The Scene

'Hunger Games' Soundtrack Building Musicial Momentum

Published on Tuesday, December 27 2011
Written by Super User

The Hunger Games movie isn’t out until March, but the soundtrack is already getting a lot of buzz! The film is based on the books of the same title by Suzanne Collins. Set to have music on the album are Taylor Swift, The Decemberists ("One Engine"), Arcade Fire ("Horn of Plenty"), and up-and-coming country act the Civil Wars.

Taylor Swift joined up with the Civil Wars to collaborate on the song "Safe and Sound", which is a more mature sound for her in some ways, an emotional experience without a strong pop element. The song was released last week and has already hit the number one spot on the iTunes charts. In response to this, Swift tweeted that she was “...counting this as another beautiful Christmas Gift.” Take a listen below:

 

 

 

The song is easy to picture in the film, which chronicles the youth of a future world battling to the death of all but one for, essentially, a sporting event. The film shows a dichotomy between the poorer half the world living in a pre-technological society and the other half in a land so far beyond that they are hardly human. This is a theme that plays itself out in different formats, perhaps to keep us aware of the state of our own world and not lose sight of the humanity within it.

Mega producer, songwriter, and musician T. Bone Burnett is producing the movie’s soundtrack. He also successfully oversaw the music for Walk the Line, The Big Lebowski, Cold Mountain, O Brother, Where Art Thou? (which he nabbed Grammy awards for), and Crazy Heart, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Original Song. Impressive! It seems like a great group of talented people involved in the project; can’t wait to hear about who else will join in.

The Hunger Games stars Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, and Liam Hemsworth. It hits theaters March 23, 2012.

 

- Kate Ferguson, YH Staff