We’re trying something new! We really want to talk about some of the great new game music that is coming out every year. But games episodes are so hard to do. The soundtracks are hard to compare, particularly of brand new games where we need to play them fully and work out what tracks are most comparable – where those tracks are even known, or avai…

Welcome to our customary February “Romantic Movie” showdown in honour of Valentine’s Day. *CONTENT WARNING* This year we are looking at two films that look at BDSM relationships. Please note that this makes the episode somewhat more ‘adult’ than usual. We focus primarily on the music and the underlying relationships, but please avoid this episode i…

Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all, it’s the Soundtrack Showdown Christmas Special. This month we compare Michael Convertino’s score for The Santa Clause and John Debney’s for Elf. Two cult films built around dominant comedians of their generations. Rounds for this month 1 – Santa’s Workshop 2 – The Journey 3 – Showdown with the “villians” 4…

It’s November, and that means time again for one of our “fireside chat” episodes where we sit down and talk about the music that has influenced us. This year, in the spirit of 2020, we talk about the music that has gotten us through Lockdown. Note that at the time of recording, we actually were in the UK’s second national lockdown. We also provide …

It’s Ella’s favourite time of year again, Halloween! And this year we’re celebrating by going way back into the vaults to two of the earliest soundtracks in cinema history. We consider the work of the “father of film music” Max Steiner in his seminal 1933 score to King Kong. And what could stand against that? Only the equally iconic Franz Waxman an…

In July this year (2020) we lost one of the true titans of film composition, Maestro Ennio Morricone. This week we talk about two of his finest achievements. His iconic collaboration with Sergio Leone on The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly from 1966 vs Roland Joffe’s somewhat dated 1986 masterpiece “The Mission”. Rounds for this month 1 – Main Theme 2 …

This month we focus on the Mexican film director, screenwriter, producer, and novelist – Guillermo Del Toro. We’re talking about the music for two of his most respected “adult fairytale” films, Pan’s Labyrinth - score by the Spanish composer Javier Navarrete; and The Shape of Water - score by the French composer Alexandre Desplat. Rounds for this m…

This month we talk about two gangster films made by legendary directors. We have Francis Ford Coppola’s seminal The Godfather from 1972 up against one of the ‘most watched’ movies of the 2020 Coronavirus lockdown, Michael Mann’s 2009 Public Enemies. This pits the Italian maestro Nino Rota against one of our favourite contemporary film composers, El…

We kick off season 3 with a battle of the ages, Marvel vs DC Representing DC, we have Hans Zimmer’s score for Zac Snyder’s 2013 Superman reboot – Man Of Steel And for Marvel we have Marco Beltrami’s score for Logan from 2017, the farewell to Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, directed by James Mangold. Rounds for this month 1 – Main Character Theme 2 – Vill…

This month we made the ill-advised decision to watch two TV series about grief and the end of the world. We promise that we decided to do these before it got bad! We only discuss season 1 of each show. In our humble opinion, the best viewing experience is to only watch season 1, and leave it at that. An early disclaimer. We hit the spoilers hard fr…

Social isolation special. We absolutely didn’t intend this. But, as Covid-19 reaches pandemic proportions and social distancing measures are put in place around the world, we find ourselves analysing two films that consider the consequences of social isolation. Rounds for this month 1 – The city 2 – Relationship with women 3 – Guns and violence 4 –…

It’s our 2020 Valentines Day special and this year we’re looking at two landmark pieces of LGBTQ+ cinema; Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain – score by Gustavo Santaolalla, and Todd Haynes’ Carol – score by Carter Burwell With special guest Mahatma Khandi (@mahatmakhandi) Rounds for this month 1 – Opening 2 – Lovemaking 3 – Loss 4 – Contemporary Music 5 …

This month we compare the work of a master and their apprentice. Elmer Bernstein wrote some of the one of the most iconic and enduring scores in the history of cinema. However, he also has a legacy as one of the great teachers of Hollywood. Rising star, Bear McCreary owes a particular gratitude, having been mentored and essentially introduced to th…

Christmas Special - The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) v The Grinch Who Stole Christmas (2000) Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all, it’s the Soundtrack Showdown Christmas Special. This month, Ella and Tristan compare Danny Elfman’s score for The Nightmare Before Christmas and James Horner’s for The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. Rounds for th…

This month Ella and Tristan embrace the negative and talk about six soundtrack trends that really grind our gears. 1: Poor music placement/editing 2: Inconsistent Sound 3: Weak Hero Themes 4: Percussion tracks (and ostinatos) 5: The decline of Danny Elfman 6: Overuse of unusal instruments or non-instruments Warning: Some minor spoilers for the 2017…

This month we compare two social-message horror films. The Stepford Wives – Composer Michael Small, and Get Out – Composer Michael Abels Rounds for this month 1 – Opening Theme 2 – Something’s wrong 3 – Reveal 4 – Suspense 5 – Legacy If you missed our September Episode (aka S02E05, or Episode 17) that’s because it was a Twitch stream. You can see t…

This month we go Look at mega-fantasy film franchises from 2001. We analyse Howard Shore’s score for the Fellowship of the Ring and John Williams’ for Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Rounds for this month 1 – Prologue 2 – The Ordinary World/Innocence 3 – Action 4 – Evil 5 – Legacy Special Treats The Music of the Lord of the Rings Films – …

A titanic battle between two small screen blockbusters as we compare Ramin Djawadi’s score for Game of Thrones (2011-2019) and Brian Reitzell’s score for American Gods (2017 - )Rounds for this month1 – Main Themes2 – Characters3 – Songs4 – Musical Story Telling5 – LegacySpecial TreatsTristan’s video essay on the Game of Throne main theme Excellent …

This month we go back to the world of superheroes as we compare two African-American-centric Marvel movies. We analyse Mark Isham’s score for Blade (1998) and Ludwig Göransson’s Oscar-winning score for Black Panther (2018) plus the commercial music that was used in both films. Rounds for this month 1 – Heroes 2 – Villains 3 – Action 4 – Pop Songs 5…

Welcome to Season 2 of Soundtrack ShowdownKicking off our second year we compare two animated classics. Alan Silvestri’s score for FernGully (1982) and David Newman’s score for Anastasia (1997)--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/soundtrack-showdown/messageBy Tristellar Music

Ella and Tristan compare the music of Final Fantasy VII and the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.And yes, we talk about One-Winged Angel!--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/soundtrack-showdown/messageBy Tristellar Music

It’s a very special episode as we review two scores for the SAME FILM.Ridley Scott’s 1985 film Legend was released with two different scores. A Jerry Goldsmith orchestral score in Europe, and a Tangerine Dream electronic score in North America (and Russia, go figure)--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/soundtrack-sho…

In our first annual romantic special this month we compare Clint Mansell’s score for The Fountain (2006) and Anne Dudley’s score for Tristan + Isolde (2006)--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/soundtrack-showdown/messageBy Tristellar Music

Happy New YearThis month we compare Thomas Newman’s score for Side Effects (2013) and Johnny Greenwood’s score for You Were Never Really Here (2018) Rounds for this month1 – Opening Themes2 – Murder3 - Anxiety4 – Production and techniques5 - Legacy and ImpactTo find out more, or leave us a message you can reach us at @tristellarmusic on your favour…

Merry Christmas everybody!This month we compare Michael Kamen’s score for Die Hard (1988 – totally a Christmas movie) and John William’s score for Home Alone (1990) Rounds for this month1 – Christmas2 – Schemes3 - Action4 – Emotion, Family, Relationships5 - Legacy and ImpactAdded bonus – Does Kevin McCallister grow up to be Jigsaw from the Saw fran…