Let's Listen to the Star Wars Christmas Album

At the start of the month, I was perusing some of those "geek gift guides" that many websites put together, I discovered that Amazon was releasing an exclusive limited edition version of Christmas in the Stars, aka the Star Wars Christmas album.  I immediately thought to myself, "I must have this."  A couple of mouse clicks, and a week later, I had my copy.

Christmas in the Stars: Star Wars Christmas Album isn't viewed with as much revulsion as its television counterpart.  The album is viewed more as a curio of its time, and celebrated for its kitsch value.  Whereas the TV special gets all the heat, the album was allowed to exist mostly unnoticed.  I first heard about it in the mid-1990s.  I read an article in the paper listing some of the more unusual Christmas albums ever produced, and it was near the top of the list.

Here's a great article I discovered last year detailing how it came to be.  The short version is this.  There once was a record producer called Meco, who had great success with a disco cover of the Star Wars theme.  Naturally, he approached George Lucas about doing another Star Wars album.  Since one of the quickest and easiest cash grabs is the Christmas album, Meco pitched a Christmas album.  Lucas signed off, and they got to work.  Pretty much the only cast member they could afford was Anthony Daniels as C-3PO, so the album revolves around droids.  It hit stores in time for the holiday season of 1980 and sold quite well, but sadly, the record label went bankrupt before they could do a second run, and it quickly faded into obscurity.  It was re-discovered in the mid-1990s when legendary record label Rhino released it on CD as part of the Special Editions hype.

Needless to say, this has been my holiday jam this year, so I thought I'd just take a moment to go through it track-by-track.

1.  Christmas in the Stars

Our kick-off to the album.  It's our standard "rushing around, getting ready for Christmas" kind of song, as C-3PO rattles off his Christmas list.  It also sets up the loose plot for the album, as R2-D2 and C-3PO introduce us to a group of toy-making droids (whom I'll refer to from here on out as "The Droid Choir") frantically making toys for the mysterious "S. Claus."   It's big and broad and evocative of TV specials of the era.


2.  Bells, Bells, Bells

In this one, R2-D2 hears some Christmas bells, and beeps that he's unfamiliar with this thing known as a "bell."  So, C-3PO bounces into this little ditty describing all the different bells of the world.  It's kind of funny as we learn how many simple concepts are alien to R2.

3.  The Odds Against Christmas

As we all know, C-3PO loves to calculate the odds, so here he calculates the odds of Christmas being Christmas.  It's full of silly rhymes and is kind of mellow.  I find it rather "meh."

4.  What Do You Get a Wookie for Christmas (When He Already Owns a Comb?)

This is the one track I remember being specifically mentioned in that article where I first learned of the Star Wars Christmas album.  That title alone raises eyebrows.  This one is sung by the Droid Choir, as they try to figure out what to get our beloved Star Wars characters, but are stumped when it comes to Chewbacca.  If there's one thing I learned from the songs on this album -- this one in particular -- the only thing that rhymes with "Wookie" is "Cookie."  This is a classic, cash-in kids song, full of silly voices and silly rhymes and general silliness.


5.  R2-D2 We Wish You a Merry Christmas

And here's where the album gets its biggest claim to fame.  C-3PO presents his Christmas presents to R2-D2, which is a choir singing Christmas wishes to R2.  And the soloist in that choir is a young man named John Bongiovi, now better known by his stage name Jon Bon Jovi.  As the legend goes, his cousin actually owned the recording studio where they cut this album, so his cousin pulled some strings to get the young Bon Jovi on the album, in the hopes it would lead to his big break.  It's officially Jon Bon Jovi's first professional recording.  It's a fun song, as the kids sing about how much they love R2.  I wonder...has any late-night talk show host reunited Jon Bon Jovi with R2 and 3PO to preform it live?  Sounds like something Jimmy Fallon would do.


6.  Sleigh Ride

After hearing his song from the children, R2 is intrigued by this concept of "singing."  So, with some new lyrics to Sleigh Ride, 3PO tries to teach R2 how to sing.  Hands down, this is my favourite one in the album.  I don't know how much involvement Ben Burtt -- the sound effects guru of Star Wars -- had to do with this album, but they sure get R2 beeping in time with the music just perfectly.  I loved watching the Droids cartoon when I was a kid, and I can't help but imagine this a segment in a never-produced Droids holiday special.  It just captures the characters of R2-D2 and C-3PO so perfectly, and in a Christmas song, and it's so bouncy and fun.


