Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (Original Motion Picture Score)

Rob Simonsen & Jonathan Sadoff | Format: MP3 Music

Product Details

• Original Release Date: June 19, 2012
• Label: Lakeshore Records
• Copyright: 2012 Lakeshore Records
• Total Length: 21:46
• Genres:
  • Soundtracks
• ASIN: B008BPELEM
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #19,100 Paid in MP3 Albums (See Top 100 Paid in MP3 Albums)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful Score For A Wonderful Movie March 12, 2013

By M. Laurie

Format:MP3 Music|Amazon Verified Purchase

Up until now I had not been familiar with the works of either Rob Simonsen or Jonathan Sadoff. I believe this is their first collaboration together and hopefully there's more to come.
While the soundtrack is great, it is this exceptional score that not only accentuates relative moments in the movie but can also be enjoyed as a great listening experience on it's own. I have enjoyed soundtracks in the past, this is a great introduction into what music scores SHOULD be.
Unfortunately for movie score fans, for whatever reason most all scores are never available for purchase as this one is. Hopefully this will be the start of a trend.

4.0 out of 5 stars Seeking a Friend for the End of the World July 6, 2012

By C. Loescher

Format:MP3 Music

Admittedly, I'm not familiar with the work of Rob Simonsen or Jonathan Sadoff, nor have I seen the film upon whose score they collaborated, Seeking a Friend for the End of the World. Sadoff's history for film score composing includes Good Time Max and the lauded A Good Old Fashioned Orgy, while Simonsen recently scored All Good Things and was an uncredited collaborator with Mychael Danna on, among others, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus and the acclaimed Moneyball. Again, I haven't seen the film starring Steve Carell and Keira Knightley, but Seeking... has received thus far very favorable reviews. It appears to strike home to many of its viewers in its vision of two wayward souls coming together, during a journey to realize true happiness and peace before an asteroid utterly destroys the Earth. Self-described dark comedies such as this aren't often the vehicles of great film scores, but with Seeking... this generalization is casually swept away by an endearing and indelible musical effort by Simonsen and Sadoff.

From the very beginning (quite literally, the opening track, "The Beginning"), Seeking... exhibits a foreboding whimsy and calm confidence, presenting the listener with a acoustic guitar and string intro soon coupled with a very pleasing piano tune and playful light drum patterns. From there, it progresses into a prelude to tragedy ("Dodge Walks Home" and "Penny Sleeps") sprung with eerie and engrossing string sections ("Flossing Spider" and "Box of Memories"), finally erupting into a swath of despondence and yearning in "More Windose" and "Home With Sorry." Up to these tracks in the middle of score, I've been charmed by how jaunty the work is, but it becomes beautifully grounded from that point on with scant exception, almost like the music is trapped and trying to escape from itself. With the next track "The Riot," the hapless comedic bouncing is reintroduced with suspenseful percussion and even some Hans Zimmer-like string swells, and the following song "Jailed" reintroduces the inexplicably engrossing acoustic guitar on top of an emotive and gentle tune, reminding me of what a lullaby for adults might sound like. The depressing yet joyous sense continues and finally morphs into a hopeful climax in my two favorite tracks, "Phone Call" and "Upstairs at Olivia's." Finally, with closing songs "The Beach" and "The End," an indie pop-like tune proposes redemption for the listener with the promise of a long journey's conclusion, and the score's final moments bring to mind James Newton Howard's finer moments.

All in all, Seeking a Friend for the End of the World is a wonderful and inspiring score reminiscent of Garden State, but with an insatiable thirst for sadness, tragedy, and resplendent brilliance all the while. It's truly a shame that the entire score plays out in less than twenty-two minutes, because Seeking... is the type of score with which one could be consumed during periods of casual listening or purposeful ensconcing. Very highly recommended.