score by Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross
Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor and his collaborator Atticus Ross both won Oscars for the downbeat, ambient soundscape they created for The Social Network. And while every aspect of David Fincher’s Silicon Valley docudrama works hard to sell the tragedy of Mark Zuckerberg’s cutthroat tech ascent, it’s Reznor and Ross’s music that really pins the point to the top of the newsfeed, so to speak. Exhibit A: the opening credits sequence, which features a mournful piano melody floating over an ominous bed of buzzing and humming. It’s the sound of a beehive—of the hive mentality that Facebook will inevitably codify, control, and monetize. But it’s also the sound of digital decay: the crumbling of vast Roman amphitheaters worth of useless metadata. Later in the film, when the shit starts to go down for real, Reznor turns up the sequencer amps and does what he does best, i.e. crush skulls with some pulverizing EDM beats. But because this is (basically) Nine Inch Nails, the riffs are less an expression of power than a panicked externalization of inner torment. And let’s not forget Reznor’s mid-film interpretation of Wagner’s “In the Hall of the Mountain King.” Thumbs up, like, and share.
I have not seen “The Social Network” (I’m just not interested in social media). The score won the Academy Award in 2010, and it must be incredible, because it beat out John Powell’s score for “How to Train Your Dragon”, which is one of the best orchestral scores of the 21st century. (The score for HTTYD is also fantastic.)
Reply
Massively overrated score, imo. “How to Train Your Dragon” from the same year bests it in every way. Different kind of film, I know, but I just can’t get that worked up about well-placed drones, synth beats, and a decent re-working of “In the Hall of the Mountain King”. Also, “Inception” was the same year and though it did beget one of the most annoying trends in modern film scoring (“BWAAAAAHHHHH”), I’d still pick it over “Social Network”.
However, “Social Network” is still my second favorite film of 2010 (“Toy Story 3” being numero uno).
Reply
Personally, though I love this score, it kind of breaks my heart that it’s so far up this list. I don’t think it beats any of the top 25, especially not landmarks like Chinatown and The Godfather.
Reply
wah wah whine complain overrated
Reply