May 17, 2010 Issue

My favorite piece in this week’s issue, “The Innovators Issue,” is Alex Ross’s “The Spooky Fill.” Ross’s article is a profile of the film composer Michael Giacchino. I like the way it’s written. In classic journalistic fashion, Ross let’s us in on his various moves as he writes the piece. For example, early in the story, he says, “One day in February, I visited Giacchino’s home, in Tarzana, in the San Fernando Valley, to watch him create the uncanny sounds that cause viewers to clutch their sofa pillows.” As soon as I read that I knew I was going to enjoy “The Spooky Fill.” In the piece, Ross also takes us to a recording session at the Eastwood Scoring Stage, on the Warner Bros. lot, in Burbank. I enjoyed being in on Giacchino’s creative process. And I could sense Ross’s creative juices really flowing, too. Consider this inspired sentence: “The shivery sound would match the Hitchcockian camera-work.” I read “The Spooky Fill” first because I had a hunch it would be good. Ross is a great writer. I wish he would write more pieces outside the world of classical music.