Mr. Burwell, with no experience as a film composer, met the Coens and saw a rough cut of “Blood Simple.” That day, he began working on some musical ideas, using both a piano and the sounds of a synthesizer. The Coen brothers, according to Mr. Burwell’s website, seemed to like “the repetitive hypnotic melodies” of his music. But they were noncommittal, and Mr. Burwell didn’t hear from them for months.
“It was only years later that Joel told me they had hired somebody else and weren’t that happy” with that composer’s electronic score, he said. Mr. Burwell’s ability to infuse their work with warmth seemed to be the clincher.
Well, damn. I pay good money to subscribe to the NY Times out here in Hollywood, but I never saw this article because they put it in one of their local region sections. So yes, indeed, thanks a million for posting it!
