Social Network SDTK

Modern film scores are, by large, not what they once were. Strings and piano, mostly, composed in a way that the director hopes will aid the listener in following the emotional impact of what's playing out on the screen. A device used to keep - and control - viewer's experiences, really, is what the art of the score has become in Hollywood. From time to time a director will pop up who really puts time into selecting music for their film, using the once-very-important element to add to the overall style, mood and aesthetic of the film. Mark Mothersbaugh, who often works with director Wes Anderson, has recently done some great stuff, as have Jon Brion, Jonny Greenwood, Yann Tiersen, the Dust Brothers, Badly Drawn Boy and a handful of others. Still, I rarely find the urge to pick up a score; because of this, I was thrilled to leave the theater after David Fincher's excellent The Social Network ended, off on my way to hunt down a score that struck me as both interesting and unique.

Once I located said score I was stoked to see that it was the work of Nine Inch Nails honcho Trent Reznor and his regular collaborator, producer Atticus Ross. To be honest, I'm not a huge fan of the Nine Inch Nails catalog. It's work that I respect and see the value of, but almost never feel the urge to actually listen to. Not unless, you know, I feel like stabbing pencils into my ears. In fact, not until I heard the mellow second disc of 1999's The Fragile did I think Reznor had much to offer outside the world of industrial music. That disc in particular hinted at the man's interest in ambient, progressive and electronic music, as well as his less obvious experimental side. When 2008's Ghosts I-IV arrived I was more onboard the Reznor train than ever. A two-disc set of mostly mellow instrumental music that reminds of everything from Tangerine Dream to Brian Eno and Krautrock, I was sold, even if I didn't much care for the signature NIN sound of records like The Downward Spiral and With Teeth.