Game of Thrones premiered on HBO in April 2011 and became the most watched show in HBO’s history. The main title theme was written by Emmy-nominated composer Ramin Djawadi. In this episode, he’ll break down the different elements in the piece, and how themes within the show inspired his composition and choice of instruments.

Watch the main title sequence for Game of Thrones:

And check out this great deconstruction of the visuals over at Art of the Title.

Buy the Game of Thrones original soundtrack here.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

footnotes
Guitar Version

8-Bit Version

Piano Version

South Park “Wiener” Version

Peter Dinklage Version

There are many, many more cover versions out there.

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The title card for Avengers: Age of Ultron comes up twelve minutes into the movie. Against a black background, the Avengers logo takes up almost the entire screen. You might expect a triumphant, heroic piece of music, but the film called for something more complicated. Coming up, you’ll hear why, and how composer Brian Tyler tackled that piece of score, in his third feature for Marvel Studios. It was recorded at Abbey Road Studios with the London Philharmonic, with Brian himself conducting.

You can check out more of Brian Tyler’s work on his website.

Here’s the trailer for Avengers: Age of Ultron.

Buy the Avengers: Age of Ultron soundtrack here.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

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In this episode, Merrill Garbus of tUnE-yArDs breaks down “Water Fountain.” It’s a song that draws inspiration from the politics of drought and dancehall reggae, and you’ll hear how and why she tried to make this song less catchy. Despite that effort, in 2014 the tUnE-yArDs album Nikki Nack climbed the Billboard Charts and got widespread critical praise.

Buy “Water Fountain,” from the album Nikki Nack on iTunes.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

footnotes
Chaka Demus & Pliers – Murder She Wrote

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