Guitar Hero and Godless Ghouls: Revisiting the Formatively Emo Twilight Soundtrack
EntertainmentEntertainment
Like many high school students with a superiority complex, I thought I was too cool for Twilight when it first emerged as a new, exciting pop cultural force for brooding teens. Though firmly in the “Y” demographic that makes up YA literature’s readership, something about horny vampires unrelated to the poetry of my beloved mall goth icons My Chemical Romance felt derivative and unnecessary. Also, at that time, I had fully internalized all the misogyny that ran rampant on emo records (MCR, surprisingly, was a welcome respite from some of their contemporaries) and nothing struck me as more “fem” than getting horned up on a pale Robert Pattinson. That disdain did not extend to the film’s soundtrack, however—a gloriously stacked radio rawk opus that was equal parts Warped Tour (with the inclusion of Paramore) and stadium rock ‘n’ roll, delivered by Muse and Linkin Park. Music Director Alexandra Patsavas, then known for her work on Gossip Girl, Grey’s Anatomy, The O.C., knew what she was doing, and I was completely on board. In 2008, I had it on repeat.
As much as the film franchise gave alt kids an image to obsess over, its soundtrack provided sounds to identify with. I haven’t listened to it since its release 12 years ago, but I remember it ruling, so I revisited it to see if it holds up.
1. Muse, “Supermassive Black Hole”
I have two immediate thoughts. One: I have no idea what Muse sounds like. Two: Surely it isn’t this? “Supermassive Black Hole” is really restrained for a song named after an unknowable void—a quick look at the lyrics reveals it is also about hating a woman, which leads me question why it was included in the film. Did someone have a thing for sloppy falsettos and songs that sound like they were constructed solely to make an appearance in the Guitar Hero franchise? Or do all the horny vampires hate each other and this works perfectly in the narrative? This is grandiose in name only.
2. Paramore, “Decode”
“Decode” is a certifiable banger. In 2008, I thought frontwoman Hayley Williams’s mournful “What you think that I can’t see / What kind of man that you are / If you’re a man at all” delivery was the most damning thing you could say to a dude, but now I realize it might literally be about vampires. “Like, hey dude, are you a vampire? Or a guy? Let me know, k thanks, bye.” “Decode” is sort of like Paramore writing an Evanescence song, which is great, but also makes me wonder why Evanescence isn’t included in this soundtrack.
3. The Black Ghosts, “Full Moon”
This band didn’t do much after appearing on the Twilight soundtrack, I assume because “The Black Ghosts” sounds like it was named using an online band name generator. There’s some violin on this song, which is nice, because violin is the most vampiric instrument. It also sounds a bit like Bear in Heaven, or some equally Brooklyn-based blog-fodder indie rock band of the ‘00s, and by that I mean perfectly pleasant but ultimately forgettable.
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