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The Lego Movie (soundtrack)

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The Lego Movie (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Soundtrack album by
ReleasedFebruary 4, 2014
Recorded2013–2014
VenueTrackdown Studios (Sydney)
GenreFilm score
Length58:10
LabelWaterTower Music
Producer
Mark Mothersbaugh chronology
Last Vegas
(2013)
The Lego Movie
(2014)
22 Jump Street
(2014)
Singles from The Lego Movie (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
  1. "Everything Is Awesome"
    Released: January 27, 2014

The Lego Movie (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack to the 2014 animated film The Lego Movie. It was released by WaterTower Music on February 4, 2014.[1] The album features original score composed by Mark Mothersbaugh, containing of about 23 tracks in the album. He recorded two scores for the film: an electronic and a 40-piece orchestral music, with more than 100 players working on the score. He arranged few synthesisers and circuit bent to make use of the electronic music created for the film,[2] which consisted of "bright, popping, almost frenetic music with an underpinning of emotional swells".[3]

The album features an original song titled "Everything Is Awesome" written by Shawn Patterson, Joshua Bartholomew,[4] and Lisa Harriton,[5] who also performed the song in the film under the name, Jo Li. The track which was released as a single from the album on January 23, is performed by Tegan and Sara featuring The Lonely Island (Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, and Jorma Taccone) who wrote the rap lyrics, and is the first song played in the opening credits of the film, while the alternative version sung by Jo Li was featured in the end credits. It also featured an unplugged version by Patterson and Sammy Allen and an instrumental version.

The score and the song received positive reception, praising Mothersbaugh's composition. The track "Everything Is Awesome" received a nomination for Academy Award for Best Original Song (losing to "Glory" from Selma) and Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media (losing to "Let It Go" from Frozen).

Overview

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The film marks Mothersbaugh's second collaboration with Phil Lord and Christopher Miller after Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) and 21 Jump Street (2012).[6] He worked on the score of the film, simultaneously with the music production of their forthcoming film 22 Jump Street, also directed by Lord and Miller and is a sequel to 22 Jump Street.[6] The score was recorded at Trackdown Studios, Sydney during late-2013 and 2014.[7]

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Mothersbaugh stated "We were looking for sounds that created a universe for the LEGOs that was unique [...] I started assembling a sonic palette off of old analog synths that I used with DEVO and newer circuit bent[a] things that I got in the past three or four years and then just kind of borrowing from electronic music through the years. You think of LEGOs as these rigid horizontal and vertical pieces. But to see them as clouds and explosions, or water running [...] it made me want to come up with sounds that were as interesting as the way they were making the film look."[8] Hence, Mothersbaugh created an electronic and orchestral score, the later consisted of a 40-piece choir and about 100-players to emphasize the story and allow the directors Lord and Miller which sound will suit for the film.[8]

The duo wrote the original song "Everything is Awesome" before the shooting of the film. In an interview with Fox News, Mothersbaugh says the song "was supposed to be like mind control early in the film. It's totally irritating, this kind of mindless mantra to get people up and working. It's like the whip crack on their back, but then by the end of the movie it morphs into, instead of being just a mindless, go-to-work song it becomes about co-operation and people working together to do bigger things."[9] He recorded several versions of the track which appears throughout the film in varying contexts. However, according to him, the version sung by The Lonely Island, was "one of his favourite".[8]

With the exception for The Lego Batman Movie (2017), which was composed by Lorne Balfe, Mothersbaugh returned to score music for The Lego Ninjago Movie (2017) and the direct sequel, The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part (2019).[10] The remix version of "Everything Is Awesome" performed by Tween Dream was featured in the sequel, and a spin-off track titled "Everything's Not Awesome" was created.[9]

Track listing

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No.TitlePerformer(s)Length
1."Everything Is Awesome" (Original)Tegan and Sara ft. The Lonely Island2:43
2."Prologue" 2:28
3."Emmett's Morning" 2:00
4."Emmett Falls in Love" 1:11
5."Escape" 3:27
6."Into the Old West" 1:00
7."Wyldstyle Explains" 1:21
8."Emmett's Mind" 2:17
9."The Transformation" 1:46
10."Saloons and Wagons" 3:38
11."Batman" 1:23
12."Middle Zealand" 0:28
13."Cloud Cuckooland and Ben the Spaceman" 1:25
14."Emmett's Speech" 2:02
15."Submarines and Metal Beard" 1:49
16."Requiem for Cuckooland" 1:23
17."Reaching the Kragle" 2:35
18."Emmett's Plan" 1:54
19."The Truth" 3:16
20."Wyldstyle Leads" 2:46
21."Let's Put It All Back" 2:02
22."I Am a Master Builder" 2:48
23."My Secret Weapon" 4:19
24."We Did It!" 1:31
25."Everything Is Awesome" (End credits)Jo Li (Joshua Bartholomew and Lisa Harriton)1:26
26."Everything Is Awesome" (Unplugged)Shawn Patterson and Sammy Allen1:24
27."Untitled Self Portrait"Will Arnett1:08
28."Everything Is Awesome" (Instrumental) 2:41
Total length:58:10

Charts

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Chart positions
Chart (2014) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[11] 82
UK Independent Album Breakers (OCC)[12] 8
UK Compilation Albums (OCC)[13] 13
UK Soundtrack Albums (OCC)[14] 3
US Billboard 200[15] 37
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[15] 8
US Top Soundtracks (Billboard)[15] 2

