Usual NSFW warnings due to Daily Show language, but whenever Jon Stewart talks space and SUDDENLY NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON, you bet we’re linking to it.
This is Star Center.
Now there’s a new ESPN Sports Center ad featuring our favorite heroes from the galaxy far far away.
Soundtrack Breakdown: The Main Title Theme
Tonight we’re playing around with a potentially new feature on the blog in which I dig into my background as an ex-music major.* Each week, the goal is to dissect one song from a soundtrack (usually Star Wars) and break down just why its effective. Or just what I like about it. First on the docket, the main title theme from Star Wars.
*Why ex? Sadly, computer science pays better.
Despite being one of his most well-known pieces, this is actually a departure from many of the musical devices Williams is most famous for. A good comparison would be listening to this and then listening to the theme from the NBC Nightly News theme…
So many of his pieces feature very contemporary bursts and accents over the top of the melody. In NBC’s theme, you can hear the mid/high brass and mid/high woodwinds at the beginning coming in with these quick hits of texture while the strings provide the melody (the ‘da da dah dat da dat dah’). This is something Williams is famous for, those little touches.
The main title theme from Star Wars is just as powerful, but for different reasons.
This is much more of a strong fanfare that Williams himself describes as being symbolic of the heroic components of the Star Wars saga. Wookieepedia has a wonderful little writeup of how the structuring of the melody itself ties into that concept.
If you’re familiar with basic theory and notation, you can see that this piece opens by jumping up a fifth, or reaching and grasping for something on high. Unable to quite attain that goal, it moves into a descending triplet as the music gathers its strength and momentum for another go at that goal. It succeeds by jumping a full octave above that initial note and then repeats as a sort of reassurance that the music truly achieved that goal. That’s just the symbolism in the first three measures.
This is a piece that is carried by the distinct line between the melody and the harmony. The sections not responsible for the harmony almost become the percussion section, driving the fanfare along while the melody soars over the top. While the strings get their moments, Williams allowed the brass to truly shine as the horns and trumpets set the tone for the soundtrack and the film as a whole. Nothing quite says grandeur like a trumpet reaching those highs.
For Williams, this is almost an odd composition when compared to his larger body of work just because of how straight-ahead it is. It’s a credit to him that he put his usual conventions to the side to write the piece that needed to be written, though. Star Wars needed to start with a bang, and the driving, powerful fanfare that blares as the logo appears accomplishes just that.
‘Lost Tribe of the Sith’ is Back. In Comic Form!
USA Today with the news that Dark Horse heavy hitter John Jackson Miller will be bringing the Lost Tribe onto the pages of a five-issue comic series.
Writer John Jackson Miller is just one of many guys who digs that galaxy far, far away, and he’s going way, way back in it for his new five-issue Dark Horse Comics series Star Wars: The Lost Tribe of the Sith, launching Aug. 8.
The comic removes three aspects that are some of the most essential of the Star Wars films — technology, starships and Jedi knights — and focuses on the Tribe, an ancient group of Sith believers stranded on a remote planet for 5,000 years. (The Sith, by the way, tap into the dark side of the Force.)
The Lost Tribe of the Sith project began three years ago with the Fate of the Jedi novel series, which found this group escaping their prison in the time of Star Wars hero Luke Skywalker and threatening the galaxy.
For more, head over to USA Today.
Star Wars Official Site Releases ‘Scoundrels,’ Other Expanded Universe Goodies
May the Fourth be with you indeed.
The official site has gotten their hands on a whole boatload of Expanded Universe shininess including a nifty Essential Guide to Warfare art timelapse video, an essay from the Fate of the Jedi authors, and a cover and preview from the new Darth Maul: Death Sentence comic from Dark Horse.
Most importantly, however, is the entire second chapter from one of the year’s most anticipated novels: Timothy Zahn’s Scoundrels.
For more, head on over to the official site.
