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The Virgin Suicides (soundtrack)

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The Virgin Suicides
Soundtrack album by
Various artists
Released28 March 2000 (2000-03-28)[1]
Genre
Length53:53
LabelEmperor Norton[2]
Compiler

The Virgin Suicides (Music from the Motion Picture) is the soundtrack accompanying the 1999 debut feature film by director Sofia Coppola. Released by Emperor Norton Records on March 28, 2000, the album features classic rock and pop songs by Todd Rundgren, Heart, Sloan, The Hollies, Al Green, Gilbert O'Sullivan, 10cc and Styx; plus two tracks from the French electronic music duo Air.

Background

[edit]

Sofia Coppola wanted the film's soundtrack to convey the feeling of adolescence in the suburbs, a theme to be reflected in the songs chosen from the time the film is set: 1975.[3] Not wanting to rely only on hits from the early 1970s, she opted to combine songs of the period with a "consistently other-worldly soundtrack" in the score by Air, a band she had listened to while writing the screenplay.[3] (The score Air composed for The Virgin Suicides was released as a separate album on February 23, 2000; the band would also go on to collaborate with the filmmaker on some of her subsequent projects.)

Coppola opined that this soundtrack, despite being filled with 1970s music, also had a modern feel. There is a song by the Canadian band Sloan, who formed in 1991; and two selections from Air, including "Playground Love (Vibraphone Version)", a new recording made especially for the soundtrack. She also found that she shared many of her suburban memories and experiences with Air's Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoît Dunckel, even though they grew up in a different country.[3]

Brian Reitzell, the film's music consultant (and a former member of Redd Kross), said he wanted to select songs "that were not the songs that everyone thinks of at first, but ones that are a little more obscure. It was important to strike that intimate chord that transports you back to that period. But we also didn't want to be obvious with our choices. We didn't pick any stoner rock for the film, which is what everyone seems to be doing."[3]

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
NME7.5/10[5]
Pitchfork4.8/10[6]

The soundtrack received positive reviews from critics. AllMusic contributor Gina Boldman wrote: "The soundtrack replays the myriad emotions of adolescence and those of the Lisbon girls in particular."[4] Pitchfork's Mark Richardson gave context to the album's focus on the '70s in his review: "This soundtrack seeks to replicate the feel of mainstream mid-'70s radio, and to that end, it's a wild success. This is what it sounded like — from the banal pop of 10cc to the raw (okay, medium-rare) power of Heart to the epic romanticism of Styx. Forget disco, CBGB's, punk, and new wave. That stuff didn't play in Peoria until much later. For a real taste of what a suburban kid playing Space Invaders was likely to hear pumping over the arcade sound system, this collection is the real thing. The problem is, no one ever said mainstream '70s radio was particularly good. It was like the mainstream radio of any other time, with a few true innovators, a glut of imitators, and a handful of the truly awful. All are represented here in their proper proportions."[6]

In his 2021 article on music and gender in Coppola's film for Our Culture Mag, Konstantinos Pappis wrote that "what’s certain is that the role of music is more than just affective or nostalgic; it inhabits a complex and often gendered perspective that may either reinforce or offer an alternative to and an escape from the gaze."[7]

Clare Nina Norelli of Mubi.com gave a comparative analysis of the film's incorporated music and its score: "Within the film, rock and pop songs tether the narrative to the material world both diegetically and non-diegetically, connecting the boys to the Lisbon sisters and locating the action firmly within the film’s mid-1970s setting through its contemporaneous music choices [...] We hear these songs when the sisters give a small party at their home, attend their school dance, and when they engage in a moving telephone exchange with the boys that involves playing records to each other in order to express the inexpressible, allowing the music to speak where they cannot."[8] She further described Air's work as "metaphysical, aligned with the heavens" and added: "Through its spacious, soaring, almost hymnal synth harmonies, pulsating rhythms, and bittersweet melodies, their score conveys musically the translucence of memory and invests the ethereal specters of the Lisbon sisters on screen with an added otherworldliness."[8]

