The Top 20 Albums of 2011 - #10 - Grizzly Bear: Blue Valentine

The Top 20 Albums of 2011

#10 Grizzly Bear: Blue Valentine

Words by Dirk Calloway

Preface: for over two weeks now, we've been reviewing one of 2011's best albums each day. This is because I listened to 110+ records last year, and I'm a compulsive list maker. Catch up on the other entries here.


I blanched a little today. I wanted to review three soundtracks that were created by rockstars, and call them collectively "the tenth best" record of 2011. But that would be cheating. So, I had to make a difficult choice between the three. I had already typed reviews to the other two though, so I posted them up anyway here. The soundtrack that made it onto the Top 20 was Grizzly Bear's Blue Valentine soundtrack. Well, it's mostly their soundtrack. They share it with a couple of other songs, and I'll give those a shout-out first. Check this track out:

Just as a reminder again, that song, you may notice, was not written or performed by Grizzly Bear. In fact... for a few months after the release of the film... no-one knew who had done either job. The record had arrived in the movie at Ryan Gosling's request, and he'd found it from a compilation of 'lost records' by an obscure label called Prix. Once the film was released, the song became enormously popular, and someone's since been able to figure out the tune's history. It turns out it's by a group that never existed, beyond one hot afternoon in a studio, many decades ago. Its author died long before his song became the theme song to a magical film, and before it became the new hit among 2011's 'in' crowd. Penny & The Quarters' song You And Me is probably my favourite song of the year. But, they're only one part of this amazing soundtrack. Another great performance is this one, by the star of the film, Ryan Gosling, which is used as the backdrop for a stunning trailer:


Both of the above tracks are a) fantastic and b) essential to the movie itself. Their inclusion in the soundtrack makes my heart ache with the emotion of the two character's tragic arc. But the album is the gift that keeps on giving, because they also pack the record full of songs by the wonderful indie-rock group Grizzly Bear. The soundtrack is filled with their B-sides, instrumental versions of better known tracks, and rarities. Because they were used to such stunning effect in the film, each track recalls a scene, and this all helps add to a cohesiveness that "song based soundtracks" can rarely achieve. Rather than call out specific examples, I'll link to this compilation of the songs below:


Thanks for reading folks, check out the past reviews here. Come back tomorrow to find out who made the ninth best record of 2011.

Not Quite In The Top 20 Albums of 2011: Soundtracks for Submarine / The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

(Almost in the) Top 20 Albums of 2011

Other Great Soundtracks by Rock Stars: Submarine / The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

Words by Dirk Calloway

Preface: today, I'll be reviewing my favourite soundtrack of 2011: Grizzly Bear's Blue Valentine. You can read the review (and others) here.


This review is done 'outside of competition'. There are two soundtrack albums worthy of note, alongside Grizzly Bear's Blue Valentine soundtrack. I thought I'd add this post, because they're all so alike that I feel its a good idea to consider them together. They're united together by three things:

1. Each film is well-regarded, directed by a director with a flair for arresting visuals
2. The majority of each soundtrack was composed by a Rock Star
3. Each soundtrack has a consistent 'sound' throughout that makes the record itself sound like a complete album

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Let's start with the most accessible of the bunch: Alex Turner's Submarine

You may recognise that voice as being Alex Turner's. He's the frontman of Arctic Monkeys, and he's also a member of The Last Shadow Puppets. His contribution to the film Submarine was immense, and immeasurable. He provided a consistent 'sound' to the movie, as well as a 'soundtrack'. The fact he looks somewhat like the main character probably helps too. Submarine's director, Richard Ayoade, has a long relationship with Turner, having directed many of Arctic Monkeys' best music videos. This career together has clearly helped the two make collaborative art. The soundtrack is - somehow - whimsical, morose and pensive... simultaneously. Love it, and I love the film too. I find it interesting to hear Turner stripped away from the usual bombast or cynicism of an Arctic Monkeys record - he's got a good ear for a tune and it's nice to see that in a stripped-back environment here.



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Then, there's the least accessible: Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross' The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo 

A YouTube comment sums this up best: "Dear Trent Reznor: you are not supposed to make the opening credits the best part to a great movie." This is the soundtrack that Reznor and Ross have been working their careers to. They added a 'cool' factor to The Social Network's Oscar winning score a year earlier, and now they've added an 'integrity' factor to The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Some of their many innovations included: giving away 6 tracks for free to drum up awareness; selling varieties of the soundtrack (lossless audio, vinyl, 3-discs and 3 hours' worth of CDs, iTunes front-page spots, etc); and a hard-as-nails (ha) tone that just rocks any stereo you play it through. Utterly unmissable for those of us that like a pulsing beat and a grim sense of grime.


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And if you'd like to brush up on Grizzly Bear's soundtrack to Blue Valentine - the 10th best record of 2011 - click this link here.