Carrie Fisher, Jeremy Bulloch, Daniel Logan Confirmed for Celebration VI
Brace yourselves, the news drought appears to be ending today.
The official Celebration VI website has confirmed that Princess Leia herself will be in attendance this year. Also in the fold are two incarnations of Boba Fett, Jeremy Bulloch and Daniel Logan.
Expect more news to drop, as today is the Somewhat Randomly Selected Day of Star Wars Celebration That Has Been Highly Influenced by a Pretty Awful Pun.
The Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports
That’s right, ladies and gentlemen. Pull out your wildest hats and crush up some mint for that julep, because this weekend is the first weekend in May and that means only one thing: The 138th Kentucky Derby.
So who should a Star Wars fan root for? After all, none of this year’s horses have anything to do with Star Wars. Unless, that is, like with all things thoroughbred, you take a look at the pedigrees. I knew there was a horse named Star Wars (son of horse Star Trek). Looking through his pedigree, I saw a name I knew: Northern Dancer.
For those of you not inclined to go running through the pedigrees of all the horses racing in the Kentucky Derby, Star Wars is related to these four horses slated to run in the Kentucky Derby through Northern Dancer: Union Rags (9-2 odds), Alpha, (15-1), Gemologist (6-1), and Done Talking (50-1).
As for Shane and I, I hate to say it, but we’ll be rooting either for Dullahan or Optimizer, since they’re Kentucky-bred and so are we.
The 138th Kentucky Derby airs May 5th on NBC from 5-7 pm EDT. Post time is 6:24 pm EDT.
Catch Ashley Eckstein at Disney’s Hollywood Studios This Saturday
I’m going 2 be at @WaltDisneyWorld Hollywood Studios signing Her Universe tees this Sat. from 12-2PM in the Animation Gallery. Come say Hi!
— Her Universe (@HerUniverse) May 3, 2012
If you’re in the area, you owe it to yourself to say hi to the Clone Wars voice actor and creative mind behind Her Universe.
Girls’ Guide to Star Wars: What You Need to Know If You Know Nothing
Dreamy.
As your boyfriend—or brother or father or uncle—probably told you, Return of the Jedi is hitting theatres this Friday. And you, dutiful girlfriend—and sister and daughter and niece—are attending. But you hate sci-fi movies and practically fell asleep during the previous two Star Wars films. (How have they possibly made a third? It’s so boring! You don’t care that Star Wars is the biggest grossing film of all time. You liked Annie Hall so much better.
But don’t fret, ladies. This is the last of the Star Wars films, so after this, you can stop pretending to care about this effects-laden piece of “cinema.” But to get you through Return of the Jedi without having to ask a ton of questions (just in case you’ve managed to stay awake the entire time), we’ve created a streamlined girl’s guide to the galaxy far, far away. (That’s nerd speak for the Star Wars galaxy.)
Tosche Station Radio #15: Writer’s Toolbox with Mike Stackpole
This week on Tosche Station Radio, we’re excited to feature our first ever interview on the show.
Kicking off the show, we highlight what’s new on the blog. We asked you to tell us what kind of attractions you would like to see at a Star Wars theme park and you delivered some delightful suggestions. New blogger Maggie posted a spoiler-free review of the Avengers, Marvel’s latest entry into their successful film franchise. We’re not jealous that she was in the UK to see it a week early or anything. Meanwhile, we’re holding a contest. We’re sick of Mara’s awful catsuit, so we’re asking costumers and artists to replace it with something more appropriate.
In Fixer’s Flash, Nanci’s been reading a neat young-adult novel called Across the Universe and is looking forward to completing the series. She’s also been rewatching firefly, something Brian ought to do. She also announced that she’s launched a new blog of her own devoted to her writing projects. Go check it out! Brian’s been keeping himself busy with Marvel’s comics and a rewatch of their films leading up to the Avengers. Unfortunately, he’s been too busy with midterms to do much beyond that. Boo midterms.