“Definitely one of the most enjoyable soundtracks that I have listened to all year!”
BAND: Various Artists
ALBUM: (500) Days of Summer (Digital Version)
LABEL: Sire/Warner Bros.
DURATION: 52:11
RELEASE DATE: July 14, 2009
- Mychael Danna and Rob Simonsen – A Story of Boy Meets Girl
- Regina Spektor – Us
- The Smiths – There Is a Light That Never Goes Out
- Black Lips – Bad Kids
- The Smiths – Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I want
- Doves – There Goes the Fear
- Hall & Oates – You Make My Dreams
- The Temper Trap – Sweet Disposition
- Carla Bruni – Quelqu’un M’a Dit
- Feist – Mushaboom
- Regina Spektor – Hero
- Simon & Garfunkel – Bookends
- Wolfmother – Vagabond
- Mumm-Ra – She’s Got You High
- Meaghan Smith – Here Comes Your Man
- She & Him – Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want
BUY THIS ALBUM:
The romantic comedy “(500) Days of Summer” starring Zooey Deschanel and Joseph-Gordon Levitt is a film that has garnered quite a bit of attention due to its music featuring many classic hits from The Smiths, Hall & Oates, Simon & Garfunkel but also contemporary hits from artists such as Regina Spektor, Meaghan Smith and even a track by Deschanel’s band She & Him.
The music encompasses the rollercoaster emotions of Tom (Gordon-Levitt) as the hopeless romantic who falls in love with Summer (Deschanel) who doesn’t believe in true love. Through the music of the film, you are taken through a journey through happiness and sadness courtesy of its diverse musical soundtrack.
The “(500) Days of Summer” soundtrack kicks off with a short instrumental track by Mychael Danna and Rob Simons titled “A Story of Boy Meets Girl” and transitions to Regina Spektor’s whimsical piano/violin driven-track “Us”. The soundtrack also features Spektor’s all-piano based track “Hero”.
The soundtrack features a good diversity of musical tracks which include the mesmerizing, depressing but yet one of my favorite songs from The Smiths -Â “There is a Light That Never Goes Out” by the Smiths and “Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I want” (which was featured on the 80’s soundtrack “Pretty in Pink”).
The fourth track “Bad Kids” is courtesy of flower-punk band Black Lips which has a musical flair and humor in its lyrics which for me, the track was reminiscent of The Ramones. While the sixth track “There Goes the Fear” features an alternative mid-tempo rock track which features dreamy guitars.
The seventh” track is the classic Hall & Oates hit “You Make My Dreams”, an awesome song but an 80’s track that offsets the musical consistency of the soundtrack. The eighth track “Sweet Disposition” comes from the popular Australian band, The Temper Trap (which was featured on the abc Family finale of “Greek” (Season 2) and Australian TV show “Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities”.
The ninth track “Quelqu’un M’a Dit” comes from popular singer/model and First Lady of France Carla Bruni (wife of French President Nicolas Sarkozy). The acoustic guitar track lends its romantic imprint on the soundtrack.
The tenth track “Mushaboom” is an earlier but still enjoyable hit song by the popular Canadian singer-songwriter, Feist and comes from her 2004 album “Let It Die”.
The 12th track is a short song titled “Bookends” by music legends Simon & Garfunkel (from the duo’s 1968 chart topping album “Bookends”).
The 13th track “Vagabonds” comes from Australian rock band, Wolfmother and sports a little of their 60’s psychedelic rock and 90’s rock influence. While the 14th track “She’s Got You High” brings a catchy UK rock feel by the defunct band Mumm-ra. The song was one of the band’s hits from 2007 from their popular album “These Things Move in Threes” (their first and final full-length album).
The 15th track “Here Comes Your Man” by Meaghan Smith which gives her angelic vocal and musical spin to the 1989 hit song originally by The Pixies.
The soundtrack ends with She & Him’s (which is an Indie folk and featuring actress Zooey Deschanel and musician M. Ward) version of The Smiths “Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want” .
“(500) Days of Summer” is a wonderful soundtrack that features a good balance of upbeat and romantic classics to upbeat rock tracks. For those who found the musical experience of the film to be quite enchanting, the soundtrack features a very good collection of tracks.
The downside is that this is not a soundtrack that showcases a lot of new music and a lot of the tracks featured on this soundtrack are from previously released albums in the past by the artists and the bands featured.
But one of the positives about this soundtrack is that for those who felt close to the characters and perhaps identified with the film’s storyline can definitely find themselves and literally be exposed to new music or artists/bands they have never been familiar with before. Personally, a soundtrack featuring the Smiths and Regina Spektor is a win-win for me and certain tracks on this album definitely opened to other artists that I have never heard of.
Definitely one of the most enjoyable soundtracks that I have listened to all year!