Album Review: ParaNorman Movie Soundtrack

Relativity Music Group Releases
Highly Anticipated Jon Brion Movie Soundtrack
For ParaNorman August 14th



ParaNorman, the new stop-motion animated comedy thriller was released in theaters everywhere on August 17th. The soundtrack, with its music by famed composer, record producer, and singer-songwriter Jon Brion released August 14th from Relativity Music Group.

It was a good movie and I thought the soundtrack was pretty nice. The music worked well with the film and I thought the lyrics were inspiring. The composer has done a great job. My favorite tracks were "Zombie Attack In The Eighties" and "Norman's Walk".

When a small town comes under siege by zombies, who can it call? "Norman!" From Focus Features and LAIKA, the companies behind the Academy Award-nominated animated feature Coraline, comes the comedy thriller ParaNorman. Following Coraline, ParaNorman is the second stop-motion animated feature to be made at LAIKA in 3D, unifying the two stunning art forms to tell an all-new frightfully funny, magically emotional, and hilariously spooky story.


Mr. Brion has performed with, and produced records for, artists such as Fiona Apple (When the Pawn...); Aimee Mann (Whatever; I'm with Stupid); Brad Mehldau (Largo); Rhett Miller (The Instigator); Rufus Wainwright (Rufus Wainwright); Robyn Hitchcock (A Star for Bram and Jewels for Sophia); Kanye West (Late Registration); and Evan Dando (Baby I'm Bored), as well as his own Meaningless.


He has worked as a session musician on albums with Fiona Apple (Tidal); Badly Drawn Boy (the About a Boy soundtrack, Have You Fed the Fish?); Macy Gray (On How Life Is); Elliott Smith (XO, Figure 8); Sam Phillips (Omnipop); The Crystal Method (Vegas, Tweekend); Eels (Electro Shock Blues); Grant Lee Buffalo (Jubilee); Sean Watkins (26 Miles); and Old 97's (Fight Songs). He has also conducted and arranged the orchestra for Tom Petty's album The Last DJ, as well as for the latter's Live at the Olympic concert (recorded for DVD).


Mr. Brion previously composed the music for three of Paul Thomas Anderson's features: Hard Eight (a collaboration with Michael Penn); Punch-Drunk Love; and Magnolia. The latter earned him his first Grammy Award nomination. His second came for his score for Michel Gondry's Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind; the Focus Features film also earned him 2 World Soundtrack Award nominations.

Among the other movies that he has scored are Charlie Kaufman's Synecdoche, New York; David O. Russell's I Heart Huckabees; Peyton Reed's The Break-Up; Adam McKay's Step Brothers and The Other Guys; and Miranda July's The Future. His upcoming releases include Judd Apatow's This is 40 and Pixar's Umbrella Shorts. Mr. Brion performs monthly sold-out shows at Café Largo.

The ParaNorman production had utilized Mr. Brion's music from previous movies - including Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Magnolia - as "temp tracks" for the early assemblages of ParaNorman.

Brion was most receptive to the prospect of scoring his first animated feature. "I'd been waiting for the right one for some time now," reveals the composer.

The soundtrack reveals that it was worth the wait, for the composer and the ParaNorman moviemakers.

Track Listing for ParaNorman Soundtrack:
01. Zombie Attack In The Eighties
02. Norman at the piano/main title
03. Norman's walk
04. Alvin attacks
05. Enter Neil/Mr P/Ghost Walk/Ghost Dog
06. Goodbye Mr P/Historic Drama/Grounded/Heavy visitation
07. Alvin again/Scary bedroom
08. Norman tries to keep it cool/ Grandma's got your back
09. Moth Rock
10. The dead shall be raised
11. Zombies Attack
12. People Attack
13. Are we there yet?
14. Aggie Fights
15 Resolution
16. Oh, and one more thing




Disclosure: I received a digital copy of the soundtrack from the PR firm or Company. Any expressed opinions are my own and personal thoughts. No other compensation was given.