The Score With The Dragon Tattoo
December 2, 2011 3:17 PM   Subscribe

Hot on the heels of winning both the Golden Globe and the Oscar for Best Score in 2010 for their work on The Social Network, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross have announced the release of the score for the upcoming David Fincher film, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. The 39-track, three-disk set can be purchased for a surprisingly affordable $14 (as opposed to Amazon's current price of $20) and comes with a digital download of the album. Other versions are also available, including a $300 "Deluxe" set which includes six vinyl records and will be signed by Reznor and Ross. A six-track sampler of the album is available for free download at the Null Co page (email address required). posted by hippybear (48 comments total) 11 users marked this as a favorite
 
For what it's worth, it's $14 plus shipping, which brings it up to nearly $20. Amazon *could* be cheaper, depending on your locale.
posted by mikeh at 3:21 PM on December 2, 2011


But splitting hairs aside, the sampler lets me know that this score is more up my alley than the one for The Social Network, and I do like that Karen O cover.
posted by mikeh at 3:22 PM on December 2, 2011


Thanks to Trent's tweets surrounding the release we also learned about his paying gig while making Pretty Hate Machine, playing keyboards for Cleveland's 1980s glam-lite band Slam Bamboo. (Spoiler: Reznor's the one in black.)
posted by Nelson at 3:23 PM on December 2, 2011 [1 favorite]


All I want is that Karen O cover of Immigrant Song that was in the trailer. Not all three discs, just that one song. Hopefully this won't be one of those ridiculous "you need to buy the whole album even if you only really want one song" kind of deals.
posted by yasaman at 3:25 PM on December 2, 2011


... including a $300 "Deluxe" set which includes six vinyl records and will be signed by Reznor and Ross

I wonder what Elvis Costello thinks of that marketing move.
posted by Greg_Ace at 3:27 PM on December 2, 2011


Hopefully this won't be one of those ridiculous "you need to buy the whole album even if you only really want one song" kind of deals.

Well, FWIW, The Social Network score is available on iTunes and the Amazon Music Store with each track available as an individual purchase. Given Trent's stance on record company tactics and the fact that this is a Null Co release, I'd expect that he'll make sure the same is available for this release.
posted by hippybear at 3:39 PM on December 2, 2011


All I want is that Karen O cover of Immigrant Song that was in the trailer.

Fear not, iTunes has it available.

I listened to the sampler this morning. It's good. Reminds me more of Nine Inch Nails: Ghosts I-IV than it does The Social Network soundtrack.
And I do appreciate that Trent has made it available in a variety of formats: CD, Download, HD Download, Deluxe w/Vinyl, CD and extras.
posted by nickthetourist at 3:46 PM on December 2, 2011


Is the mastering any good, or does it sound like an electric lawnmower hitting a box of cicadas?
posted by ZenMasterThis at 3:48 PM on December 2, 2011


That cover is so rad it makes me wanna kick a dildo up a rapists butt.

(spoiler alert)
posted by Senor Cardgage at 3:51 PM on December 2, 2011


Is the mastering any good, or does it sound like an electric lawnmower hitting a box of cicadas?

The sampler sounds great. I'd expect the HD Download version to be even better.

Joke response: doesn't much of Reznor's catalog sound like an electric lawnmower hitting a box of cicadas?
posted by hippybear at 3:51 PM on December 2, 2011 [1 favorite]


Well, I hope the music is better than the marketing they've been doing for the movie.
posted by New England Cultist at 3:52 PM on December 2, 2011


If you're wondering what the 6 tracks are, here's the Discogs page for the digital sampler, from which I'm guessing these are accurate tracks on YouTube (my email hasn't come yet):

1. Hidden In Snow
2. People Lie All The Time
3. What If We Could?
4. Oraculum
5. Please Take Your Hand Away
6. Under The Midnight Sun
posted by filthy light thief at 3:59 PM on December 2, 2011


here's the Karen O Immigrant Song cover on youtube
posted by delmoi at 4:06 PM on December 2, 2011 [2 favorites]


I was wondering when Fincher decided to only make movies about anti social obessives but then I realized the answer was Since Forever.
posted by The Whelk at 4:07 PM on December 2, 2011 [1 favorite]


Thanks to Trent's tweets surrounding the release we also learned about his paying gig while making Pretty Hate Machine, playing keyboards for Cleveland's 1980s glam-lite band Slam Bamboo . (Spoiler: Reznor's the one in black.)

huh, really? I was only ever a casual NIN fan but I thought I remembered hearing a story years ago that he stealth recorded while working nights as a janitor at recording studio or something. Did I imagine that, or mix it up with another artist?
posted by mannequito at 4:08 PM on December 2, 2011


Trent Reznor continues to be one of the few things (that aren't friends or family) that I loved in high school/college and am not totally embarrassed about today.

