Music Book Review: Scored to Death 2: More Conversations With Some of Horror's Greatest Composers by J. Blake Fichera

We're only a week past Halloween, so this Horror review is still in the ballpark!

Scored to Death 2: More Conversations With Some of Horror’s Greatest Composers
by J. Blake Fichera (Music 781.542 Fic)

Last year, I recommended the original Scored to Death volume that J. Blake Fichera originally published in 2016. It remains one of the best resources for anyone who might be interested in film scoring (and especially horror and sci-fi movies) as a career path, featuring extensive interviews with 12 of the most important composers of the genre. After the first book was published, he became more active in the horror film community through social media, hosting a Scored To Death Podcast since 2018 that feels like an extension of the original book. Now Fichera is back with 16 fresh interviews in the same conversational and wide-ranging style. Like the first book, composers represented here are a mix of those who have created some classic soundtracks, such as Richard Band (Re-Animator, Puppet Master), and folks new to the scene who are bringing fresh perspectives to the discipline, like Rob (a.k.a. Robin Coudert) (Gretel & Hansel).

 

Scored to Death 2 will surely be inspirational for those who aspire to write music for movies themselves. Although the focus is of course on horror films, much of the advice given here is universally applicable to film scoring. As just a short example, I especially liked Bear McCreary’s (The Walking Dead, Outlander) observations here about what role music plays in film: “I think the function of music in film — and this might be reductive, obvious, and maybe not even the right answer — is to do the sum of what everything else cannot. It’s the subtext, it’s what’s missing. It’s that added suspension of disbelief.”

 

But like the first volume, I think this book will also have great appeal for those who are simply fans of horror films, or fans of film music in general. These composers are all huge film buffs and soundtrack fans themselves, and their conversations overflow with enthusiasm and love for their work.

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Scored to Death: Conversations With Some of Horror’s Greatest Composers by J. Blake Fichera or Sounds of the Future: Essays on Music in Science Fiction Film by Mathew J. Bartkowiak.)

 

( official Scored to Death web site )

 

Recommended by Scott S.
Polley Music Library

 

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Check out this, and all the other great music resources, at the Polley Music Library, located on the 2nd floor of the Bennett Martin Public Library at 14th & "N" St. in downtown Lincoln. You'll find biographies of musicians, books about music history, instructional books, sheet music, CDs, music-related magazines, and much more. Also check out Polley Music Library Picks, the Polley Music Library's e-mail newsletter, and follow them on Facebook!