Track listing

[edit]
No.TitleWriter(s)ArtistLength
1."Magic Man"Ann Wilson, Nancy WilsonHeart5:28
2."Hello It's Me"Todd RundgrenTodd Rundgren4:21
3."Everything You've Done Wrong"SloanSloan3:27
4."Ce Matin Là"Air, Patrick WoodcockAir3:39
5."The Air That I Breathe"Albert Hammond, Mike HazlewoodThe Hollies3:47
6."How Can You Mend a Broken Heart"Barry Gibb, Robin GibbAl Green6:23
7."Alone Again (Naturally)"Gilbert O'SullivanGilbert O'Sullivan3:39
8."Strange Magic"Jeff LynneElectric Light Orchestra4:29
9."I'm Not in Love"Eric Stewart, Graham Gouldman10cc6:04
10."A Dream Goes On Forever"Todd RundgrenTodd Rundgren2:23
11."Crazy on You"Ann Wilson, Nancy WilsonHeart4:55
12."Playground Love" (Vibraphone version)Air, Thomas MarsAir3:51
13."Come Sail Away"Dennis DeYoungStyx6:04

Personnel

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Credits taken from The Virgin Suicides liner notes.[9]

Chart performance

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Chart (2000–2001) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[10] 100
European Albums (Music & Media)[11] 78
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[12] 35
Scottish Albums (OCC)[13] 29
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[14] 20
UK Albums (OCC)[15] 55
US Billboard 200[16] 138
Chart (2023) Peak
position
Hungarian Physical Albums (MAHASZ)[17] 30

Release history

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Region Date Label
Japan 15 March 2000
  • L'Appareil-Photo Bis
  • V2
Germany 17 March 2000
France 27 March 2000
United Kingdom
United States 28 March 2000 Emperor Norton
United States 24 October 2020 (reissue*) Rhino Records

(*further US/UK vinyl reissues followed in 2023-24)

References

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  1. ^ "The Virgin Suicides: Music from the Motion Picture". AllMusic. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
  2. ^ Various Artists (2000). The Virgin Suicides (CD Soundtrack). Emperor Norton. ASIN B00027JY4E. EMN 7029.
  3. ^ a b c d "About the Production". Cinema Review. The Virgin Suicides. Archived from the original on 7 May 2005. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
    • "The Cast". Cinema Review. The Virgin Suicides. Archived from the original on 7 May 2005. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
    • "The Style". Cinema Review. The Virgin Suicides. Archived from the original on 7 May 2005. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
    • "The Music". Cinema Review. The Virgin Suicides. Archived from the original on 7 May 2005. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  4. ^ a b Boldman, Gina. "The Virgin Suicides: Music from the Motion Picture [Emperor Norton]". Allmusic. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
  5. ^ NME (12 September 2005). "The Virgin Suicides Soundtrack". NME. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
  6. ^ a b Richardson, Mark (12 May 2000). "Various Artists: The Virgin Suicides". Pitchfork. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
  7. ^ Pappis, Konstantinos (26 March 2021). "Music as an Escape From the Gaze: Soundtracking Gender in 'The Virgin Suicides'". Our Culture. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
  8. ^ a b "Scores on Screen. Clouds Up: Air and the Soundtrack of "The Virgin Suicides"". MUBI. 28 May 2018. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
  9. ^ The Virgin Suicides (liner notes). Various artists. Emperor Norton Records. 2000. EMN 7029.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  10. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 10.
  11. ^ "European Top 100 Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 17, no. 17. 22 April 2000. p. 17. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  12. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Soundtrack – The Virgin Suicides" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
  13. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
  14. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Soundtrack – The Virgin Suicides". Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
  15. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
  16. ^ "Various artists Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
  17. ^ "Album Top 40 slágerlista (fizikai hanghordozók) – 2023. 42. hét". MAHASZ. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
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