If I told you that one of my all-time favorite soundtracks is from a movie about Facebook, would you laugh? Well, laugh it up, buddy: directed by David Fincher, “The Social Network” has a great soundtrack that I’ve listened to countless times, especially while doing homework or writing. This is another award-winning soundtrack done by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, the first that the two collaborated on for a major motion picture.
Several months before the movie’s release in 2010, Trent Reznor had released a five track sampling of the soundtrack that left me excited. I was surprised to see that he was the one scoring the film, because its concept seemed pretty innocent and uninteresting: the founding of Facebook, and the conflicts involved in its growth.
I was pleasantly surprised when I actually went to go see the movie, because it’s one heck of an emotional journey. If you haven’t seen the film, you should definitely see it! Until then, rest assured that there will be no spoilers in this post.
Image: Part of a poster for “The Social Network” (pitchfork.com)
Aesthetics
The score to “The Social Network” is similar to the score of “Gone Girl” in some ways. There’s an underlying sense of tension, but it’s much less of a focus this time around. The movie is a talkative drama filled with backstabbing between innovative programmers, and it’s easy to hear those aspects if you’re really listening for them. If technology had a soundtrack, it would surely sound something like this album.
If you’re a fan of Nine Inch Nails, you’ll probably be familiar with a lot of the sounds used throughout the soundtrack. As explained by Reznor in an interview by Pitchfork, the temporary working soundtrack that they sent the director actually used a couple parts from his “Ghosts” album.
Fincher had nothing negative to say, so much of it stuck around, even the parts re-used and remixed from Reznor’s previous album. This is most apparent in “Magnetic”, which uses a beat and string instrument similar to “14 Ghosts II.” Still, you won’t hear me complain, these are both great songs.
When you listen to “In Motion,” the song at the top of this post, doesn’t it make you feel inspired to do something? That song is one of my absolute favorites from any soundtrack ever, I couldn’t tell you how many programs and papers I’ve written while listening to it on loop. It’s low-key enough to make for good listening without distracting you from the tasks at hand.
That really goes for almost the whole soundtrack, too! Some other songs that are good for listening to while working on things are “Pieces Form The Whole” and “On We March.”
Image: Musician Trent Reznor (theguardian.com)
The Verdict
Even though this score is the first that Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross collaborated on, it’s far from sounding that way. From somber to motivated, they had their way of conveying moods nailed perfectly from the start of their soundtrack work together. It’s been my go-to for background noise while working on homework ever since it came out, and I don’t see that stopping any time soon. You can listen to the full soundtrack here.
And would you believe it, that’s still not the last you’ll hear from me about this duo! Here’s a little preview of what I’ll be covering this coming Friday.
Standing Soundtracks 