Snow Files of the Week

[SadEyes]

Snow Files of the Week: "The Seeds Of Mistrust", from "The X-Files", episode "Kitten" (2018).

 

In this season 11 episode, we learn a little more about Assistant Director Skinner. During the Vietnam War, Skinner served in the Marines. Together with his fellow soldier and friend John "Kitten" James he is to escort a crate marked MK-NAOMI. They are attacked and both have to hide in a hut with civilians. While Skinner is helping a wounded soldier, the crate is hit by bullets and a green gas leaks out, which John is exposed to. When Skinner returns to the cabin, he sees that "Kitten" murdered all civilians. In the present, Mulder and Scully are put on the trail of Skinner, who has disappeared without a trace. Something from the past has reappeared.

 

In this piece Mark shows his melancholy side again. A ghostly choir sings over the gentle strings and piano motifs, the X-Files theme briefly emerges before the piece ends with a wistful solo trumpet. The tracks come from the 2CD set by La-La Land Records, which is limited to 3,000 pieces.

 

Enjoy listening!

 

[SadEyes]

Snow Files of the Week: "Ice Cubes/Dan to the Rescue/Hit and Run/No One Ever Leaves Me/Victoria's Madness" from the tv movie "Seduced and Betrayed" (1995).

In the early 90's BASIC INSTINCT hit the theatres and became almost immediately a modern classic. It was a huge comeback for erotic thrillers and in the years that followed many movies wanted to be like it. This is also true for the music, composed by the great Jerry Goldsmith, that influenced the thriller genre for years to come. When SEDUCED AND BETRAYED came around in 1995, it more or less tried to imitate the sexual undertones. And it is pretty obvious that Jerry Goldsmith's score was used as a temp track, before Mark began working on the movie. His main theme is pretty much a slightly different arrangement of Goldsmith's theme. But for the rest of the movie Mark came up with his more mellow and harmonic style.

The main theme was featured on the sampler "The Snow Files". The score was released, paired with CAROLINE AT MIDNIGHT, on "The Mark Snow Collection Vol.2" by Dragon's Domain Records. The CD is limited to 500 copies.

Enjoy!

 

[SadEyes]

Snow Files of the Week: "Big Yellow House/Exterminated" from "MillenniuM", episode "Pilot" (1996).

When The X-Files went into its fourth season, Chris Carter's second show "MillenniuM" premiered. The first episode of "MillenniuM" gained the highest number of viewers FOX ever had for a pilot, the episode was even shown in selected theatres.

The home of the Black family, the big yellow house, is a place of safety for Frank Black. Here he can provide his family with a normal life and keep them away from the dark world outside, at least he thinks he can. If you watch the show closely you will notice, that all the scenes, that play in or around the yellow house, have a certain golden glow, while the scenes in the real world have washed out colours.

Mark uses the main theme from "MillenniuM" to create a haunting variation for the introduction of the yellow house. His soft and moody string pads, combined with the solo violin, create a place of peace, but also underlines the darkness waiting outside.

The tracks are taken from the first volume of music from "MillenniuM", released by La-La Land Records. It was released in 2008 and sold out shortly after. In 2015, the volume was re-issued, limited to 1.000 copies.

Enjoy!