Tunes for Xenomorphs - You Gotta Hear This! Ep. 6 feat. Troy Baker 

This series so soooooo good.

Austin for the last 3 episodes: Let's do Goldsmith and then give people a little break and do something else Also Austin: Let's do Goldsmith again, but I'll mask it with my fresh connection with the franchise 🤣 Seriously, every episode is so enjoyable and I can't wait to see what you prepared for Troy in the future. Congrats on the new Alien game, so glad you're the part of the franchise now 💪🏻😉

I love Jerry Goldsmith's work on Alien. To me, it's one of the most if not the most beautiful music of any film. Reminds me of symphonic poems such as Jour d'été à la montagne by Vincent d'Indy and Metacosmos by Anna Thorvalsdottir. When people talk about Alien (1979) they always talk about Ridley Scott as if he was behind the genius of the movie. In reality, Alien is a magnificent product of collaboration between talented artists Dan O'Bannon, Ron Shusset, H.R. Giger, Ron Cobb, Chris Foss, Jerry Goldsmith and of course the entire cast to name a few. Scott was just a relatively small part of a great team and, although he added several good elements to the movie, he was behind some of the worst ideas for the script which fortunately were not included in the released cut of the film as well as tinkering with Goldsmith's work behind his back with the help of Terry Rawling, the film editor. This explains partially the horrendous disaster that was Prometheus and Covenant. Ridley Scott doesn't understand Alien because he didn't create it and people should stop acting as if he did.

I love how both Troy and Austin's face light up with passion when talking about music.

You had me at Xenomorphs... I can't even describe how much I look forward to these...and this one was no disappointment. I love everything about the Alien franchise, from inception of Geiger's artwork and Scott's film vision...to the comics & games...all of it. I even tend to enjoy the "lesser" works that are a part of it, regardless of popular opinion. The music for the various entries into the realm has always been enjoyable, for me. I love and respect that you are now embedded within it, and I can't wait to experience that, firsthand. Thanks for always making such intriguing and enlightening content about your field.

What I love about this is getting to hear my favourite scores (plus new discoveries) through two lenses: With yourself, I get to appreciate the context of the music far better, and with Troy I get to hear it like it's the first time.

I am listening to Jerry's Alien score now and appropriately noticed his use of the Dies Irae. This is just the thing I need for inspiration to write a theme for Tolkien's big bad spider Ungoliant. I've been listening to Jerry's take on the Borg in Star Trek First Contact, but Alien ramps up the terror another notch.

As someone whose all-time favourite film is Aliens, hearing the track you did for Fireteam Elite really put a massive smile across my face! Really looking forward to the game and your soundtrack!

15:15 It's mostly locked. Mostly.

This episode needed to be longer! It’s so interesting hearing how different the scores were for each movie. Would have loved to hear your opinions on the scores for the most recent Ridley Alien movies.

Those flutes from Alien are forever etched in my brain!

I dont know what I was expecting. But I was not expecting this! This. is. Amazing. Wow

Aha! I also cannot help noticing the kinship between Goldsmith's original Maun Title for Alien and Yves' Unanswered Question.

Yessss I been waiting for the next PWL for you to talk about Alien stuff but this, a whole episode dedicated to it, might be even better! Still I can't wait for PWL's return :D

i loveee troytt a lot 🤎🤎🙈 & great conversation

The boys are back! Always a great joy every other friday And Troy chuckling at the «with the wood». Priceless

Holy shit Austin's soundtrack sounds AWESOME.

This series is my current favourite thing on youtube. Absolutely brilliant!

*Flashforward 25 years* Austin : Okay, we're done with Goldsmith. Let's talk about Howard Shore now !

I know you guys are doing older scores, but I think Howard Shore would be an interesting topic. When you talked about Javier Navarrete, it reminded me of Shore. How he does one really great project, then he’s not in the big Hollywood productions you’d expect

Oh wow you can really hear the postit note pack percussion in that last excerpt! Would never have known what it is, it has a really organic mouth-sounding texture

Wonderful talk. Keep 'em coming!

My favourite movie series and references to Mahler and Ives - you guys are killing it 😄

I would absolutely agree I love when they do this series together I love when I talk about music soundtracks and stuff

Everything Austin has done is incredible, but there's something so energetic, off-putting, yet zany about the approach on this Aliens soundtrack that is just hitting on another level for me right now. Haha 48:34 for some premium Austin Wintory tapping ASMR 🤣

Cliff Eidelman is a great example of a composer who you'd think would get very famous, but just never did, Jerry Goldsmith even said he had a bright future after hearing the opening of Columbus, but he got stuck to B Movies and now mostly does Concert work.

