TROS 17: Little Mechanical Doll (Minutes 81-85 with Dan Golding)

Star Wars Music Minute

In minutes 81-85 of The Rise of Skywalker, we witness a major turning point in the narrative: Rey stabs Kylo, Leia dies, and Rey heals Kylo's wound. I'm happy to have Dan Golding back on the show to discuss bummer remixes, botched Force themes, John Williams's post-Jurassic Park action music, and more!

Timestamps:

• 0:00 - Hello there!
• 5:44 - Where this movie is really successful.
• 11:26 - Dan is a Star Wars pragmatist.
• 14:51 - Adam Driver.
• 22:29 - John Williams's post-Jurassic Park action music.
• 31:04 - Fight choreography & perceiving the soundtrack as the battle itself.
• 39:15 - Is this an example of "meanwhile" music?
• 44:23 - Stylistic addition of the slow-mo in the sequels.
• 52:55 - The Bummer Remix.
• 1:04:42 - On supposedly new Force powers.
• 1:10:51 - Brief rant about the use of the Force theme in Rebels.
• 1:18:13 - The meter and tempo are so flexible that it sounds like John Williams extemporizing.
• 1:20:20 - If there's a spotting mistake in this sequence, it's this.
• 1:30:08 - Dan reflects on the unique time in the fandom during which he wrote his book (Star Wars After Lucas).
• 1:40:11 - Nostalgia works in a weird way when it comes to series and franchises.
• 1:50:29 - Spurts of dreamy plunks.
• 1:52:06 - When you heard "Hey kid" in the theater, who did you think it was?
• 1:55:25 - Han & Leia concert arrangement that sounds more resolved.
• 2:07:27 - SWMM Questionnaire

Things to Check Out:

• "The Forest Battle" by John Williams (from Return of the Jedi) - https://youtu.be/ebCnaPzteZM?si=Rd8wBUL7AoPOmXDQ
• "Adagietto" from Mahler's Symphony No. 5 - https://youtu.be/Les39aIKbzE?si=7RMeS8PuIGPwKzSD
• Barber's "Adagio for Strings" : https://youtube.com/watch?v=WAoLJ8GbA4Y
• Force theme as heard in Star Wars: Rebels - https://youtu.be/dYQZVR1f_Hg?si=WFRz--jLNluddyH3&t=95
• Powers of Ten™ (1977) (Charles and Ray Eames) - https://youtu.be/0fKBhvDjuy0?si=Gqm9mFMGfXCvJM6h
• Complete Catalogue of the Musical Themes of Star Wars (by Frank Lehman): https://franklehman.com/starwars/

Musical Themes:

• Kylo Ren A (Aggressive)
• Force
• Leia

Where are we in the soundtrack?:

• OST 12. "The Final Saber Duel"
• FYC 13. "Final Saber Duel"
• FYC 14. "Healing Wounds"

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STAR WARS MUSIC MINUTE QUESTIONNAIRE:

1. In exactly 3 words, what does Star Wars sound like?

• New answer: Nostalgic orchestral vocabulary.
• Previous answers: Nimble orchestral nostalgia. Mythic orchestral memory. Elegant musical storytelling.

2. What's something related to Star Wars music or sound that you want to learn more about?

• New answer: What will it take for Disney to release (more) complete editions of the sequel trilogy soundtracks?
• Previous answers: What will Natalie Holt's soundtrack for the Obi-Wan Kenobi series sound like? Given all the new directions that various Star Wars scores have gone since John Williams was at the helm (ex. Solo: A Star Wars Story, The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, etc), will we ever return to the original sort of orchestral sound? The unreleased music (and alternate cues, etc).

3. What's a score or soundtrack you're fond of besides anything Star Wars?

• New answer: The Fabelmans (composed by John Williams)
• Previous answers: Watership Down (composed by Angela Morley) and Vertigo (composed by Bernard Herrmann). Fleishman Is in Trouble (composed by Caroline Shaw).

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Guest: Dan Golding

• Website: https://dangolding.com/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/dangolding
• Art of the Score podcast: https://www.artofthescore.com.au/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/DanGoldingVideoEssays
• Bandcamp: https://dangolding.bandcamp.com/
• Mastadon: @[e-mail]
• Book: Star Wars After Lucas by Dan Golding: https://dangolding.com/star-wars-after-lucas/

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