Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
(ABKCO Records)
It doesn’t necessarily matter what you thought of the movie Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, or really, if you even saw it. Its soundtrack is chock-full of good shit like original material from Beck, Broken Social Scene, and Metric, as well as other songs from Frank Black, the Rolling Stones, and the Black Lips.
Director Edgar Wright spent two years compiling the soundtrack, and each song included was carefully measured and weighed for how it would contribute to the movie. Sex Bob-Omb is Pilgrim’s fictional, understated garage rock band who, like Pilgrim himself, plays the underdog for a majority of the film. In contrast, the songs of one of Sex Bob-Omb’s opponents, Crash and the Boys, are penned by Broken Social Scene’s Kevin Drew and feature a fuzzier, distorted, faster-moving punk rock sound.
All of the songs that Sex Bob-Omb performs were written by Beck specifically for the movie. In addition, Metric contributes the song “Black Sheep†for Pilgrim’s ex-girlfriend’s band, The Clash at Demonhead. While each of the songs shine individually, this soundtrack is best as a whole and functions as a narrative of the emotional highs and lows of the movie plotline. Although this soundtrack is still pretty enjoyable without having actually seen the movie, the overall compilation tends to make more sense in the context of the film, so do yourself a favor and be sure to catch the movie if you haven’t already.
