Soundtracks

Greenwood is nominated for an Oscar for writing the music for The Power of the Dog. He also recently scored Spencer and Licorice Pizza. Originally broadcast Feb. 7, 2022.

Jonny Greenwood talks about the two aspects of his life: being lead guitarist for the band Radiohead, and writing film scores for directors Paul Thomas Anderson and Jane Campion. He recently wrote scores for their films 'Licorice Pizza' and 'The Power of the Dog.'

Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews a new series of DVDs that are re-releases of movies starring Bing Crosby.

Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez tell Terry Gross about the inspiration for "Let It Go" and a "very strong strike across the bow at all princess-myth things" song that didn't make the film.

You might not recognize the name Randall Poster, but you're likely familiar with his work. Poster picks out and licenses music used in commercials, TV and film. He worked closely with director Wes Anderson on films like Rushmore and Moonrise Kingdom.

Banjo player Earl Scruggs, who helped shape the sound of American bluegrass music, died Wednesday. He was 88 years old. Fresh Air remembers Scruggs with excerpts from an interview.

The filmmakers behind Forgetting Sarah Marshall have teamed up to create a new Muppet movie. "We set out to make a Muppet movie that harkened back to the late-'70s [and] early-'80s Muppets that we grew up with," says Jason Segel.

Songwriter Hugh Martin, who co-wrote the classic song "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" for Judy Garland's 1944 movie, Meet Me in St. Louis died on Friday. He was 96. Fresh Air remembers Martin with highlights from a 1989 interview.

Guitarist and composer Marc Ribot's latest album, Silent Movies, pays tribute to film scores. The creation of the album, he says, allowed him to express his more lyrical side.

Authors Philip Furia and Laurie Patterson share the stories behind Hollwood's most beloved songs -- from Casablanca's "As Time Goes By" to the melodies from Mary poopins -- in their book The Songs of Hollywood.

Director Wes Anderson has worked on a lot of film projects, but with his latest film, Fantastic Mr. Fox, he ventured into new territory: animation. Anderson says that making a stop-motion picture is the most involved filmmaking he's ever done, but he also says that the process has "a sort of magic."

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews the new soundtrack album for the Bob Dylan biopic I’m Not There. The movie does not open until November 21, but the 2-disc soundtrack is already available. It features 34 Dylan songs covered by artists including My Morning Jacket and Sonic Youth.

The latest CD from New Orleans trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard is A Tale of God's Will, whose subtitle is "A Requiem for Katrina."

Parts of the recording were heard in Spike Lee's HBO documentary When the Levees Broke. Blanchard, who's scored many films, including Eve's Bayou and Malcolm X, got his start with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers.

He is artistic director for the Thelonious Monk Institute at the University of Southern California.

Singer Frankie Laine gained TV immortality by singing the theme of Rawhide. He first became successful as a jazz singer recording standards like "Black and Blue" and "West End Blues." (RB of 7/29/87)

Film historian Rudy Behlmer wrote the CD liner notes for the sound track of the film King Kong.

Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz tells why he likes the soundtrack for the Preston Sturges film Unfaithfully Yours, now out on DVD.

Some of classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz's favorite movie themes just happen to belong to films just released on DVD. He reviews four of them: Gone with the Wind, Freaks, I Vitelloni, and The Golden Coach.

Bernstein died Wednesday at the age of 82. He was nominated for 14 Academy Awards, but won only one — for his music for the film Thoroughly Modern Millie. His best known film score was for The Magnificent Seven (which was later used for a Marlboro cigarette commercial). His other film scores include The Man With the Golden Arm, To Kill a Mockingbird, Great Escape, Sweet Smell of Success and The Ten Commandments. (Originally broadcast on Jan. 10, 1991.)

He died July 21 at the age of 75. Since the 1950s he had composed scores for film and TV. He won an Academy Award in 1976 for his music for The Omen. His film scores include: Star Trek: The Motion Picture, The Sand Pebbles, Chinatown, and A Patch of Blue. His TV credits include The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Dr. Kildare, The Waltons, and Barnaby Jones. The CD collection of his music is The Film Music of Jerry Goldsmith (Rebroadcast from Jan. 7, 2002.)