Composing Greatness: #1.The Freshman Class of the 2010's - "The Social Network" (2010)

Scene from The Social Network

Welcome to Composing Greatness: a column dedicated to exploring the work of film composers. This will specifically focus on the films that earned them Oscar nominations while exploring what makes it so special. This will be broken down into a look at the overall style, interesting moments within the composition, and what made the score worth nominating in the first place. This will also include various subcategories where I will rank the themes of each film along with any time that the composer actually wins. This is a column meant to explore a side of film that doesn't get enough credit while hopefully introducing audiences to an enriched view of more prolific composers' work. This will only cover scores/songs that are compiled in an easily accessible format (so no extended scores will be considered). Join me every Sunday as I cover these talents that if you don't know by name, you recognize by sound.

Series Composer: Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross

Entry: The Social Network (2010)

Collaborators (If Available): N/A

Nomination: Best Original Score

Did They Win: Yes

Other Nominees:
Best Original Score
-127 Hours (A.R. Rahman)
-How to Train Your Dragon (John Powell)
-Inception (Hans Zimmer)
-The King's Speech (Alexandre Desplat)

Additional Information

This is to help provide perspective of where each composer is in their Oscar-nominated life as it related to the current entry.

Oscar Nomination: 1

Oscar Wins: 1

Track List

1. "Hand Covers Bruise"
2. "In Motion"
3. "A Familiar Taste"
4. "It Catches Up With You"
5. "Intriguing Possibilities"
6. "Painted Sun in Abstract"
7. "3:14 Every Night"
8. "Pieces from the Whole"
9. "Carbon Prevails"
10. "Eventually We Find Our Way"
11. "Penetration"
12. "In the Hall of the Mountain King"
13. "On We March"
14. "Magnetic"
15. "Almost Home"
16. "Hand Covers Bruise, Reprise"
17. "Complication with Optimistic Outcome"
18. "The Gentle Hum of Anxiety"
19. "Soft Trees Break the Fall"

Note: Listen to here.

Exploring the Music

The area of the column where I will explore the music in as much detail as I see fit for each entry.

Theme Exploration:

"Hand Covers Bruise"

While this series will have a lot of memorable scores, it seems doubtful that any will have as immediate of resonance as this one. From the way that the saw creates a haze to the piano slowly forming a melody, it ushers in a new era of film composing that The Academy hasn't really recognized since. Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross may be rooted in traditional score melodies, but the rest is more out of Nine Inch Nails' playbook, where computers and electronic noises take over for strings and acoustic instruments. There's a power to this approach, given that it captures the hazy feel of the internet in audio form. It's a transcendent score that has undoubtedly influenced an entire generation, leading to the rise of figures like Cliff Martinez and Anna Meredith, with a more digital sound. It even set the benchmark for modern musicians-turned-composers collaborating with filmmakers as they have now worked with David Fincher on three films. Even then, they have never made a melody more memorable than this one.

Interesting Standout:
"In the Hall of the Mountain King"

The rest of the score is original, made up more of atmospheric tones than a distinct melody. Here is the rare break from a pattern as Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross tackle classical music with a 21st-century angle. It's not a new concept to rearrange music like this, but what is fascinating is how they go about it. It has been processed through a computer, meaning that every note sounds more synthesized, parts feel sped up, and there's even digital scratching towards the end that makes it feel new. This is jarring simply because of how familiar the song is, but even then the co-composers know how to make it their own and in the process prove what they bring to film composing that is unique and overall exciting.

Best Moment:
"Painted Sun in Abstract"

Any track on this could easily fall into this category, if just because of how groundbreaking the entire soundtrack feels. With that said, this one feels like the most transparent piece of film score, managing to borrow their hazy use of saws and digital noises while finding something more organic in a quaint piano melody. This is one of the sweetest tracks on the album, and it feels more emotional because of how it removes the digital form in favor of something more human. It's a rare moment of clarity on a soundtrack that towers with awe and spectacle. 

Did This Deserve an Oscar Nomination?:
Yes

By the end of this column, there will be 10 years worth of scores discussed. That's a whole decade of evolution, and it's doubtful that any will match the impact of this one. There hasn't really been an Oscar-winning score like this before or (sadly) since. It shows in how the keyboards clack in the background of a song, or the building synthesizer that creates a brain deep in thought. It's doing everything in a classical way, but with a different approach with technology that allows things to fit the themes of the movie. It's hard not to get wrapped up in what this album symbolizes to the bigger picture because it's more than a novelty that Reznor made the leap to film. He did so while making some of the most memorable, unique beats possible.

Did This Deserve to Win?:

Yes

If it isn't clear, Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross' score is one that will likely be studied for generations to come. There have been many artists who have followed in their footsteps, but The Academy has yet to recognize another score this discordant from the norm yet so indicative of the changing way we consume media. There's power in every note, and it builds beautifully to something grander, more emotional, in the sparse notes and saw creaking through the entire score. Reznor & Ross deserved to have more of their music nominated (especially The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), but that's just how things go. The Social Network as a film has gone on to be symbolic to a generation, and the same could be said about the music. Even if The Academy makes this seem like a blip in their record books, it's still a triumphant one at that.

Up Next: Best Original Score - John Powell, How to Train Your Dragon (2010)

Best Theme

A ranking of all themes composed by The Freshman Class of the 2010's.

1. Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross: "Hand Covers Bruise" - The Social Network (2010)