Star Wars: Skeleton Crew
Original Soundtrack
by Mick Giacchino
It’s hard to know exactly when we need to pull the plug on Star Wars or completely abandon it. I used to be a fan of the franchise, but somehow, re-watching in my old age (30s), it failed to connect with me at the level it did as a child. Had I become jaded? I know plenty of Star Wars apologists of course, but my hot take after my re-watch is that it’s all pretty bad. I’m talking about the original trilogy as well. Adding to my hot take (maybe) is that Return of the Jedi and Revenge of the Sith are the best of each trilogy because it’s where the exhaustive set ups finally get resolved. In other words, it’s where things finally happen. And boy, do they ever. That final Obi-Wan/Anakin fight near the volcano is just brutal, right?
So, of course, when Disney bought Star Wars, it all started going downhill, or changing, right? There was no interest in story (was there ever?), there was no interest in character development (was there ever?), and there was no interest in challenging the viewer (was there ever?). It became simply, “play the hits,” give the fans what they want and rake in the cash. Didn’t some show-runner or Disney CEO refer to Grogu as his “billion-dollar puppet”? It didn’t cost a billion dollars to make (just $5 million!), he was just referring to how much money they were gonna make off it.
Disney is going to unleash spin-off after spin-off, and who can blame them? People keep eating it up. So now the latest obscure spin-off is Skeleton Crew: some vaguely related story of kids growing up in the Mandelorian world. Of course, I’m butchering it, but then again, it doesn’t matter. It cost $17 million per episode to make, it got high ratings on Rotten Tomatoes because the fans love scraps, and it will probably get a second season. Let’s all get in the water, folks!
But, we’re here to talk about the music and at least that’s a bright point of sorts, because this soundtrack package is cool. I’m listening to it now, and it’s strangely soothing and whimsical and I can already imagine the kid protagonists growing up in slums, uncovering something magical (the force?) and them going on some adventure to find a super lightsaber on another distant planets while riding a flying Ewok that was Baby Yoda’s neighbor. It’s beautiful and effective. With Mutant at the helm, you know you’re also getting a quality product from fans for fans. The vinyl comes as a 4XLP (!), on gold vinyl, with exclusive liner notes by composer Mick Giacchino. It’s a beautiful piece that’s fun to interact with and that fans of the franchise and the show should not be ashamed of owning. It’s also a fun and elegant way to connect with the series on a higher level and own a piece of the artistic element involved with it.
You can still get it from Mutant!
