The season 3 finale to BattleStar Galactica didn't disappoint (though some plot points I anticipated), and included a version of Dylan's All Along the Watchtower, imagined as if some other singer dreamed it up too.
“Battlestar Galactica: Season 2.5 (Episodes 10-20)” (Universal Studios)
Bear McCreary Blog
... I happened to catch Ron Moore in the hallway at Universal and, in a brief conversation, got everything I needed to know. I learned that the idea was not that Bob Dylan necessarily exists in the characters' universe, but that an artist on one of the colonies may have recorded a song with the exact same melody and lyrics. Perhaps this unknown performer and Dylan pulled inspiration from a common, ethereal source. Therefore, I was told to make no musical references to any “Earthly” versions, Hendrix, Dylan or any others. The arrangement needed to sound like a pop song that belonged in the Galactica universe, not our own. ...Musically, my arrangement is almost entirely an original composition. Only the vocal melody and lyrics remain from Dylan's piece. I initially replaced Dylan's harmonica solos with an electric sitar. But why stop there? The entire arrangement evolved into an Indian sound, with the inclusion of tabla and harmonic minor scale tones. I even bought a harmonium, imported from Delhi, and laid down the drones myself.
...
Next month, I'm in the studio working on the Battlestar Galactica Season 3 soundtrack album (which will definitely have All Along the Watchtower on it!). Our release date will be mid-August, to coincide with the DVD release. We'll also be doing another live performance of the Galactica score around that time as well, so if you're in LA, come by and check us out. Details will be posted here on my website sometime over the summer.
(more here or here, depending when you read this)
I don't want to wait until 2008 for the next episode.
Tags: BSG, /music, /sciFi, /television
