American Psycho (soundtrack)
| American Psycho: Music from the Controversial Motion Picture | |
|---|---|
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| Soundtrack album by various artists | |
| Released | April 4, 2000 |
| Recorded | 1980s |
| Length | 58:08 |
| Label | Koch |
American Psycho: Music from the Controversial Motion Picture is the soundtrack to the 2000 film American Psycho directed by Mary Harron. The soundtrack featured music from the 1980s performed by artists such as David Bowie, Huey Lewis, Eric B. & Rakim, the Cure, amongst several others. The musical selections were inspired from the characteristics of Patrick Bateman (played by Christian Bale) and also authentic to the film's setting as Harron wanted it to set the film's tone.[1] Velvet Underground co-founder John Cale's film score was also featured in the album subtitled as "monologues".[2] The album was distributed by Koch Records on April 4, 2000. Despite the positive reception, the soundtrack was also controversial in regard to music licensing, due to the film's violent content.[3][4]
Critical reception
[edit]Derrick Mathis, in his review for AllMusic added that the "loud, ham-fisted goth rock" cinematically illustrated the nature of Bateman and also felt that it "holds up as fresh as anything out today."[5] In a negative review, Margaret Moser of The Austin Chronicle assigned oneand-a-half-star and wrote "Somewhere out there is a killer Eighties soundtrack waiting to be made, but American Psycho just doesn't cut it."[6] Shaurya Thapa and Stephen Barker of Screen Rant summarized "Each song in the soundtrack has a distinct role in the movie, reflecting different scenes and revealing aspects of Patrick Bateman's personality."[7]
Controversy
[edit]The Huey Lewis and the News' "Hip to Be Square" was featured in the film in a sequence where Bateman kills Paul Allen (played by Jared Leto) and the song is played in the background.[7] However, it was not included in the soundtrack album that resulted in Koch Records forcing to recall approximately 100,000 copies of the album.[3] Koch Records' president Bob Frank claimed that the removal was due to Lewis objecting to the film's violence, but Lewis' manager Bob Brown claimed that Lewis had not seen the film and had allowed a portion of the song to be used; he added that the song was included in the album without their permission, which he speculated was a publicity stunt.[3] In a later interview, Lewis dismissed Frank's claims being "completely made up".[8]
Track listing
[edit]| No. | Title | Artist(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" (Dead or Alive cover) | Dope | 2:43 |
| 2. | "Monologue 1" | 0:38 | |
| 3. | "Something in the Air" (American Psycho Remix) | David Bowie | 6:01 |
| 4. | "Watching Me Fall" (Underdog Remix) | The Cure | 7:42 |
| 5. | "True Faith" | New Order | 5:53 |
| 6. | "Monologue 2" | 0:30 | |
| 7. | "Trouble" | Daniel Ash | 4:15 |
| 8. | "Paid in Full" (Coldcut Remix) | Eric B. & Rakim | 7:08 |
| 9. | "Who Feelin' It?" (Philip's Psycho Mix) | Tom Tom Club | 4:52 |
| 10. | "Monologue 3" | 1:19 | |
| 11. | "What's on Your Mind" (Pure Energy Mix) | Information Society | 4:35 |
| 12. | "Pump Up the Volume" | MARRS | 4:06 |
| 13. | "Paid in Full" (Remix) | The Racket | 3:06 |
| 14. | "Monologue 4" | 1:17 | |
| 15. | "Hip to Be Square" | Huey Lewis and the News | 4:03 |
| Total length: | 58:08 | ||
References
[edit]- ^ Meenan, Devin (December 24, 2022). "Mary Harron Knew The Music Of American Psycho Had To Set A Tone". SlashFilm. Archived from the original on December 25, 2022. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
- ^ Baumgarten, Marjorie (April 14, 2000). "The Sound of One Psycho Cracking". The Austin Chronicle. Archived from the original on January 14, 2015. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
- ^ a b c "American Psycho soundtrack in hot water". The Guardian. London, England. April 13, 2000. Archived from the original on May 9, 2014. Retrieved July 27, 2010.
- ^ Sinclair, Tom (February 4, 2000). "The American Psycho soundtrack has some musicians seeing red". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on January 13, 2021. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
- ^ Mathis, Derrick. "American Psycho Review by Derrick Mathis". AllMusic. Archived from the original on September 30, 2023. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
- ^ Moser, Margaret (April 28, 2000). "American Psycho (Koch)". The Austin Chronicle. Archived from the original on July 24, 2024. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
- ^ a b Thapa, Shaurya; Barker, Stephen (April 3, 2023). "American Psycho Soundtrack: Every Song & When It Plays". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on August 30, 2023. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
- ^ Greene, Andy (May 17, 2013). "Huey Lewis on 30 Years of 'Sports': 'Our 15 Minutes Were a Real 15 Minutes'". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on March 1, 2014. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
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