7.  Merry, Merry Christmas

Another one by the Droid Choir, as they sing about some of the toys they're building for kids all across the galaxy.  Ya know, it's cute things like a baseball that throws itself, and a toy robot that falls asleep.  And even though it's about 17 years before it's time, even Harry Potter's invisibility cloak gets a mention.  Much like track #4, it's pure kids album fodder, with silly rhymes and silly voices.  Oh, and as a callback to track #4, we find out that you get a Wookie a brush.


8.  A Christmas Sighting ('Twas the Night Before Christmas)

Seeing as to how S. Claus always come when the Droid Choir is in low-power mode for the night, the Droid Choir begins to doubt the existence of S. Claus.  But, C-3PO restores their faith with the tale of how he saw S. Claus one year, and 3PO reads his own rendition of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas.  The classic poem isn't drastically re-written to make it Star Wars friendly, and makes me curious to hear Anthony Daniels do a straight version of the poem.  It doesn't reinvent the wheel too much, which is nice.

9.  The Meaning of Christmas

Oh!  It's time for Linus to call for the spotlight and tell us the true meaning of Christmas.  But instead of Linus, the mysterious S. Claus finally shows up.  And in our big twist, it turns out that S. Claus is actually the son of Santa Claus.  (He explains that there's far too many children in all the galaxies for his father, so he helps out.)  Of course, this is a rare opportunity, so 3PO asks S. Claus to explain the true meaning of Christmas.  It's funny...reading that article that I linked to up above, the producer's original concept was to have Yoda read the story of the birth of Christ.  Two things happened that nixed that idea:  Frank Oz couldn't do it, because he was deep in production on the next Muppet movie, and George Lucas vetoed the idea, because he wanted the main religion in Star Wars to be the Force, not Christianity.  So, S. Claus tells us the true meaning of Christmas is your standard Christmas special stuff:  generosity, kindness, peace on Earth, stuff like that.  The longest track on the album at 9 minutes, this could have easily been cut down.  But, with its huge orchestral backing, it almost sounds like a rejected Disney renaissance power ballad.  

All in all, like most Christmas albums, it's fun, but mostly forgettable.  But let's just focus on the fun.

Hey, look!  Someone posted it on YouTube, so here it is for your enjoyment.

Some Halloween Songs for Halloween

I've been toying with doing something like this for a while.  I've come to the realization that I don't do much with my Facebook fan page, aside from plugging my blog and cross-posting my tweets.   So, this past week, I thought I'd try something.  With the countdown on to Halloween, every day, I'd share one of my favourite Halloween songs.  And now that Halloween is here, I thought I'd compile everything on the blog.  So, here's the Halloween songs I shared.

This is Halloween

I love the film The Nightmare Before Christmas.  I always looked forward to the Halloween show of my old college radio show, because it was the only time of year I could get away with playing the soundtrack.  That’s why it pleases me so when, I look at the music charts I use at work, and see “This is Halloween” climbing the list of most-played Halloween songs.  The charts actually list three distinct versions that are in rotation.  The first one, credited to “The Citizens of Halloweentown,” is the version from the start of the film that we all know and love.  The second one, credited to the song’s composer Danny Elfman, is actually an early demo version that Elfman recorded, and has been released on several Elfman compilations.  (Elfman has called this release mildly embarrassing, as it’s just him messing around with his keyboards and singing all the parts.)  And, for the film’s 3D re-release in the late-2000s, Disney got Marilyn Manson to cover it.

The Devil Comes Back to Georgia – Mark O’Connor and Friends

We all love “The Devil Went Down to Georgia,” but did you know it has a sequel?  In the early 1990s, champion fiddle player Mark O’Connor conceived a sequel in which the Devil challenges Johnny to a re-match, and this time, the prize up for grabs is the soul of Johnny’s infant son.  O’Connor’s sequel was a country music event.  O’Connor performed Johnny’s fiddle solos, with Marty Stuart singing Johnny’s parts.  For the Devil, original “Devil Went Down” performer Charlie Daniels did the fiddle solos, with Travis Tritt singing the Devil’s parts.  And Johnny Cash is our narrator.

March of the Martians – Harry Brueur

When released in 1969, the album “The Happy Moog” was a bargain bin release, billed as a “Moog synthesizer album for children.”  But one track, “March of the Martians,” has particular significance for Canadians of a certain generation.  For you see, “March of the Martians” was used as the theme song for the cult classic kids show “The Hilarious House of Frightenstein.”

