People are still sinking their teeth into the Twilight Saga

A bloody good series of soundtracks

Illustration: Rigby Guerrero • *The Sentry*
“Never Think” the *Twilight* soundtracks aren’t to die for.

November of 2008 feels like a different planet compared to the reality of today. Barack Obama had just won the historic election, “Womanizer” from Britney Spears topped the music record charts, only those who read the books were aware of Game of Thrones from George R.R. Martin, and people everywhere were eagerly awaiting the theatrical release of the first installment of The Twilight Saga.

There is one fact that both Team Edward and Team Jacob can agree on: the soundtracks to each film are absolute gold. There are not many movies that have a compilation of songs accompanying it so enjoyable not a single one needs to be skipped. The Twilight soundtrack debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 charts and won the American Music Award in 2009 for Favorite Soundtrack. The soundtrack for New Moon was released four days early due to the massive amount of demand by the fans of the series.

Each movie’s track listings read more like a well-loved playlist rather than a movie soundtrack album. There was an extra level of effort to keep them consistent through each movie, matching the darkening tones of the story, each song interwoven to enhance a scene. It was satisfying to have the same format on each soundtrack. Every album ends with the main theme from the film, giving the often-forgotten score composers some love. However, the real weight of each soundtrack comes from the wide range of artists that lend their musical talents to this amazing series.

Muse appeared on each soundtrack, having been a favorite of Stephanie Meyer, they also appeared on her book-writing playlists she had released along with each novel. Not many of the songs overlapped between her song choices and those picked by the sound department for the films, except for Muse. Other key artists include Iron & Wine, with the love ballad, “Flightless Bird, American Mouth” that plays during the dance sequence between Edward and Bella at the end of Twilight. Death Cab for Cutie, who wrote “Meet Me on the Equinox” for New Moon, has one of the best gems of the series with Florence + the Machine and her song “Heavy in Your Arms.”

Along with those heavy hitters in the industry, there are indie or slightly-experimental artists filling out the rest of the track listings. A recognizable name appearing among the artists on the first soundtrack is Robert Pattinson. His music then foreshadowed his current avant-garde acting resume. His song, “Never Think” is cemented in the core soundtrack at track ten, but the iTunes bonus tracks included another track from Pattinson titled, “Let Me Sign.”

Hearing any of these songs outside of the series has the power to provoke those old emotions of anticipation for the latest release or the shared enjoyment of the series as a whole. Many nights were spent with friends sitting and discussing these books and movies. The atmosphere and energy surrounding The Twilight Saga is special and will always stay tucked into the hearts of Twihards everywhere.

This is a selection of the Sept. 23 issue. To view the full issue, visit: https://online.flippingbook.com/view/163519/