The Twilight Soundtrack Reviews; Twilight: An aesthetically dark experience
The Twilight soundtracks narrated my childhood. I would religiously listen to every soundtrack, dance to my favorite songs alone in my room, and believed that I was in Forks every time I booted up my Twilight playlist. Due to my large obsession with these soundtracks and how it has influenced my music taste, I decided to go through a review of all of the tracks from every soundtrack. This is coupled with the fact that not many people ever talk about the music of Twilight, many just say that it was good. I want to go in-depth into the songs and how they are all masterpieces.
1. Super Massive Black Hole by Muse
Much to the chagrin of the band itself, Muse, this song will forever and always be associated with Twilight. This song fits so perfectly with the scene and the overpowering guitars highlight all of the thunder. I think the way that the scene is directed with the music in mind was freaking genius. The batting, the super-fast running, and the lightning go great with the instrumentation. I love the dark and haunting lyrics that make you feel so consumed when you listen to them. This song makes you feel like you're in space or in a forest running for your life. It is the unofficial hype song for all Twilight fans. It is a great anthem for moody teenagers and if you want to feel badass. Like who doesn't want to rock out and feel like they're being swallowed by the universe at the same time? Supermassive Blackhole introduces you to the world of Twilight and shows off the angstyness of Twilight at its finest.
2. Decode by Paramore
Okay, Paramore captures teenage angst in the most poetic way possible. Though not my favorite song by Paramore, I appreciate that Hayley Williams actually cared about Twilight and structured her songs off of the feelings and emotions that she felt when reading it. You feel the danger of a relationship and unraveling the mystery of your drug rush of a romance. I really like how this song encompasses the turmoil of loving something that you're not supposed to. (Ehm, loving a blood-sucking vampire is the prime example.) Decode allows you to really feel the conflicting feelings of putting yourself in danger for love. You feel hysterical at first and then at some point it just becomes therapeutic.
3. Full Moon by the Black Ghosts
This is the song that opens Twilight and it's a freaking classic. The haunting voice of the Black Ghosts' lead singer. The guitar riffs in this song and makes you feel you're about to be taken on a dark gothic adventure. Almost every song on this soundtrack is a gothic adventure minus "Go All The Way". I just really liked the way this song brings comfort when you're in a foreign place. Like walk into a crowd, play this song, and you feel like you belong twenty times more than before. It's not as dark as you would expect other Twilight songs would be, it kind of has this joyful tone and I think that builds the excitement in the movie. To be honest I just really liked listening to this song and basking in the sun.
4. Leave Out All the Rest by Linkin Park
This song used to make me very sad as a kid because I was terrified of death and still am. In recent years, there's been a change in the meaning of this song with the death of Linkin Park's lead singer, Chester Bennington. It becomes more melancholy each time I listen to it and hits you with the realization that you're helping fulfill Chester Bennington's wishes by listening to the song. However, in the context of Twilight, Leave Out All the Rest correlates with Bella wanting to become a vampire and leaving behind all the entities in her human life. Although it sounds extremely selfish, I think it's a good representation of what it means to live a human life that you don't fit into and that you don't particularly like. I don't listen to this song too often because of how sad it makes me. It is still a quite worthy song in this soundtrack.
5. Spotlight (Twilight Mix) by Mutemath
This song is the climax of the Twilight Soundtrack and it sort of comes in at the middle of the movie. The purpose of this song is to make you feel like you're an extra cool vampire who has their finger on the pulse of humanity. I think it really matches Edward's thought process in this scene. He knows that he can't keep himself away from Bella, nor can she keep away from him for that matter, so he accepts his fate and makes Bella "one of us". Has her show up with him to inaugurate her to become a part of the Cullens. A group of people untouchable and unattainable like their in the spotlight. I like the poetic notion in the song and how it ties into the plot of the movie even though this music is completely non-diegetic (or is not being heard by the characters in the movie). I also just really love rocking out to this song. I think it is also one of those great songs that can hype you up and make you feel good about yourself.
6. Go All The Way by Perry Farrell
This song is my least favorite song. Maybe because it takes so few elements from the actual story of Twilight or it's just because the song is a lot of noise. I think it is the latter. I know Perry Farrell was part of the band Jane's Addiction and all and he's pretty great. However, I don't really see him fitting in with the aesthetic of Twilight too much. He's more hard metal or hard rock, while Twilight is more Emo/Indie alternative. This song has always been skipped on every playthrough of the soundtrack. I get it. It had to be part of the prom scene, making it imperative the song sounded like a party. It had to look like a party but still, the loud shouting vocals are not my thing. Also, the intro makes it sound like you're in a club, I can't even imagine Bella and Edward ever going to a club unironically and enjoying it. They're like the epitome of I stay home and listen to classical music while reading the great works of Charles Dickens. The song also had an obnoxious sample of some woman saying "go all the way." I get that this is a teenage movie but you don't have to be so raunchily on the nose.
