The Hunger Games: Songs from District 12 and Beyond

Author: Peter Podbrežnik

Artist: Various Artists
Label: Universal Music Group
Released: 2012
Rating: 1.5/5

»The Hunger Games«, subtitled »Songs From District 12 and Beyond«, is the soundtrack to the sci-fi flick of the same name. Old hands Woody Harrelson and Donald Sutherland show up only in supporting roles, while the baton of leading ‘stars’ is carried by the new hopes of teenage America, Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson, plus Australian Liam Hemsworth. Like most modern Hollywood productions, which swear by computer-generated effects, huge explosions and as much violence as possible, while the script is as flimsy and hollow as the implants of a faded primadonna, this spectacle is primarily made for an undemanding target audience that heads to the cinema mainly for a Saturday hangout with friends, popcorn munching and getting on their elders’ nerves.

The soundtrack fits the bill, dominated by American indie rock, alt rock and country stars with their brainchildren, most of whom play nicely with the corporate MTV machine. In plain language, that means it’s aimed at the brats who, when they’re not glued to Facebook, the TV or online video games, need to be fed the sorriest excuses for music from time to time, just so their parents’ hard-earned cash flows into the claws of the modern music industry.

The biggest name among the ‘indie’ acts that forged the soundtrack for this wretched film is undoubtedly the Grammy-winning, orchestral-leaning alternative crew Arcade Fire, who prove on the ambiently depressing »Abraham’s Daugher« that they’re among the meager handful of »The Hunger Games« performers who deserve some attention. The female country duo The Secret Sisters manage to turn heads with their retro approach on the gentle folk ballad »Tomorrow Will Be Kinder«.   Also worth some attention is »Nothing to Remember« by alt-rock diva Neko Case, who, thanks to her sophisticated, slightly smoky vocals, is one of the few musicians on the album with some substance and a soul of her own. The title of her song neatly sums up the general impression this batch of film music leaves the listener with in the end.

Grammy-crowned country-pop lolita Taylor Swift, who has won the hearts of corporate America with her solo career, is represented by two songs. On »Safe & Sound« she’s joined by The Civil Wars, while on the sugary bonbon »Eyes Open«, so typical of her, she goes it alone. Her approach is nowhere near as kitschy and forced as that of Disney’s singing lolitas like Miley Cyrus, Demi Lovato and Selena Gomez, but her voice, that of a ‘poor little rich girl, a seemingly rebellious one’, still reminds you of the above-mentioned a lot. The Civil Wars pop up again with »Kingdom Come«, a pretty annoying lump of folk rock whining.

»The Hunger Games« wouldn’t be a genuine, MTV-blessed project without at least one rapper on board. This time it’s Kid Cudi, who proves with the hip-hop abomination »The Ruler and the Killer« why rappers have no business on a sci-fi film soundtrack. Bluegrass enthusiasts Punch Brothers land somewhere in the mediocre middle with »Dark Days«: the guys know how to saw away convincingly on their strings, but they can’t muster any energy to save their lives. The Decemberists offer a fine specimen of vocally neutered and thus annoying indie rock with »One Engine«. Nor does The Carolina Chocolate Drops’ ‘wonderful’ effort »Daughter’s Lament« give any reason for ecstasy, as there’s little, if any, original authorial insight on show. Glen Hansard, singer and guitarist of the Irish indie rock band The Frames, with his rebel-without-a-cause voice, to which he adds an irritating, computer- compressed rhythmic filth in the background, likewise fails to shake off the feeling of artificial prettifying, authorial sterility and bending to the tastes and wishes of the corporations that put bread on our table and give us games.

When MTV darlings Maroon 5 with special guest Rozzi Crane step up on »Come Away to the Water«, which is laced with colorless electronic textures, it’s clear once again that the main yardstick for picking material for this soundtrack was the past commercial success of each act, not the message of the chosen song itself. Miranda Lambert, together with the female country outfit Pistol Annies, tries to convince us at all costs on »Run Daddy Run« that she’s not a daddy’s girl with a whiny voice. Jayme Dee is yet another new face of the female acoustic singer-songwriter scene, who gets credit on »Rules« for having a pleasant voice, though she’ll still have to work hard to make the ambience of her songs sound less hollow.

Indie folk quintet The Low Anthem prove on »Lover Is Childlike« that ambient boredom, repetitiveness and a neutered vocal can crush any hope for a bright future of the indie scene. Barely 15-year-old Brit Birdy (real name Jasmine van den Bogaerde), with her exceptional vocal approach on »Just a Game«, is one of the three acts on the album worth listening to. Neko Case aside, she delivers the most convincing female vocal performance on the album, and so at least somewhat patches up the overall bad impression of this record.

The soundtrack to the Hollywood spectacle »The Hunger Games« is a stew of indie rock favorites, mostly resting on their laurels today and forgotten tomorrow, with the watchful eye of hyper-consumerist, empty-headed MTV production hovering over them the whole time. And besides, this is ultimately just a companion album to the film’s main  soundtrack, arranged and composed by renowned composer James Newton Howard, and that one is without a doubt a much better investment.

Production

T-Bone Burnett

Track list