Accolades

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Accolades received by The Lego Movie
Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
Academy Awards February 22, 2015 Best Original Song Shawn Patterson for "Everything Is Awesome" Nominated [16]
BMI Film & TV Awards May 14, 2014 BMI Film Music Awards Mark Mothersbaugh[b] Won [17]
Critics' Choice Movie Awards January 15, 2015 Best Song "Everything Is Awesome" Nominated [18]
Georgia Film Critics Association Awards January 9, 2015 Best Original Song Shawn Patterson, Joshua Bartholomew, Lisa Harriton, and The Lonely Island for "Everything Is Awesome" Nominated [19]
Grammy Awards February 8, 2015 Best Song Written for Visual Media "Everything Is Awesome" Nominated [20]
Hollywood Music in Media Awards November 4, 2014 Best Original Song in an Animated Film "Everything Is Awesome" Won [21]
[22]
Best Original Score in an Animated Film Mark Mothersbaugh Nominated
Houston Film Critics Society Awards January 10, 2015 Best Original Song "Everything Is Awesome" Won [23]
[24]
Satellite Awards February 15, 2015 Best Original Song "Everything Is Awesome" Nominated [25]

Notes

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  1. ^ Mothersbaugh explained about circuit bending in an interview with Deadline Hollywood, saying:

    "If you go on YouTube, you can see these people who pull out all these crazy, electronic Speak and Spells to Elmo dolls and Casio keyboards and combine the sounds. It’s circuit bending. These people even have their own circuit bent instruments. They are the vocabulary of modern music. So I looked at a lot of that gear, and I created this palate of electronic sounds."[3]

  2. ^ Also for Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 (2013) and the television series Regular Show[17]

References

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  1. ^ "'The Lego Movie' Soundtrack Details". Film Music Reporter. January 14, 2014. Archived from the original on February 8, 2014. Retrieved January 14, 2014.
  2. ^ "The LEGO Movie Exclusive Interview with Composer Mark Mothersbaugh". MovieWeb. February 18, 2014. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
  3. ^ a b Busch, Anita (February 9, 2014). "'Everything is Awesome' Back To Devo Roots For 'The Lego Movie' Score, Says Mark Mothersbaugh". Deadline. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
  4. ^ "SOCAN presents first-ever film & TV No. 1 Song Award to Josh Bartholomew for The LEGO Movie theme". March 8, 2014. Archived from the original on September 5, 2014. Retrieved March 11, 2014.
  5. ^ "57th Annual GRAMMY Awards Nominees". December 5, 2014. Archived from the original on January 30, 2014. Retrieved January 12, 2015.
  6. ^ a b "Mark Mothersbaugh Talks Lego Movie and 22 Jump Street". Collider. February 27, 2014. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
  7. ^ Welsh, Jonathan (February 10, 2014). "How Devo's Mark Mothersbaugh Helped Put 'The Lego Movie' on Top". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
  8. ^ a b c February 11, Lindsey Bahr Updated; EST, 2014 at 08:28 PM. "Meet the man behind the 'awesome' sounds of 'The Lego Movie': DEVO's Mark Mothersbaugh". EW.com. Retrieved April 5, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ a b Nicki Gostin (February 18, 2014). "Devo lead singer dishes on creating catchy 'Lego' song". Fox News. Archived from the original on March 4, 2014.
  10. ^ Jirak, Jamie (January 19, 2019). "'The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part' Teases The Song That Will Get Stuck Inside Your Head". Comicbook.com. Archived from the original on February 4, 2019. Retrieved January 22, 2019.
  11. ^ Gavin Ryan (April 12, 2014). "INXS Just Beats Ball Park Music ARIA Album Chart". Noise 11. Archived from the original on April 13, 2014. Retrieved April 13, 2014.
  12. ^ "UK Independent Album Breakers Chart". Official Charts Company. February 22, 2014. Archived from the original on August 9, 2020. Retrieved February 23, 2014.
  13. ^ "Official Compilations Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
  14. ^ "Official Soundtrack Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
  15. ^ a b c "Mark Mothersbaugh: The Lego Movie [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Archived from the original on February 13, 2016. Retrieved February 23, 2014.
  16. ^ "Oscars 2015: The Winners List". The Hollywood Reporter. February 22, 2015. Archived from the original on May 10, 2022. Retrieved March 2, 2022.
  17. ^ a b Gallo, Phil (May 15, 2014). "Mychael Danna, Mark Mothersbaugh Win at BMI's Film/TV Awards". Billboard. Archived from the original on June 30, 2022. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
  18. ^ "Critics' Choice Awards: The Winners". The Hollywood Reporter. January 15, 2015. Archived from the original on May 10, 2022. Retrieved March 2, 2022.
  19. ^ Zusel, Yvonne (January 9, 2015). "Georgia Film Critics Association awards the best movies of 2014". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on May 3, 2022. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  20. ^ "Grammys: The Winners List". The Hollywood Reporter. February 5, 2015. Archived from the original on April 21, 2022. Retrieved April 24, 2022.
  21. ^ Kirby, Jason (October 9, 2014). "HMMAs Announces Visual Media Nominees". Soundtrack.Net. Archived from the original on October 12, 2014. Retrieved March 2, 2022.
  22. ^ Feinberg, Scott (November 5, 2014). "Hollywood Music in Media Awards: Gregg Alexander Performs, Glen Campbell Feted". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on July 21, 2021. Retrieved March 2, 2022.
  23. ^ "Birdman leads Houston Film Critics nominations for 8th Annual Awards". The Houston Chronicle. December 17, 2014. Archived from the original on May 10, 2022. Retrieved March 2, 2022.
  24. ^ Luman, Betty (January 12, 2015). "Boyhood dominates Houston Film Critics Society Awards". The Houston Chronicle. Archived from the original on May 10, 2022. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
  25. ^ Pond, Steve (February 16, 2015). "Satellite Awards: Complete Winners List". TheWrap. Archived from the original on July 9, 2015. Retrieved March 2, 2022.
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