Snow Files of the Week

[SadEyes]

Snow Files of the Week: "House Organ/Irrational Fear/Piano on the Track/A Gift" from "The X-Files", episode "How the Ghosts stole Christmas" (1998).

 

This season six episode surely is a fan favourite. Set on Christmas Eve, Mulder and Scully check out a haunted house, in which the ghosts of an elderly couple live. The ghost are playing mind tricks on the agents, trying to get them to believe, that they shot each other.

 

Mark's score is pretty unusual for a Christmas episode. And even pretty unusual for X-Files standards. The music is dark and somber, but it an old-fashioned way. But have no fear, the Christmas spirit will break through eventually at the end of the episode, heard in the track "A Gift".

 

These tracks are taken from the second volume of X-Files music, released by La-La Land Records. The set is limited to 3.000 copies.

 

Enjoy!

 

 

[Libby]

I’d been skipping over this thread, because I’ve got the Millennium CDs. I haven’t listened to them in quite a long time, but I’ve now listened to the last few tracks you’ve posted, SadEyes, and I think that’s a better to way to listen, rather than a whole CD at a time.

I also didn’t realise or had forgotten that you’re posting some of Mark Snow’s X-Files music. I’ll have to add “How the Ghosts Stole Christmas” to my Christmas viewing list – that was such a great episode.

However, I never want to re-watch “All Souls”. For some reason, that was the only X-Files episode that disturbed me, so much so that I had to sleep with the light on that night. Listening to Mark’s soundtrack brought it all back, it’s so evocative. I think that was one of the most Millenniumistic X-Files episode.

Thanks for posting these, SadEyes. I’ll pay more attention in future.

[Earthnut]

Again, another awesome track, thank you Alex.

[SadEyes]

Thank you Libby and Darlene. And by the way Libby, there aren't just tracks from MillenniuM or The X-Files in this thread. ;)

Snow Files of the Week: "Delete/Branches-Angels" from "MillenniuM", episode "Midnight of the Century" (1997).

"Midnight of the Century" is the Christmas episode from the second season of "MillenniuM". It's been a fan favourite ever since, that fans keep rewatching over the holidays. The episode deals with the death of Frank Black's mother when he was a child and the broken relationship with his father. A very touching and moving episode, even for viewers who didn't watch every MillenniuM episode.

Mark's music adds to the overall melancholic and magical feeling of the episode. He uses a soft theme for strings, combined with etheral choir sounds, to accompany Frank's quest into his past. The track "Delete" was already used in the X-Files episode "Emily". It got a slightly different arrangement for "MillenniuM" by Mark's music editor Jeff Charbonneau.

The tracks are featured on the first volume of MillenniuM music by La-La Land Records, which is limited to 1.000 copies.

Enjoy!

 

[SadEyes]

Snow Files of the Week: "Water Paint/Bobo's Dream/Sweeping" from "Born to be Wild" (1995).

This movie marks one of the few scores that Mark did for the big screen. Mark composed a sweeping score for orchestra, but he also used some of his electronic goodies and samples, already heard on The X-Files. The african group Lebo M, which also performed on Hans Zimmer's score for "The Lion King" and Jerry Goldsmith's score for "Congo", lends its musical talent to Mark's score too.

The score was released by Milan Records and still can be found as used CD.

Enjoy!

 

 

[SadEyes]

Snow Files of the Week: "Pool of Freedom/Freedom (Joe's Waltz)" from the movie "Crazy In Alabama" (1999).

The movie marked the directorial debut of Antonio Banderas, with his then-wife Melanie Griffith in the leading role. It's also one of the few opportunities, that Mark had, to score a feature film. The music is Mark Snow through and through, with beautiful themes and an overall mystical character.

The soundtrack album can still be found for reasonable prices.

Enjoy!

 

[Earthnut]

WOW, was I behind on my listening pleasure since I've been sick.  Again, thank you, thank you, for the tracks.  It's always like a surprise, or a present, every time I'm in this thread.  It's wonderful.

[SadEyes]

Thank you, Darlene.

Snow Files of the Week: "The Surgeon/Alpine Page/Dude Looks Like A Lady" from "MillenniuM", episode "Lamentation" (1996).

This episode, written by Chris Carter, marks a milestone within MillenniuM's story arc. We don't only see the death of one of the main side characters, but also the first appearance of the demonic Lucy Butler, played by Sarah Jane Redmond, who would haunt Frank Black through every season of the show. And on top of that, the so-called "Gehenna Demon" makes a stunning appearance.

It was also a standout episode musically. Mark wrote a signature motif for the psychotic Dr. Fabricant, which then turned out the be more Lucy Butlers musical mark ("The Surgeon"). And Mark also incorporated some classical music into his score. "Alpine Page" includes a melody from Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture", which also appeared in the X-Files episode "Post-Modern Prometheus".

The tracks were released on the second volume of MillenniuM music from La-La Land Records. The set is limited to 2.000 copies.

Enjoy!

 

 

 

[Earthnut]

Again, thank you, thank you.  Oh how I love Mark Snow.

[SadEyes]

Snow Files of the Week: "Black Vermiform" from "The X-Files", episode "Terma" (1996).

Just a few more days until the return of "The X-Files". This piece of music is from the season four episode "Terma", which is a follow up to "Tunguska". Mark again uses his soft piano theme from "Tunguska", as Mulder recovers in a hospital from contact with the black oil. It ventures into Mark's more dark and harsh ambient sound, before returning to the softness from the beginning.

The track is from the second volume of X-Files music, released by La-La Land Records. It's limited to 3.000 copies.

Enjoy!