Although I haven’t seen Twilight, the super-popular movie based on the super-popular teenage vampire books by Stephenie Meyer, listening to the film’s soundtrack, I feel like I get a good sense of the emotional and thematic undercurrents at play. Drawing from a cross-section of indie-rock and alternative-rock artists – some well-known, some obscure – the Twilight soundtrack offers a cornucopia of sensitive, melodramatic, moody love songs.
Be Warned, Hard Rock Fans
Though the album has done very well on the rock charts, the Twilight soundtrack (despite including many rock bands like Linkin Park, Muse and Collective Soul) rarely cranks up the volume. Instead, many of the artists on the soundtrack go for softer textures and pop-friendly melodies. That isn’t a bad thing – Linkin Park’s subdued “Leave Out All the Rest” is a strong relationship song – but serious rock fans might want to avoid this album since it’s sure to leave them disappointed.
Different Sounds and Styles
Like a lot of multi-artist soundtrack albums, Twilight suffers a bit in that its 12 songs are a hodgepodge of different sounds and styles. While this approach ensures a lively aural juxtaposition – sort of like a mixtape given to you by a friend – it also guarantees that there will be some duds that ruin the album’s flow. To be fair, there are no straight-up terrible songs on Twilight, but, conversely, there aren’t a lot of truly terrific songs, either. What you get instead is a perfectly competent, tuneful suite of tunes that lack the wow factor.
Edward Cullen Sings!
Twilight the film concerns a love affair between a young woman and a hunky vampire. From all accounts, the movie is a brooding, melodramatic tale of true love set against the backdrop of high school’s angst-ridden environment. Heartthrob Robert Pattinson plays the vampire, named Edward Cullen, and it’s fitting that he performs the most brooding, melodramatic song on the soundtrack – “Never Think,” an acoustic ballad full of moaning sensitivity. But in comparison to a true balladeer like Iron & Wine, whose “Flightless Bird, American Mouth” is a highlight, Pattinson seems little more than a poseur as a singer. This will probably not stop millions of young women around the world from swooning at the sound of his voice.
'Twilight' Soundtrack - Bottom Line
On the whole, the Twilight soundtrack fails to summon up an atmosphere of lust and desire, opting for a more PG-rated mood. (Granted, this is the same strategy Meyer used for her books.) Thankfully, a couple dance-ready tracks break out of that straightjacket of lyrical and aural tameness. Perry Farrell of Jane’s Addiction combines lasciviousness and up-tempo beats on “Go All the Way (Into the Twilight),” a song that draws a disturbing connection between sex and death – always a popular theme when dealing with vampires. Likewise, Muse’s “Supermassive Black Hole” is some tasty disco-influenced indie-rock, as frontman Matthew Bellamy works his falsetto while celebrating a vixen who’s got him under her spell. As a change of pace from the emotive warbling elsewhere on the Twilight soundtrack, these songs get the blood flowing.
Iron & Wine – “Flightless Bird, American Mouth”
Muse – “Supermassive Black Hole”
Linkin Park – “Leave Out All the Rest”
Best 'Twilight' Tracks:
Perry Farrell – “Go All the Way (Into the Twilight)”Iron & Wine – “Flightless Bird, American Mouth”
Muse – “Supermassive Black Hole”
Linkin Park – “Leave Out All the Rest”
Release date – November 4, 2008
Chop Shop/Atlantic Records
