This is the New Yorker Radio Hour, a co-production of WNYC Studios and The New Yorker.

This is the New Yorker Radio Hour, and I'm Adam Howard, one of the show's producers.

The filmmaker John Carpenter could fill a whole shelf with his cult classics.

They live, The Thing, Escape from New York,

Halloween, and many more. And he remains a huge presence for many film buffs, even though he

hasn't made a new movie in well over a decade. Instead, it's film scoring that's preoccupied him.

There aren't many filmmakers who write their own scores, let alone ones that are among the

most memorable in movie history.

For the last several years, Carpenter has been scoring other director's films in his distinctive style,

and he's released a handful of albums of cinematic music, with no movie required.

I caught up with Carpenter as he was launching a small tour, just in time for,

you guessed it, Halloween.

And we talked about some of the film music that's most inspired him.

John, your father was a very accomplished musician.

He had a PhD from the Eastman School of Music,

so I imagine you grew up in a very musical household.

I'm wondering if any point, did you ever think about seriously pursuing a career in music yourself

as a young person?

Well, in a way, I did when I was a senior in high school and then my first year in college,

I was playing in a rock and roll band.

So I thought about doing that because we would play on the weekends and get paid for it.

So I guess that counts as a career.

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