7. Tremble for My Beloved by Collective Soul
This song is an adrenaline rush. However, I skip this song every single time that it comes up on shuffle. Why? Because like half of this song is what everyone remembers from the movie and the other half is just this weird emotional rock power ballad. It's very weird and I could never stand the whole song. I get it though, it's tied to this really pivotal moment in where Bella witnesses Edward's supernatural tendencies. However, the song isn't a real banger. The theme of the song tends to be confusing and I guess that fits in with Bella's mindset. Its role in the movie is iconic but in reality, it just ends up hurting my ears.
8. I Caught Myself by Paramore
Once again Hayley Williams captures the teenage angst that Twilight revolves around. I loved this song not just because of its relation to Twilight but because it created this rhythm of just shouting all the things you have to do in a relationship sometimes. Or in Twilight's case, when you question the humanness of your crush. "Now when I caught myself, I had to stop myself// I'm saying something that I should have never thought." It's perfect in the situation of Bella and Edward but can also be used for the non-vampire relationship. Something must have been in the water when Hayley Williams was writing the twilight songs because the Paramore songs on this soundtrack are so in tune with the storyline. If I am angry, sad, or even just trying to hype myself up I put on this song and just let that shouting rhythm take me away.
9. Eyes on Fire by Blue Foundation
This song basically screams "I AM A VAMPIRE AND I WILL EAT YOU!!!" That aside, I really love this song. It's haunting and dark. It makes you feel like you're either being consumed by a really dark cloud or having fire run through your veins. I totally as a child listened to this song and walked around feeling like a vampire. I really like this song though it fits really well with Bella's longing to see Edward. It makes the stares from the Cullen family extra creepy. The music swells but not in the way that Tremble For My Beloved does. I am never overwhelmed by this song despite how dark it is. Also the harmonies and bass in this song are the backbones of the song. They give the song its ambiance and aesthetic. I would highly recommend this song to listen to just on its own.
10. Never Think by Robert Pattinson
Robert Pattinson, despite his odd acting in this film, which seemed to be no fault of his own, can sing. He can really sing and it's emotional and raw. However, as a kid, I always skipped this song. Why, because I did not want to be emotionally sad. It's sort of the same case as the song by Linkin Park. I was too young to connect with that side of myself. Never Think though is a wonderful song and is forever a part of my memory as what backtracked the iconic restaurant reading minds scene. I really wish Rob Pattinson wasn't directed to be so stiff in this movie because I think he could have made Edward really funny. Regardless, this song really sets the intimate tone that was needed in the scene. I think it's quite touching as it is, you know, Robert Pattinson singing the song.
11. Flightless Bird, American Mouth by Iron & Wine
The most iconic song of the Twilight soundtrack because of how memorable this scene was. I really thought that this scene meant that they were going to be together forever. That's because I was seven and had not read the books. I had barely even started chapter books. I really wanted to dance to this song at my own prom though. That never happened, unfortunately. Even though the song sounds romantic, the lyrics of the song have a really complicated of telling you that they have come to love something that is conventionally viewed as weak or lame. Which, I guess is quite fitting. This song might be the best one on the soundtrack in my opinion. It connects to the theme of Twilight, it's hauntingly dark, and it's also very memorable in the movie.
12. Bella's Lullaby by Carter Burwell
Do I know how to play this song on the piano? Yes. Does that make me lame? Apparently not. Lately, this song has been blowing up on the famed social media platform of tik tok. Do I like how they're being used in those tik toks. Not particularly. Because I don't really associate the song with people awkwardly twerking or waving their hands in a macarena-like motion. Bella's Lullaby will always evoke the privacy and beauty of walking through the woods and everything that has a blue hazy colored filter over it. I love listening to this song going camping or hiking in the woods. I mean it is also the symbol of Edward's love for Bella. But that's beside the point. Is it the greatest song ever? No. Is it the best orchestral song in Twilight? Yes.
Conclusion
Despite all the nostalgia for me, the Twilight soundtrack still has great songs from bands that are notable even outside of this movie. I think that people should give the soundtrack a chance or continue their great love of it. The Twilight soundtrack does exactly what a soundtrack is supposed to do. It gives the listener a portal into sights, sounds, and feelings of the Twilight universe and takes them away from reality. But also because most of the songs are just freaking great.
Score 9/10