Only watched a few episodes of this after PWL being a source of sanity throughout lockdown but so excited to see you guys chatting about the Alien franchise. I was so stoked to hear you were working on the score for Fireteam Elite and based on the preview here seems like it’s definitely not about to disappoint. To say this is my favourite movie franchise of all time I’ve never noticed how visceral the Alien 3 score is, may have to rewatch with open ears. Congrats on Fireteam Elite dude keep doing what you do

I love all the alien movies and the music is such a big part. Your contribution is fantastic and you definitely captured the essence of what came before in an interesting way.

Ah yeeeeees! Austin's track is so METAL! Reminds of the band Diablo Swing Orchestra!

Damn dude that stuff from Aliens Fireteam Elite is wild. Extremely stressful, which is probably fitting for a shooter where you're facing down aliens. Definitely piqued my interest.

I laughed so so hard when Austin said "Jerry doesn't get to have all the fun there," referring to the Serpent. Sitting alone in my room I burst out in loud laughter. Wp Austin.

Wow that Goldenthal score was a crazy ride haha can't wait to hear your score in the full game!

So glad you guys are back!

Awww yeahhh was waiting for this discussion when they announced Austin as composer with that kickass first music revealed.

Also, I agree, Elliot Goldenthal is a legend! Michael Collins is my personal favorite score of his.

Troy doing the xenomorph voice LOL! Love these two! That "Wreckage" Alien 3 track sounds like straight out of Doom Eternal.

Goldenthal was my favorite composer working in Hollywood in the 90's. Too bad he's not writing a lot of soundtracks anymore (even though I love his concert pieces as well).

Wow! Austin, your score is sounding fantastic! A brilliant blend of the other composers’ styles. I’ve really enjoyed following your career (and tangents) on PWL and this show. You definitely inspire me to play more and learn more about music. Wishing you all the best from Canada :)

I always interpreted that dry horn, buzzing sound as sort of the alien voice. It feels like bees talking. I love these soundtracks. The snake, tuba Brruuupphhh sound is fantastic and really shows Austin's knowledge of the soundtracks that preceded him. Every time it's came in I was just like. Ahhh it going to get me. This score, may be enough to push me into the purchase 😅

I love that Austin takes the time to do this. I live that Troy is also eager to listen and learn and yet understands enough to keep up with his knowledge of film. This is great guys. Ps: Spider-Man game theme doesn’t get enough love. In my im le and always right opinion

Congrats! The trailer you posted was promising, and you certainly delivered it. Clap clap clap! Now I'm off to revisit Goldenthal's score, which I swear I didn't remember being so interesting.

That track sounds good.

If the alien said "im coming home" in Ripley's voice at the end, that would have been one of the greatest moments in cinematic history.

Secretly hoping for bad weather on Sunday so I can rewatch those three - and be well prepared for that game (and soundtrack) release. This is SO not of this world, I'm STOKED.

49:29 made my head reflexively tilt as it went up

This series has made me fall back in love with soundtracks thanks for putting these out!

Awesome 👍👍👍 love all the details you’re going through, it’s really useful for aspiring composers. Would be great to have an episode on Christopher Young.

Alien and aliens 2 of the best horror action movies ever, both scores completely different but forever you instantly know what they are associated with, also you should do an episode purely on the LSO they have played on so many of the classic all time known scores, another awesome episode :)

Fantastic as always. Honestly loved everything I heard. Especially your’s and Goldenthal’s work. Had kind of a classical interpretation of industrial vibe at times. Kudos.

I would LOVE to hear an episode on Morricone! Your video on Malena was very enlightening for me. If you were to do an episode on Morricone for YGHT what would would it be? Loved this episode, thank you both so so much.

GAME OVER MAN! GAME OVER!!! Rip Bill Paxton.

Aaaaaaand there it is. Was waiting for this. Thanks Austin and Troy!

Horner lifted heavily from the main theme of his 1981 Wolfen score, which I always thought worked brilliantly in the APC chase

The melody from "The Shaft" at 24:35 reminds me of a score from another film. Can't remember if it was Mission: Impossible or one of the James Bond films. Definitely something from the 90's.

