Sunday, January 20, 2008 Covington: Michael Giacchino By Gary Convington Looking in
NEVER heard of the guy, right? Neither had I until a year or so ago. His named popped into my mental notebook, just as quickly popped out again, and I'd forgotten all about the fellow, until last week.
I was watching the latest computer generated cartoon to come my way -- Ratatouille -- or, rather, I was watching the opening titles and credits for a second and third time because I'd clicked pause and then replay and then replay again.
Why? Ratatouille's titles and opening credits roll over a stylized but regular two-dimensional cartoon its character's accompanied by a 60s sounding musical score. "Pink Panther", I thought, the Peter Sellers' movies which also open with a cartoon backed by a wonderfully quirky theme tune composed by Henry Mancini. Was the writer of Ratatouille's score tipping his hat to those late, great 60s themes?
I waggled the clicker again, fast-forwarding to the closing credits, wading through a production cast of thousands, until I found the music score's composer. Michael Giacchino. Where had I seen that name before, all those months ago?
It was "The Incredibles". Another computer animated movie and another big band musical score with, instead of Ratatouille's European themes, an accompaniment of pure 60s spy music. But Michael Giacchino? Where did he come from?
Michael, it turns out, cut his musical teeth on the background music for computer games, a genre of music I didn't realize existed, assuming all computer stuff to be crash, bang, thump and slaughter anything that moves. And Michael made a good job because next we hear of him composing the music for Tom Cruise's Mission Impossible 3 (Excepting the main theme written by Lalo Schifrin and which has to be the greatest spy music ever written. ). I've seen MI3 -- suffered through MI3 -- and obviously wasn't concentrating. I can't remember a thing about the film or its music which is unusual because, you see, I'm a theme music nut, an enthusiast, and I can hear you groaning out there so I'll tell the reason why.
Theme music to a movie, a television show or even a humble advertisement has several functions. It must compliment the action on the screen. Provide atmosphere. Help us to identify with what's going on. Also it acts as a sort of recognition signal, a musical call sign, especially if the theme is catchy and easily remembered. Take the Vangelis theme which used to introduce the old CBS-CBN News Patrol. Hear the theme, know the news is on.
There's some great theme music out there -- much of it composed by classically-trained musicians -- and the shame of it is that we, the audience, generally only get to hear a snippet, a few second's-worth. Double the shame because the writer puts in a lot of sweat to compose ninety minutes of film music. Even a three or four minute main title theme demands creativity by the cartload.
An example or two? To whet your musical ears?
The music for the Jim Carrey A Series of Unfortunate Events was composed by Thomas Newman (There's a whole clutch of musically-inclined Newmans. Uncles, fathers, brothers, nephews and nieces, the most well-known maybe Randy Newman the 70s popster). Thomas's music is best heard at the end of the movie as the closing credits run and they run for ever, half of tinseltown getting a mention, but we do get to hear a lot of Newman's eccentric, jangly, percussion driven theme which is magic.
The music for the TV show Heroes I at first thought was related to Unfortunate Events. Years apart and yet similar; piano, bass and percussion riffs, some strange instruments on the go and I was wrong. The score was written by a lady guitarist and rock musician, Wendy Melvoin, and her pal Lisa Coleman.
The piano, in a way, may be called a percussion instrument; all those tiny hammers striking wires, and on television at the moment is an ad which uses a piano theme to great effect. The ad promotes reading skills and features a lad negotiating a city's streets, reading the signs he sees, to ultimately find the right jeepney. The music trips along and complements the lad's journey exactly. I'd love to know what it is.
And Michael Giacchino? I think we themeaholics need to keep an ear out for his next work.
