John Williams

The 15 Greatest Original Film Scores From the Past Decade

Established musicians composing film scores is nothing new. Some of the best scores of the last 50 some odd years have come from pop stars: Dylan's score for Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid, Danny Elfman's whole career and Queen's legendary Flash Gordon score. With the rise of various indie studios worl ... More >>

Good Spielberg's Bad Moments

What should we make of radiant Lincoln and blubbering Private Ryan?

Lincoln: Daniel Day-Lewis and Steven Spielberg Ably Fill the Hat

Get Your Cowboy Out of My Alien

Five Covers of Star Wars' "The Imperial March"

In the great tradition of made-up holidays (oh, today is also No Pants Day), May The Fourth Be With You may be the most insular, but have you ever seen the look on a Star Wars fan's face when someone tells them they've never seen any of the movies? Or when they say they've only seen Star Wars Episod ... More >>

Oak Street Drafthouse Turns A Piece Of Denton History Into A New Watering Hole

It's harder than ever to decide where to grab a drink in Denton. Sure, the old Fry Street stand-bys are there in spite of a new apartment development, and you could wet your whistle at II Charlie's or the Pourhouse Sports Grill. With The Labb sports bar expanding their beer selection and the Midlake ... More >>

2012 Oscar Nominations, Complete with Snubs, Surprises, and Mehs

The nominees for the cinematic super bowl, the 2012 Academy Awards, were announced yesterday, and as always there were a few of the year's best pictures and performances that were left warming the bench by the all-powerful Academy. Martin Scorsese's Hugo leads the game with 11 nods, beating out th ... More >>

Cirque de la Symphonie Stretches the Classics

We Were Promised Jetpacks' Michael Palmer Remembers the Cover Songs at His First Show

We Were Promised Jetpacks​Scotland's We Were Promised Jetpacks triumphantly return to the DFW area this week, headlining at Trees on Saturday. As evidenced by their newly-released record, In the Pit of the Stomach, the four-piece has a snarling post-punk sound -- and it's not the kind you dance to ... More >>

Ten Goosebump-Inducing Movie Score and Soundtrack Moments Not From John Williams

A scene from The Royal Tenenbaums.​Hey, it's almost Oscar season! Well, kind of. This much is sure: The summer's about to crest and the shitty movies will finally wash ashore like a dead, bloated whale. Then, the good films will come! You know the Hollywood drill -- and, often, it involves Hollywo ... More >>

Easter in the Park's Back On Easter Sunday in Lee Park (Complete With Pooch Parade!)

Caity Colvard​Last month we noted that the Turtle Creek Association had bumped up the long-running Easter in the Park from April 24 to April 17 and cut from the schedule of events the beloved Pooch Parade, not to mention an appearance by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. The reason: The TCA wanted to ... More >>

Moby-Dick Rides Opera's New Wave; DTC's Salesman Has The Goods

Clearing Out The Mailroom: Tuesday, April 20, 2010

​We've got quite a backlog of CDs we've never gotten around to, so we're going to try to chip away at the pile with this regular feature. The plan: to take four or five at a time and play each CD for as long as I can stand it.The 5 BrownsThe 5 Browns in Hollywood (E1 Entertainment)Residing in U ... More >>

Star Wars In the Death Star

Sometimes It Ain't Easy Being C-3PO. But Anthony Daniels Loves Him Just the Same.

Sir Anthony Daniels: The Unfair Park Interview from Dallas Observer on Vimeo.The 6-year-old who lives in my house has spoken: We will be attending Star Wars: In Concert tomorrow night at the Cowboys Stadium, where, one prays, The Force will be with the sound system for a change. So, then, what to ex ... More >>

So, Wait, They're Gonna Show Star Wars on the Cowboys Stadium's Big Screen?

Local painter Christine Smith's Leia's Tea Party, on display at The Soda Gallery (and quite the bargain)​Just as I was getting ready to post photos from last night's Star Wars art shindig at The Soda Gallery, a Friend of Unfair Park sent word this morning: The Star Wars: In Concert tour is schedul ... More >>

Today In Music News: Star Wars Music Comes Alive, American Music Fans Are Slow and Dawson Passes

Your daily dose of national music news for Monday, July 27, 2009... Nerds unite! A symphonic concert version of Star Wars will start in October.  The symphony will play the classic John Williams score set to different video pieces of the beloved franchise. Kasabian frontman Tom Meighan think ... More >>

Tim DeLaughter Gets Nominated For An Emmy

It was back in January when we learned that Polyphonic Spree frontman Tim DeLaughter had written the theme music for the Diablo Cody-penned Showtime series United States of Tara. Well, six months later, more on that front: DeLaughter's been nominated for an Emmy Award for his work on the ... More >>

Stephen Rippy Sets Halo Wars High Score

Mr. Soundtrack

As You Lock and Load Your Halo Wars Demo, Keep An Ear Out For Plano's Stephen Rippy

Xbox-ers are no doubt anxiously awaiting tomorrow, when Microsoft finally unleashes its Halo Wars demo in advance of the game's March 3 release date. (Am I the only person who misses Tempest? Ooooh -- thanks, Atari!) I digress. So happens there's an extremely local connection to the Halo spin-off: T ... More >>

Fair from Over

Duh-Nuh, Duh-Nuh, Duh-Nuh

Victory Park is gonna need a bigger boat

Recycled Steel

You'll swear you've seen this Superman somewhere before

The Arcade Fire

Funeral (Merge)

Burning Japanese

Godzilla after 50 years reveals more than just a rubber suit

Drood Awakening

Dickens around at WaterTower

Catcher in the Sky

Spielberg, once more, is caught up in the thrill of the chase

Wonder Boy

Harry Potter's second adventure delights exactly like the first

Dicking Around

Minority Report is guilty of being a fun ride with a bumpy end

California Dreaming

Los Angeles artists bring their defiantly difficult work to Dallas

Space Oddity

Spielberg and Kubrick had a weird little kid, and its name is A.I.

He Scores

Ennio Morricone has written great music for good, bad and ugly films

Scene, Heard

A flood of inaugural party invites hits our mailbox

Saving Private Mel

The Patriot is sentimental, overbearing, flag-waving--and a crowd-pleaser

Great expectations

Theater is still a taste worth acquiring, even in the age of special effects

A slightly dirty dozen

Although many standout films were released in 1998, no one movie really stood out

Going for the gold

If Dallas taxpayers think they will get a free ride as the city pursues the Olympics, they might want to think again

Far from perfect

We don't like any of these people-- and the movie's ugly too

Comfortably numb

The best films of '97 either provoked or entertained

On the fringes

Most of the year's best films were from the outside looking in

Out of Africa

Spielberg delivers a wildly erratic--and tumultuously moving--historical epic with the overreaching passion of a man possessed

Out There

Force fed

After two decades, Star Wars has become the cult film for the rest of us

War of the Words

Dallas' Scrabble geeks bring in the heavy artillery -- J, X, and Z -- for big bucks and glory

Leader of the band

Olympic music director Mark Watters steers the sound of the games

Cat man dues

The Van Peebles' Panther is a sincere but self-defeating stylistic exercise