Great work, Austin, congrats!!!! On a different note, could you guys do an episode on scores for horror movies? I'd love to hear your thoughts on thta!

Great episode as always. Hearing the way Austin discusses each composer and breaks down the music continues to give me a deeper appreciation of the craft. Would love to see some Giacchino in a future episode.

Wow. After hearing the first track from his score for Aliens, I have to say, one thing I’ve noticed with Austin’s compositions is he tends to write with almost a metal sensibility to his rhythms when it comes to the strings. The accentuation and rests, the phrasing, the note choice. It’s super cool.

Austin playing the sticky notes reminds me of Dolly Parton using her nails to make a typewriter-ish noise in "9 to 5"

So glad you two did another one of these! All of this talk about ALIEN and your next project--which I'm very excited about--brought a question to mind. When writing a piece of music that is designed specifically for a product's trailer, is it ever the case that the trailer music becomes your favorite part of the product's score, and does that inspire you to change the score's overall direction (provided that it's still a work in progress)? Hope you're doin' well. Thanks again for the awesome content!

This feels like such neat timing, I'm doing a research report on sound design and I'm doing a chapter on the techniques in Alien. I was originally gonna just talk about how they did the diagetic sound but this has got me considering touching on the score as well. The original version of the main theme you played is so interesting, I always love seeing what kinds of things end up getting dropped in film development.

That alien main theme sort of had a military trumpet "taps" feel to it.

Out The Door sounds a little like it found a second life in "The Air Lock" in the score for Outland.

I was going to link to the wikipedia page, but you already did. Also you said 'con legno' instead of 'col legno'. I spent some time studying Italian so this is a bit of a pet peeve of mine. 'Con' means 'with' and it sometimes combined with the following article. So in this case 'col' = 'con' + 'il'. This is the most common combo, but others are used (e.g. 'colla' = 'con' + 'la'). So it's either 'col legno' or 'con il legno', but not 'con legno'. 38:11 reminded me a bit of Time Forward! by Gerogiy Sviridov with the trumpet driving snare. As always thanks for the discussion.

oh how i've missed these

Austin's score sound gnarly, I better listen to it soon :)

That growling phrase in "Death's Dance" has me reaching towards contrabass trombone and cimbasso with some sort of violent mangling happening to the tape? hahaha Whatever it is... it's brilliant.

Would love some Howard Shore and Hans Zimmer 😉

Man oh man!!! I've been hoping you guys were going to talk about the Alien franchise! Some of my scores are those first three! Elliot Goldenthal's score is probably my favorite of the 3 films if I really had to pick. And let me just say man your score sounds incredible. Contrabass Serpent? The hell? It sounded gnarly and horrifying!! This was a blast as always! Good job my friend!!! P.S. Maybe now we'll get more contrabass serpent? Maybe even some sample libraries? haha.

50:00 to 50:24 is pure genius!

Austin your score was so great! Nailed it! As for the sticky-notes, you should also consider some ASMR content in the near future, haha. Always a pleasure these videos, keep it up man ;-)

ehhhh here it is! got my celery sticks in one hand and orange juice in the other!

To pick up on Troy's Krull comment, Yes, James Horner left it alllllll on the field with the theme to Krull, in Every Single Track. Also, Yes, Krull *was* made into a video game - once for the arcade, and once for the Atari 2600. The arcade game is better - I got the hi-score on it

Only a Score by Austin Wintory could make me wanna play a co-op shooter of the Alien/Aliens saga :) , especially after playing Alien: Isolation last year... oh boy, what a game experience and what a Score too! it really made justice to the first two Alien movies, tracks like: Main Menu, Lower Hospital, Alien, Aliens and Desperation... are top notch! I wonder why the two hour long soundtrack of Alien: Isolation has never had an official release?

Impressed with your contribution to Aliens Fireteam Elite Austin, I wondered of what an Alien composed by the likes of Christopher Young, Marco Beltrami, Michael Giacchino, Thomas Holkenborg, Joseph Bishara, Michael Stein, Kyle Dixon or Benjamin Wallfisch would be like. Also curious and hopeful to the composer who selected for the Noah Hawley Alien TV Series.

