Stellar Soundtracks: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
Based on a series of comics by the same name written by Brian Lee O’Malley, the 2010 movie Scott Pilgrim vs. the World features Michael Cera as Scott, a bass player in a garage band who meets the literal girl of his dreams, Ramona, but has to defeat her seven evil exes before they can truly start their relationship — and despite not performing well at the box office, it’s become something of a cult film, with biting humor and an impressive cast that also includes appearances from Anna Kendrick, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kieran Culkin, Aubrey Plaza, Mae Whitman, Brie Larson, a delightfully pompous Jason Schwartzman, and even Chris Evans. Directed by Edgar Wright, the film’s style features elements of both comic books and video games, starting from the opening Universal logo, when the theme music plays in the style of an old arcade game.
And while video-game music does pop up, most notably from Zelda, much of the movie’s soundtrack is rock-oriented, packed with guitars throughout — and not just from Scott’s band, Sex Bob-Omb. A few well-known names pop up, with Broken Social Scene, T. Rex, and The Rolling Stones all contributing, but some of the best music comes from (unfortunately now-defunct) Canadian female-fronted rock band Plumtree. They appear only once on the soundtrack with “Scott Pilgrim,” the song that inspired the name of our protagonist, but a second song, the energetic “Go!,” is also featured in the movie. Plumtree’s contributions, however small, fit the tone of the film perfectly, and you’d be doing yourself a huge favor if you dove into the rest of their music. Yet one of the film’s best moments, musical or otherwise, comes courtesy of Metric, another female-fronted band, and Brie Larson. Fictional band Clash at Demonhead, fronted by Larson, opens a show with “Black Sheep,” a track Metric had been playing live but couldn’t find a place for on an album, as Scott and Ramona realize they both have exes who play in the band. Larson’s performance is similar enough to Metric’s Emily Haines but with an attitude appropriate for a character who broke Scott’s heart and carries herself with a sort of playful callousness.
Clash at Demonhead isn’t the only fictional band in the film, obviously. One of the highlights of the garage-band plot is a battle of the bands that features “I’m So Sad, So Very, Very, Sad,” a mere 12-second track that pokes fun at not necessarily emo alone but also the angsty nature of lots of songwriting in general. And of course, we also hear plenty of Sex Bob-Omb, whose songs were all written by none other than Beck — though they certainly don’t sound like Beck songs. We do hear the man himself on “Ramona” near the end of the film, when things aren’t going so well for the fledgling couple.
Scott Pilgrim is an excellent example of how music can work wonderfully in a film, from guitar-driven background music to concert scenes — and you just might discover your new favorite band. Seriously, go listen to Plumtree.
