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Soundcheck / January 15, 2008 / Western Soundtracks: Back in the Saddle

Western Soundtracks: Back in the Saddle

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Just as Hollywood's latest crop of Westerns take a revisionist view of frontier life, their musical scores sound incredibly different from those of the classics of the 50s and 60s. Today, we look at the changing sound of the Western with Jon Burlingame, a film music historian who teaches at USC and writes for Variety; and Kathryn Kalinak, author of How the West Was Sung: Music in the Westerns of John Ford.

How the West Was Sung: Music in the Westerns of John Ford
Jon Burlingame's Variety articles


Comments

  • [1] Meg from Stamford, CT January 15, 2008 - 02:22PM

    Great conversation. Just joined the broadcast, have you talked about Ennio Morricone who performed at Radio City/US for the first time in the past year? What about the music for Brokeback Mountain and Into the Wild? Both extraordinary scores for 'western' themed films.


  • [2] Gregory Mortenson from New Jersey January 15, 2008 - 02:34PM

    One of the reasons why I thought "No Country For Old Men" was so incredible was because of the LACK of a soundtrack. I felt that the overwhelming silence ironically added a sense of tension that matched and added to the film's vibe.

    Great conversation thus far!
  • [3] Eric Gunther from Jersey City January 15, 2008 - 02:36PM

    Where does Neil Young's composition for Dead Man fit in to all this? both the minimalism and the way he recorded it straight through from beginning til end.

This thread is closed.


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