Over too soon! In the interest of time, this episode blew up the Nostromo with a Serpent and Post-Its and rolled credits 😉

I love it. I was wondering "I wonder if he's going to mention the similar orchestration/feeling of this to "The Unanswered Question" about 60 seconds before you name-checked it. Now I want to watch that Bernstein lecture. And the clips from your score were terrific. It was fascinating to hear both how you worked in the sonic feeling from all three of those predecessor scores while having elements that were recognizably Wintory in the 2020s. There were flourishes and phrases that evoked the battle music in The Pathless, but changed by how different everything around them was.

So... is there going to be a Part 2? Haha. I seriously would love to see you guys go more in depth with Horner and Goldenthal's scores (particularly the more "classical" part of the score). Also, loved how crazy Fireteam is sounding. Would you say you are experimenting more on this one compared to AC: Syndicate?

Holy shit man, your stuff sounds fucking great! The mix is so full and beefy. This is going to fit perfectly with the game! Question for you Austin, do you have some pieces that didn’t make it into the game or holding onto for potential DLC? Cheers man!

This ep has gotten me thinking about the time troy called the xenomrphs xenophobes on pwl

Amazing chat! Just a correction: Diego Stocco is italian. Btw, an amazing composer!

I'm not 100% certain on when the "col legno" technique was first introduced. If you ask Wiki, it states that the earliest (notated) piece is from 1605. The earliest examples I can think of, which still are staples of the orchestral repertoire, are Mozart's 5th Violin Concerto where there is a "turkish" section in the finale. That would be 1775. (even though Mozart does not write "col legno" but instead "with reversed bow") ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-zwWi_BW33II.html And another famous example is near the end of the finale of Berlioz' "Symphony fantastique" from 1830. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-AgXW-57UDMc.html Wagner uses it a few times in his "Ring" especially to underscore the Dwarf Mime's conniving machinations in "Siegfried". Mahler also uses the technique a few times in his symphonies, the most noteworthy in his 2nd Symphony in the first movment near the end of the Development Section. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-sHsFIv8VA7w.html (There is another part in the 3rd Movement of his 1st Symphony where he actually asks the strings not only to beat the string with the wood, like in this example here, but actually asks them to use the wood as if were the hair side of the bow.) Edit: Since this is "You gotta hear this" I might as well give links so that people can hear the examples.

41:36 Also sounds like they use a brush or something on a drum.

The Futile Escape cue from Horners Aliens score that you play just before moving on to talking about Alien cubed has always bothered me a bit. I know Horner had an incredibly short turn around on Aliens - but that cue is the one that borrows the most from his previous work. It doesn't feel like a signature of Horner showing through so much as it feels like a lift from Wrath of Khan.

Around 21:00 - On; Cannot believe NO ONE, especially NOT Troy even brought up Page....not even once....

Better be some love for Goldenthal here.

Goldenthal's score is magnificent and a wonderful blend of eerie, horrific atmosphere and beauty. Maybe highly underrated score. The Agnus Dei is one of the best openers ever! But nothing beats James Horner's "Futile Escape" from "Aliens" - pure adrenaline. Me personally, Goldsmith by comparison feels a bit boring.

