ESB 18: Glory of the Cloud Car (Minutes 86-90 with Nic Tan)

Star Wars Music Minute

As Yoda says, "There is another." Today's guest is my brother, Nic Tan! We delve into minutes 86-90 of The Empire Strikes Back, which naturally begs discussion about the toys, Boba Fett, Yoda's golden nuggets, cloud cars, negative musical space, changes to film scoring over the decades, how Lando's theme diverges from John Williams's traditional hero themes, questionably un-porcine ugnaught sound design, and why growing up in the prequel era was the golden age of Star Wars fandom (sorry, it's just facts).

Timestamps:

• 0:00 - Hello there!
• 3:57 - The toys (and Star Wars-branded plastic material).
• 9:35 - Why Yoda is, without a doubt, the best character in Star Wars.
• 15:43 - Are Obi-Wan and Yoda equals?
• 22:12 - Force theme with X-wing sound on top.
• 24:30 - "They don't make movie scores like they used to" + Phantom Menace memories.
• 34:13 - Analog synths vs. virtual instruments/sample libraries. Hans Zimmer.
• 42:15 - Establishing shots of Cloud City with transitional music
• 43:36 - What makes Boba Fett and cloud cars cool.
• 47:30 - Demure Main Theme on flute and oboe + harp flourish.
• 49:23 - Han and Leia theme that trails off with a perfect 5th (with "you're as good as gone").
• 53:04 - Huge noise contrast when we cut to Chewie in the droid boiler room. Do the ugnaughts sound porcine?
• 59:57 - Incessant elevator chime.
• 1:04:13 - Start of cue 9M2 "Vader Shows Up."
• 1:06:31 - How Lando's theme diverges from John Williams's traditional hero type of theme.
• 1:14:35 - Who is more powerful: Vader in ESB or Anakin in ROTS? Shadows of the Empire.
• 1:24:15 - Does Nic recognize the Boba Fett theme?
• 1:29:11 - Bitter strings, anguished wookiee moans, naively confident Luke.
• 1:36:35 - Chewie is an underrated character. Thoughts about Solo: A Star Wars Story.
• 1:42:28 - Do you have the same level of excitement every time something new from Star Wars is released?
• 1:46:14 - Growing up in the prequel era.
• 1:50:40 - SWMM Questionnaire

Things to Check Out:

• Dominic Sewell's analysis of cue 8M3 "Lando's Palace" https://youtu.be/450lqmYSjl4
• Dominic Sewell's analysis of cue 9M2 "Vader Shows Up" https://youtu.be/zY0u8cfGaYY
• Complete Catalogue of the Musical Themes of Star Wars (by Frank Lehman): https://franklehman.com/starwars/.

Cues:

• 8M3 "Lando's Palace"
• 9M2 "Vadar Shows Up [sic]"
• 9M3 "Putting ThreePio Together"

Musical Themes:

• 3. Force
• 1a. Main Theme (A Section)
• 11a. Han & Leia (A Section)
• 15a. Cloud City 1 (Lando's Palace)
• 10a. Imperial March (Theme)

Where are we in the soundtrack?:

• "Betrayal at Bespin"

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STAR WARS MUSIC MINUTE QUESTIONNAIRE:

1. In exactly 3 words, what does Star Wars sound like?

• Classic. Modern. Nostalgic.

2. What's something related to Star Wars music or sound that you want to learn more about?

• How (on a structural musical level) do composers take central themes and vary them to evoke different emotions?

3. What's a score or soundtrack you're fond of besides anything Star Wars?

• E.T. (composed by John Williams)
• Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (composed by Burt Bacharach)

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