The Soundtrack Effect: (500) Days of Summer (2009)

A soundtrack can really make a movie.

(500) Days of Summer was everything to me growing up. I was never a big movie person and this was the first movie I ever truly fell in love with. I devoured it. It was also the first movie I ever asked my mom to buy me on DVD so I could always have it physically around me. I spent years of my life rewatching it to the point of memorizing it (I can still recite most of the movie by memory) because, to me, there was never going to be anything better. 

I talked at length in my review of Rushmore's soundtrack about how the music choices in a movie affect, more than really almost anything, how much I like the movie. Almost all of my top favorite films have a killer soundtrack and that's no coincidence. 

Because of how young I was when this came out, this movie really shaped the music taste that I still have as an adult. The style of clothing I gravitate toward. The apartment qualities I look for when I move. Even my taste in guys. 

My thoughts about the movie itself and the story have changed over the years. You’re young and think Summer is horrible, and then you get older and think "No, Tom was just clueless," and then you get even older and say, “Maybe they were just both bad at communicating.” What is so brilliant about this soundtrack is that it really evolves with those thoughts. The songs can evoke whatever response you're already feeling based on the tremendous writing, direction, and cinematography. I love the way this movie is constantly up for interpretation and the way this soundtrack undoubtedly supports that. 

This is also a movie where, when I hear a song that is on the soundtrack, I can picture the moment in the film second by second, shot by shot. I think that really speaks to how beautifully the music and the movie work together.

As a disclaimer, this song list comes from the (500) Days of Summer: Music from the Motion Picture (Deluxe Edition) soundtrack. This doesn't include the original score or the few songs that were just dropped from the soundtrack altogether. 

Here we go! 

"A Story of Boy Meets Girl" - Mychael Danna, Rob Simonsen, performed by Richard McGonagle

It says something about an opening monologue set to music when it's something I will voluntarily, independently, listen to in the car. Every word of this prelude is perfectly written, and the score underneath is gorgeous, (the movie has a great score altogether, but I'm not going to pretend I have the musical knowledge to talk at length about instrumentals). Richard McGonagle's voice is so great for the narration and hearing it immediately takes me back to the first time I watched the film. It gives me goosebumps every single time. I can't imagine the movie beginning any other way and it creates necessary exposition and analysis of the characters we're about to spend time with without being boring and super blatantly exposition-y.

"Us" - Regina Spektor

Regina Spektor has been one of my all-time favorite musical artists since discovering her through this soundtrack. Not only does she have a truly extraordinary, angelic voice, but her songs are deeply poetic. They are real stories and sentiments set to music, robust and artistic in every way. The ninth song on her breakthrough album Soviet Kitsch, there are a lot of inherently political motifs and references throughout "Us." While it may be, among many other things people much smarter than me have spent years dissecting, a story about the rise and fall of shifting political power, it is poignantly used in (500) Days of Summer to provide a prelude to the rise and fall of Tom and Summer's relationship. This is another example, in addition to the opening monologue, of how the movie brilliantly flips the traditional rom-com on its head by showing its cards from the get-go. 

"There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" - The Smiths

An homage to Tom's "early exposure of sad British pop music," the inclusion of this song has led to one of, arguably, the most iconic scenes in a movie in the 21st century. You can't go on Film Twitter without seeing the "I love The Smiths" screengrab at least once a week. It's the reason we all destroy our ears on our daily commute praying that someone will ask about us our niche (but probably not actually that niche) music taste...just me?

"Bad Kids" - Black Lips

This song rocks. It just plays in the background of a scene in the movie, but it's so damn catchy and easy to jam to. No complaints. 

"Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want" - The Smiths

Okay, I don't care if this makes me a pompous, angsty, asshole: this is one of my favorite songs by The Smiths. Sometimes you just need to BROOD and feel like the world is against you and this provides the perfect ambiance for that, at times necessary, experience. Next time you need a good "main character is experiencing an emotional arc" moment, I recommend blasting this in the shower. 

