By Hannah Stewart ’12, A&E Co-Editor

There are many factors that make a good movie—like the script, acting, and visuals—so the soundtracks of such movies are usually ignored. Here are three notable soundtracks that shouldn’t go unnoticed.

Where the Wild Things Are

Although I found this movie to be rather disappointing, the soundtrack is fantastic. Almost every song is by Karen O (formerly of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs) and the Kids, who produced a cohesive record. The soundtrack has a great peppy, unpolished feel—a listen to any of the songs will instantly remind you of childhood. There are a handful of songs that stand out: “All Is Love,” more or less the movie’s theme song, is an impressive interpretation of love from a kid’s view, “Capsize” has a rebellious streak with heavy bass and guitar, and a catchy melody, while “Rumpus” has a great, energetic aura with a good portion of the lyrics straight from the famous childrens’ book.

(500) Days of Summer

I feel obligated to say that this is an amazing movie, with two of my favorite actors (Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt). It is definitely a must-see for any fan of good movies. This indie-film-that-could has an impressively eclectic soundtrack, with old-school music (The Smiths, Simon & Garfunkel, and Hall & Oates), a French song (Carla Bruni, the wife of the President of France, Nicolas Sarkozy), and even a song from Zooey Deschanel’s musical duo called She & Him, a band also worth investigating. Highlights are the optimistic “Us” by Regina Spektor, “Bad Kids” by the Black Lips, “Sweet Disposition” by the Temper Trap (which was featured in several commercials immediately after the movie came out), and “She’s Got You High” by Mumm-Ra, which was the perfect song for the credits.

Across the Universe

This Grammy and Oscar-nominated film about the impact of the Vietnam War on young Americans and their protests has a soundtrack entirely composed of Beatles covers by the multi-talented cast. Although the movie is criticized by die-hard Beatles fans, I think the covers and movie should be taken as they are—as done in homage to the famous British band. Despite having more than 30 songs, the album doesn’t have all of the Beatles’ greatest hits, but they are all worth a listen. Some of the best tracks are “I Want to Hold Your Hand” by T.V. Carpio, “With a Little Help from My Friends” by Jim Sturgess & Joe Anderson, “It Won’t Be Long” by Evan Rachel Wood, “I’ve Just Seen a Face” by Jim Sturgess (which has a fantastic accompanying scene and choreography that is worth looking up on YouTube), “Come Together” by Joe Cocker, “I Am the Walrus” by Bono & Secret Machines (who makes a cameo in the film!), “Helter Skelter” by the wonderful Dana Fuchs, “Hey Jude” by Joe Anderson, and “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” by Bono.

JCK