The Virgin Suicides (score)

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The Virgin Suicides
Film score by
Air
Released23 February 2000 (2000-02-23)
Recorded1999
Genre
Length40:27
Label
ProducerAir
Air chronology
Moon Safari
(1998) 		The Virgin Suicides
(2000) 		10 000 Hz Legend
(2001)
Singles from The Virgin Suicides
  1. "Playground Love"
    Released: 17 January 2000[6]

The Virgin Suicides is a score composed by French electronic music duo Air for the 1999 film of the same name by Sofia Coppola. It was released on 23 February 2000 by Virgin Records. The album was nominated for Best Soundtrack at the 2001 Brit Awards.[7] The French edition of Rolling Stone magazine placed The Virgin Suicides at number 49 on their list of the 100 essential French rock albums.[8] In 2014, NME placed the album at number 11 on their "61 of the Greatest Film Soundtracks Ever" list.[9] In 2019, Pitchfork placed the album at number four on their "Top 50 Best Movie Scores of All Time" list.[10]

On 3 June 2010, Air performed the full score with the band Hot Rats (with members of Supergrass) at the Cité de la Musique in Paris.[11]

To celebrate the 15th anniversary of the film The Virgin Suicides, a deluxe edition of the album was released in June 2015 as a two-disc set and a super deluxe box set. The former contains two studio outtakes on disc one and a bonus disc of previously unreleased live recordings, while the latter includes the album on 180-gram red vinyl, an exclusive picture disc featuring previously unreleased live recordings, the "Playground Love" EP on 180-gram red vinyl, the two-disc deluxe edition of The Virgin Suicides on CD, a 16-page booklet featuring an unpublished Air interview, a film poster, a replica VIP laminate pass and a download card.[12][13][14]

Background[edit]

According to Jean-Benoît Dunckel, the album was recorded quickly. At first the music was inspired by the film and an attempt was made to synchronise the music with scenes from the film; towards the end of the process, the intention was to craft songs which could be listened to on their own.[15]

Critical reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic77/100[16]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[17]
Alternative Press4/5[18]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[19]
Melody Maker[20]
Muzik[21]
NME8/10[22]
Pitchfork7.2/10[3]
Q[23]
Rolling Stone[24]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[25]

The Virgin Suicides received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 77, based on 16 reviews.[16] In a 2020 review of the score, NPR's Paula Mejía praised the music for capturing the spirit of being a teenager, concluding, "Listening to the Virgin Suicides score on loop hasn't been so much an exercise in nostalgia, or even a means of escape. Reliving it is more of a prescient reminder—one I needed to hear as a teenager, and that I could use again today—that now is not forever."[26]

Track listing[edit]

All tracks are written by Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoît Dunckel, except "Playground Love", written by Gordon Tracks, Godin and Dunckel

No.TitleLength
1."Playground Love"3:32
2."Clouds Up"1:30
3."Bathroom Girl"2:25
4."Cemetary Party"2:36
5."Dark Messages"2:28
6."The Word 'Hurricane'"2:33
7."Dirty Trip"6:12
8."Highschool Lover" (theme from The Virgin Suicides)2:42
9."Afternoon Sister"2:24
10."Ghost Song"2:16
11."Empty House"2:58
12."Dead Bodies"2:59
13."Suicide Underground"5:52
Japanese edition bonus tracks[27]
No.TitleLength
14."Bathroom Girl" (demo version)4:14
15."Playground Love" (vibraphone version)3:50

Personnel[edit]

Credits adapted from the liner notes of The Virgin Suicides.[28]

  • Air – production, recording
  • Gordon Tracks[a] – vocals, drums (track 1)
  • Hugo Ferran – saxophone (track 1)
  • Brian Reitzell – drums (tracks 3, 6, 7, 12, 13)
  • Pascal Garnon – drum recording
  • Stéphane "Alf" Briat – mixing
  • Mike Mills – drawing

Charts[edit]

Weekly chart performance for The Virgin Suicides
Chart (2000–2001) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[30] 92
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[31] 37
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[32] 89
European Albums (Music & Media)[33] 31
French Albums (SNEP)[34] 34
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[35] 26
Irish Albums (IRMA)[36] 27
Scottish Albums (OCC)[37] 23
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[38] 51
UK Albums (OCC)[39] 14
US Billboard 200[40] 161
Weekly chart performance for the 15th anniversary deluxe edition
Chart (2015) Peak
position
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[41] 27

