Bear McCreary Talks Finale Scoring & Watchtower

I was completely geeking out last night with all of the references to All Along The Watchtower - I only hope that the song will make it onto the season 3 soundtrack. Bear McCreary updated his blog about it last night, so that will tide me over, and he goes into how this came to be:

March 25, 2007

"Crossroads, Pt. II"

"'There must be some way out of here,'
Said the joker to the thief.
'There's too much confusion,
I can't get no relief.'"

WARNING! SPOILERS AHEAD:

Battlestar Galactica's epic third season cliffhanger is among the most daring episodes I've seen for any television series. Baltar's verdict, Roslin's returning cancer and cryptic Opera House visions, vipers racing towards a battle against staggering odds... all of this would have been more than enough for any typical "cliffhanger." However, Ron Moore and the other writers also incorporated stunning revelations that have cataclysmic implications for the rest of the series. Season 3 answered many of the series' long-standing questions, but this final episode introduces countless more.

The score obviously plays a more important role in this episode than ever before. Beginning with last week's "Crossroads, Part I" we have witnessed Tigh, Tyrol, Tory and Anders hearing a distant piece of music that no one else perceives. It slowly drives them mad, they begin losing sleep. The hints have been there all along, (watch both these episodes a second time and you're bound to catch them) but in the end we learn that the song is... Bob Dylan's All Along the Watchtower!?

Ok, I need to back up and start at the beginning... at least as far as my involvement with this episode is concerned. I initially learned that we would be using the song back in December, while I was busy scoring "The Eye of Jupiter." I have to admit that my first thought was that Ron might be going crazy. However, as always, his unexpected ideas evolved into an incredible episode.

While the song is among the best Bob Dylan ever wrote, Jimi Hendrix's 1968 version is so famous and iconic that many people simply assume he wrote it. In fact, All Along the Watchtower is among the most frequently covered pop songs in history. So, you can imagine my surprise when I learned that not only would it be included in the season finale, but it was incorporated directly into the script.

I knew I needed to get some more information before I could begin tinkering with this renowned song, and I needed it from the source. I had dozens of questions. What should it sound like? Which version of the song should we reference, if any? Do we want a performer who can sing and play guitar exactly like Dylan? or Hendrix?

Rest of the blog entry here.