Genre Analysis: John Williams' Inevitable Themes

I chose the story, "John Williams' Inevitable Themes" by NPR because this genre appealed to my audio essay topic which centers around the vocal performance major at ASU. In the NPR story, Jeff Lunden used the audio from an interview with John Williams. Williams is a modern day classical composer and musician best known for his work on film scores. He is responsible for composing the score for the Star Wars movies, E.T., the Indiana Jones movies, and many others. The title, "John Williams' Inevitable Themes" seems to encompass how Williams' musical works connect with audiences across America, and that each theme is easily recognizable and synonymous with the movie.

LUKAS KENDALL:  His themes sound inevitable. They sound like they fell out of his sleeves; they sound like they've always existed.

NPR makes a good use out of this assumption by playing audio clips of his most famous themes without emblazing each with a title. Lunden only refers to common emotions felt by audiences.

LUNDEN: For well over 50 years, John Williams' music has taken us to galaxies far, far away...

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC FROM "STAR WARS")

LUNDEN: ...on adventures here on earth...

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC FROM "INDIANA JONES")

LUNDEN: ...made us feel giddy joy...

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC FROM "ET")

LUNDEN: ...and occasionally scared us to death.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC FROM "JAWS")

The format of this segment relies heavily on transitions and progresses at a comfortable pace. The host uses familiar language and terminology that anyone in America who appreciates music, film, and John Williams would find interesting.  It has a semi-formal tone, speaks in a conversational, yet intelligent manner. I also noticed that they used sound bites from Steven Spielberg's speech at William's 80th birthday party.  When using quotes from interviews or sources, the host always includes a brief introduction after the start of the quote. It reminds me much of book-reading. For example:  if you read a Pooh book,  you will notice this typical dialogue,

 "Oh," Pooh said with a frown, "I seem to have lost my honey-pot."

(Please excuse my odd attempt, and I'm sure Christopher Robin would be appalled. Try to focus on my point.) NPR did something similar for this story; they started the audio clip of the quote, then paused for the host to provide a brief introduction, then the quote resumed.

LUKAS KENDALL: John Williams is best known for bringing back the theatrical symphonic film score in the 1970s in "Jaws" and "Star Wars." But he has a breadth and depth of talent and career that really started before there were The Beatles.

LUNDEN: Lukas Kendall is founder and editor of Film Score Monthly.

KENDALL: His themes sound inevitable. They sound like they fell out of his sleeves; they sound like they've always existed. It's extraordinary how you get just two notes for "Jaws" or five notes for "Close Encounters" and have them feel like they've always existed.

A lot of music clips were used in this story.  The clips were at least 15 seconds long to give the listener the full effect of the sample.  Just like the program's title, "Deceptive Cadence," the story samples enough music to unexpectedly stir your heart, and incline your ear long enough to get your attention and provide a segue into an informative interview.

At the end, the story concluded with a restating by the host of the central focus of the story.  It functioned to reflect on William's composition career, his philosophies on old-age and retirement in the music industry, what constitutes a 'good day' in his line of work, and left us more informed about the man behind the music. 

As for my topic, I will be exploring the world of the vocal performance major of ASU. My underlying argument is to discuss unfamiliar things related to the major. Language and music go hand-in-hand: most operas are in German or French. I would like to explore the world of practice, pronunciation, and the life of a vocal performance major. I got my topic idea by overhearing the tutoring session of my friend at the music library:  it seemed she was coaching someone the correct word pronunciation for singing. I hope to find some people to interview--either students or faculty. I also hope to get some audio clips from the hallways outside the practice rooms and various vocal performances on campus.