1/25/2022

TDFA e05 "A History of Sadness" Score - Liner Notes

Episode five of the Twelfth Doctor Fan Audios, "A History of Sadness," can be heard on YouTube. It was written by James Blanchard, directed by Elizabeth Smith, and scored by myself, Dillon O'Hara, and Studio Gallifrey.

e05 = episode five. s01 = scene one. m01 = music one. These liner notes were originally written for Patreon, and the soundtrack is available for members of my Patreon, so if you'd like to hear the music, please become a member. Some, but not all, tracks will be released later in the year as part of an ongoing series of TDFA soundtrack releases.

1/02/2022

The Pokémon Soundtrack Odyssey

RBGY: Junichi Masuda
This where it all started, where the foundation that would define Pokémon scores was set. Listening back, it's striking in two ways: it's aged better than you probably remember, and it's also, in some ways, obviously aged. "Pewter City" is a trainwreck, the chromatic lines in the "Wild Pokemon Battle" track would stick around for GSC and then disappear for over a decade, and the town and route themes are in general a mixed bag. Much of the best music here is Masuda's creepier works – "Viridian Forest," "Lavender Town," "Silph Co." – an unexpected discovery considering the generally cheery tone of the series. The music in general is very busy – understandably so, considering the influence of Bach (as writing for the GB's chip certainly resembled the limitations of three-part counterpoint), and given that players would be listening to the music for long periods of time, having a bunch of different stuff that the ear could focus on is a virtue. It's only in retrospect, looking back, that we can say that, operating outside of the game, it's "too busy." The original soundtrack release's heavy reverb does the music no favors. Still – this is where it all began.