EXCLUSIVE: BSG’s Bear McCreary answers a few questions

(If you are arriving here at Pop Critics for the first time because of this article, we apologize for the slow speeds. We’re experience a heavier load than normal and we appreciate your patience!)

Bear McCreary, the composer behind the amazing music on Battlestar Galactica, took a few moments out of his busy schedule to answer a few questions we tossed his way. I was stoked to ask him about the show ending, what he has in store for us in upcoming episodes and a bit about The Sarah Connor Chronicles.

Thanks to Bear for doing this for us, because I can only imagine what kind of schedule he has putting together music day after day for this show. It’s got to be hard, hard work, although super-rewarding.

I’m no music expert as we all know, but I have loved soundtracks all my life, from the very first Star Wars score I owned, to the more recent Lord of the Rings movies. And of course, the first three seasons of Battlestar Galactica. The music is at a level you’d find in a massive theatrical production I think, and it really gives BSG that extra awesome it needs.

Two quick things though:

Gaetta’s song WILL BE on the season four soundtrack. That is fantastic news. If you missed any of that, you can read more about it on our previous recap of the most recent episode.

The second is that one of the first things Bear said in the interview is that he loves Flight of the Conchords. In fact, when I asked him about what other TV shows he admires in the way of music, he had this to say:

“I don’t get to watch a lot of TV actually.  This might sound a little out of left-field, but the tv music that has struck me the most is probably Flight of the Conchords.  The guys, Brett and Jemaine, are funny.  But, in addition to the clever lyrics, the musical arrangements are quite inventive, retro and interesting on their own.  It’s really a delight to listen to.”

That’s about the greatest thing I’ve ever heard.

As much as I tried, I couldn’t get any juicy tidbits out of the guy, but he did give us the name of an upcoming episode that he’s been eluding to in a recent blog post or two. That little spoilerish tidbit is a bit further down.

Character Themes

One of the more interesting aspects of the music on the show is character themes. As you watch the series, you start noticing that certain people or moments have their own musical scores. This is evident big time early on with Baltar and Caprica Six…as every time she appears, you hear a change to the music to indicate it. I was curious how that came about, and Bear says it wasn’t even supposed to be that way, nor was it a conscious choice.

“I actually never decided that.  It just sort of happened.  In fact, I had specific instruction from the producers from day one to avoid “themes” all-together.  But, over the course of the first season, themes just kept creeping in there and nobody seemed to mind.  At this point, the series has become incredibly thematic.  Just check out my blog if you’re not convinced.” *smiley*

And he’s right. I of course do recaps each week here, but Bear’s recaps encompass all things musical about the episode. You can check out his most recent one for Guess What’s Coming to Dinner to get an idea. I suggest adding his feed to your RSS reader. If you have any aspiration to be a composer, reading how he does what he does has to be a big help and huge inspiration.

His answer about themes came with an obvious follow-up: Does it make it a lot easier to write music when you already have a history of music for each character?

“Absolutely.  You couldn’t score a movie, much less a 75-hour tv show, without creating some musical building blocks to fall back on.  With BG, we set out to create a sound that’s very different.   But, after that musical framework was established, there’s no need to re-invent the wheel.

“Honestly, the biggest problem is that certain characters are so complex, so layered and diverse, so morally ambiguous, that one single theme can not possibly encapsulate theme.  In a way, thematic writing in the traditional sense is for characters that are archetypes.  But real people are more complicated than Luke Skywalker.  Could you pick one musical theme to represent yourself?  You could pick one to represent your ideal vision of yourself, but from day to day, people change, have good moments and bad.

“Galactica is a series written with this in mind.  So, characters like Starbuck and Baltar have ended up with three of four themes a piece.  I try to keep them musically related, but their characters are too complex to be summed up in a few bars.”

Two Musical Pieces Explained

I asked him about two selections of music that I love from the series. The first was in Unfinished Business, the boxing episode. I just felt the entire episode had such a beautiful sound to it, which was really evident in the flashback scenes with Starbuck and Lee. He credits Ron Moore and editor Michael O’Halloran for the choices there:

“They worked together to temp that episode with some unusual music and I took the score in that direction as a result.  They wanted to play against the violence and aggression of the sport, to create something more lyrical and romantic.  It was a daring choice, and I think it paid off.”