Transylvania Twist – Bobby “Boris” Pickett 

In the perennial Halloween classic “Monster Mash,” Dracula laments, “Whatever happened to my Transylvania Twist?”  Well, capitalizing on the success of “Monster Mash,” Bobby Pickett produced a whole album of Halloween novelty songs, and he was sure to finally give us the Transylvania Twist.  I love it, because it sounds like every cheesy made-for-TV sound-a-like circa 1964.
 

It’s a Monster’s Holiday – Buck Owens

Over in my day job, I’ve been trying to track down more Halloween songs to fill out the music library.  And it’s been tough.  While there’s a lot of great country classics concerning ghost stories and such, nothing has the recognizability of a Monster Mash.  Finally, someone pointed me towards Buck Owens’ "It’s a Monster’s Holiday", and I was like, “This is it!  Our country music Monster Mash!”

And that's it!  Happy Halloween, all!

The Traditional Birthday: Pizza and a Movie

Well, it was my birthday a few days ago.  I'm now the ripe old age of 38.  I'm as old as Homer Simpson.  That is a very frightening thought.  And I've been celebrating my birthday the same way I've been celebrating it since I turned 11:  pizza and a movie.

Mom wanted to treat me, so of course I let her.  I met up with Mom down in Spruce Grove.  There's a newish pizza chain that's sprung up called Famoso.  They're part of the new trend in dining known as "fast casual."  It's a step up from fast food, but still not as ornate as casual dining.  If you read the financial pages, you'll know it's the trend that's currently killing McDonald's.  Anyway, Famoso specializes in your very traditional Italian pizza...Neapolitan pizza is the official term, according to their website.  Very thin crust, baked in a stone oven, and very good.  As I've always been fond of mushrooms, I went with the Funghi Pizza.  It's good stuff.  I recommend them.

And then the debate was on as to what movie to drag Mom to.  At first I was thinking Terminator Genisys, simply because it was an early show, and Spruce Grove is about an hour's drive home for each of us.  Didn't want us to be on the road too late.  But, dang it, I just wanted to see Inside Out more, even though it meant a later show.  So we saw Inside Out.

Holy moly.  Inside Out is so good, you guys.  After being in a bit of a slump with their past few films, Pixar is back in a beautiful way.  What Pixar's last few films lacked was heart...the emotional gut-punch that kept me trying very hard not to cry.  Well, Inside Out gave me that gut punch.  The emotional wallop that Pixar films used to be guaranteed to provide was finally back.

I think you the know the premise right now.  It is a tad complicated.  It takes place within the mind of an 11-year old girl named Riley.  We see that she's influenced by five personified emotions.  Joy kind of runs the show, and Anger, Fear, and Disgust play their roles, but they've never figured out what Sadness is supposed to do.  But then, one of Joy's attempts to keep Sadness in check goes awry, and Joy and Sadness are soon stranded away from Headquarters in the deepest recesses of Riley's mind.  Joy and Sadness are soon on a dangerous trek back to Headquarters.  But, they have to hurry.  For the longer they're away, the more Anger, Fear and Disgust mismanage things, and soon various aspects of Riley's personality begin shutting down.  Will they make it back before Riley does something drastic?  Will they find out the role of Sadness in everything?

At the end of the day, Inside Out is a coming-of-age story told from a very unique point of view, as Riley's emotions learn that it's OK to feel certain things and it's all part of growing up.  The setting allows for a very unique landscape.  The characters are very imaginative.  Everything about this film is just so good.

Of course, a few quibbles.  As you can see from the premise, it's also a road movie, a formula which has worked very well for Pixar.  But it's easy to overlook that and just get caught up in the journey.

I give it a full 4 Nibs.  Full review is over on the main site.

And, as I've done in recent years, for my birthday present to myself, I went nuts on iTunes and bought some music.  But rather than spend $5 on some singles, I went a little overboard and bought two complete albums.

First up...the Inside Out soundtrack.  I think Michael Giacchino is one of the finest composers working today, and I find his score for Inside Out is haunting me.  Some of the themes in it are so unique.  It really does sound like the music you hear when you dream.




And speaking of Michael Giacchino, he's done the score for another very popular movie in theatres right now...Jurassic World.  And hearing Giacchino slip in and reinterpret John Williams' original Jurassic Park themes in the soundtrack always made me smile throughout that film.  So I also bought, well, not Giacchino's Jurassic World soundtrack, but John Williams' original Jurassic Park soundtrack.  I mean, I've been wanting it ever since I saw Jurassic Park back for my birthday movie in 1993.  This is truly some of Williams' best stuff.




