Greetings! ScoreKeeper here to belatedly announce two new deliciously cool titles from La-La Land Records [www.lalalandrecords.com] that are quickly flying off virtual shelves into the homes of film and television music lovers worldwide. During my tenure at Ain’t It Cool I have probably received more emails from readers asking about news of a possible release of BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES (1992), than any other entity. Released less than a month ago, fans’ dream of owning Shirley Walker’s highly acclaimed music from this mega-popular series has finally come to fruition. This limited edition of 3000 units features not one, but TWO discs chock full of bat-masterpieces by Shirley Walker, Lolita Ritmanis, and Michael McCuistion. Clocking in at over two and half hours, these discs include music from the episodes “On Leather Wings,” “The Last Laugh,” “It’s Never Too Late,” “Pretty Poison,” “Christmas With the Joker,” “Two Face, Parts I and II,” “Joker’s Favor,” “Vendetta,” “Perchance to Dream,” and “Birds of a Feather.” Keeping within the tradition of excellence at La-La Land Records, the soundtrack features a mammoth eighteen pages of liner notes and color photographs starting with introductions by writers and producers Paul Dini and Eddie Gorodetsky and concluding with a note from BATMAN Theme composer Danny Elfman. Sandwiched among these commentaries is a comprehensive history and analysis of the music leading to an episode by episode breakdown by film music liner writer extraordinaire Daniel Schweiger. In addition to authoring a plethora of film music related liners, Daniel is also the film music contributor to iFmagazine.com and hosts “On The Score” for Film Music Magazine [http://www.filmmusicmag.com/?cat=18]. The music contained in this set will certainly not disappoint. It’s Shirley Walker at her best. Originally composed music this adept was not typically heard on television in the early 90s much less for an animated series. Her acrobatic sense of compositional development would carry Eflman’s cherished theme from the original Tim Burton BATMAN (1989) and transfigure it with new colors, tones, textures, and moods all skillfully shaping the narrative of each episode. For nearly two decades the music was attached solely to the images and never had the opportunity to be enjoyed by itself. Until now. When she passed away two years ago, the world lost a titan who never received the attention and respect she deserved. I’m hoping that this release will not only placate the legions of fans clamoring to treat their ears to her music, but also to further establish her legacy as a gifted composer, conductor, and orchestrator whose contributions to film and television will never be forgotten. For complete track listings, audio samples and more visit La-La Land Records [http://www.lalalandrecords.com/BatmanAS.html]]. As of this writing, stocks were dwindling assuring this limited edition release will inevitably go out-of-print in the very near future. In addition to BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES, La-La Land Records has also released another veritable goldmine of amazing television music available to the public for the first time. I’m not bashful in admitting that I am a great admirer of Mark Snow and his music. When I was able to interview him last year [http://www.aintitcool.com/node/37203] I felt like a bumbling idiot trying not to let my inner geek completely take over. His music is solely responsible for my coming into THE X-FILES (1993-2002) which remains one of my all-time favorite television shows. During our interview Mark eluded to an impending release of his music from the first X-FILES spin-off series, MILLENNIUM (1996-1999), which thrilled me. Although the series never quite gained the momentum THE X-FILES achieved, I did enjoy the series. Snow’s music once again elevated each episode into a higher realm of entertainment that one would not typically discover on television in the 1990s. It may be blasphemous to admit, but I actually prefer Snow’s main title to MILLENNIUM over THE X-FILES. I clearly remember the first time I heard it when the first pilot episode premiered. I was enraptured by it’s dark simplicity and swelling heart. About twenty-four seconds into the theme when it resolves to an F#m chord after hanging on a D for four bars…that harmonic progression causes my heart to skip a beat each time I hear it. A well-crafted theme is only the beginning of this great collection of episodic scores. Snow’s music for MILLENNIUM is similar to THE X-FILES but I don’t believe it is as robust or varied as its predecessor. THE X-FILES had nine seasons worth of narratives for Mark to explore whereas MILLENNIUM only lasted three. It’s stunningly gorgeous and extremely heartfelt with ubiquitous “boom-booms” sprinkled throughout for gravity. This double disc CD set features approximately two and a half hours of Mark Snow’s music spanning all three seasons of the series. Accompanied with it is another hefty insert with complete liner notes and episodic analysis by Randall Larson who writes for buysoundtrax.com and musicfromthemovies.com and has authored several books on film music. For complete track listings, audio samples and more, visit La-La Land Records [http://www.lalalandrecords.com/Millennium.html].

ScoreKeeper!!!