The Twilight Eclipse Soundtrack: Bluebloods or Bloodsuckers?

The next filmic installment of the Twilight saga is almost upon us, and once again the producers have put together a soundtrack that reads like a who's who of fashionable indie music at the minute. But what does one have to do with the other? Why would the Twilight producers want to put together a soundtrack full of music their target audience hasn't even heard of? Let's discuss...

There once was a series of books about a naive and submissive teenage girl who falls in love with a debonair and good-hearted vampire, who is actually many hundreds years old but stuck in the body of teenager. They then turned these books into films and, wouldn't you just know it, teenage girls everywhere went BANANAS for them. All of a sudden Twilight was the new emo - the emphasis on self-harm and dark clothing remained, but altogether it was a more socially accepted form of expression.

The third film in the series Eclipse is about to be released but before it is, a very well-marketed soundtrack album will precede it. On the soundtrack features a number of household indie names such as Muse, Vampire Weekend, Florence & The Machine, The Dead Weather, Sia, Band Of Horses, Metric, Bat For Lashes, Beck and just about every other hip indie act you'd care to sink your teeth into.

But why is this? The last time I checked the average teenage girl is unfamiliar with the likes of UNKLE or The Black Keys. The last time I checked they were more into, well, emo bands. Bands like Paramore, who featured on the first Twilight soundtrack. In fact, when Paramore were in Australia this past summer, I asked guitarist Taylor York whether he was worried the band would be remembered for their association with Twilight. This is what he said:

"Hayley (Williams, singer) really liked the books so when she found out they were doing the movie she was like, ‘Guys, we gotta do it, it’s this vampire movie about love!’ And we were just like, ‘Oh cool, whatever’. So we did the song and we had no clue how big it was gonna get. We were just excited to be on a movie.

"So we’re not letting it define us. We’ve got a lot of fans from it and we’re really appreciative about that but we’re not changing who we are and the way we do things because of the success from Twilight. We’re still the same band and we’re really thankful for those fans but we’re not gonna become some pop band that jumps on soundtracks to get successful."

The fact is that Twilight isn't just a movie, it's a brand. As much as Eclipse will totally own at the box office, it'll make a helluva lot more cash in merchandise and so putting a band like Paramore, who appeal to the target demographic, on the soundtrack makes a lot of sense.

But Paramore aren't on the Eclipse soundtrack. Instead you've got Battles, one of the most innovative bands in recent times but one that has yet to prove their mass unit-moving credentials. Once again, why is this?

The answer is simple: because Twilight is a brand, they want to appear credible and they want to expand. By the time the second film New Moon came out, pretty much every teenaged girl on the planet knew about Twilight, had read all the books and owned a copy of the soundtrack.

But there was still a huge amount of people in the dark. So the producers got creative, and for the New Moon soundtrack they thought they'd appeal to a slightly different demographic: the indie demographic. And it looks like they're doing the same thing for Eclipse.

It was a really good idea because even if they didn't crack this intended market, then at least they would appear more credible in the eyes of these hipsters. It's the same reason why Optus license Miami Horror songs for their commercials and the same reason JB Hi-Fi don't emply anyone who doesn't have a hole in their face or ink on their skin - they don't want to appear to be the soulless corporate machine that they are. They want to appear cool.

As for the artists appearing on the soundtrack, there exists one obvious answer for their wanting to be included: money. It is becoming harder and harder for musicians to make any money and a big fat pay-check from Twilight inc. would seem a pretty enticing prospect for many of them.

Having said that, it is quite possible that, like Taylor said, they are simply fans of the books. This stands to reason when you consider the inclusion of Thom Yorke, who doesn't need the money, on the New Moon soundtrack. It also explains why all these artists are contributing original music, rather than just licensing a proven hit.

If you've found yourself thinking, 'Gee those Twilight cats really know what they're on about', then you're probably right. They've done a tremendous job of marketing their product and, let's face it, the soundtrack probably will be pretty awesome. But if you're thinking, 'Gee, maybe Twilight isn't as bad as I once thought', then you'd be wrong, dead wrong.

What do you think? Have the Twilight producers gone too far? Are they discrediting indie music? Is it ok for these bands to lend their names to the Twilight product?

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