Certifications and sales[edit]

Certifications and sales for The Virgin Suicides
Region Certification Certified units/sales
France (SNEP)[42] Gold 100,000*
United Kingdom (BPI)[43] Gold 100,000‡
United States — 159,000[44]

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history[edit]

Release history for The Virgin Suicides
Region Date Label Ref.
Japan 23 February 2000 Toshiba-EMI [27]
Germany 25 February 2000
[45]
France 28 February 2000 [46]
United Kingdom [47]
United States 29 February 2000 Astralwerks [48]
Release history for The Virgin Suicides (15th anniversary deluxe edition)
Region Date Format Label Ref(s)
France 15 June 2015
[49][50][51]
United Kingdom [52][53][54]
Germany Digital download Parlophone [55]
United States 16 June 2015 [56]
Japan [57]
17 June 2015 2-CD Warner [58]
Australia 19 June 2015
  • 2-CD
  • box set
  • digital download
 [59][60][61]
Germany
  • 2-CD
  • box set
 [62][63]
United States 23 June 2015 2-CD
[64]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Gordon Tracks is a pseudonym of Phoenix lead singer Thomas Mars.[29]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Kaufman, Gil (3 February 2000). "'Virgin Suicides' Floats On Ambient Air Score". MTV News. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
  2. ^ a b Roberts, Chris (2015). "Air: The Virgin Suicides". Prog.
  3. ^ a b Schreiber, Ryan (29 February 2000). "Air: The Virgin Suicides". Pitchfork. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
  4. ^ Strong, Martin (10 October 2006). "Air". The Essential Rock Discography. Canongate Books. pp. 15–16. ISBN 1-84195-860-3.
  5. ^ Shapiro, Peter (2003). "Air". In Buckley, Peter (ed.). The Rough Guide to Rock (3rd ed.). London: Rough Guides. pp. 13–14. ISBN 978-1-84353-105-0.
  6. ^ "Playground Love". Amazon. United Kingdom. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  7. ^ "Brits 2001: The winners". BBC News. 26 February 2001. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  8. ^ "Les 100 disques essentiels du rock français selon Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone France (in French). No. 18. February 2010. ISSN 1764-1071.
  9. ^ "61 Of The Greatest Film Soundtracks Ever". NME. 8 January 2014. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  10. ^ "The 50 Best Film Scores of All Time". Pitchfork. 21 February 2019. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
  11. ^ "Air et Hot Rats (Supergrass) jouent "The Virgin Suicides"" (in French). Cité de la Musique. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
  12. ^ "The Virgin Suicides – 15th Anniversary Deluxe Edition" (Press release). Rhino Media. May 2015. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  13. ^ Steffen, Chris (30 June 2015). "Giveaway: Air, 'The Virgin Suicides' 15th Anniversary Box Set". AllMusic. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  14. ^ Scheetz, Cameron (12 June 2015). "Win the new vinyl boxset commemorating The Virgin Suicides' 15th anniversary". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  15. ^ Cole, Rachel T. (14 August 2015). "Q&A: Air's Jean-Benoît Dunckel On The Future Of The Band, Working With Sofia Coppola, And Inspiring The Name "Stereogum"". Stereogum. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
  16. ^ a b "Reviews for Original Motion Picture Score for The Virgin Suicides by Air". Metacritic. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
  17. ^ Bush, John. "The Virgin Suicides [Original Soundtrack] – Air". AllMusic. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  18. ^ "Air: The Virgin Suicides". Alternative Press. No. 141. April 2000. pp. 76–77. ISSN 1065-1667.
  19. ^ Browne, David (25 February 2000). "The Original Motion Picture Score for the Virgin Suicides". Entertainment Weekly. No. 527. ISSN 1049-0434. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  20. ^ "Air: The Virgin Suicides". Melody Maker. 29 February 2000. pp. 48–49. ISSN 0025-9012.
  21. ^ Hall, John (March 2000). "Air: The Virgin Suicides OST (Virgin)". Muzik. No. 58. p. 84. ISSN 1358-541X.
  22. ^ Dempster, Sarah (24 February 2000). "Air – The Virgin Suicides Soundtrack". NME. Archived from the original on 11 June 2000. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
  23. ^ "Air: The Virgin Suicides". Q. No. 162. March 2000. p. 99. ISSN 0955-4955.
  24. ^ Hunter, James (16 March 2000). "Air: Original Motion Picture Score for 'The Virgin Suicides'". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 25 August 2002. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
  25. ^ Sheffield, Rob (2004). "Air". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). New York: Simon & Schuster. pp. 10–11. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  26. ^ Mejía, Paula (15 April 2020). "That Teenage Feeling: Why 'The Virgin Suicides' Is My Quarantine Soundtrack". NPR. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  27. ^ a b "Original Motion Picture Score For The Virgin Suicides : Air". HMV Japan. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  28. ^ The Virgin Suicides (liner notes). Air. Virgin Records. 2000. CDV 2910.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  29. ^ Marshall, Gabby (31 October 2011). "Live and Otherwise: Acoustic Renditions". State Press. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  30. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 10.
