Writing over at the official site, the wonderful Paige Lyman brings us this great fun piece, a look at the diegetic sound of Star Wars, aka the actual music you’d hear if you were trying to see the galaxy for less than 30 Republic credits a day. From the Mos Eisley cantina to the castle of Maz Kanata, this is the galactic playlist for you.
Star Wars is full of music that helps set the tone — from John Williams’ opening crawl with its bombastic intro to the softer, sweeping love theme for “Anakin and Padmé.” The scores that accompany Star Wars films, shows, and games work cohesively to heighten the emotion of the stories and bring memorable sound to our experience watching tales of the galaxy far, far away.
But there’s another type of music at play: diegetic music. Also known as source music, diegetic sound originates from a source within a story, like the Max Rebo Band playing live at Jabba’s Palace in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, the live orchestra that punctuates the tale of Darth Plagueis in Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, and the DJ droid blaring “Niamos!” for Mon Mothma and her guests in Andor Season 2.
Here’s the first track, and be sure to head to the official site for the rest of this amazing playlist.
“Mad About Me” – Star Wars: A New Hope
Played by the Bith band Figrin D’an and the Modal Nodes, the first diegetic music in Star Wars is upbeat and funky, greeting Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi as they enter the Mos Eisley Cantina seeking passage off Tatooine. Briefly interrupted when their encounter with Ponda Baba takes a bad turn, the band strikes back up quickly with their tunes, playing on as Luke and Obi-Wan meet Han Solo and Chewbacca for the first time.
