(500) Days of Summer soundtrack full of amazing indie music.
Artwork by Rebecca Holt
It is rare to find an amazing movie with an equally amazing soundtrack. (500) Days of Summer is one of those movies.
The soundtrack begins with the narrator’s first monologue in the movie, which is rare in soundtracks, to begin with. The next song is by Regina Spektor. If you haven’t heard of her, there’s a good reason why: she’s not mainstream, which is yet another marvel of the soundtrack. Most major movie soundtracks have artists like Paramore and Muse; artists who everybody knows about.
The initial joy after discovering that this was such a rare soundtrack would be hard to top, but the album did it perfectly. There were some better-known indie bands such as The Smiths (There is a Light That Never Goes Out and Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want), Feist (Mushaboom) and The Temper Trap (Sweet Disposition), but what really excited me were the artists I had never heard of such as The Black Lips (Bad Kids), Carla Bruni (Quelqu’un M’a Dit) and Mumm-Ra (She’s Got You High).
The album covers the entire story of the movie, starting with songs that talked about wanting to be with someone, transitioning into songs about being in a relationship, and ending with songs about a relationship dying. The soundtrack ends with a cover of Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want by She & Him (which, in my opinion isn’t nearly as good as the original; the singer’s voice is watery and sounds distant), which shows the hope for new love similar to the tone at the end of the movie.
It seems that the album follows the thoughts of the main character, Tom, and never strays to Summer(the love interest)’s thoughts. This is great, because it really allows the listeners to put themselves into Tom’s frame of mind. The album is reminiscent of a mix CD Tom might have made for Summer, or what he would listen to as each event transpired.
There is only one true way to discern whether or not a soundtrack is truly amazing: the soundtrack has to be able to stand on its own. If the CD is only good because the songs remind you of scenes in the movie, or the songs were good in the movie but not to just listen to (for instance, solely instrumental songs), then it’s not an amazing soundtrack. The (500) Days of Summer soundtrack is the sort of soundtrack that feels like a mix CD made for you by a really good friend.
I would suggest this soundtrack to anyone, not just people who have seen the movie, because of its ability to stand on its own as well as the beautiful, inspiring music which is also pleasing to the ear.
Rating: ★★★★★
