Discount code for The Skywalker Symphonies now available!

For anyone with Oxford Academic access through their library and doesn't want to wait for a physical copy, my book is now live on OUP's digital portal! 😁 academic.oup.com/book/63100 Hopefully, I'll have a promotional discount code to offer soon, if you're looking to get the print version.

What a world, that there's a new John Williams score coming out next week, as I sit here editing chapters to the Cambridge Companion on his life and work. I couldn't resist listening to the short sample from Disclosure Day released yesteday, and once I did obviously I had to transcribe it...

please clap

Excusable:

This game has it out for Elden Ring players.

The hell it’s not!

Take that, Sister Splinter! (I love this game)

Speedrunning music analysis: Silksong edition. Here's a reduction and beginnings of a neo-Riemannian account of the music for the first legit challenging miniboss (Skull Ant) and subsequent area (Hunter's March). Wonderful music from Christopher Larkin!

He also played on a couple Marty Paich albums. That said, I have no clue if he was familiar with this specific Art Pepper arrangement. Strikes me as a superficial resemblance compared to the Force Theme's more plausible sources, most notably Siegfried's leitmotif from the Ring:

Neither the hardest nor most time-consuming boss from Elden Ring but my vote for the worst on an RL1. I *hated* this fight. Between the horrid summons, teleporting, animation locks after successfully dodging attacks, it drove me crazy. Even this win feels lousy b/c it was so random and unclean.

When a Star Wars TV show is more morally clear-eyed, more willing to call out genocide, than the entire rest of our media landscape.

Another one down. Clayman's Harpoon w/ Ice Spear and Godrick's Greatrune. Took forever to reach Phase 2 (hundreds of attempts), but when I finally did, beat her on my first try...

I made this 13 years ago and stand by it.

I just hit Placi tonight, and oh man, I do not think I'm ready... And man that runback is stressful. Did just get deflect tear though and looking forward to having much fun with that tho!