Friday, August 19, 2011

16 Days of Birthday, Day 13: Music in the Movies

If you were to look through my iPod at the moment, you would be sad to find that I do not have any Justin Bieber. Or any of that rap crap that I am forced to listen to in ICT (i.e. a song that only has the words 'everybody in the club getting tipsy'). Or any emo screamo or whatever the hell it is called. If you were to judge me through my iPod, I think you would find that I'm not a normal teenager. Nor am I one of those hipster kids who only listen to indie music. Instead, at least 75% of my iPod is filled with songs from the movies, mainly full soundtracks.

I pretty much listen to my iPod every night, usually while I'm blogging, because I pretty much hate silence. And with all this movie music on my musical device, it all ties in, doesn't it? There are quite a few songs which I always have to listen to every time they come around on shuffle. Because everyday I'm shufflin'. And here they are:


According to iTunes, my most played song on my iPod is 528491 by Hans Zimmer off the wonderful Inception soundtrack. Now, all of you people probably love the track Time (more on that soon), but 528491 has to be my favourite. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: put this on your iPod, stick in your headphones, turn this song on full blast and close your eyes...it is more epic than the movie itself. The song has so many layers and it always reminds me of Cillian Murphy's eyes - mainly because this song is used while the camera is looking straight at him.

I'm also a huge fan of the track Time, don't worry. This song is so amazingly beautiful and it just adds more epicness to an already epic ending. To be honest, Time was probably the soundtrack to my latter half of 2010. I used to listen to it like five times a day.


The Social Network's soundtrack, composed by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, has quite a few songs on my most played list. The one that has been played the most is surprisingly track #14, Magnetic'. This is the one which is played during the first meeting between Sean, Mark, Eduardo and Christy Lee, even though in the movie it's given a bit more of an Asian vibe to fit with the sushi bar they're at. I don't know why I love this song so much...I think it is probably because it's so frustratingly fun, just like the character of Sean Parker.

There are so many other songs that I like from The Social Network, though. If I were to rank the songs on the album from best to worst, the list would go something like this:
  1. Magnetic
  2. In Motion
  3. A Familiar Taste
  4. Intriguing Possibilities
  5. The Gentle Hum of Anxiety
  6. Soft Trees Break the Fall
  7. In the Hall of the Mountain King
  8. Pieces Form the Whole
  9. Painted Sun in Abstract
  10. Penetration
  11. Almost Home
  12. Hand Covers Bruise
  13. On We March
  14. It Catches Up with You
  15. Complications with an Optimistic Outcome
  16. Eventually We Find Our Way
  17. Hand Covers Bruise, Reprise
  18. 3:14 Every Night
  19. Carbon Prevails
Haven't listened to The Social Network soundtrack yet? You can do so on Youtube here. I reckon that this soundtrack is probably one of the best modern soundtracks out there...it's just so damn perfect for the movie!


The Black Swan soundtrack by Clint Mansell (inspired by the work of Tchaikovsky) is one which I bought pretty much straight after I watched the movie around Oscar time. While most of this score is basically Tchaikovsky's work, Mansell does some amazing things with it, such as playing the Swan Lake songs in a distorted manner and giving his own paranoid twist to them. Two of my particular favourites are:

Perfection - This song is probably my favourite because it is the exact music played from the time Nina kisses Thomas to the very end. And if you've seen the film, then you know the ending is pretty damn epic, but still very beautiful. In five minutes, this song seems to capture every emotion that little Nina could possibly be going through at that point. Which makes for an amazing, heart-stopping and pretty song which is the perfect end to an almost perfect film.

Opposites Attract - Okay, so this song is the one that is played during that sex scene between Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis. But it is also the song which is played in the trailer, which I heard a lot when I was at work, therefore my ears really warmed to the song. It's a pretty cool song which has this really weird strain of evil in it...very good, very good.

In Kick-Ass there were two very awesome John Murphy songs which were incidentally both in Danny Boyle movies.


The first is Kaneda's Death, Pt. 2 (Adagio in D Minor), which is from one of the most underrated movies ever, Sunshine. It can be seen in Kick-Ass when Hit-Girl is trying to save Big Daddy...what an epic moment. If any of you keep up with the trailers, then you'll probably recognise it from The Adjustment Bureau's trailer. This is one stirring song which always makes me feel like someone on the moon bouncing around. Don't judge me.


