The Great Gatsby Soundtrack

The Great Gatsby is a classic tale of romance, tragedy, lust, greed, cheats, etc all intertwined in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel depicting the roaring 1920’s. The recent movie does a great job in interpreting these themes with a modern touch. Something that really brings the film to life however is the music. It is a unique mix of the jazzy tones of the 1920’s and modern day hip-hop featuring the voices of talents such as Fergie, Beyonce, and Jay-Z. What makes this soundtrack special is that is was created specifically for this film. The music helps enhance each scene. One of the most prominent examples is Fergie's song, “A Little Party Never Killed Nobody (All We Got)”, which is played at the peak of one of Gatsby’s wild parties. It is upbeat, loud, and something that makes someone want to dance. The song also creates a sense of tension and loss of control. It fits with the scene because the guests keep getting rowdy and drunk.

Other songs bring in the cool, laid back, almost sleazy sense of the prohibition and jazz era. The song “$100 Bill” by Jay-Z starts to play when Nick and Gatsby enter the jazz club. It is a very rich and expensive sounding song, yet it has a certain racy quality to it. This racy quality fits into the 1920’s. Jazz music wasn't popular and looked up too. In a sense it was dangerous. This specific song as well as others help to make viewers of the film see that although the 1920’s was full of wild parties and glamour, there is also a darker side, one that is underground, one that involves gangsters, mobs, and bootleggers. Gatsby just being there and being so familiar with the people there shows he was up to trouble. The music simply helps create this mood, this emotion.

“Young and Beautiful” by Lana Del Rey is a powerful song that is played throughout the film. It symbolize the relationship of Daisy and Gatsby. The lyrics behind the song are powerful and help the viewers realize the history behind this couple. It is romantic and chilling at the same time, which is just like Daisy and Gatsby. The main theme “Will you still love me when I’m no longer beautiful” has a lot of depth and passion. It hooks the listener and shows them that Gatsby and Daisy are no longer the young lovers in Louisville and their relationship is complicated and prone to failure.

The lyrics are unique to this specific movie, which makes sense because the soundtrack was made specifically for The Great Gatsby. When listening closer to the words, the songs talk about the economy booming, the fixing of the World Series, and the prohibition. It is cool how the writers were able to incorporate the 20’s into modern rhythms and melodies. Other lyrics are specific to events in the movie. They depict the emotions of the characters and key points in the plot. Some examples include “Love is the Drug” (in the song “Love is the Drug” by Sia) which is talking about Gatsby and Daisy and their toxic affair as well as the words from “Back to Back” by Beyonce, “We only said goodbye with words I died a hundred times, You go back to her, And I go back to” which could be talking about Gatsby’s longing for Daisy. "Love is Blindness" by Jack White plays when Myrtle is killed. The lyrics really fit because she is blinded by her love for tome and thinking that he will save her, when in reality she gets hit by Daisy, Tom's wife. It is a little ironic and the song helps point this out. Important symbolism, such as the green light and the girls in the yellow dresses are also mentioned in the sound track. This helps the film because it connects the plot and the novel to it directly. It gives those key themes meaning and life and pushes them into the viewer/listener’s face.

It is clear that the soundtrack works well for the film The Great Gatsby. It pushes forward key themes as well as present the emotions of each character and scene. The style also is connected to Fitzgerald and the 1920’s jazz era, while mixing it with a more modern and contemporary twist as well. It is one of the best soundtracks out there and really puts the movie and the story first, which is what a good soundtrack should do.