"Making Christmas" from The Nightmare Before Christmas

When the full moon starts to climb, we'll all sing out... it's
time to talk about the best stop-motion animated
Halloween/Christmas movie musical ever made! Hee hee hee hee
heeee!


Tim Burton and Danny Elfman's maniacal miniature-musical The
Nightmare Before Christmas was unusual when it came out in
1993 and, despite the fact that it went on to became a beloved
Disney classic, is still unusual today. The centerpiece ensemble
song "Making Christmas," during which the well-meaning but
hopeless denizens of Halloween Town attempt to craft their own
kind of creepy Christmas, is a crucial turning point for the
film, both narratively and musically.


In this episode, Kirk takes a closer look at what makes "Making
Christmas" tick, from its densely interwoven character motifs to
its ever-shifting orchestration to its earth-shaking contrabass
woodwinds.


Band/Artist: Danny Elfman and the Halloween Town
Cast


Album: The Nightmare Before Christmas
soundtrack, 1993


Composed by: Danny Elfman


Listen/Buy via Album.Link


ALSO REFERENCED/DISCUSSED:


Various other songs from The Nightmare Before
Christmas soundtrack, 1993

"The Simpsons Theme" by Danny Elfman, 1989

"Dead Man's Party" and "Weird Science" by Danny Elfman/Oingo
Boingo from Dead Man's Party, 1985

"Dies Irae" performed by the monks of the Abbey of Notre Dame

"Theme from The Shining" by Wendy Carlos and Rachel
Elkind, 1980

"The Carol of the Bells" by Mykola Leontovych, 1914, with
lyrics by Peter J. Wilhousky, as conducted by John Williams on
the soundtrack from Home Alone



Update 10/31: After I published this episode on the 30th,
several listeners wrote in to tell me about the Dies Irae, a 13th
century Gregorian death chant that also shares the first four
notes of the "Making Christmas" motif and has turned up in a TON
of movies besides. I wasn't familiar with the Dies Irae (I
know!), so I've updated the episode to include a mention of it.
You'll have to redownload the episode if you want to hear that
version. You can also watch a great Vox explainer video about the
Dies Irae here:
https://www.vox.com/videos/2019/9/16/20868789/creepy-melody-movies-catholic-chant-lion-king-shining
- Kirk


OUTRO SOLOIST: Steve Pardo


This episode's outro soloist is the one and only Steve Pardo.
Steve and Kirk met when they were both jazz saxophone students at
the University of Miami; Steve currently lives and performs
around the Nashville, TN area. He's a producer, composer, and
does work in the world of video games, having spent several years
at Harmonix, where he helped make music games like Rock Band and
Dance Central. You can find out more at his website:
https://www.stevepardo.com/


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