The second in In the House - In a Heartbeat, from the scene where Jim is trying to save himself and his friends. The song starts out all nice, but then it goes totally badass at the end making for the perfect track to go with any action sequence. Which is shown in Kick-Ass, too, as this song is used in a scene which nearly made me forgive Nicolas Cage for all of his past mistakes: the one where he is setting fire to the warehouse. So badass.


Another Clint Mansell song that I really like is Lux Aeterna from Requiem for a Dream. Of course, this song is pretty much a staple for any movie lover as it is now used everywhere. But who remembers it in Requiem? That traumatic piece of music backing an already traumatic scene. While I'd like to blame Darren Aronofsky for wrecking my life forever after watching that movie, I think it's all Mansell's fault. This song still terrifies me.


The Theme from Schindler's List is a particular favourite of mine, too. Well, obviously, since the movie just so happens to be one of my favourites and John Williams' score work couldn't have been more impeccable. With Itzhak Perlman playing the violin, Williams manages to put every shred of pain, sadness and the heroism from Oskar Schindler into this achingly beautiful piece of music. It always makes me feel like crying, usually because when I hear this song I always think of Oskar saying "I could have done more!"

And just for randomness, here are some songs which I like that just so happen to be in movies (but they're not from scores or anything like that):


Sweet Disposition by The Temper Trap - from (500) Days of Summer


Black Sheep by Metric - from Scott Pilgrim vs. the World


Hero by Regina Spektor - from (500) Days of Summer


Letters from the Sky by Civil Twilight - from I Am Number Four (movie sucks, the song is amazing)


I'll Try Anything Once by The Strokes - from Somewhere


Where is My Mind? by The Pixies - from Fight Club


La Boquilla (Dixone Remix) by Bomba Estereo - from Limitless


Stand Up by The Prodigy - from Kick-Ass


Little Green Bag by George Baker Selection - from Reservoir Dogs


You've Got Me Wrapped Around Your Little Finger by Beth Rowley - from An Education

What are some of your favourite pieces of music from the movies?

13 comments:

  1. I'm also huge fan of soundtracks, and I too love Hans Zimmer, Clint Mansell and The Social Network soundtrack (I enjoy listening to it while working on photoshop or something computer related, it seems to suit the task, haha)
    Other composers I really like are Dario Marianelli (I find him very creative, just listen to the Atonement soundtrack), Howard Shore - I know he did a lot of famous soundtracks, but I have a special adoration for The Aviator - and I really like Rachel Portman for Chocolat, and Nick Cave and Warren Ellis for The Assassination of Jesse James. Oh, and Abel Korzeniowski for A Single Man, and Bernard Herrmann for pretty much everything he ever made.

    I could go on forever - people think it's the strangest thing to listen to soundtracks, but I love it, so I'm glad to know you love it too :D

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  2. I love Social Network's Soundtrack...and we definitely have a few more soundtracks in common.

    Right now I am re-obsessed with In Bruges, and I finally downloaded The Hours's score. God I love that. One of my favourite scores is Amelie's. And soundtracks will be Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist and Marie Antoinette's

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  3. Damn, you got a good list. I too love the soundtrack to The Social Network. In fact, I'm a big NIN fan and already have a physical copy of the album for $8. Yay! I also love any soundtrack of films by Sofia Coppola, Wes Anderson, and Quentin Tarantino. My favorite composer in films is the Maestro himself, Ennio Morricone.

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  4. Great post, and playlist at the end there. I love how when I listen to songs used in films it always brings me back to the emotions evoked by watching those specific scenes.

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  5. I could talk about my favourite music from movies all day.

    I love everything Clint Mansell has ever recorded for a movie. The track "Death is the Road to Awe" from The Fountain soundtrack is my favourite piece of musical score of all time. Please YouTube it right now and give it a listen. You won't regret it.

