It is that time of year once again.
The time of year when I recover my WordPress password to Offer Unsolicited Opinions on Things You Don’t Care About.
Unless you do (thanks, SEO!) In which case, welcome to Auds Yells About Music (Again).
No Shaq. I don’t think I will.
Everyone’s talking about music at the end of the year. After all, it’s Spotify Wrapped time, which should be a national holiday. Back in 2022 with more questionable design choices than ever, Spotify Wrapped leaves some of us proud, many of us embarrassed, and all of us wondering why “Hotel California” is #25 on the playlist…when did I listen to that? Was it during my villain era?
But let’s rewind for a second. In 2021, I had the epiphany that movie soundtracks needed to become my entire personality. Last year, over 25 positions on my Spotify Unwrapped playlist were taken by a soundtrack of some sort. The year before, it was six.
Prepare yourself for 2022.
70 pieces of music from film, television, video game, or Broadway soundtracks made it onto my 101-track Spotify playlist.
Unsurprisingly, many of those tracks were from none other than Bear McCreary. While he came in second on my most-played artists list (Ramin Djawadi still reigns supreme), he had some of the most iconic music on my 2022 playlists come out. Because he released six soundtracks this year (fifteen if you include the episode-by-episode albums from The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.)
2022 was an AMAZING year to be a soundtrack stan. We got a new Batman theme thanks to Michael Giacchino (and honestly, a deeply beautiful Riddler theme inspired by…Ave Maria?!) We got some fantastic, sparkling scores from Disney+ originals like Moon Knight and a cinematic remake of an 80s classic thanks to Stranger Things (no deals with God involved.) A few more favorites of mine included the prettiness that is the Bridgerton season 2 soundtrack, the weirdly amazing Lorne Balfe-Hans Zimmer Top Gun: Maverick score, and of course, Ramin Djawadi’s comeback for House of the Dragon, weaving in well-remembered Targaryen themes with new, mysterious, scheming ones.
But this blog post isn’t just me yelling incessantly about how good soundtracks are. I already did that. Nah, this one is all about Bear. The reason I know and love Bear is thanks to a little-known TV series known as Outlander. You’ve probably never heard of it. It’s not popular at all. Now in its sixth season, the series weaves themes of love, timeless romance, family, and history—and so does Bear’s score. (Just ask my husband. He gets to hear me belt out “SING ME A SONG” fairly regularly, without notice.)
I was shocked to learn that he also penned the scores for culturally notable media like The Walking Dead, Call of Duty, and Battlestar Galactica (which was actually his big break.)
Bear has stayed busy since. He has scored all six seasons of Outlander, a handful of Godzilla movies, and even some horror films like Happy Death Day, Freaky, and Blumhouse’s Fantasy Island. It’s no stretch to say that he is well-respected by the soundtrack industry.
2022 has been no exception for McCreary. Six film/video game/TV show scores later, I’m an even bigger fan of his. So this blog is dedicated to the albums he’s released this year—at least, the ones I’ve listened to. (Sorry, Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank wasn’t really on my must-listen list.)
Outlander Season 6 Original Soundtrack
Outlander season 6 felt all over the place for me, but the music was consistent. Bear is great at creating beautiful themes for each character and carrying them through the story brilliantly. We get classic themes like Jamie and Claire’s love theme and haunting “time travel” theme (sometimes sung, sometimes played on a hurdy-gurdy,) but with the introduction of new characters and relationships, we get some shiny new themes too. From Marva Christie’s theme that foreshadows her tragic end, to Tom Christie’s four-note dirge, and even a new love theme for Ian, which is beautifully heartbreaking. From this soundtrack, I especially loved “Come What May” and “I Am Not Alone,” due to the way Bear blends together so many themes for something stirring and anticipatory (season 6 ends on the mother of all cliffhangers!)
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 1 Soundtrack
My jaw hit the FLOOR when I found out Bear McCreary wrote the soundtrack to The Rings of Power. But don’t worry, original-trilogy stans—he got the blessing (and even the input) from OG Howard Shore. Shore specifically wrote the title theme, and I have a feeling he also had a part to play in “Where Shadows Lie,” which smacks of his original “One Ring” theme from the trilogy. The soundtrack was released first as one album, but after all the episodes were released, episode-by-episode albums were also released. And let me tell ya. They are chock full of incredibly moving, get-stuck-in-your-head-easily music. Since this is a bit meatier than the Outlander score, I’m going to break down this soundtrack even more.
