This is more Blade Runner than lightsabers. The acting is excellent, especially Diego Luna in the title role, who brings a brooding, […]

The Haunting of Hill House The Haunting of Hill House is a legendary series on Netflix. It is supremely spooky. I’m 45 at the moment, and this series had me turning off the lights, and running up the basement steps. Everytime I turned my head, […]

The Parting Glass The Parting Glass is a Scottish traditional song written in 1770. (However, evidence of this song has been found in manuscripts from the 1620s-1630’s.) This solo guitar arrangement is heavily inspired by the live a-capella versions of Loreena McKennitt and Hozier. The […]

Jurassic World John Williams is an icon, and his ‘Jurassic theme’ is one of many modern classics by the long time composer. It’s incredible how he has been pitch perfect for nearly 50 years of film making. My entire youth has been sound-tracked by John […]