"There Goes the Fear" - Doves

This song is so beautiful. Life can be intense and scary, and it flies past. You need moments to catch your breath, but you lose time by doing that. This song perfectly encapsulates all of those complex feelings accompanied by a gorgeous, simple melody to balance it out. 

"You Make My Dreams" - Hall & Oates

When you hear this song, try to tell me you don't see Joseph Gordon Levitt dancing with animated birds. Try to tell me that's not the first thing that pops into your head. You can't. This song goes so hard, and it's used PERFECTLY here. 

"Sweet Disposition" - The Temper Trap

Listen...this song and I go way back. We specifically go way back to June 15, 2010, when Now That's What I Call Music! 34 was released. While there were lots of bops on that album, this was probably my most played song. There is something about the instrumentals, especially the opening few seconds, that feels inherently cinematic in and of itself. Because (500) Days of Summer does such a great job at curating music that fits the lessons of the movie, and the lessons of the movie (relationships, communication, the complexities of life) are evergreen, something everyone goes through at some point or another, it means that this soundtrack is rich with non-stop young-adult anthems, "Sweet Disposition" being a perfect example of that. 

"Quelqu'un m'a dit" - Carla Bruni

I took French from 6th grade until my sophomore year of college...Carla Bruni is THAT GIRL for wanna-be Frenchies like me. This song is beautiful even if you don't know what she's saying. She just sounds like an angel all the time. 

"Mushaboom" - Feist

I get emotional just thinking about this song, especially listening to it, because it summarizes being a young adult so perfectly. It feels like it was written specifically for me in this season of my life, but I've always resonated with it. It might just be in my top 20 favorite songs of all time.

"Hero" - Regina Spektor

Another beautiful, masterfully written piece by Regina Spektor. I'm going to see her for the first time in concert in a few months and I truly cannot wait. 

"Bookends" - Simon & Garfunkel

It's just as Zooey Deschanel's character in Almost Famous exclaims: "SIMON AND GARFUNKEL IS POETRY!" This is my favorite song of theirs. A true testament that sometimes less is more. Simple can be better. 

"Vagabond" - Wolfmother

This song is really wonderful and I like it a lot, but more than anything, this song is PERFECTLY used in this movie. The rhythm and the beat is in-sync with every shot, it's the anthem of Tom getting out of his funk, it's just absolutely perfectly used in every single way. This is a sequence I could watch over and over again forever. 

"She's Got You High" - Mumm-Ra

Another song that is poignantly used. This song reminds us, as the credits roll, that this is really Tom's movie. It pokes fun at how special and at times dangerous being a hopeless romantic can be. This song is gorgeous, and for a while, it wasn't available on any streaming services such as Spotify and I could only listen on YouTube. Luckily, that's fixed now!

"Here Comes Your Man" (originally performed by the Pixies) - Joseph Gordon-Levitt

I feel like The Pixies are a band that always seem to find their way into soundtracks I like (It's Kind of A Funny Story comes to mind) which is a testament to my persistent angst. This song rocks and I wish we got the full version of Tom drunkenly singing it. It's such a Tom song.

"Sugar Town" (originally performed by Nancy Sinatra) - Zooey Deschanel

Just like how "Here Comes Your Man" is a perfect Tom karaoke song, this is a perfect Summer karaoke song! It personifies her bubbly nature and sounds great in her indie voice. 

"At Last" (originally performed by Etta James) - Kevin Michael

I think this is one of the most objectively beautiful songs of all time, so I don't have much to say that hasn't already been said. God, I love Etta James. And I especially love how it's performed in the movie.

I truly believe with every fiber of my being that (500) Days of Summer is a cinematic masterpiece that deserves so much more recognition than it gets. While it is very much a product of its time, it is richly filled with universal truths about life and love with every truth being poignantly supported by the soundtrack and score.