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"Tubular Bells" From "The Exorcist" (1973)

 

Not too long ago, I discussed the theme from John Carpenter's "Halloween".  Well, today, I'm going to put down my thoughts on another easily recognizable theme song from another easily recognizable horror movie.  The song is titled, "Tubular Bells," and is from the 1973 classic, "The Exorcist".  The song was composed by Mike Oldfield, and is another one of those simple, yet extremely effective pieces of music that create a real atmosphere in a movie.

The scoring is essentially what the title says- tubular bells repeating the same melody- almost like a music box... but overlapped by a simple repetitious piano melody as well with some wood winds and an electric guitar added for spice.  The bells give the song a real etheral feel- and almost ghostly and dreamlike feel to it, while the guitar solo brings an almost sinister discord to the piece.  The grinding sound of the guitar contrasts excellently with the softer sound of the bells.  Together, the two just make this a wonderful piece of movie music.

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  1. We Came from the BasementOctober 13, 2011 at 7:54 AM

    The full version of the song, which is in excess of eight minutes and is featured on Oldfield's self titled album, Tubular Bells. I used to have it. The Best part is the movement featured in The Exorcist. Good article!

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