My level of love might have been out of control. (Nobody should ever drive to 5 hours to Carbondale, Illinois -- and back that same night. -- for a concert)
posted by MCMikeNamara at 4:10 PM on December 2, 2011 [4 favorites]


Scratch that... nobody who is over 22 shouldn't do something like that.. that was an awesome night and I regret nothing.

But imagining doing it now is making my eye lids heavy.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 4:12 PM on December 2, 2011 [4 favorites]


I was wondering when Fincher decided to only make movies about anti social obessives but then I realized the answer was Since Forever.

Yes, some of his early work definitely foreshadowed this.
posted by hippybear at 4:13 PM on December 2, 2011 [1 favorite]


Wow. The only noteworthy act to play Carbondale since I've lived here was Generationals.
posted by aaronetc at 4:43 PM on December 2, 2011


Kinda disappointed they're remaking this at all (I honestly think they did a pretty great job on the originals and WTF is wrong with subtitles anyway), but at least we'll get an interesting soundtrack out of the deal.
posted by Hoopo at 4:56 PM on December 2, 2011 [1 favorite]


I really loved the originals, but they were hardly perfect films.
The story and Noomi Rapace were so good that the shortcomings were diminished a bit.

Im eager to see what Fincher makes out of it.
posted by Senor Cardgage at 4:59 PM on December 2, 2011


Any time Fincher makes a movie it's always worth checking out. His catalog is more interesting than not.
posted by hippybear at 5:04 PM on December 2, 2011


I want the six vinyl set SO BAD I'm almost afraid I'll actually order it and be out $300, and I think that would depress me.

Also, sometimes I feel like I'm the only one who thought the Swedish film (the first one, anyway; I didn't bother with the other two) was just lousy — a bland-as-hell adaptation of a story that needs salt and vinegar. At the same time, I could not be much more excited about Fincher's version.
posted by Joey Bagels at 6:02 PM on December 2, 2011


"Oraculum" is my new "I'm looking for my keys but want to make it suspenseful like maybe I lost the keys in a killer's house and he'll be home in mere moments" track.
posted by mittens at 6:14 PM on December 2, 2011 [1 favorite]


Hoopo, it's not a remake. It's an adaptation of the novel. But in regard to actual remakes in the local language, most of the world's moviegoing population sees films in their own native language. The dubbing industry wouldn't exist otherwise. It isn't universal, but it bugs me when people (not you) attack Americans for allegedly not reading subtitles but conveniently forget that most people don't read subtitles.

That said, I downloaded the sampler earlier today and I am liking the chill of it so far. And the Immigrant Song cover is indeed awesome. I don't see complaints over covering a song, so why about reinterpreting a novel?
posted by cmgonzalez at 6:24 PM on December 2, 2011


(Spoiler: Reznor's the one in black.)

Spoiler?
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 6:41 PM on December 2, 2011


My question: would any of the music be an appropriate soundtrack to my diving into Russia in an ultralight in Operation Screaming Fist?

This is not my usual criterion for desirable music. But it's been that kind of week/month/year.
posted by the sobsister at 6:47 PM on December 2, 2011 [1 favorite]


I've only seen part of the existing Girl With Whatever Tattoo adaptations... I keep meaning to finish it but haven't gotten around to it. While I can understand maybe just wanting the one version... I dunno. Fincher's got carte blanche with me at this point. If he thinks he can do a different/better version, let him have at it, I say.
posted by sparkletone at 7:29 PM on December 2, 2011


I do think the American aversion to dubbing movies is stupid and xenophobic to an extreme. The year I lived in Germany I saw more than a lot of American media dubbed into German, and it was done skillfully and the dubbing disappeared after the first 5-10 minutes. Often the dubbing was better than the original (for example, the dub of Top Secret, where they used Prussian and other regional accents to add to the humor of the original, something impossible in the original American version).

The television channels often had a second soundtrack option where you could listen to undubbed versions of the original media, and it was amazing how much better the German voice talent suited the material than the original actors. You should have heard my host family laugh at Jack Klugman's voice the first time they heard the original english soundtrack vs. the German dub artist voice for Quincy, M.D.

