Bad bitch, John Williams

This might seem like a random post. But, hey. This is Random J Pop. And I’ve always said that I’d like to do more posts on music which isn’t just what’s on the charts (or struggling to get on the charts, because I do like me some flop bitches). So, here I am. Doing a post about the John Williams documentary I watched a few weeks ago. A documentary which is currently available on Disney+, but really shoulda gotten a wider release in cinemas.

Williams needs no introduction. But I will give him a brief one. A very brief one. Because some there is a likelihood that some may not know the name, but know his music. Or that they know the name, but don’t know the music he is responsible for.

You know the iconic theme from Jaws? Williams did that. Each of the main Star Wars films? Williams scored them all. The Indiana Jones theme? Williams. The now classic Harry Potter theme? Williams bitch.

Some composers go their entire lifetime without managing to compose a piece of music which sticks and becomes a part of pop culture across generations, and yet Williams has composed several. I begrudgingly mentioned Harry Potter — because as much as I cannot stand that transphobic bitch who wrote the books, I don’t think it’s fair to disregard Williams’ contribution to the franchise because of her. Because, personally, when I think of Harry Potter now, the first thing which comes to mind is the theme song. Which only recently I discovered via the Williams documentary is not actually “The Theme of Harry Potter” as I’d always assumed, but the theme of Harry’s damn owl.

I absolutely adore orchestras and symphonic music. And watching this documentary made me wonder ‘Is John Williams part of the reason why?’. Probably. Subconsciously. I, as many did, grew up watching films that Williams had composed the scores for and becoming a fan of the music. The way the music told its own story. The complete synergy between what I was hearing and seeing. Whilst I wouldn’t be able to recall everything which happened in each of these films, I have never forgotten the music. Williams’ scores has given entire franchises an identity that you cannot separate from the films. It’s impossible to think about Star Wars, Indiana Jones and Harry Potter and not think about the popular themes that many of us know and love. There are probably people in the world who have never watched Jaws, an Indiana Jones film, a Harry Potter film or a single Star War — but there’s every likelihood they could hum a piece of music from at least one of these films.

But what is even more special, is that Williams’ music is tied to more than just the identity of the films, but our memories of them and our emotional responses. I always remember how hyped I felt when I went to see a Star War and heard the theme during the opening crawl. When I think of Home Alone, the first moment which comes to mind is the music which plays when Kevin’s ‘creepy’ neighbour is reunited with his family, and how it always makes me cry. When I think of Jurassic Park, I think of that sense of wonderment when the theme plays for the first time.

To be able to create music which not only gives films an identity, but is memorable AND elicits such clear feelings and emotions that we remember and hold dear? Williams is that bitch, for real.

I went into the Williams documentary sceptical, because I had watched the Howard Ashman documentary on Disney+ a while back and I didn’t like it. There was so little footage used in it, so it felt like sitting through a 90 minute Powerpoint presentation. And I get that given the time period, the kind of person Ashman seemed to be and how sick he became, that there wouldn’t have been an abundance of footage of him. But with this being a documentary from Disney, surely they could have gotten creative. Animated re-enactments? Illustrations? Like...ANYTHING other than just grainy ass Getty and Shutterstock footage and images in a slide. But another issue — the biggest issue — I had with the Ashman documentary is that it skirted around the gay shit. The discussion of Ashman’s sexuality and HIV diagnosis feels so overly careful and sanitised. And not from the perspective of being respectful. But more like somebody at Disney said ‘We don’t wanna talk about that gay shit in this film’, which is bonkers. Because that gay shit was Ashman’s life and is in the DNA of the music he wrote for Disney’s films. When you realise “Part of Your World” was written by a gay man, the song makes SO much more sense. There are parts of the documentary which sound like conversation and interview excerpts are cut and chopped to take stuff out which Disney probably deemed too gay. Disney could and should have done better to honour Ashman, especially given his contributions to Disney and that even to this day, his songs are still some of the most memorable Disney songs. And those who have come after him use his songs and how he approached them as a template for their town. Disney really did Ashman dirty with that documentary. So it was nice to watch the Williams documentary and see it done right. And given that Speilberg was one of the names behind it, it’s no wonder why. He owes so much to Williams and he makes that abundantly clear.

You could say it’s apples and oranges. Ashman was gay and he’s dead. Williams is straight and alive. But still. One documentary is great and the other isn’t. Also, the way this entire time I thought Williams was part of the LGBTPHILHARMONIC+.

Music by John Williams | Disney

A documentary in celebration of Williams’ contributions to music, films, pop culture and the world has been LONG overdue.

The volume of work that Williams has done is insane. He’s never not working. So he’s probably never had the chance to sit back and actually really take in what he’s achieved. So it’s great that the documentary was able to feature so many present day interviews with Williams and that he had the opportunity to look back on his career and receive his flowers. It really is going to be a sad day when he passes, because he is a part of SO many of our lives, whether people know it or not.

Something the Williams documentary also touches on is the present and future of film scoring. And how it’s becoming a dying art. Williams himself admits that he’s never bothered to take the time to learn modern technologies and methods which would allow him to write sheet music faster. He still does it all by hand. Williams also notes that the convenience of synthesisers, home production and not always using full orchestras has meant that film scores aren’t treated the same way as they used to be, nor do they sound the way they used to. And — not to be old and crusty, but — he is right. Symphonic scores played by orchestras still exist in films, but not quite in the way they used to. Williams himself is one of the very few keeping the art alive. And the use of orchestras and live musicians being scaled back is something we’re seeing happen in pop music too. Because so many producers are producing out of their bedroom and aren’t musicians, and record labels are much tighter with their budgets now — session musicians and orchestras are off the table. So even in instances where you have a producer who is a musician and can write music, they may not have the budget to book orchestras. Orchestras have become far more of a niche thing or a luxury now. And I do think an element of that should be maintained. But there needs to still be a level of accessibility to orchestras. Not just for composers and music producers, but those who would like to one day play in one. Also, those who are part of an orchestra still need to make a living. The more opportunities available, the better. But there is also a line for many musicians between playing for what they deem prestigious events and what they deem ‘ghetto shit’, such as video game concerts, film score concerts or a Justin Timberlake album. The popularity of Williams’ film scores was a point of contention for many who played in orchestras during the 80s and 90s, as they felt it cheapened orchestras, and this created obstacles for Williams when he would be in spaces outside of film scoring.

Music by John Williams | Disney

The gatekeeping of conductors, classically trained musicians and orchestras is part of the problem. There needs to always be some level of access to them. If symphonic scores played by orchestras continue to be prominent in films, pop music and video games, then this creates more opportunities for youngsters to hear the sounds, become fans and maybe become inspired to become part of an orchestra or one day become a composer like Williams. And this sad state of a dying art also poses a question that the film doesn’t ask — but it’s an evitable one every viewer will have by the end of it — will there ever be another John Williams?