Westworld

[Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers through the Season 4 finale of Westworld, “Que Sera Sera.” To read about the music of Episode 7, click here.] “We’re finally back to Radiohead,” Ramin Djawadi laughs, at the beginning of our final conversation about Westworld Season 4. “I never actually counted, but I feel like we’ve done Radiohead the most — we’re all big Radiohead fans. So this being the final episode we said, you know, ‘It’s time for some Radiohead now. We need another Radiohead song.’” As the Emmy-winning composer has exclusively discussed with Consequence all season long, the unexpected twists and turns of the HBO sci-fi drama have often extended towards the music, calling upon Djawadi’s talent for recreating well-known pop and rock tunes using Westworld’s signatur...

[Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers for Westworld, Season 4 Episode 7, “Metanoia.” To read about the music of Episode 6, click here.] The most notable music featured in the penultimate episode of Westworld Season 4 wasn’t created by composer Ramin Djawadi — instead, he was a little in awe of David Bowie’s “The Man Who Sold the World,” which plays over the final minutes. “I didn’t dare to touch it,” he tells Consequence with a laugh. “It’s perfect as is.” Episode 7, “Metanoia,” delivered a new level of chaos to the good people surviving in what we’ve come to understand as a host-controlled dystopia, where the surviving humans are trapped in a system ruled over by Hale (Tessa Thompson). Of course, the balance of power changes dramatically by the end, with Hale incapacitated by a ...

[Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers for Westworld, Season 4 Episode 6, “Fidelity.” To read about the music of Episode 5, click here.] Unlike past weeks, where Westworld composer Ramin Djawadi has surprised us with covers of Frank Ocean and Nine Inch Nails, Episode 6 of Season 4 contained no such surprises on the musical front. Except, of course, for the fact that he ended up covering… himself. First, though, “Fidelity” did contain some big surprises on a narrative level, though, including the end of the line for freedom fighter Jay (Daniel Wu) — the human version, at least. And we also got to see the full extent of Hale (Tessa Thompson)’s manipulation of Caleb (Aaron Paul), as he not only confronts his new reality as a host, but the fact that he has been copied dozens of times ...

[Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers for Westworld, Season 4 Episode 5, “Zhuangzi.” To read about the music of Episode 4, click here.] Did you catch the Nine Inch Nails cover in the newest episode of Westworld? Don’t feel bad if you missed it — so did Consequence, upon initial viewing. But composer Ramin Djawadi, as part of our weekly series of conversations about the music of Season 4, was kind enough to point out that yes, when Christina (Evan Rachel Wood) and Hale (Tessa Thompson) are having an awkward lunch together, there’s a subtle solo piano inclusion of “The Day the World Went Away” from The Fragile in the background. “If I didn’t know, I probably would’ve missed it too,” Djawadi says, once again reinforcing that when it comes to the HBO sci-fi drama, there’s always a lo...

[Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers for Westworld, Season 4 Episode 4, “Generation Loss.” To read about the music of Episode 3, click here.] Episode 3 of Westworld, “Années Folles,” had two big treats for those addicted to composer Ramin Djawadi’s instrumental covers of pop and rock tunes. Meanwhile, Episode 4, “Generation Loss,” was a little more subtle. Speaking to Consequence as part of our ongoing series on the music of Westworld Season 4, Djawadi reveals that this week’s episode did feature a snippet of music you might have heard before, in a very different context: “Pink + White” by Frank Ocean. The short burst of solo piano can be heard at the 24-minute mark of the episode, accompanying an establishing shot of the New York restaurant where Christina (Evan Rachel Wood) is...

[Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers for Westworld, Season 4 Episode 4, “Generation Loss.” To read about the music of Episode 3, click here.] Episode 3 of Westworld, “Années Folles,” had two big treats for those addicted to composer Ramin Djawadi’s instrumental covers of pop and rock tunes. Meanwhile, Episode 4, “Generation Loss,” was a little more subtle. Speaking to Consequence as part of our ongoing series on the music of Westworld Season 4, Djawadi reveals that this week’s episode did feature a snippet of music you might have heard before, in a very different context: “Pink + White” by Frank Ocean. The short burst of solo piano can be heard at the 24-minute mark of the episode, accompanying an establishing shot of the New York restaurant where Christina (Evan Rachel Wood) is...

[Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers for Westworld, Season 4 Episode 2, “Well Enough Alone.” To read about the music of Episode 1, click here.] There might not be a big epic cover in the newest episode of Westworld, but there’s still plenty to discuss, music-wise, with composer Ramin Djawadi. That’s because Episode 2, “Well Enough Alone,” continues exploring key questions for Season 4, ending with the revelation that Delos Destinations, the corporation behind the high-tech amusement parks where this future dystopia was born, is up to its old tricks — with a brand new theme park setting that made Djawadi very happy. “I love jazz and actually studied jazz in college as well, and I never get to do much jazz in score. So whenever there’s opportunity, I jump on it right away,” he tel...