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Join Jon and Andy as they explore the world of film music, one score at a time. Each episode is an in-depth discussion of a classic film score: what makes it tick, how it serves the movie, and whether it's, you know, any good. It's a freewheeling, opinionated conversation with an analytical bent, richly illustrated with musical examples. No expertise required.
The series began by tackling “100 Years of Film Scores," the AFI's list of (purportedly) the 25 greatest scores in American cinema history, and now draws from a broad range of distinguished scores old and new.
Jonathan Dinerstein writes music for film and television in Hollywood. Andy is a pianist and music director. They've been chatting together about movie music for 20 years.
Support the show at Patreon.com/SettlingtheScore.
Write us at scoresettlers@gmail.com.
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#75 – The Third Man
Jon and Andy find themselves in a dither over Anton Karas' zither score for the 1949 noir classic The Third Man. Does this music perfectly capture the particular pathos of post-War Vienna, or is it silly and obviously wrong? How did the opp
#74 – The Hours
Hear Jon and Andy go on and on, over and over and over and over again, about Philip Glass’ score to the 2002 literary drama The Hours. How does Glass' minimalism resonate with the movie's repeating and interwoven timelines? What is it imply
#73 – 2026 Oscars Special
Jon and Andy camp out on Hollywood Blvd. for another marathon episode on this year’s Oscar nominees for Best Original Score. Is it possible there are some trends in film scoring that have us excited? Do we completely understand them? And, s
#72 – Beetlejuice
Come on down as Jon, Jon, Jon and Andy, Andy, Andy haunt Danny Elfman's score to the 1988 supernatural comedy Beetlejuice! How did Elfman's background stand him in good stead for this particular brand of craziness? Which of his formative mu
#71 – The Grand Budapest Hotel
Join Jon and Andy as they check into Alexandre Desplat's score for the 2014 Wes Anderson creation The Grand Budapest Hotel. How does Desplat's music align with Anderson's idiosyncratic perspective? What instruments give it its very particul
#70 – Elevator to the Gallows
Listen as Jon and Andy take a long, meandering stroll through and around Miles Davis’ score for the 1958 crime drama Elevator to the Gallows. How did this French film wind up looming large in the history of American jazz? What special mood
#69 – The Fugitive
Follow along as Jon and Andy do a hard-target search of James Newton Howard’s score to the 1993 man-on-the-run thriller The Fugitive. How do this film and its music match this cultural moment? What technical rule does Howard break, and why
#68 – 2025 Oscars Special
It’s back to the Oscars stage for Jon and Andy, to talk about this year’s nominees for Best Original Score, and it’s back to some age old questions: Do we want our music made out of notes or blobs? Does reading up about these scores get in
#67 – The Graduate
Are you here for an affair? Ah yes, an episode of Settling the Score, very good sir - this one's about Simon and Garfunkel’s song score to Mike Nichol’s classic 1967 satire The Graduate. How was this movie pioneering in its use of music? Do
#66 – The Empire Strikes Back
“I love this score.” “I know.” Jon and Andy search their feelings about John Williams’ score for the 1980 hit sci-fi fantasy sequel The Empire Strikes Back. How important has this score been to our hosts? How does its mastery show itself on
#65 – Double Indemnity
Jon and Andy go straight down the line through Miklós Rózsa's score for the 1944 film noir classic Double Indemnity. Which elements of this music sound like noir, and which don’t? Why do we enjoy stories about bad people? And, where’s a goo
#64 – 2024 Oscars Special
It’s time again for Jon and Andy to strip away the phony tinsel of Hollywood and find the real tinsel underneath, as they consider this year’s Oscar nominees for Best Original Score. Is it possible that our hosts are feeling less cranky thi
#63 – The Conversation
Come and eavesdrop on Jon and Andy discussing David Shire’s score for the 1974 surveillance mystery drama The Conversation. What does Shire's solo piano music express about the main character? How are the themes of the movie embodied in its
