Jaws (John Williams)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swMzRlFvKMc Buuuuuuum Bum... Buuuuuuuuuuuuum Bum... How many movie scores can be defined solely by nonsensical onomatopoeia style words? That is just how culturally impacted we all were by the musical score from my personal favorite film Jaws. Composed and conducted by the legendary John Williams in 1974/75, the score for Jaws hinges on two bone-chilling notes. As legend has it, director Steven Spielberg even thought Williams was playing a prank on him when he played those iconic notes on the low keys of his piano for the first time. According to Williams, he wanted to give the main theme to JAWS an elemental and animalistic drive. When you hear that music in the film, it signals the shark's presence in a truly primal way. As iconic as the main theme is, the rest of the score can not be overlooked. From somber notes during the father/son dinner scene, to the full on swashbuckling pirate jauntiness of any of the barrel chases, the score from Jaws truly creates the vibe of a timeless New England summer adventure/horror tale. Now almost 40 years later, I challenge anyone reading this to go up to your neck in the ocean, and just hum some of the themes from Jaws to yourself... The mark of any iconic film score is how the simplest of notes can change your life forever and conjure up images and feelings that would otherwise not existed. Jaws clearly handles this task flawlessly.
Don Hohner II