Settling the Score

Settling the Score

A film score podcast

  • 2 hours 59 minutes
    #73 – 2026 Oscars Special

    Jon and Andy camp out on Hollywood Blvd. for another marathon episode on this year’s Oscar nominees for Best Original Score. Is it possible there are some trends in film scoring that have us excited? Do we completely understand them? And, should we have been listening to all this music in our sleep?

    12 March 2026, 2:55 pm
  • 1 hour 42 minutes
    #72 – Beetlejuice

    Come on down as Jon, Jon, Jon and Andy, Andy, Andy haunt Danny Elfman's score to the 1988 supernatural comedy Beetlejuice! How did Elfman's background stand him in good stead for this particular brand of craziness? Which of his formative musical influences shine through this score? And, what’s a painless way to buy an ’84 Ford?

    14 January 2026, 8:05 am
  • 1 hour 34 minutes
    #71 – The Grand Budapest Hotel

    Join Jon and Andy as they check into Alexandre Desplat's score for the 2014 Wes Anderson creation The Grand Budapest Hotel. How does Desplat's music align with Anderson's idiosyncratic perspective? What instruments give it its very particular zing? And, how might Wes Anderson edit this podcast differently?

    23 October 2025, 7:05 am
  • 1 hour 34 minutes
    #70 – Elevator to the Gallows

    Listen as Jon and Andy take a long, meandering stroll through and around Miles Davis’ score for the 1958 crime drama Elevator to the Gallows. How did this French film wind up looming large in the history of American jazz? What special mood does Davis find, and what special note helps him describe it? And, what would you give to hear Miles imitate Marlon Brando?

    24 July 2025, 7:05 am
  • 1 hour 40 minutes
    #69 – The Fugitive

    Follow along as Jon and Andy do a hard-target search of James Newton Howard’s score to the 1993 man-on-the-run thriller The Fugitive. How do this film and its music match this cultural moment? What technical rule does Howard break, and why doesn’t it matter? And, wait a minute, does this plot actually make any sense?

    6 May 2025, 7:05 am
  • 2 hours 42 minutes
    #68 – 2025 Oscars Special

    It’s back to the Oscars stage for Jon and Andy, to talk about this year’s nominees for Best Original Score, and it’s back to some age old questions: Do we want our music made out of notes or blobs? Does reading up about these scores get in the way of our curmudgeonly opinions? And, how much music should a musical's music music?

    28 February 2025, 8:03 am
  • 1 hour 45 minutes
    #67 – The Graduate

    Are you here for an affair? Ah yes, an episode of Settling the Score, very good sir - this one's about Simon and Garfunkel’s song score to Mike Nichol’s classic 1967 satire The Graduate. How was this movie pioneering in its use of music? Do these famous songs engender sympathy or skepticism for the characters, or both? And, it's okay to ask: do these lyrics actually mean anything?

    11 February 2025, 8:03 am
  • 2 hours 26 minutes
    #66 – The Empire Strikes Back

    “I love this score.” “I know.” Jon and Andy search their feelings about John Williams’ score for the 1980 hit sci-fi fantasy sequel The Empire Strikes Back. How important has this score been to our hosts? How does its mastery show itself on different scales? And, what are the odds of successfully navigating this show’s longest episode ever?

    3 October 2024, 7:05 am
  • 1 hour 26 minutes
    #65 – Double Indemnity

    Jon and Andy go straight down the line through Miklós Rózsa's score for the 1944 film noir classic Double Indemnity. Which elements of this music sound like noir, and which don’t? Why do we enjoy stories about bad people? And, where’s a good spot in L.A. to sneak into if you want to hear some Schubert?

    11 June 2024, 7:03 am
  • 2 hours 51 minutes
    #64 – 2024 Oscars Special

    It’s time again for Jon and Andy to strip away the phony tinsel of Hollywood and find the real tinsel underneath, as they consider this year’s Oscar nominees for Best Original Score. Is it possible that our hosts are feeling less cranky this year? What are some different ideas these movies have for using music to fill time? And, did you notice that this episode is still shorter than two of these five nominated films?

    6 March 2024, 8:19 am
  • 1 hour 28 minutes
    #63 – The Conversation

    Come and eavesdrop on Jon and Andy discussing David Shire’s score for the 1974 surveillance mystery drama The Conversation. What does Shire's solo piano music express about the main character? How are the themes of the movie embodied in its world of sound? And, will Fred Flintstone be a good father?

    21 February 2024, 8:03 am
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