#62 – Name The Score! 2
Surprise! It’s time for a break from the bucket: Jon and Andy look back at all the scores they’ve talked about since the end of the AFI list, and Andy puzzles Jon with another needle-drop quiz. Can Jon remember all this music? Can you remem
#61 – How to Train Your Dragon
This time Jon and Andy train their attention on John Powell’s score for the 2010 animated fantasy adventure How to Train Your Dragon. Just how many themes does this score have? Might their meanings change with repeat viewings? And, what rhy
#60 – There Will Be Blood
In this episode Jon and Andy drink up Jonny Greenwood’s score for Paul Thomas Anderson’s 2007 period drama There Will Be Blood. How does Greenwood’s music seem to get so deeply inside your head? What lines can be drawn between it and his wo
#59 – The Day the Earth Stood Still
This time Jon and Andy land their spaceship in the middle of Bernard Herrmann’s score for the 1951 sci-fi classic The Day the Earth Stood Still! How strongly was Herrmann committed to musical otherness? What peculiar instrumentation did he
#58 – 2023 Oscars Special
Join Jon and Andy as they sneak back into the Dolby Theater to discuss this year's nominees for Best Original Score! Could this be our least impressive slate of contenders yet? What does it mean for music to really speak to the human heart?
#57 – In the Heat of the Night
They call this an episode about Quincy Jones’ score for the 1967 social drama mystery In the Heat of the Night! How amazingly broad is the scope of Jones’ expertise? What effect does it have on the movie that his music feels so good? And, w
#56 – Scott of the Antarctic
Get ready for a long haul, as Jon and Andy set out across Ralph Vaughan Williams' score for the 1948 historical adventure film Scott of the Antarctic. What was unusual about the relationship between this movie and its celebrated classical c
#55 – Conan the Barbarian
Crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear Jon and Andy discuss Basil Poledouris’ score for the 1982 fantasy adventure movie Conan the Barbarian. From what classical references does Poledouris draw, and what very non-classical
#54 – The Incredibles
Jon and Andy catch each other monologuing about Michael Giacchino’s score for the 2004 Pixar superhero movie The Incredibles! How did Giacchino become one of Hollywood’s go-to composers? What cultural influences wind up shaken and stirred i
#53 – 2022 Oscars Special
It’s back to Hollywood Blvd. for Jon and Andy as they consider this year’s Oscar nominees for Best Score. What has them enthusiastic, and what has them angry? What musical sounds are trendy this season? And, what exciting new mini-segment w
#52 – Alien
Jon and Andy are bursting to talk about Jerry Goldsmith’s score for the 1979 sci-fi horror classic Alien! How much of what Goldsmith wrote didn’t make it into the movie, and why? What musical reptile did he unleash into his orchestra? And,
#51 – The Red Violin
The fates foretold that Jon and Andy would discuss John Corigliano’s score for the 1998 history-spanning musical saga The Red Violin. How does Corigliano draw a musical line to connect the film’s disparate episodes, and how darkly does he d
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#50 – Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Once upon a time, Frank Churchill, Leigh Harline and Paul Smith wrote the score for Walt Disney’s groundbreaking 1937 animated feature film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. How did the development of cartoons require close musical integrati
#49 – A Clockwork Orange
This time Jon and Andy slooshied Wendy Carlos’ music as they viddied the 1971 Stanley Kubrick dystopian satire A Clockwork Orange! How did Carlos pioneer an entirely new musical soundscape? What sorts of meaning does Kubrick get out of it f
#48 – The Best Years of Our Lives
Jon and Andy seem to have talked for a very long time about Hugo Friedhofer’s score for the Best Picture of 1946, The Best Years of Our Lives! How many different ways does Friedhofer engage with the drama? In what sense is this music Americ
#47 – Young Frankenstein
Walk this way to hear Jon and Andy discuss John Morris’ score for the 1974 Mel Brooks monster movie spoof Young Frankenstein! How does Morris help the movie’s zaniness and sincerity to coexist? What techniques make the music sound old-fashi
