15. Mark Mothersbaugh – “Thor: Ragnarok”
A 2016 video essay about how disposable and non-memorable the Marvel Cinematic Universe music is in general sparked quite some debate when it went viral, and it also caught the eye of Mark Mothersbaugh, founder of 80s pop experimentalists Devo, just around the time he was attached to Taika Waititi‘s “Thor” threequel. It’s unlikely Mothersbaugh ever would have turned in something standard, but perhaps he was emboldened by the video (or perhaps Marvel honchos were feeling the need to get a little more musically adventurous as a result) but his ‘Ragnarok’ soundtrack comprises probably the first truly memorable score to have graced theMCU. It takes its cue from Waititi’s inventive and amusing combination of 80s influences, Norse mythology and wonky comedy. But it also weaves in threads from Motherbaugh’s own score catalogue that includes animation (“The Lego Movie,” “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs“), TV (“Enlightened,” “The Last Man on Earth,”) and video games (“The Sims 2,” “Crash Bandicoot: Warped“) — it’s a score that ranges from grandiose and epic, to gently creepy to 80s arcade-tastic to almost road-trip folksy at times. In the film world, Mothersbaugh has worked multiple times with Wes Anderson (on “Bottle Rocket,” “Rushmore,” “The Royal Tenenbaums” and “The Life Aquatic“) and it’s quite a feat to have turned in a Marvel soundtrack variegated and lively enough to hold its head up alongside those.
14. Carter Burwell – “Wonderstruck”
Todd Haynes as a driector has matured into such a master craftsman that it feels like his last few films have been as much exercizes in expanding the storytelling potential of certain elements as dramatic narratives in their own right. But if “Carol” lived so much in Ed Lachman’s voluptuous cinematography, it might just be that “Wonderstruck” is actually all about its score, from Haynes’ usual composer Carter Burwell. Burwell, who is nominated for Golden Globe this year for his other 2017 title, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” (a soundtrack we also have a lot of time for) is most well known as a regular collaborator of the Coens, but here has been given a remit only rarely afforded to any composer, in that half of Haynes’ “Wonderstruck” takes the form of a “silent” film, and so the music does an enormous amount of the heavy narrative lifting. Burwell’s score is therefore full of the melodic, rhapsodic swells appropriate for the film’s sweet-natured, little-girl-in-the-big-city overlapping storylines, but it also lives in the little details: a tinkle in the background to denote offscreen breaking glass, a little flutter of flutes to show surprise, a sudden rattle suggesting danger outside the door, a witty little xylophone introducing notes of humor and intrigue. If the film overall unfolds in a more naive, young-adult register than many were expecting after “Carol,” it’s Burwell soundtrack that may stand out as its most remarkable single element.
13. Various Artists – “The Killing Of A Sacred Deer”
In the soundtrack game, context truly is everything and no 2017 title shows that truth in a more piercingly clinical light than Yorgos Lanthimos‘ psychological surgical strike, “The Killing ofA Sacred Deer.” Most iconically (because it was used on the trailer) the film recontextualizes Ellie Goulding‘s hyperproduced clubby pop hit “Burn” into a reedy, a capella version sung by actress Raffey Cassidy and makes it terrifying and oblique as a result. But the use of classical, especially choral music — Schubert‘s “Stabat Mater” and the incongruously Christmassy “Carol of the Bells” especially — also shows how picking an ostensibly cheerful or upliftingly religious classical track and placing it amongst the shivery alienated imagery of an arthouse horror immediately turns the vibe demonic, like something supernaturally possessed by the music’s inherent opposite, the Devil. But even beyond reworked pop and evil-edged hymnals, the ‘Sacred Deer’ soundtrack is perhas best defined by the work of 20th century Tatar-Russian composer Sofia Gubaidulina, whose “De Profundis” here showcases the uniquely chilling potential of the accordian, and whose atonal, offset whining violins on the inaptly titled “Rejoice!: IV. And He Returned To His Own Abode” will now forever be associated with abject, hairs-on-neck fear.
12. Nick Cave & Warren Ellis – “Wind River”
Almost each time they’re called upon, it seems, Nick Cave and Warren Ellis turn out one of our favorite soundtracks of the year. This year they actually have two titles under their belt, but while their work on David Michod‘s otherwise deeply disappointing “War Machine” is one of that film’s strongest elements, we’re shouting them out for a Playlist favorite that just hasn’t quite managed to break through the way it deserved, Taylor Sheridan‘s “Wind River.” Considering Cave & Ellis also scored last year’s Sheridan-scripted “Hell or High Water,” which does occupy the same Western-influenced, spartan, mythic territory as “Wind River,” it would be easy enough for them to retread old ground. But “Wind River” has a lonelier, colder, echoey vibe that is perfectly attuned to the frosted, freezing landscapes and alienated relationships of Sheridan’s sophomore directorial outing (after 2011’shorror title “Vile“).There are familiar Cave-Ellis elements: wailingly mournful strings over a backwash of uncanny drones, punctuated with some choral touches. But “Wind River”‘s soundtrack also contains a couple of short tracks with Cave’s inimitable voice whispering out broken lines of hard-bitten poetry against the soundscape and, steeped in a sense of loss and isolation, these moments feel like a very singular melding of music, movie and personal artistic expression.
11. Jason Hill – “Mindhunter”
With Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, who so memorably scored his last three features, unlikely to make the move to TV, David Fincher was forced to look elsewhere for his terrific Netflix series “Mindhunter.” And he pulled off quite a coup in finding Jason Hill, who has his first real credit as composer on the show (which he wrote all the music for, including the memoably minimalist theme). The former frontman of briefly famous early-00s garage-rock revivalists Louis XIV, Hill did a little work on “Gone Girl” before landing this job, and you can see why Fincher is a fan: he’s definitely in a similar space to Reznor and Ross in its moodiness, and mix of genuine quietness and disturbing, surprising noise. But Hill’s a very distinct composer too, using unusual instrumentation (including wine glasses) to capture music that sometimes feels like it’s from deep in the minds of the killers the show makes its subjects. It’s never showy or dominates in the way some of these other TV scores do, but it sets the exact right tone of eeriness to propel you through the great series. The soundtrack, featuring 70s era cuts from Peter Frampton, Talking Heads, 10cc and more is great too (though hasn’t yet been released officially)
