I Might Just Have to Get Into This Twilight Thing

Full disclosure:  I have not read any of the Twilight novels.  As of this writing, I have not watched the Twilight movie, although I do have it and plan on watching it one of these days.  Up until this week I never cared anything about the Twilight phenomena–to tell the truth I’ve had my fill of vampires in pop culture lately (with the possible exception of Jack White).

But if any more huge indie rock acts jump on the New Moon (the Twilight sequel) soundtrack, I might be forced to give back my “Bill Compton Sleeps Under My House” t-shirt and get me one with that dude from Harry Potter on it.  The latest (and arguably biggest) name to show up on the soundtrack is Death Cab for Cutie, who contributes the lead-off single “Meet Me On The Equinox”.  But that’s not the only hot band to contribute–word is that TBTS fave Bon Iver has signed up for a song, as have indie rock darlings Grizzly Bear.  Oh, and lest I forget–a little feller named Thom Yorke has signed up too, who moonlights as the lead singer for an obscure band called Radiohead.

All of these acts are reportedly contributing original songs, by the way, not retreading old songs for licensing royalties.  This is a far cry from the first film’s soundtrack, which boasted Collective Soul, Perry Ferrell, and an Iron & Wine song that was not written specifically for the film.  Interestingly, a Radiohead track, “15 Step” appears in the first film, but did not make the released soundtrack.

Much of the credit for the all-star lineup for New Moon‘s soundtrack goes to music supervisor and Grammy-Award nominee Alexandra Patsavas.  Patsavas, and her company Chop Shop Music Supervision, claim some of the most musically-literate television shows in the last decade as their clients.  A short list includes:  The O.C., Grey’s Anatomy, Mad Men, and my personal fave Rescue Me.  Slight digression:  Rescue Me may use music more intelligently than any other show on TV this decade.  Examples include the superb opening song “C’mon C’mon”, playing Ryan Adams’ Hallelujah in the background when Tommy finds out that Shiela’s not pregnant, and the consistent use of Greg Dulli tunes.

Patsavas could turn the Twilight film franchise into a music lover’s paradise, much like she did with her television projects.  Her ability to corral top-level talent like Yorke and Death Cab is significant and could lead to greater things, especially since these artists have a lot of credibility in the rock world.  However it works out, though, it seems obvious that the New Moon soundtrack could become as much of a cultural juggernaut as the movie itself.