  31. ^ "Ultratop.be – Soundtrack / Air – The Virgin Suicides" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  32. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Soundtrack / Air – The Virgin Suicides" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  33. ^ "European Top 100 Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 17, no. 12. 18 March 2000. p. 12. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  34. ^ "Lescharts.com – Soundtrack / Air – The Virgin Suicides". Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  35. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Soundtrack / Air – The Virgin Suicides" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  36. ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Air". Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  37. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  38. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Soundtrack / Air – The Virgin Suicides". Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  39. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  40. ^ "Air Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  41. ^ "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2015. 26. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  42. ^ "French album certifications – Air – Virgin Suicides B.O.F." (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. 10 July 2002. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  43. ^ "British album certifications – Air – The Virgin Suicides". British Phonographic Industry. 20 May 2016. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
  44. ^ Ayers, Michael D. (28 August 2009). "Air Back In Studio For New Film Soundtrack". Billboard. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
  45. ^ "The Virgin Suicides". Amazon (Germany). Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  46. ^ "The Virgin Suicides". Amazon (in French). France. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  47. ^ "The Virgin Suicides (OST)". Amazon. United Kingdom. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  48. ^ "The Virgin Suicides: Original Motion Picture Score". Amazon. United States. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  49. ^ "The virgin suicides 15ème anniversaire Edition limitée – Air – CD album" (in French). Fnac. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  50. ^ "The virgin suicides Deluxe Boxset 15ème anniversaire – Air – CD album" (in French). Fnac. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  51. ^ "The Virgin Suicides: Air: Téléchargements MP3". Amazon (in French). France. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  52. ^ "The Virgin Suicides (Deluxe Version – 15th Anniversary)". Amazon. United Kingdom. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  53. ^ "Virgin Suicides – 15th anniversary boxset [VINYL]". Amazon. United Kingdom. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  54. ^ "The Virgin Suicides (Deluxe Version – 15th Anniversary): Air: MP3 Downloads". Amazon. United Kingdom. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  55. ^ "The Virgin Suicides (Deluxe Version – 15th Anniversary): Air: MP3-Downloads". Amazon (in German). Germany. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  56. ^ "The Virgin Suicides (Deluxe Version – 15th Anniversary): Air: MP3 Downloads". Amazon. United States. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  57. ^ "The Virgin Suicides (Deluxe Version – 15th Anniversary): AIR: デジタルミュージック". Amazon (in Japanese). Japan. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  58. ^ "Virgin Suicides – 15th Anniversary / ヴァージン・スーサイズ＜デラックス・エディション＞" (in Japanese). Warner Music Japan. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  59. ^ "Virgin Suicides – Ost (15th Anniversary Edition)". JB Hi-Fi. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  60. ^ "Virgin Suicides – Ost (15th Anniversary Limited Edition Super Deluxe Boxset)". JB Hi-Fi. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  61. ^ "The Virgin Suicides (2015) | Air". zdigital. Archived from the original on 11 August 2015. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  62. ^ "Virgin Suicides (Deluxe Version-15th Anniversary)". Amazon (in German). Germany. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  63. ^ "The Virgin Suicides (15th Anniversary Boxset) [Vinyl LP]". Amazon (in German). Germany. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  64. ^ "Virgin Suicides (2CD)(Deluxe Version – 15th Anniversary)". Amazon. United States. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
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