Peanuts In My Pocket

A friend of mine started a music project for 2026 focused on movie scores. He’s listening to two or three from each year, starting in 1977 and running through 2025. I liked both the idea and the scope, so I asked if I could join him. He said yes.

I don’t have much history with this kind of music. I’ve avoided movie scores for most of my life. But I’m getting older, and my tastes are evolving. I don’t have a favorite score I hum or sing along to. In fact, I can’t remember ever intentionally listening to a film score all the way through. I don’t think Stop Making Sense counts. This is going to be an adventure.

I started with two from 1977: Star Wars and A Little Night Music.

Star Wars felt like visiting an old friend. It’s close to perfect, but I mostly know it through the movie itself rather than as an album. A few tracks were familiar in a different way. The Cantina Band, for example, was played by my high school band back in the day. One of my sisters was on drums while the other twirled her baton. Good times.

The album holds up. I listened to it while driving and while working around the house. I added two tracks to my playlist for this project: the Main Title and, of course, the Cantina Band.

A Little Night Music was completely unknown to me. Originally a Broadway musical, it was adapted into a film in 1977. I made the mistake of listening to the Tony Award winning stage score first and then the film version. Both are excellent. I had no idea this was where “Send in the Clowns” originated.

I added two songs from A Little Night Music to my playlist: “The Glamorous Life” and “Send in the Clowns.”

It’s only the first week of the new year, so I need to pace myself. There’s a lot of music ahead.

If you have a favorite song from either film, feel free to drop it in the comments.