Film Score Focus

This week on Film Score Focus I'm going to Las Vegas...literally. My wife and I will be taking our first ever trip to Las Vegas and I couldn't be more excited. To get me in the spirit of the trip I've dedicated the show this week to Las Vegas film scores! There's a certain style and flavor that embodies Las Vegas and you don't have to actually go to fully realize how well it's expressed in cinema. So what makes a great Las Vegas film score? High energy grooves, a suave and sophisticated coolness, refined class, and of course a little gritty naughtiness are all ingredients that you'll find the classic Las Vegas film score.

Bring your cash rolls, ante up, and join me Friday night at 8:00PM or Sunday night at 7:00PM right here on 89.5 KMFA I'll be on a plane to Las Vegas but you'll be along for the ride if you tune in. You can also listen live via the internet at www.kmfa.org.

Here's the lineup for FSF-233 "What Sounds in Vegas Stays in Vegas"

This week on Film Score Focus we're criss-crossing through time in our spiffy new time machines in search of some timeless time traveling scores. I'm a sucker for a good time-traveling flick. There's something about the notion of venturing back into the past or zipping ahead in to the future that really ignites my imagination. Apparently a lot of other film composers feel the same way since the time-traveling picture has been a valuable resource for great musical inspiration. There are no boundaries to what a time-traveling movie can bring...it can be adventurous, mysterious, or even dangerous and well explore them all.

Power up your time machines and join me Friday night at 8:00PM or if you miss it just jump back into your time machine for that exact time or just wait until Sunday night 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-232 "Calling All Time Travelers"

This week on Film Score Focus we're bugging out crazy fun with one of the most gifted and most influential animators of all time...Frederick Bean "Tex" Avery! What would the world of animation be without Tex Avery? One of his all-time favorite quotes was, "In a cartoon you can do anything," and he set out to prove it with every short he ever made. He developed the practice using animation to stretch the possibilities of what could be done using live-action film. While he was with Warner Bros, Avery helped create and design many Merrie Melodies characters including Bugs Bunny, Pork Pig, and Daffy Duck. Later in his career, Avery broke off and developed his own characters which included Screwy Squirrel and the beloved Droopy..."Hello all you happy people."



Backing Avery animated short films was another genius by the name of Scott Bradley who also composed the majority of Hanna & Barbara's "Tom & Jerry" cartoons. Along with Carl Stalling, Scott Bradley is one of the few masters of cartoon scoring. Join me Friday night at 8:00PM or Sunday night at 7:00PM right here on 89.5 KMFA. Or you can listen live via the internet at www.kmfa.org.

Here's the lineup for FSF-231 "The Wacky World of Tex Avery"

This week on Film Score Focus we're challenging the unexplainable phenomenon of the unnecessary sequel. So what is an unnecessary sequel? Well, it doesn't necessarily mean that the sequel is bad or good...just confusing. For example...THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK (1997) wasn't very good, in fact it could be Steven Spielberg's worst movie, but it was definitely necessary. JURASSIC PARK (1993) was a HUGE film that made a ton of money and was open for further dinosaur exploration. I thought a sequel was totally warranted...it just wasn't very good. No, these sequels are head-scratchers. They make you go "huh?" and you find yourself asking, "Did we really need a sequel?" Well, perhaps the answer can be found in the music. There are quite a few unnecessary sequels that have some pretty amazing scores. While I may wonder why on earth they bothered making the film to begin with, I'm pretty much glad they did.

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

Here's the lineup for FSF-230 "Did We Really Need a Sequel?"

This week on Film Score Focus we're doing hard time for hard crimes. Guilty!...for loving film music. It's a good thing we've got some great cinematic music to keep us company as we stare out upon the world from our 3X5 cells. There's something about the human spirit that shines when incarcerated. Innocent or guilty there's plenty of amazing music to cover it. Don't worry. If you tune in and listen to the whole program I'm sure you'll get out in 6 to 10 years on good behavior.

Since you'll be locked up, I'll join you Friday night at 8:00PM or Sunday night at 7:00PM right here on 89.5 KMFA. Or you can listen live via the internet at www.kmfa.org.

Here's the lineup for FSF-229 "Locked Up: Scores Behind Bars"