And that main theme has always had a great "emerging from the wilderness" vibe to it. 

So that's what I'll be rockin' out to for the rest of the summer.  Well, this isn't the kind of music you rock out to.  This is the music I'll be quietly chillin' to for the rest of the summer. 

All in all, not a bad birthday. 

Another Birthday Shopping Spree

Well, it was my birthday about a week ago.  And, much like I did last year, I decided to celebrate by going to iTunes and spending five whole dollars on some of the movie themes I'd always adored, but could never find the soundtrack albums for.  And, going back to my college radio days when I just couldn't wait to play a new album on my college radio show, I think music is the best when you share it.  Hence, this blog entry today.  So what did I blow my $5 on this year?

Theme from Astro Boy - Composed by John Ottman

The CGI movie version of Astro Boy from a few years ago was such a mishmash.  They strayed too far from the source material, and instead wound up just cramming in every popular idea about robots from Saturday morning cartoons over the past 30 years.  However, John Ottman's score wound up being a true highlight of the film.  As I said when I did the film on Fishing in the Discount Bin, it's a far, far better score than the movie deserved.




Welcome Back - End Titles from X-Men: Days of Future Past - Composed by John Ottman

And speaking of Mr. Ottman, he is director Bryan Singer's composer of choice.  A friend recently remarked that the X-Men films seem to be cursed with bland scores, but I don't feel that way about Ottman's music for X2.  That's the only X-Men theme that sounds like an honest to God superhero theme that you'll find yourself humming.  Needless to say, I geeked out hard when I discovered that Ottman returned to the franchise with Days of Future Past, and I was grinning like an idiot when I heard the opening bars of his X-Men theme during the opening titles.  The theme in question kicks in at about the 1 minute mark in this end credit suite. 



Overture from It Could Happen to You - Composed by Carter Burwell

When I first saw this romantic comedy way back in 1994, I remember thinking, "Wow.  The music in this film is perfect fairy tale music."  It's something I was reminded of when I caught it on TV a few months ago.  For those who don't remember this film.  Nicholas Cage is a hard-working, New York city beat cop.  Bridgette Fonda is a waitress with a heart of gold who's fallen on hard times.   When Cage has lunch in Fonda's diner one day, he discovers he doesn't have enough money for a tip, so he shows his lottery ticket to Fonda and promises to split the winnings with her, 50/50.  When he winds up winning the $4 million jackpot, he stays true to his word and splits the winnings with her...much to the chagrin of his wife, Rosie Perez.  As the money begins to turn Perez into a materialistic harpy, Cage and Fonda begin to fall in love, as they both enjoy using their winnings to spread random acts of kindness about the city.  It's just a sweet movie.  There's just two tracks of the score on the soundtrack album...I really should just buy them both.




Ringo's Theme (This Boy) from A Hard Days Night - Composed by Lennon/McCartney; Performed by the George Martin Orchestra

It doesn't matter what your opinion of the Beatles is, A Hard Day's Night is just a good movie.  And what little score it has is amazing instrumental versions of Beatles songs, courtesy the Beatles' longtime producer George Martin and his orchestra.  The most famous piece from the movie is the instrumental version of the Beatles song This Boy, which plays as Ringo temporarily ditches the band to go for a walk, think things through, and winds up having a conversation about life, the universe, and everything with a kid ditching school.




The Simpsons Theme from The Simpsons Movie - Composed by Danny Elfman; Performed by Green Day

Because.  That's why.

Retail Therapy

Friday was just a crummy day for me.  I couldn't put my finger on it.  Things were just a little off.  So to cheer myself up, after work I went on to iTunes and had myself a $5 shopping spree.  I was hoping to get that cute song that Howard wrote for Bernadette on last week's episode of The Big Bang Theory, but it hasn't been released to iTunes Canada yet.  So I just started going down my wish list and grabbing the few movie themes I'd been wanting.


Main Titles from Quigley Down Under composed by Basil Poledouris

When I did a Fishing in the Discount Bin on Quigley Down Under, I was surprised by how many of my friends liked it on Facebook and said that they enjoyed that movie.  It seems to be a movie that nobody hates.  If you've forgotten, Tom Sellick plays a sharpshooter from the Old West who takes up a job working for a cattle baron in Australia.  When the cattle baron wants Quigley to murder the aborigines on his land, Quigley says no, and they duke it out across the Ouback.  Part of the film's charm has to be the very traditional Western score composed by Basil Poledouris, who also brought us RoboCop and Conan the Barbarian.




