Tuesday, January 31, 2012

#449 Atticus Ross and Trent Reznor - The Social Network OST

Good buzz around this one.

Soundtracks are a tricky sell, either a motley mixtape that barely hangs together (the Singles soundtrack excepted), or a meandering soundscape that hangs limp without the visual element (the Fight Club soundtrack excepted). But every once in a while...

If you described this as a low-key, instrumental Nine Inch Nails album you wouldn't be far off, and if you worked in an Eno mention you'd be closer still, but it's more; a perfect embodiment of the movie's themes, a crackling homage to electronic innovation, and one of the finest slices of work music to come along in ages. The tone is all tension, sadness, and ambition. It isn't depressing, and it isn't angry, but it is sad and frustrated and driven. A menacing side that rises up out of the pits, but it's part of a struggle, always struggling, implying the doggedness and need for doggedness that that implies, always moving forward.

Is also just the greatest programming album ever, standing as an hour-long monument to the craft, standing alongside The Chariots of Fire theme and Eye of the Tiger's respective running and boxing embodiments. The task of programming is driving the line towards a goal while other tradeoffs and opportunities constantly invade, and a balance of focus and opportunism. The album is abuzz with strong synth lines awash in texture and background noise, all burbling just behind the scenes - it is the subtext of the movie, striving for perfection while a sea of dirty bits burbles in the boilerworks.

And finally, its actually a very beautiful album, perfectly paced, over before you know it, one of my favorites of the year 4.5/5

You might like this if: you like instrumental electronic texture, full of and buzz and Fragile beauty

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