by Ben Hogwood Photo (c) The Film Society

Last week we learned the sad news of the death of American composer Mark Snow.

Snow had an impressive body of work, including music for Blue Bloods and Ghost Whisperer from more recent years, and even work for isolated episodes of Starsky & Hutch, Dynasty and Cagney & Lacey.

Yet it is Snow’s work for The X-Files that brought him to the attention of small screen viewers, specifically the wonderful main theme, with its promise of life from other planets.

Listen closely to each episode, however, and you’ll see how Snow shapes the unfolding drama through his darkly coloured music. Below is the main theme to The X-Files, and a selection of music from the series, released in 1996 and titled The Truth And The Light:

https://tidal.com/browse/album/294285?u

Published post no.2,588 – Monday 7 July 2025