I’m what you might call an anomaly. I’m female; relatively young, and I enjoy the sensual seduction of the undead. And yet, the hold that Twilight gained over a generation of young (and young at heart) girls doesn’t apply to me. I came of age as a disciple of the great Anne Rice, and for me, there is no other leading man than Lestat. That being said, there’s no reason why I can’t enjoy the music inspired by the movie based on the novels by Stephenie Meyer.
Truthfully, the only song that stayed with me off the first album was “Decode,” which I’ll happily admit, I enjoy very much. I can’t say the same for the rest of the album. Fast-forward to the present, and the maturity and sophistication of the sophomore album is totally resonating with me.
There’s nothing I enjoy better than sad, mopey songs, and this soundtrack has its fair share. What else would you expect from a “vampire saga”, right? My favorite one being “Possibility” by Lykke Li, a soft, vocal driven song with the light putter of piano accompanying in the background. This song is likely to wrench the heart of any EC fans right out of their adolescent chests.
Another good one is “Satellite Heart” by Anya Marina. I’ve never heard of her before, but (and I’ll take a page out of Gordon’s book) according to Wikipedia, she’s one of those Grey’s Anatomy singer-songwriter types. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. This song reminds me of Rilo Kiley.
Also likely to draw tears from hormonal teenagers (and me on a bad day) is Grizzly Bear’s “Slow Life.” Defined by their beautiful harmonies and arrangements, Grizzly Bear produce another great song to add to the credibility of the soundtrack.
The best thing about this album, aside from the mopey songs, it all the great artists that contributed to it. I’m assuming it has to do with the direction the Twilight movies are going in. As the second book in the series, New Moon is probably delving into more mature subject matter. Take that as you will, but it’s certainly pushed the music into a better direction.
Bon Iver and St. Vincent collaborating on a song, a sweet (if a little sappy, but I’ll take it) song by The Killers, and an acoustic diddy by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (2nd favorite track on the album), and a collection of songs by other artists I’ve never heard of: Sea Wolf, Hurricane Bells, and Band of Skulls.
I won’t forget to mention that the ubiquitous Death Cab for Cutie have a song on here as well. It’s good in a Death Cab for Cutie way.
The only tracks that I would skip over are the contrived number by the Editors and the instrumental closing song, both of which push the cheese factor to intolerable levels. Luckily, one follows the other.
While you won’t be seeing me wear a Twilight shirt anytime soon, you might find me on the N-Judah staring out the window sulking like a certain nighttime Romeo.
What about the Thom Yorke track? That’s the one I’ve been waiting to hear about. And there’s a Muse track, too. Help a prog rock fan out!
They’re both ok. The Muse track rift reminds me of a Maroon 5 song, and the Thom Yorke track didn’t excite me the way the other songs did.