MP3 Review: 500 Days of Summer soundtrack

My fianceé and I watched this movie a couple months ago and it was a great little indie love story. If you haven't already seen it then I urge you to go out and rent it. The soundtrack for "500 Days of Summer" was also phenomenal and included a wide range of artists including The Smiths, The Temper Trap, Simon and Garfunkel, and the Black Lips, just to give you an idea of the diversity. Think of a more grown-up version of the "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist" soundtrack and you'll probably get an idea of what I'm talking about. There's a sort of indie feel to the soundtrack but somehow the compilers weren't afraid to go back in time as opposed to "Nick and Norah" where all of the songs selected were written more or less in the past five years. The inclusion of bands old and new on the "500 Days" soundtrack has allowed me to basically treat it like a cool playlist; it's eclectic enough to remain interesting for a long time. I love the "Nick and Norah" soundtrack too but just for different reasons.

One of the best songs on the soundtrack was "There is a light that never goes out" by the immortal Smiths. It fit the mood of the movie perfectly. The lines "to die by your side well the pleasure, the privilege is mine" go along well with the main character's obsession with Summer and I'll admit I'm just a fool for endeavor that includes a well placed Smiths song or two.

The other older song that made the soundtrack memorable for me was Hall and Oates' "You make my dreams come true". With the dated-sounding keyboards (albeit very cool) and overly happy mood it might not seem like a great fit for such a melancholy movie. However, when played alongside other songs on the soundtrack and its representation of the main character's hope for something more than unrequited love from Summer it really seems to fit. The song marks a time in the movie before the main character, Tom, realizes that the relationship isn't going to go anywhere; the calm before the storm.

Some of my other favorite songs on the soundtrack were a number by Doves called "there goes the fear", two excellent songs by Regina Spektor ("Hero" and "us"), and a She & Him cover of the Smith's "Please, please, please, let me get what I want".

I won't rate soundtracks the way I rate normal albums because they're only a compilation of stuff by different artists and can't be thought of the same way as a regular LP. I'll just say that I highly recommend the movie and the soundtrack.