Father's Funeral from Hellboy composed by Marco Beltrami

Back in the summer, I re-watched the Hellboy movies to get me ready for Pacific Rim (all directed by Guillermo del Toro, in case you're wondering about the connection).  Watching the first Hellboy again, I was instantly taken by this haunting tune, played when Professor Broom, Hellboy's adopted father, passes away.  Just a very sad tune.




Arrival to Earth from Transformers composed by Steve Jablonsky

When I first saw Michael Bay's Transformers in the summer of 2007, nothing about Steve Jablonsky's score struck me as remarkable.  I was in the minority, though, as an overwhelming demand from the film's fans got the score its own album release.  And I'll admit, watching the movie many, many times over the past few years, it's really grown on me.  This is the music played when the Autobots arrive on Earth.  I must agree with an online critic...with how ridiculous his Transformers movies tend to be, this is one of the few scenes that Bay treated with a real sense of gravitas.




The Avengers by Alan Silvestri

Holy moly, why did it take me so long to get this?  Silvestri is already a pretty legendary composer, with a career stretching back to the early 1970s.  And, the big Back to the Future geek that I am, I've listened to his Back to the Future score for ever.  Doing the music for The Avengers was actually Silvestri's second turn at a Marvel score, as he also did Captain America.  In fact, if you listen very carefully to Silvestri's Avengers score, you'll notice he did slip in his Captain America theme for a few moments of Cap's heroics.  Silvestri's main theme for The Avengers was a pretty good superhero theme.  And my I say, on my iPhone playlist, it dovetails quite nicely with the Captain America theme.

Birthday Tunes

So, it was my birthday a week ago, and to treat myself, I went on a bit of a shopping spree on iTunes, spending 5 whole dollars!  As you know, I love film scores, and some times, soundtrack albums consist of just 1 totally awesome piece of score, and 11 crappy pop songs.  And then I realized, thanks to iTunes, I could buy that 1 piece of awesome score and skip the rest.  So I decided to finally go for it and grab a few that I'd been eying on iTunes.  And since I feel that music must be shared, I'm sharing my purchases on my blog.

What did I get?

Opening Titles from Crocodile Dundee - composed by Peter Best

Always love this.  It has a great "descending into wilderness" vibe to it.




The Captain America March from Captain America - composed by Alan Silvestri

Alan Silvestri is one of the best composers working today.  Of course, I still fondly remember his stuff from the 1980s, believing his Back to the Future score to be the stuff of legend.  With the glut of superhero films, I was waiting to hear him tackle a superhero theme, and I got my wish when he did the music for Captain America.  For some reason, The Captain America March -- which is the end credits music for Captain America -- didn't appear on the actual soundtrack album.  Too bad, because it's when Silvestri's "Captain America Theme" sounds its biggest and most heroic.



Can You Dig It? (Main Titles from Iron Man 3) - composed by Brain Tyler

In my opinion, though, there aren't a lot of great superhero themes out there, as most movie music just start to sound the same after a while.  So I was pleasantly surprised by Brian Tyler's music for Iron Man 3.  While it wasn't anything spectacular, at least Tyler finally gave us a good heroic theme for Iron Man that I could pick out of the score.  And Can You Dig It?, the variation of Tyler's Iron Man theme that plays over the end credits, is big and jazzy and beautiful.



007 - composed by John Barry

John Barry did the music for the majority of James Bond films, and is long accredited with creating Bond's musical style.  For the first James Bond movie he composed in its entirety, the second Bond movie From Russia With Love, Barry created a special "action theme" to accompany the James Bond films' biggest action sequences.  He called this theme 007, and he slipped it into most of James Bond scores, ending with Moonraker in 1979, as he felt the theme was starting to sound kind of dated.  That being said, 007 has firmly established itself as another piece of iconic James Bond music.



Finale from The Lone Ranger - composed by Hans Zimmer;contains exerts of The William Tell Overture composed by Gioachino Rossini.

For my birthday movie this year, I saw The Lone Ranger, and as I said in my earlier review, what really made the film for me was the climactic train chase.  What really enhanced the scene is it's in the only time in the film that The William Tell Overture (pop culturally known as "the Lone Ranger Theme") is used in a gigantic, epic way.  And of course, Hans Zimmer and his team do their thing to it to turn it into a modern day action score.  I'll probably wind up buying the entire soundtrack for the Lone Ranger, as I did enjoy Zimmer's score for the Sherlock Holmes films, and Zimmer's score for The Lone Ranger does come across as Sherlock Holmes sampling William Tell.