Observing the progression of musical ideas and fashion can be truly fascinating. What is good (even acceptable) today might sound ridiculous a century from now.

Case and point: Julius Caesar. A popular subject; there are many famous plays, operas, and movies about him – especially his death. When I think of imperial Rome, a very specific musical sound comes into my head. It’s the sound that was shaped by films such as Spartacus, Gladiator, The Life of Brian (not the silly songs – the incidental music), and of course, the video game Civilization (see 7:05). But that “epic” sound wasn’t always the sound of Rome. When Handel wrote his opera Giulio Caesar, the overture fit the style of his time. Nowadays, we can still enjoy the music, but I’d wager that most people wouldn’t associate this sweet, delicate sound with the leader of brutal, powerful, imperial Rome:

Again, reflecting on our modern associations with musical style, hearing this music makes me think of powdered wigs and ruffly coats, not togas. The music is great, but not Caesarian. Give me the music of Miklós Rózsa, and his score to the 1950s film, Julius Ceasar!

Yesterday I wrote briefly about the challenges of being a film composer – trying to write memorably good music without overshadowing the screen action.

Today marks the 30th anniversary of the Challenger Disaster. I searched around, trying to find a piece of music that might appropriately capture the mood of the tragedy. I did much better than I expected.

American composer Jasha Klebe is currently working in Hollywood, scoring music for TV and movies. This is his theme music for a National Geographic documentary on the Challenger explosion, which aired only a few days ago. It’s perfect music for its purpose – it paints the emotional response of a country who has watched their heroes perish on live TV. The music is also good enough to stand alone, with no video images to accompany it – perhaps as a slow movement theme in a symphony.

Conan the Barbarian‘s answer to this question is, well, questionable. And the movie itself … well, either it’s so bad it’s good, or it’s so bad that it goes past good and back to bad again.

Basil Poledouris wrote the film score to many movies. Film composers have an interesting and difficult job – yes, they have to write good music, but they also have to be careful not to outdo the action on the screen. They can make a mundane scene come to life, or make stupid dialogue sound intelligent. But, all the while, their music has to remain in the background.

long live airbrushed movie posters of nearly-naked people!