Just as Shore did before him, McCreary used themes and leitmotifs as a driver for introducing and expressing a character’s growth throughout the season. For example, our first introduction to Galadriel’s theme is a solitary French horn—an instrument often used for a lone (often male!) hero. (Unironically, Shore used the French horn for Aragorn!) By the end of the series, her theme is developed and bombastic, backed by a full orchestra.
But as we know, Middle-Earth is chock full of characters. It’s hard to keep track of them. My mom still thinks Gollum is Frodo and vice versa. Having all of these different, well-developed themes helps us keep track of all of them. Take Halbrand, for example. His theme is simple and folksy, played on a melancholy hurdy-gurdy. His theme is also the theme of the Southlands, because he has deep ties to it (in more ways than one—WINK WINK.) And his theme and Galadriel’s theme have a similar structure. And it also foreshadows his true identity (spoiler ahead)—Sauron’s theme is Halbrand’s theme transposed.
In the middle of all that, we have themes for different people groups, cities, and secondary characters (how dare I call Elrond a secondary character.) McCreary’s blunt theme for Khazad-Dum uses an anvil chorus similar to Shore’s dwarf themes (which he got from the literal Anvil Chorus from the Ring Cycle.) Elrond’s theme is gentle and intelligent, like the man himself. And we get some lovely choral pieces—”A Plea to the Rocks,” co-written and performed by Sophia Nomvete (the dwarf ~queen~ herself), the Maori-esque “Nampat” (which feels very “Grond” to me, and if you know, you know,) and a dozen other choral moments that are absolutely perfect. Another one of my favorites is the arpeggiating “The Stranger” theme, which is just mysterious enough to make you wonder if he’s a good guy or a bad guy.
Check out the 38-track soundtrack, mainly consisting of theme music for characters, places, and moments. If you want to be hardcore, check out all 8 albums!
God of War: Ragnarok
The release of this album came as a huge surprise for me this year.
I first became aware of the album dropping when our lord and savior Hozier announced his collab with Bear for the video game’s closing credits song, “Blood Upon the Snow.” After I listened to it, I listened to it again. And again. And again. I’m still shocked it’s not on my top songs of 2022, considering I’ve listened to it at least 100 times in December alone. It also made me wonder—how has this collab not happened sooner? Bear’s musical style and Hozier’s haunting voice work seamlessly together. Not to mention a little hurdy-gurdy solo thrown in there.
I’ve no more hunger now to see where the road will go
I’ve no more kept my warmth than blood upon the snow
The lyrics are deeply beautiful. I know absolutely nothing about the game other than it’s about a god and he goes to war. But I can get a sense of what the character Kratos goes through in the narrative of the game through the lyrics of the song. During the song’s climax, you can hear Kratos’ majestic-yet-dark six-note theme sung by an all-male Maori chorus. It’s literally ~chef’s kiss~.
The rest of the album is also on par with “Blood Upon the Snow,” and on par with Bear’s previous work in the 2018 God of War game. He uses familiar themes, like the haunting plainchant of the giants sung in Icelandic and the theme of Faye, Kratos’ deceased wife. Eivør Pálsdóttir provides the vocals for Faye’s theme and other tracks on this album, and her vocalizations are perfect for Faye’s moving, mysterious theme, intermingled with Kratos’ grief for her.
A few other favorites from this album include the raucous “Svartalfheim” (again featuring Eivør’s awesome vocals) and a new theme for Atreus, Kratos’ son, who is now a teen. His theme is as chaotic as you’d think a teen demi-god’s would be. There are moments of levity in the album, just as there are in the game, but my favorite moments are when Bear can show off his skills as a choral composer and his talent on the hurdy-gurdy (in the game, he has his own hurdy-gurdy playing character named Raeb!) Each track is steeped in incredibly rich musicality and gorgeous themes, and each of them bleeds (no pun intended) beautifully into one another.
What soundtrack tickled your eardrums this year? I’d love to hear about them! Sound off in the comments.
Audrey D. DeBoer 