Boyhood (Music from the Motion Picture)
Soundtrack album for Richard Linklater's 2014 film.
Boyhood (Music from the Motion Picture) is the soundtrack album to the 2014 film directed by Richard Linklater, released on July 9, 2014 by Nonesuch Records. The album compiles 15 songs from popular artists of the 2000s and early-2010s, selected by Linklater and music supervisor Randall Poster. The film itself includes more than 50 songs not featured on the album.
Quick Facts
- Artist
- various artists
- Released
- 9 July 2014
- Recorded
- 2000–14
- Label
- Nonesuch
- Compiler
- Richard Linklater, Randall Poster
Facts from the source article.
Track listing
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Summer Noon | 3:33 |
| 2 | Yellow | 4:28 |
| 3 | Hate To Say I Told You So | 3:19 |
| 4 | Could We | 2:21 |
| 5 | Do You Realize?? | 3:32 |
| 6 | Crazy | 2:58 |
| 7 | One (Blake's Got a New Face) | 3:13 |
| 8 | Hate It Here | 4:31 |
| 9 | Good Girls Go Bad | 3:16 |
| 10 | Beyond The Horizon | 5:34 |
| 11 | Band on the Run | 5:11 |
| 12 | She's Long Gone | 3:06 |
| 13 | Somebody That I Used to Know | 4:03 |
| 14 | I'll Be Around | 4:45 |
| 15 | Hero | 3:10 |
| 16 | Deep Blue | 4:27 |
| Total length | 61:27 | |
Track listing from the source article.
Development
Linklater chose not to use an orchestral score, feeling it would be too authorial, and instead selected songs that the characters would plausibly listen to in their time and place. He initially considered asking the young actors what they listened to, but found their tastes too personal for the characters. To test song choices, he hired several youngsters to write narratives about prospective tracks. The musical aspirations of the protagonist's father, played by Ethan Hawke, helped shape the soundtrack; Hawke's lines directly address the music in scenes such as one where he deconstructs a Wilco song. Linklater originally wanted to use George Harrison's "What Is Life" but found it too on-the-nose, so he chose Paul McCartney's "Band on the Run" to convey the timelessness of the Beatles.
Reception and analysis
Critics widely praised the soundtrack, often citing it as one of the film's best elements. Kasmin Fernandes of The Times of India noted that the music evokes the experience of growing up and triggers nostalgia. James Christopher Monger of Allmusic compared the album to soundtracks for other Linklater films, highlighting its eclectic mix from classic rock to punk and indie pop. Jeff Simon of The Buffalo News gave it three and a half out of five stars, calling it more interesting than it seems. John Keenan of The Guardian observed that the songs reflect subjective, personal memories rather than chart hits. Rebecca Thomas of BBC described the soundtrack as the film's biggest artifice, with carefully chosen songs to represent the era.
Awards and nominations
Three original songs from the film—"Split the Difference", "Ryan's Song", and "Summer Noon"—were shortlisted for Best Original Song at the 87th Academy Awards but were not selected. "Split the Difference" received a nomination in the same category at the 19th Satellite Awards, losing to "We Will Not Go" from Virunga. The soundtrack was nominated for Best Soundtrack at the 2014 St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Awards, losing to Guardians of the Galaxy.
Legacy and influence
A compilation album of solo recordings by former Beatles members, titled The Black Album, was compiled by Ethan Hawke for his daughter Maya's 13th birthday on July 8, 2011, containing 51 songs. This album was incorporated into Boyhood in scenes shot later that year, with Hawke's character giving it to his son as a birthday present. The track list of The Black Album was unveiled on July 21, 2014.
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