Diego Stocco: also Italian 🙂

You Gotta Hear This : Episode 6 - Reference List : * David Fincher - American Film Director * Aliens : Fireteam Elite - Game - 2021 - Dev Studio Cold Iron Studio * Naughty Dog - American Game Dev Studio - Santa Monica California - Sony Interactive Entertainment * Malcolm Gladwell - English born Canadian Journalist, Author Writer, Public Speaker * James Newton Howard - American Music Composer * Thomas Newman - American Music Composer * James Horner - American Music Composer - (1953-2015) * Mona Lisa - La Joconde - Portrait Painting by Leonard de Vinci - (1452-1519) * Jerry Goldsmith - Music Composer & Conductor - (1929-2004) * Ennio Morricone - Italian Musician, Music Composer, Producer and Conductor - (1928-2020) * Atonment - Film - 2007 - Dir Joe Wright - Music Composer Dario Marianelli * Dario Marianelli - Italian Music Composer * Star Trek : the Motion Picture - Film - 1979 - Dir Robert Wise - Music Composer Jerry Goldsmith * Diego Stocco - Italian Composer Sound Designer * Pan’s Labyrinth - Film - 2006 - Dir Guillermo del Toro - Music Composer Javier Navarrete * Javier Navarrete - Spanish Music Composer * Abbey Road Studios - Recording Studio - City of Westminster - London England * Austin Wintory - American Film and Game Music Composer * John Williams - American Music Composer, Conductor, Pianist and Trombonist * Alien - Film 1979 - Dir Ridley Scott - Music Composer Jerry Goldsmith * AlienS - Film - 1986 - Dir James Cameron - Music Composer James Horner * Alien 3 - Film - 1992 - Dir David Fincher - Music Composer Elliot Goldenthal * Alien Resurrection - Film - 1997 - Dir Jean Pierre Jeunet - Music Composer John Frizzell * Ridley Scott - English Film Director and Producer * Helene Ripley - Fictional Main Character from the Alien Film Quadrilogy * Sigourney Weaver - American Actress * Raiders of the Lost Ark - Film - 1981 - Director Steven Spielberg - Music composer John Williams * Peter and the Wolf - Symphonic Fairy Tale Musical Composition for Children - 1936 - Music Composer Sergei Prokofiev * Johann Sebastian Bach - German Music Composer - (1685 -1750) - Late Baroque Period * Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Austrian Music Composer - (1756-1791) - Classical Period * Ludwing Van Beethoven - German Music Composer - (1770-1827) - Classical period & Romantic Era * Joahannes Brahms - German Music Composer - (1833-1897) - Romantic Period * John Milton Cage Jr - American Music Composer, Music Theorist, Artist and Philosopher - (1912-1992) * Legend - Film - 1985 - Dir Ridley Scott - Music Composer Jerry Goldsmith ( EU and Director’s Cut ) Tangerine Dream (US Version) * James Cameron - Canadian Film Director , Producer and Screenwriter * Star Trek II : The Wrath of Khan - Film - 1982 - Dir Nicholas Meyer - Music Composer James Horner * Krull - Film - 1983 - Dir Peter Yates - Music Composer James Horner * Battle Beyond the Stars - Film - 1980 - Dir Jimmy T. Murakami - Music Composer James Horner * Commando - Film - 1985 - Dir Mark L. Lester - Music Composer James Horner * Cocoon - Film - 1985 - Dir Ron Howard - Music Composer James Horner * Star Trek II : The Search for Spock - Film - 1984 - Dir Leonard Nimoy - Music Composer James Horner * Howard Shore - Canadian Music Composer and Conductor * The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Film 2008 - Director David Fincher - Music Composer ( the absolutely outstanding ) Alexandre Desplat * The Social Network - Film - 2010 - Director David Fincher - Music Composer Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross * Elliot Goldenthal - American Music Composer When an Episode starts with the name of David Fincher it has to be an awesome one ! Hope this will help all passionate people around to track back some of the references from the massive batch of culture, inspiring people and creations evoked throughout the episode. That preview from Aliens Fireteam Elite Soundtrack sounds absolutely Terrific ! Merci beaucoup Messieurs Baker & Wintory ;) Looking forward to the next Episode & Thanks a lot for sharing ; Take care and stay safe.

Logan Thackerry confirmed in Banner Saga.

If you don't mind me asking, how exactly do you share the audio with Troy and how is he able to hear it so well? I'm wanting to do a video series similar to this with my friend and I'm curious as to how I'd go about sharing audio with him as high quality as possible. Thanks!

Hello! I have been LOVING your work on this game. I was wondering if you had a very vague eta for the soundtrack release? I'd love to buy it or listen to it, should we expect it in 2021?

This was a great episode, I love this franchise and these scores. Austin, if you're not already familiar with it, you should check out this Holst piece called Terzetto. Its a short, two movement trio for flute, oboe, and viola, the first movement of which has some moments in it that really remind me a lot of Goldsmith's Alien score. There's one part in particular that is very similar to the flute motif in the Alien Main Theme. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-C_DsQFfehGE.html - that's a RU-vid link to the piece.

Austin, on the off chance you see this I'm curious...when you're scoring something like Fireteam, which is part of an IP with a deep musical history of its own, how do you prepare for that? Do you listen to everything that's been written? Just a cross-section? Re-watch the movies and replay the old games? Or do you just let the new product speak to you to the greatest extent possible?

Any plans to get into video game music for future episodes?

Listening to orchestral music without the movie makes me wonder, is a visual medium necessary to to music, can I go to an opera house and just see with my ears and soul but not use my eyes?

48:35 This mad lad put ASMR in his Aliens score

When have you discussed Thomas Newman? 2:58

Will there be a release of your score for fan consumption and study?

$20,000 violin bow? What sets apart a bow that expensive from your ordinary violin bows?

Is it weird that I love a good lack of intro?