I keep hoping that we'll get really quality dubbed material here someday, other than the occasional Miyazaki film.

There's so much excellent cinema being created all over the world which we shun here simply because of the language factor. It's just another symptom of how the US is willing to export its culture to every corner of the earth without accepting anyone else's in return, and it's ugly and I wish it would stop.
posted by hippybear at 7:57 PM on December 2, 2011


I do think the American aversion to dubbing movies is stupid and xenophobic to an extreme.

I dunno. I disagree. I prefer subtitles to dubbing, because the disconnect between lip movements and voices annoys me. It's like an "uncanny valley" reaction to me - "something's not right here and it's disturbing me." With subtitles, I don't have that, and I feel like I'm getting the real performance and emotions of the actual actor. It's true that having to read subtitles creates a bit of a mental distancing effect, though, so that maybe I'm still not having quite the emotional involvement I get in plain English films, but I'm OK with that.
posted by dnash at 8:34 PM on December 2, 2011 [3 favorites]


At the same time, I could not be much more excited about Fincher's version.

Not being that familiar with Fincher and having just looked him up on imdb; what is it people feel he's bringing to the table here? I kinda liked Seven, and Fight Club and Panic Room were entertaining enough, but of the list of movies he's directed I'm really not itching to see any of them again. I'm not sure I know what more I should expect from his version based on his past work.
posted by Hoopo at 8:34 PM on December 2, 2011


I prefer subtitles to dubbing, because the disconnect between lip movements and voices annoys me. It's like an "uncanny valley" reaction to me - "something's not right here and it's disturbing me." With subtitles, I don't have that, and I feel like I'm getting the real performance and emotions of the actual actor.

I offer that this is the fault of bad dubbing rather than anything else. That "uncanny valley" effect vanishes after a few minutes if you have quality dubbing. I've seen enough movies dubbed from one language into another (including into English) to know that it's really a matter of the viewer being too insistent on having the lips and the language match up than it is to do with the actual effect on the viewer.

Most of the world watches US films dubbed into their native tongue, while we refuse to do the same here. It's created a global media imbalance which needs to be rectified. The problem isn't in the dubbing -- it's in the inability of the our population to accept dubbing.
posted by hippybear at 8:53 PM on December 2, 2011


I loathe dubbing. I don't even like dubbing in anime. You're wrecking the original performance when you dub. I'd so much rather have subtitles, it's not even close.
posted by empath at 9:16 PM on December 2, 2011 [4 favorites]


So speaks the voice of someone who doesn't live outside the US and doesn't have most of the most successful media in the world presented in a dubbed format.

Most of the world's population has their media dubbed for them unless it's homegrown. And thanks to the US media juggernaut, they often have no choice. Dubbing is what we export to the rest of the world, but we're unable/unwilling to tolerate it here.

And we wonder why we're viewed from abroad as only exporting and never importing what the rest of the world creates artistically.
posted by hippybear at 9:25 PM on December 2, 2011


Fincher brings his icy, techincal look to the table along with his skill in snakey mysteries and passion for obsessed malcontents. It looks like a very good fit for the material considering his work in Zodiac.
posted by The Whelk at 9:31 PM on December 2, 2011 [1 favorite]


I do think the American aversion to dubbing movies is stupid and xenophobic to an extreme.

Well, the aversion that's actually in play here is unknown Swedish actors vs. Daniel Craig & Co. From what I can tell, the Swedish films got plenty of (yes, subtitled) interest for foreign films, because they appealed as narrative rather than as cultural signifier (e.g. art-house fare).

There's so much excellent cinema being created all over the world which we shun here simply because of the language factor.

I don't think it is necessarily xenophobia. I look at my Netflix menu and see a fair amount of Hong Kong action, for instance. Some of it may even be dubbed. The product that's available in English is simply flooding the market.

I'd love to see the internal stats on foreign films with dubbing or subtitles and see what is and isn't abandoned ten minutes in.

And we wonder why we're viewed from abroad as only exporting and never importing what the rest of the world creates artistically.

You're getting a bit wound up about this point. We create a good percentage of the world's entertainment, so it's no surprise we don't need to import that much. The availability of and interest in foreign material has skyrocketed since the internet.

You're wrecking the original performance when you dub. I'd so much rather have subtitles, it's not even close.

This tends to be my cinephile position. When I'm watching Daniel Auteuil, I want to hear Daniel Auteuil, it's that simple.

what is it people feel he's bringing to the table here?

