Danny Elfman is composer du jour at the multiplex with his recent scores for THE WOLFMAN and ALICE IN WONDERLAND. So it seemed the perfect time to add him to the “9 on the 9th” lineup. Though I enjoy Elfman’s music, he is not someone I usually turn to when I just want to listen to...

Originally, this month’s “9 on the 9th” post was going to be dedicated to romantic film scores as a precursor to that evil holiday–Valentine’s Day. Then I realized most of what I had on the list was film music that made me cry. Since I had already visited that topic recently,...

Since we’re at the start of a new year and a new decade, I thought I’d break tradition a bit for this month’s “9 on the 9th” post. Rather than concentrating on the scores of a single composer or genre, I wanted to take a look at nine reasons why, 33 years later, I still...

So why is a Scrooge like me writing a blog post about holiday film scores when I’m usually so down on the season? Because I needed a topic for this month’s “9 on the 9th” post. And because the best kind of holiday score captures that indefinable, and probably non-existent, Norman...

For this month’s “9 on the 9th” post, we focus on one of my favorite film composers, Golden Age or otherwise–Franz Waxman . Waxman got his start in Germany scoring films like Marlene Dietrich’s THE BLUE ANGEL (1932) before he was forced to flee the country when the Third...

In honor of THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING concerts performed live to film tonight and tomorrow at Radio City Music Hall, I’ve devoted this month’s “9 on the 9th” to my favorite cues from the trilogy. I’ve used the single-CD editions of the scores since...

I have been diving deep into the works of Bernard Herrmann the last few weeks while researching his opera, WUTHERING HEIGHTS, for my upcoming “Gold Rush” column at Film Score Monthly Online. So who better to feature in this month’s “9 on the 9th” post? Nobody sounds like...

After last month’s “9 on the 9th” discussion of my favorite John Williams scores, I received an email asking when I was going to do a list of the scores of John Barry. Always one to heed my reader’s requests, here you go. Whether it’s his James Bond scores, jazzz-tinged...

Last month’s “9 on the 9th” list post featured the music of Jerry Goldsmith, the man behind my first love of film music. So I thought it appropriate that this month’s post focus on another essential composer in my early years of film music exploration, and arguably the most famous film...

Probably no other composer inspires more dedication and passion in film score fans than Jerry Goldsmith. A word to the wise: say a bad word against Jerry on message boards at your own risk. I’ve already written about my favorite composer, Alfred Newman. So for this month’s “9 on the...