Jack Skellington turned legendary composer Danny Elfman into a weirdo rock star

The last person in the world who thought Danny Elfman would play Coachella was Danny Elfman.

But in 2022, the legendary composer behind similar projects batman, Spider man, In the simpsonsand countless Tim Burton films led the desert, shirtless and ready to rip. Those who were blown away by Elfman’s performance of the show — “No one else has even come close to this level of darkness in the show.” wrote Vulture at the time — while photos of the composer roaring were inspired to go viral on social media.

Most movie buffs knew Elfman as Burton’s watchable, goth-adjacent musical pal.

Photo: Michael Tran/FilmsMagic

Then, in 2022, most buff movies did a double take. Wow, yes, that’s frickin’ Danny Elfman.

Rock Elfman can’t help but surprise those who were buzzing around the alternative scene in the late 1970s and ’80s; before the macabre frequent identity in Burton’s Pee-s Big Adventure, Beetle juiceand Edward Scissorhands, Elfman was a member of the new wave band Oingo Boingo, whose 1985 hit single “Weird Science” (featured in the film of the same name). The band Danny’s brother Richard founded constantly toured and cut records throughout the early 90s. (In fact, members of the band still worth it to this day.) When Elfman left the band to compose the wave, he also left his music life — for so long many of his younger superhero-movie-watching/Hot Topic-shopping fans never knew his genre. Even in the days of Oingo Boingo, music wasn’t as difficult as it was doing at Coachella.

Photo: Paul Natkin / Getty Images

So what did he bring back? What made him a man who could share the stage with Billie Eilish and Benedict Borland’s Limp Bizkit? To my mind is Henry Selick’s A nightmare before the Lord’s birthday. Produced by Burton, the black sheep stop-motion proposal for Walt Disney Animation that blossomed into a cult favorite, and based on Elfman’s life in the last few years, transformed the musical milestone on the stage like no other born. always has a rocker.

Elfman joined Burton early in the development of A nightmare before the Lord’s birthdayplussing free pitch animation in a Disney Renaissance worthy musical. And after recording demos for Jack Skellington’s big numbers, Elfman became a willing force for the final versions (as long as Queen’s Bride(Chris Sarandon was hired to match Elfman’s baritone vocals in the dialogue). The rest is history: Elfman went on to win his awards To be frightened by sleep work, and the sound became a staple of the cross festival every October through December.

Photo: Touchstone Pictures/Onset Boulevard/Corbis/Getty Images

Elfman did not peak with To be frightened by sleep in 1993. Four Oscar nominations for Good will Hunting, Men in Black, Big fishand Milk all followed in the years that followed, and his work spanned more than a decade of film. In 2005, the baroque came forward Schizophrenic Serenadehis first work composed specifically for concert orchestra. In 2008, he wrote music for the American Ballet Theatre The Hare and the Rogue ballet and 2011 composition for Cirque Du Soleil $100 million rainbow show But it’s bops like “This is Halloween” and “Obsession Jack” that will be engraved on future records, and it’s never been shy about making hits – unlike Disney, which had no idea how to release a movie to a weaned audience. That little mermaid and Beauty and the Beastbut when he plays his part in everything from theme to 3D re-solves Disney’s Dreamlight Valley yes And unlike his film score work; A nightmare before the Lord’s birthday He gives him the opportunity to look.

In 2014, the former Oingo Boingo frontman returned to the stage at the Royal Albert Hall to complete his full orchestral score from the Tim Burton film. This included selected numbers a A nightmare before the Lord’s birthdaywhich he paid. The concert was such a hit, Disney invited Elfman to perform alongside his co-stars Catherine O’Hara (Sally) and Ken Page (Oogie Boogie) at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles for a night of pure A nightmare before the Lord’s birthday. The concert was such a hit, the group performed it regularly every October — and will do it again on Halloween.

Photo: JC Olivera/WireImage

The hype around these various Burton and . A nightmare before the Lord’s birthday The concert sparked the idea of ​​a Coachella program that Elfman could play next to pop acts of the moment. As Elfman tells it, there was an immediate and obvious hesitation on his part: he wasn’t a rock star or a pop star or a hip-hop star. But after watching Childish Gambino and Janelle Monáe break into sheer theatrical mayhem at Coachella 2019, he saw his way in. The then-66-year-old began work immediately in a set that mixed film music, Oingo Boingo hits and experimental songs suited to the raucous crowd.

As in the video music festival“Going out and doing something like myself, not like Jack (Skellington), was scary and exciting.”

Coachella 2020 was ultimately postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but Elfman has continued to perform and create. He released new music as a studio album; Great Monthand finally Coachella took the stage in these now famous 2022 performances. As you can see, Elfman ripped the revue from familiar tunes to grooves, all backed by animated graphics that went well with, uh, extracurriculars. But the expectation was not great; There was still room for Mr. Skellington at Coachella.

Photo: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Coachella

In the chaos after the show’s interviews, Elfman came back refreshed. While the show did not realign the trajectory of his life – he went on to score White noise for director Noah Baumbach and his symphonic works continue to go – it’s hard to imagine him losing his moment in the spotlight. (This is where I want to flag that earlier this year, a report by Rolling Stone revealed the 2018 sexual indecency controversy. against the composerwhich he placed outside the court. Elfman has vehemently denied the allegations against him as “vicious and completely false.” No further accusations or investigations have come out in the course of the story, and Disney and its supporters continue to work with him for a long time.

During the Coachella set, Elfman proclaimed, “My first time as ‘me’ in 27 years. It’s probably about his time acting as Jack Skellington, although looking back, it doesn’t seem like Elfman was being his true ‘self’ as the Oingo Boingo frontman.” It is not income to form It is the final form.

Photo: Daniel Knighton/Getty Images

There are few musical vagrants like Elfman, able to bounce between genres and media and venues, and performing his time like Jack Skellington has everything to do with that elasticity. Now it’s unified – as the six-pack star leads the crowd with floppy red hair and body tattoos head-banging to the theme from In the simpsons.

Elfman said at the time that there were no plans to perform his laser-suit at Coachella, since earlier this year he had disbanded the North Island Amphitheater in California Credit Union. It seems entirely possible that Elfman’s rock star persona will explode out of nowhere with the rhythm of his percussive score. That seems to be the best-case scenario for musicians who never want to be defined, and are often caught up in their business meetings. ordinary Jack Skellington.