Film Score Focus

This week on Film Score Focus we're speaking the universal language of the animals...English! The talking animal movie isn't really anything new. The lovable "Mr. Ed" yakked it up on television from 1961 to 1968 and ever since audiences couldn't get enough of talking animals...Well, some can. Nowadays high-tech computer animation is utilized to make any animal say anything a director wants it to say.

Join me Friday night at 8:00PM or Sunday evening at 7:00PM right here on 89.5 KMFA. You can also listen live via the internet at www.kmfa.org.

Here's the lineup for FSF-242 "If I Could Talk With the Animals"

This week on Film Score Focus we're yuckin' it up with one of cinema's most lovable losers...Ben Stiller. Although his career is not exclusively composed of comedy films, Ben Stiller has certainly become a household name because of his work in this genre. He's as deft at conjuring up sympathy as he is laughs which makes him an extremely likable actor spanning a fairly diverse crop of films. As diverse as his films are, so are the score that accompany them.

Join me Friday night at 8:00PM or Sunday evening at 7:00PM right here on 89.5 KMFA. You can also listen live via the internet at www.kmfa.org.

Here's the lineup for FSF-241 "Ben Stiller My Beating Heart"

Starting in August I'll be hosting a new film series at the Alamo Drafthouse focusing on superlative film scores. First up is the Alfred Hitchcock classic NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959) which features a score by Bernard Herrmann. Before the screening, I'll give a brief twenty minute lecture about the score and give audiences a little glimpse inside what makes it so fantastic. I'll isolate a few themes to listen for, spotlight choices reflecting Herrmann's genius and give the audience a little better appreciation of the score just before we watch the film together. I'm really very excited. It'll be the first time I've ever seen NXNW on the big screen.

It'll take place Sunday, August 22, 2010, at the Alamo Ritz theater. Tickets will be $10.00. As an extra bonus for those arriving early, Mitchell Bowman will be performing renditions of Bernard Herrmann's music on the accordion! It should be an absolute awesome evening!

For more information and ticket purchasing, visit the page over at the Alamo website.

This week on Film Score Focus we're allowing film composer and conductor Joel McNeely to lead the Royal Scottish National Symphony in selections of Bernard Herrmann's music for five classic Alfred Hitchcock films. It is widely known that Hitchcock is referred to as the "Master of Suspense" but without Bernard Herrmann actually creating that suspense with his music there simply wouldn't be any.

For this show all of the selections will be re-recordings made in the last decade. Joel McNeely in conjunction with Varese Sarabande Records have taken on the task of recording many of Bernard Herrmann's classic scores.

Also, don't forget to buy your tickets for the first ever Film Score Focus Film Screening at the Alamo Drafthouse. I'm going to give a short presentation on Herrmann's music for NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959) and then we'll watch the film in the comfort of Austin's most famous theater. It'll take place on Sunday, August 22, 2010, at 7PM at the Alamo Ritz Theater on 6th Street in downtown Austin. Tickets are $10.

Join me Friday night at 8:00PM or Sunday evening at 7:00PM right here on 89.5 KMFA. You can also listen live via the internet at www.kmfa.org.

Here's the lineup for FSF-240 "Conducting the Masters of Suspense"

This week on Film Score Focus we're raising the dead in search of fresh brains. Do you know what goes really good with brains? Film music! Not just any film music, but zombie film music! There are as many interpretations of what goes into a great zombie score as there are zombie films. Whether you like your zombie scores fast or slow, intelligent or dumb, drippy with goo or fairly well manicured, there's sure to be something for you to enjoy.

Join me Friday night at 8:00PM or Sunday evening at 7:00PM right here on 89.5 KMFA. You can also listen live via the internet at www.kmfa.org.

Here's the lineup for FSF-239 "I'm Not Dead, Yet!"