I just got in my truck and the radio was playing the Star Wars main theme at the big majestic part, and it made me want to go save the universe.  I thought about it, but my wife really wants me to get the dishes done today, and that’s gonna take a while.  There’s some other household chores, too.  I know, saving the world is a big deal, but as the saying goes, if your wife ain’t happy, no one’s happy.  Oh well.  Such is wife.

You might be wondering what radio station I was listening to that would play Star Wars music.  It would be a good thing if all radio stations occasionally branched beyond their “top 40” policy and played all-around cool songs like the Star Wars theme.  There are a few stations now that play a wide variety, which is refreshing, but most are stuck in a deep rut.

Anyway, I was listening to KLRE 90.5 FM, which is the classical music station in Little Rock.  I know, some of you probably just tuned out (no pun intended) when I said classical music.  It’s normal these days.  Many people think they don’t like classical music, although I suspect a lot of people do but don’t realize it.  I won’t get into a long discussion on that (maybe another day), but consider this next one point.

John Williams composed all the Star Wars music (which is over 14 hours of orchestral music), along with the music for Superman, Jaws, the Indiana Jones films, E.T., Hook, Jurassic Park, Schindler’s List, Home Alone, and the first three Harry Potter films, along with many others (including most movies by Steven Spielberg).  He also composed the theme music for four Olympic Games and NBC Sunday Night Football.  The next time you watch any of these movies, listen to the music and realize most of it is classical music.

I realize the emotions of the movie make the music more memorable, but also consider that the music makes the movie more emotional.  It works both ways.  As George Lucas said, “Sound is fifty percent of the motion picture experience.”  Many of the songs from the movies referenced above can stand on their own as good music.