    As for movie scores/soundtracks I like, there's also Mansell's scores for Pi, Requiem for a Dream, The Wrestler and Black Swan, all masterpieces. There's the scores of the legendary Jon Brion, who did the score to Magnolia, which as a whole is one of my Top 3 movie scores of all time; it's like 30% of what I love about that movie is the score. One of the best CDs I've ever bought. Another musical scorer I can always (ALWAYS!!!!!) trust is Thomas Newman, whose scores for American Beauty and The Shawshank Redemption (particularly the former) are just flipping perfect! Also: any of Angelo Badalamenti's scores to David Lynch's movies.

    Those are the scores I love, here are a few of my favourite soundtracks: Boogie Nights, A Clockwork Orange, Trainspotting, Pulp Fiction. Ah, forget it. I think I've listed enough. Try and check out some of those scores on YouTube if you can, they're all definitely worth hearing. I'm just jumping into your playlist above right now.

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  6. Individual tracks for me include.....Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head, For Your Eyes Only, Girl, You'll be A Woman Soon, Opening score to The Sting, Moon River, Honky Tonk Man, theme from The Deer Hunter...oh man just too many to choose from!
    And on a diffferent note (a pun!)....I don't know about you but this Kiwi is a bit sick of the cold weather!!

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  7. But rap is good, Stevee!

    Not the horrible 'hip-pop' or 'rap-pop', there is some really good hip-hop/rap artists!

    Can't get enough of Mansell though. As someone who isn't a number 1 Aronofsky fan, I always find Mansell to be the best part about his films (as his music is always amazing, particularly in The Fountain and Moon.)

    Very good choices for music from soundtracks, though. (And yes, The Strokes!!!)

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  8. Maria Sofia - The Social Network's soundtrack really does go really well with doing anything computer related!
    I love the score for A Single Man too. You've given me a lot to listen out for - thanks!
    I'm glad I know someone else who adores listening to soundtracks...they're just the best!

    Nikhat - Who doesn't love The Social Network's score? It's brilliant.
    Yay, I get to see In Bruges soon (R16 troubles...bloody hell). I love the soundtrack for Nick and Norah also!

    thevoid99 - I'd really like a physical copy of TSN's score, as I just got it off iTunes. I love soundtracks from the films by Coppola, Tarantino and Anderson, too! Ennio Morricone is awesome!

    Bonjour Tristesse - That's what I like too!

    Tyler - Clint Mansell is just brilliant. That's all I have to say.
    Death is Road to Awe is such a beautiful song - I should probably get around to watching the actual movie some day.
    I loved the score for Magnolia, too. I particularly liked the one from There Will Be Blood...that was one intense score.
    I'll definitely youtube a few of these...new music is always welcomed!

    Brent - I love the Girl You'll Be a Woman Soon! Such an epic moment in Pulp Fiction.
    This Kiwi is over the cold weather too...but we had such a lovely day today (the sun was shining and it was a lot warmer than it has been). Thank goodness the polar blast has gone!

    Cherokee - There are some rap songs which I like...but I generally hate some other ones.
    Mansell is usually the best thing about any of the films he scores for me, too. Such a brilliant composer.
    The Strokes are awesome!

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  9. hey stevee awesome post about music! :) haha it dosn't matter that you listen to movie soundtracks on your ipod; half the stuff I listen to nobody even knows either! :)
    my favourite soundtrack from a film would have to be the one from "August Rush" - that film wouldn't be half as awesome if it wasn't for that amazing score! every time i hear that echoing acoustic guitar i pretty much get shivers down my spine. it's incredible!
    can't say i paid much attention to the music in 'Inception' though - i was to busy trying to follow the story haha.
    will have to look some of these up at some time.

    Jordan

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  10. So thrilled to meet some more score-philes! I have too many favorites to name but just about anything written by Hans Zimmer and his Remote Control crew seems to take up most of the playing time in my car stereo.

    Have you ever visited streamingsoundtracks.com? It's a free online radio station that plays film music 24/7. It has a huge library and allows user requests. My username is Johnny_Cage. Feel free to say hello if you see me in the chat.

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  11. Mayday - Haha, I knew you'd like it!
    August Rush does have a pretty good score.
    If you ever watch Inception again, give a little thought towards the music...there's some brilliant music in that movie which is pretty epic!

    Ian - Hans Zimmer is the best!
    And I'm checking out that website now. I didn't know there was something of it's kind on the net!

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  12. I must say your iPod is a happy thing.

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You mustn't be afraid to dream a little bigger, darling.

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