Media and Music: How the “Twilight” Soundtrack Captures the Intensity of Forbidden Love
Get excited Twihards — Edward Cullen will be revived during yet another pandemic. “Midnight Sun,” a new book from Stephenie Meyer that recounts “Twilight” from Edward’s perspective, drops Aug. 4. To celebrate the “Twilight” renaissance, let’s check out the music featured in the first film.
In Media and Music, our writers take a deep dive into how movies use scores and songs to engage viewers, give new meaning and tone to some of our favorite scenes, and establish themes. It almost goes without saying, but there are spoilers abound.
Written by Myah Taylor
Photos courtesy of Summit Entertainment
Nothing soundtracks paranormal romance in the Pacific Northwest better than angsty alt-rock anthems and indie tunes as blue in tone as the filters overlaying the first “Twilight” film. But not even its Grammy-nominated soundtrack could protect the 2008 vampire flick from criticism.
“Twilight” was just one of those movies: so hated, yet so loved. For many, the acting left much to be desired and the general concept (sparkly vampires and romance? what?) offended those strongest attached to traditional vampire lore. However, “Twilight” succeeded in capturing the melodrama of Bella and Edward’s love story and the conflicting emotions that came with it, thanks in part to the music packaged with the movie and backing its scenes. Misty forest shots, intense, longing stares, and action sequences are elevated by piano ballads, guitar tracks, and singer-songwriter gems.
Black Ghosts’ “Full Moon” opens the film, welcoming Bella to the dreary Pacific Northwest from sunny Arizona. It’s moments like this one when viewers might forget “Twilight”’s commercial success and mistake it for an arthouse flick. Blue-tinged shots of Bella begrudgingly taking in drabby Forks, Washington through the window of her father’s police cruiser are accompanied by the chimes and “ooohs” of the Black Ghosts’ sleepy indie track. Thematically, “Full Moon” evokes the supernatural creatures hidden in the gloom of Bella’s new home and recalls Meyer’s fixation on celestial phenomena (e.g. “Twilight,” “New Moon,” “Eclipse,” “Breaking Dawn,” “Midnight Sun”).
While Paramore’s emo track “Decode” never plays in the film (only in the credits), it’s the soundtrack’s best moment and the band’s best work to date. The song begins with a dark guitar riff that lures the listener in the same way Bella is captivated by Edward’s mysterious persona. Lead singer Hayley Williams articulates a simultaneous obsession and frustration with a love interest when she sings in the first verse, “How can I decide what’s right / When you’re clouding up my mind? / I can’t win your losing fight / All the time.” Right off the bat, Williams makes it known that the relationship she describes is complicated, as confusing as it is appealing — much like the unorthodox love story between Edward and Bella, which starts off icy, considering he initially wants to drink her blood more than anything.
“Decode” mimics the progression of the relationship and Bella’s discovery — her decoding, if you will — of Edward’s identity as a vampire. After the first verse, the song builds until, against a chorus of pounding drums and loud guitars, Williams belts,“How did we get here / When I used to know you so well?” When the song descends back into the subsequent verses, the speaker continues to solve the mystery that is her lover.
“The truth is hiding in your eyes
And it’s hanging on your tongue
Just boiling in my blood
But you think that I can’t see
What kind of man you are
If you’re a man at all.”
At this point, the singer explicitly references the signs Bella notices in Edward and his hidden desire to kill her. In the next few lines, Edward’s inability to read Bella’s thoughts is communicated when Williams sings, “But my thoughts you can’t decode.”
The bridge is the best part of the song, as Williams, singing in a subdued tone, accepts a potentially fatal fate. Much like Bella, she acknowledges that if she and her lover enter this relationship, they’ll make “fools of (themselves),” but she sees something in him. And though “it might kill (her),” she “want(s) it to be true.” “Decode” is “Twilight” in a nutshell, skilfully depicting a love so irrational it’s worth dying for.
But not every moment on the soundtrack is as high stakes as “Decode.” Muse’s “Supermassive Black Hole” is the perfect background music during a lighthearted, but energetic scene when the Cullens play baseball. The cracks of the bats — broken by the vamps’ superhuman strength — and the sounds of the family catching the balls in their tight grips accent the song’s distorted guitars. Lead singer Matt Bellamy’s falsetto is as slick as the family’s graceful movements and stylish exterior, and the whispers of “supermassive black hole” seem fitting for this dark romance.
“Bella’s Lullaby,” composed by Carter Burwell, is a sweet tune that plays as Bella rides piggyback on super-speeding Edward like a “spidermonkey” when they venture out into the rainforest. Piano-driven, it’s got a fantastical feel, but it’s also delicate. In one sequence, Bella shares her amazement with “Edward’s world,” and by the next, they’re sitting together at his piano as he plays the song he wrote for her, her lullaby.
Paramore makes another appearance on the soundtrack with “I Caught Myself,” a great guitar-led track that further describes Bella’s obsession with the “hypnotic” Edward. The song plays as Bella’s friends are shopping for prom dresses, its lyrics of “you’re pushing and pulling me down to you, but I don’t know what I want,” echoing throughout the quaint Port Angeles boutique. It’s fitting that “I Caught Myself” plays as Bella is lost in thought about the mysterious boy she’s determined to figure out..
Although Bella begs Edward to give her the kiss of death (or immortality) in one of “Twilight”’s final scenes, the couple otherwise share, for once, a normal high school moment : slow dancing at prom. It’s a charming sight — Bella, fresh off a lethal vampire attack, stands on Edward’s toes, with one foot clad in Converse, the other in a bulky cast. Moments before, it seemed that Bella’s life would literally be sucked away, as Robert Pattinson’s raw performance of “Let Me Sign,” a rugged folk track with mumbled lyrics, plays in the background. .
The couple dance to Iron & Wine’s “Flightless Bird, American Mouth,” and it instantly becomes their song. “Have I found you / Flightless bird?” Iron & Wine croons over a beautiful accompaniment of guitars. The song heightens the emotion of the scene in which Bella tearfully admits to Edward that she wants to be with him forever, even after he says he won’t change her into a vampire. At this point, viewers know the relationship isn't some fling and the two are in it for the long haul (see “New Moon” for more). Bella’s feelings are clear, as the narrative and the context of the songs are all from her perspective. Edward, however, is still an enigma, though most can assume he’s just as devoted, but in a more tortured way.
“Twilight” fans will finally get a glimpse into the brooding vampire’s head when “Midnight Sun” drops. Of course, no official soundtrack exists for the novel, but Meyer has curated a Spotify playlist featuring songs she said helped her get into Edward’s headspace as she wrote it.
As fans’ passion for the “Twilight” series is revived with “Midnight Sun,” they’re reminded of both the best and worst the series had to offer. “Twilight” is not without its flaws, but the first film’s soundtrack — replete with moody songs and feels galore — is good enough for even the haters to sink their teeth into.