Why A Video Game Grammy Meant Much More Than An Award Win

The next chapter in the DC Universe, Lanterns, has just hit TV, and it's a tonal shift from previous incarnations of the galactic space-cop. While the cosmic side of Green Lantern has always been at the forefront across his appearances in DC Animated Universe and the 2010 movie starring Ryan Reynolds, Lanterns grounds the character with a slow-burning mystery on Earth. It's a gritty detective story with cosmic dread so far, and in the background, there's a soundtrack that draws inspiration from '90s rock and grunge to give the show its audio character. Composed by Stephanie Economou--the first-ever Grammy winner for Best Score Soundtrack for Video Games and Other Interactive Media--Lanterns also features experimental sonic landscapes, which Economou says helped to develop a dark and emotional tone for the HBO series. "I started by writing some of the character themes. John's in particular, the first thing I wrote for his theme was this lonely, strummed baritone rubber-bridge guitar, which is very kind of reminiscent of Nirvana, and I wanted to write a bass riff for him that was very steady and measured." "And then when I wanted to write something for Hal, I knew that I also wanted…