Show notes
Kyle Katarn and Xanthe discuss minutes 6-10 of Solo: A Star Wars Story. In this excerpt of the film, Han and Qi'ra escape from Lady Proxima's lair, get chased at high speeds through Corellia, and end up at the Spaceport. We discuss Han Solo's themes, the visual language of Star Wars, and why John Williams is the "emotional taskmaster of the movies."
Timestamps:
- 00:00 - Hello there!
- 04:00 - Grindalids
- 15:12 - Han starts with a Hail Mary, but when he starts to achieve success, his music grows more confident.
- 16:22 - John Williams wrote a couple variations of Han's theme to reflect his different states.
- 22:18 - How do contemporary Star Wars composers balance between being authentic and emulating John Williams?
- 29:24 - On Solo drama, leaks, news, public discourse in 2018.
- 35:05 - Is this a violin sul D or sul G in "Corellia Chase"?
- 48:51 - The dice.
- 55:59 - Silent world building during the Corellia Chase. We fly through all these set pieces showing us Imperial checkpoints, TIE fighters on an assembly line, etc.
- 1:02:39 - Hint of the Star Wars Main Theme... and what it may represent.
- 1:08:30 - John Powell getting a lot of mileage out of the John Williams themes.
- 1:12:46 - Emotional taskmaster of the movies.
- 1:20:11 - SWMM Questionnaire
Things to Check Out:
Themes:
- 2b. Young Han Solo (Searching Variant, comp. JW)
- 1. Young Han Solo (Heroic, comp. JW)
- 2a. Young Han Solo (Searching, comp. JW)
- Note: I use the theme names and numbers established in Frank Lehman's Complete Catalogue of the Musical Themes of Star Wars. You can download it free at his website: https://franklehman.com/starwars/.
Where are we in the soundtrack?
- end of "Bunk / Proxima (1M2-3)" (about the last 10 seconds)
- full track: "Corellia Chase (1M4-5)" or "Corellia Chase"
- beginning of "Spaceport (1M6-7)" or "Spaceport" (until about 0:57)
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STAR WARS MUSIC MINUTE QUESTIONNAIRE:
1. In exactly 3 words, what does Star Wars sound like?
- Epic. Exotic. Alive.
- Pewpew! Brrrrrr! Pppphufff! (rough transcription of Kyle's sound effects...)
2. What's something related to Star Wars music or sound that you want to learn more about?
- The process of crafting new sounds to represent species or technologies. What parameters or instructions are sound designers given? Is it like "I want it to sound wibbly wobbly" or something subjective like that?
3. What's a score or soundtrack you're fond of besides anything Star Wars?
- Kingdom of Heaven (composed by Harry Gregson-Williams)
Bonus Question: What would you encourage listeners to pay more attention to on their next viewing of Solo?
- Pay attention to what's going on in the background during fast-paced moments like the chase, because there are a lot of important world building information, Easter eggs, and references to other Star Wars media that can be found.
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Kyle Katarn:
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