Now that the official soundtrack for “One Battle After Another” is available, new details have emerged about its blend of old and new music. Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest continues his long tradition of pairing original compositions with eclectic needle drops, but the release also reveals the use of Jon Brion’s previously unreleased music and a subtle contribution from Radiohead’s Thom Yorke.
It’s already known that Jonny Greenwood composed the film’s score. As The Playlist review put it, “Jonny Greenwood’s haunting score is as unconventional as ever, brimming with jagged textures, but swells into moments of orchestral power when the story demands it.” But newly surfaced details clarify that Anderson also reached into his musical archive. In an interview with The Film Stage, editor Andy Jurgensen confirmed that one of the film’s most striking sequences — a sweeping orchestral section that begins during a Sean Penn scene — was sourced from Brion’s unused material. “It’s a piece of music that Paul had from Jon Brion,” Jurgensen said. “We got the Pro Tools tracks from him and we were able to mix it. It wasn’t recorded for the movie; it was a song we licensed.” Jurgensen added that it’s unclear which of Anderson’s earlier films the piece might have originally been considered for, but it was never used until now.
That rediscovered cue marks the first use of Brion’s work in an Anderson film since “Punch-Drunk Love,” bridging the lush, romantic eccentricity of his early collaborations with the dissonant, emotionally modern scores of Greenwood’s recent works.
Meanwhile, Thom Yorke makes a small but notable appearance on the soundtrack through “Mean Alley,” a track co-written with Greenwood and performed with the London Contemporary Orchestra. The song appears as part of the score itself — the first official Yorke–Anderson credit after years of music video and visual project collaborations spanning Radiohead (“Daydreaming,” “Present Tense,” “The Numbers”) and Yorke’s solo work (“Anima,” “Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes”) and work with his side-project The Smile (“Wall of Eyes,” “Smile Of A Smile”).
The rest of the soundtrack is pure Anderson eclecticism: Steely Dan’s “Dirty Work,” Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger,” Tom Petty’s “American Girl,” Gil Scott-Heron’s “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised,” and everything from The Shirelles’ “Soldier Boy” to Travis Scott and Kendrick Lamar’s “Goosebumps.” It’s a restless, emotional collage that matches the film’s own energy — dense, unruly, and meticulously orchestrated.
By weaving together Greenwood’s jagged score, Yorke’s spectral collaboration, and Brion’s long-buried composition, Anderson transforms “One Battle After Another” into a reflection of his own creative history — a conversation between past and present that plays out in sound.
Complete Soundtrack Listing
“Bunker Bumper” – Written and performed by Jon Brion
“Mean Alley” – Written by Jonny Greenwood and Thom Yorke; performed by Jonny Greenwood and the London Contemporary Orchestra
“Soldier Boy” – Written by Luther Dixon and Florence Green; performed by The Shirelles (courtesy of Gusto Records, Inc.)
“Dirty Work” – Written by Walter Becker and Donald Fagen; performed by Steely Dan (courtesy of Geffen Records / Universal Music Enterprises)
“What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve” – Written by Frank Loesser; performed by The Ramsey Lewis Trio (courtesy of The Verve Music Group / Universal Music Enterprises)
“Mo Bamba” – Written by Denzel Baptiste, David Biral, Jerry Cruz, and Khadimou Fall; performed by Sheck Wes (courtesy of Interscope Records / Universal Music Enterprises)
“Goosebumps” – Written by Kevin Gomringer, Tim Gomringer, Daveon Jackson, Kendrick Lamar, Brock Korsan, Ronald LaTour, and Jacques Webster; performed by Travis Scott feat. Kendrick Lamar (courtesy of Epic Records / Sony Music Entertainment / Interscope Records / Top Dawg Entertainment)
“Shut Up and Dance” – Written by Benjamin Berger, Eli Maiman, Ryan McMahon, Nicholas Petricca, Kevin Ray, and Sean Waugaman; performed by WALK THE MOON (courtesy of RCA Records / Sony Music Entertainment)
“Vengo A Aclarar (feat. Banda Los Populares Del Llano)” – Written by Alexander Garcia; performed by El Fantasma (courtesy of AfinArte Music)
“Eye of the Tiger” – Written by Frankie Sullivan and Jim Peterik; performed by Survivor (courtesy of RCA Records / Sony Music Entertainment)
“Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” – Traditional; arranged by Grace Price and Robert Black; performed by Ella Fitzgerald (courtesy of Capitol Records / Universal Music Enterprises)
“Ready or Not Here I Come (Can’t Hide From Love)” – Written by Thom Bell and William Hart; performed by Jackson 5 (courtesy of Motown Records / Universal Music Enterprises)
“Perfidia” – Written by Alberto Dominguez; performed by Los Panchos (courtesy of Sony Music Entertainment Mexico S.A. de C.V. / Sony Music Entertainment)
“Global Bully” – Written and performed by Jon Brion
“American Girl” – Written by Tom Petty; performed by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (courtesy of Shelter Records / Geffen Records / Universal Music Enterprises)
“The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” – Written and performed by Gil Scott-Heron (courtesy of Flying Dutchman Records)
“God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” – Traditional; arranged by Grace Price and Robert Black; performed by Ella Fitzgerald (courtesy of Capitol Records / Universal Music Enterprises)
Listen to the full score below.