The other that always gets me is the use of Celtic sounding music. Bagpipes, what have you…I love that stuff. It’s not used very much on the show, except in two monumental scenes when the fleet comes back together in Home Part 1 and 2 (season 2) and Exodus Part 2 (season 3):

“The Celtic instrumentation was first introduced in “Hand of God,” representing the bad-ass battle but also Lee and Adama’s father/son dynamic.  Since then, it has become a source of warmth and depth for the score, and again, I reserve it only for the most meaningful moments.  The destruction of the Pegasus was a visceral, aggressive and visually-stunning moment.  I knew it needed big taikos and full-orchestra, but the Uilleann pipes also leant it a melancholy sadness.  And it tied in thematically, because Lee was going against orders and sacrificing the ship to save his father.”

Season 4

In a recent blog post, Bear talked briefly about a musical piece that he had done for an upcoming episode that might be his best ever. That really intrigued me and I was glad to ask him about it when I got the chance. If you don’t want to know about it, skip his next answer, otherwise, it’s only mildly spoilerific.

“Yeah.  I don’t want to over-hype it, because it might not be so incredible for the fans.  But, for me as an artist and a composer, this piece changed the way I think about my music.  If I had to pick the most essential music I’ve written for the series, in terms of my own artistic growth, this would be it.  I think you’ll know it when you hear it, but I’ll give you a hint.  It’s in “Revelations.” *smiley*

That episode airs on June 13th (Friday the 13th), and will be the last one until 2009. Considering the title of it and Bear’s excitement over his piece, I can only imagine how awesome that episode will be. And I hope I can spot the music.

He also talked a bit about an “unusually musical episode” coming down the road. He wont say when or what, but it’s not going to be until the final 10 air next year.

“I’m afraid it’s too early for me to go into detail about this one.  You’ll know all about it once the episode airs… which could be like a year away! I apologize for being vague.  The rest of the series boasts some very wonderful (and shocking) surprises.  And yes, some of those are going to be musical.”

The Final Season

One thing that I was curious about was his feelings on it being the last season. I figure a lot of the people behind the show are starting to realize that the end is getting close, even if they might be a bit too busy to even have time to think about it.

“It’s hard not to think about it, but I’m doing my best.  I’m simply focusing my energy on making every cue, every note count.  Everyone who works on the show is going through a lot of emotional upheaval over this.  But, writer / producer Bradley Thompson put it best when he said that the conclusion of Galactica only represents the end of this stage of our journey.  There will be many more travels ahead for all of us, and we all hope to work together again.”

Interesting note about it only being the end of “this stage.” That could refer to new TV movies, or even if Bear will be around to do the music for Caprica. Which would have been a good question to ask. I’ll try to find that out down the road.

The Sarah Connor Chronicles

I know there are a lot of Sarah Connor fans here, and it may surprise you to know Bear also does the music for that show as well. I don’t think I even realized that at first, but it was obvious after awhile. It’s good to know that even if BSG ends, Bear’s music will still be happening on a different show. But I was curious how he even got that job.

“Basically, the producers are big Battlestar fans and came to me directly.  It’s an honor and a thrill to work with them on T:SCC because James Cameron’s Terminator films are among the main reasons I wanted to get into the film business in the first place.  I have to pinch myself when I think that I get to write music for his characters and universe.”

This genre of shows…Terminator, Galactica, etc., were all inspirations that led Bear to where he is today.

“I grew up on a ton of sci fi films and shows.  It’s hard to say what it was exactly that caught my attention, but it was probably the skill used to create these fantasy worlds and characters.  The line between real life and imagination could be so blurred by a well-made film.  When I was a kid, Aliens was (and still is) so visceral, so real and gritty… it really blew my mind.  It made me want nothing more than to be able to be a part of that kind of filmmaking.”

Final Question

No interview by Pop Critics is complete without asking the final question. Since this site is so much about great television shows and movies, along with books and music, anyone we talk to has to let us know what some of their favorites are in those areas.

We already know about Flight of the Conchords, but what else?

“Ok, an incomplete list of my favorite movies would have to include Aliens, Braveheart, Terminator 2, Back to the Future 1 – 3, Highlander and more recently LOTR and Spiderman 1 & 2.  Most of the series I follow are comedies, because I don’t have enough time in my life to watch big, dramatic tv (since I spend all my time scoring it).  So shows like South Park, Flight of the Conchords, Colbert Report, etc.”

We can only hope some of those comedies include perhaps The Office or 30 Rock.

Thanks again to Bear for answering our questions, and we wish him well as the series nears its end. Good luck!

(and be sure to subscribe to his blog!)