Fincher is a mainstream auteur and one of the finest, smartest Hollywood directors today. He understands how to handle complex emotional and cultural themes and brings a recognizable visual aesthetic to his work. I was delighted that he would be doing the US adaptation of the novel(s?). Even in failure, e.g. Panic Room, he remains interesting.
posted by dhartung at 9:31 PM on December 2, 2011 [1 favorite]


We create a good percentage of the world's entertainment, so it's no surprise we don't need to import that much.

No, we don't. We generate a good percentage of what we see as the world's entertainment. There are whole worlds being generated which never enter the US consciousness, all because it happens in another language, and we're intolerant toward both dubbing and subtitles, for various reasons.

The availability of and interest in foreign material has skyrocketed since the internet.

I'd love to know what the actual stats are on this.
posted by hippybear at 10:20 PM on December 2, 2011


Most of the world's population has their media dubbed for them unless it's homegrown.

Then they are doing it wrong.
posted by empath at 10:46 PM on December 2, 2011 [3 favorites]


Americans who see foreign films want to see 'foreign films'. But does anyone watch American movies in order to feel cultured and sophisticated? The foreign films we get over here are typically the most artful/high quality available. The American movies they get over seas are pretty middle brow.

The idea that Americans want to see movies in their original language is somehow 'xenophobic' is so bizarre. Wanting to watch a film in the original language seems much more 'culturally open' to me, while dubbing seems like you're trying to sanitize it for people who can't be bothered to read subtitles.

Maybe you can argue that Americans are xenophobic because we don't watch Bollywood movies en mass or something. But that has nothing to do with whether they're dubbed or not.
posted by delmoi at 3:13 AM on December 3, 2011 [2 favorites]


So, for those who are asking what Fincher can bring to this project, there's an 8-minute long preview of the movie available through iTunes. I haven't been able to find a non-iTunes link for it, so I apologize to the non-iTunes users out there.

But maybe this will give some idea of what Fincher is doing with this film.

At 8 minutes long, it probably goes without saying that it's a bit spoilerish.
posted by hippybear at 7:18 AM on December 3, 2011


So, for those who are asking what Fincher can bring to this project

Yeah, that was me. Watched the trailer, my first impression is I might skip this one and I prefer the Swedish Lisbeth.

Also, I sometimes wish Metafilter hadn't pointed out the orange-and-teal thing to me, because holy. Every goddamned movie!
posted by Hoopo at 11:35 AM on December 3, 2011


You're wrecking the original performance when you dub. I'd so much rather have subtitles, it's not even close.

Ugh, seriously. Subtitles are my favourite way to learn new languages. Dubbing is loathsome and ghastly. I don't want to see Andy Lau droning on in some unholy locust valley lockjaw, ffs. Give me the original cantonese or by god we shall Have Words.
posted by elizardbits at 7:08 PM on December 3, 2011 [1 favorite]


I too hate dubbing, and I am not xenophobic. This is pet topic of hippybear's, and he seems to have pretty weird opnions about it.
posted by ericost at 7:22 PM on December 3, 2011


A pet topic? Give me a break.

My only opinions about it stem from having actually lived outside the US for a bit and seen 1) how people in other countries consume American media and 2) how much foreign media is consumed in other countries compared to the US, and how much of it is excellent and we ignore because we refuse to let it in for various reasons.

German television and theaters were filled with movies of all levels of quality, and all dubbed into German. It was like living in a completely different world compared to the closed bubble which is the US when it comes to media exchange.

Sure, my opinions might strike you as "weird", but they're based on real experience outside our borders.
posted by hippybear at 8:26 PM on December 3, 2011


Nelson: "Thanks to Trent's tweets surrounding the release we also learned about his paying gig while making Pretty Hate Machine, playing keyboards for Cleveland's 1980s glam-lite band Slam Bamboo . (Spoiler: Reznor's the one in black.)"

Do you think he has nightmares about that?
posted by Samizdata at 9:30 PM on December 3, 2011


Interesting review of TGWTDT.
posted by hippybear at 8:19 PM on December 13, 2011


On the heels of being nominated for a Golden Globe for his Dragon Tattoo soundtrack, Trent Reznor also has an interview in the Hollywood Reporter about his soundtrack work.
posted by hippybear at 5:33 PM on December 15, 2011


Oh, that link is to just a teaser for the full article, which is much longer.
posted by hippybear at 5:45 PM on December 15, 2011


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