While not exactly cohesive, the soundtrack to (500) Days of
Summer, a romantic comedy that is not — as the film’s
narrator tells us — “a love story,” is a great collection of
songs that stays true to the movie’s story about a guy who falls for a
girl who doesn’t fall for him. The Smiths are perhaps the ultimate
heartbreak band, and two of their tunes (“There Is a Light That Never
Goes Out” and “Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want”) are
here. She & Him, a band featuring the film’s star Zooey Deschanel,
also cover “Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want” as the
soundtrack’s final tune. Elsewhere, you get Britpop cool (Doves’ “There
Goes the Fear”), retro-leaning garage (Black Lips’ “Bad Kids”) and
hipster singer-songwriter (Feist’s “Mushaboom” and Regina Spektor’s
“Us”), all of which make for good listening. Though Wolfmother’s
despondent “Vagabond” and Hall & Oates’ tangy “You Make My Dreams”
are rather disruptive, they have such key roles in the movie, they
almost have to be included. — Jeff Niesel
This article appears in Jul 22-28, 2009.
