When You Finish Saving the World (soundtrack)

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When You Finish Saving the World
Film score by
ReleasedJanuary 20, 2023
Recorded2022
GenreFilm score
Length26:04
LabelA24 Music
ProducerEmile Mosseri
Emile Mosseri chronology
Stutz
(2022)
When You Finish Saving the World
(2022)
Singles from When You Finish Saving the World (Original Soundtrack)
  1. "Pieces of Gold"
    Released: January 11, 2023

When You Finish Saving the World is the soundtrack to the 2023 film of the same name directed by Jesse Eisenberg based on his own audio drama. The film's soundtrack consisted of a score written and produced by Emile Mosseri, and two songs performed by the lead actor Finn Wolfhard as Ziggy Katz (the character he played in the film). The soundtrack was released by A24 Music on January 20, 2023.

Background[edit]

Emile Mosseri composed the film's musical score; it marked Mosseri's second collaboration with A24 after Minari (2020) and first with Eisenberg. Eisenberg eventually wrote songs for the audio drama during its development, after he sketched Ziggy's character to be musician over an internet influencer and made Wolfhard actually sing those tracks. He wanted the songs to be simultaneously immature and skilled, raw but well produced, young but not stupid".

The first thought he had on developing the film's score, was the music being an extension of Ziggy's world. He met Mosseri and explained those concepts, and Mosseri eventually sent samples of "homemade" sounds and eventually used the riffs from the Casio CZ synthesizers that is featured throughout the film. He described Mosseri's score as "unusually deceptive" as it played like traditional film score while also seeming like Ziggy's music.[1]

For the song "Pieces of Gold", both Eisenberg and Mosseri asked Wolfhard to sing it over and use specific instruments to improvise them, to which Wolfhard described it as "cool". Wolfhard's contribution, added a level of the authenticity to the film's music as he would contribute it while playing Ziggy and also felt comfortable owing to his music career.[2][3]

Release[edit]

On January 11, 2023, the song "Pieces of Gold" was released as a digital single which led the soundtrack.[4][5] It was performed by Wolfhard under the film's character, Ziggy Katz.[6] The album was released through A24 Music on January 20.[7] The album was further issued in vinyl editions with the 11-song album being pressed into a 180-gram black and fluorescent, yellow-colored LP disc and accompanied with a cover sleeve with an artwork consisting of sketches and drawings.[8] The disc also featured pictures of Wolfhard and Julianne Moore in the background.[8]

Reception[edit]

Ross Bonaime of Collider called the score as haunting, and sounded like it would have been made by the fictional protagonist.[9] Benjamin Lee of The Guardian opined that Mosseri's score does the heavy lifting.[10] Robert Abele of Los Angeles Times attributed that it "fills the non-diegetic holes between Ziggy's songs and Evelyn's calming classical with wheezing electronic-sounding motifs".[11] Siddhant Adlakha of IGN wrote "Composer Emile Mosseri draws from Ziggy's electronic instruments to create a springy, head-in-the-clouds atmosphere".[12] Courtney Lanning of News Center Maine described that the score "masterfully compliments the film".[13] A critic based at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette called the score "wonderful" and commented "Every piece of music included in this film was right on target in terms of theme and tone."[14]

Track listing[edit]

When You Finish Saving the World track listing
No.TitlePerformerLength
1."One of the Good Ones"Emile Mosseri1:44
2."Mouth of a Liar"Mosseri1:54
3."Pieces of Gold"Finn Wolfhard (as Ziggy Katz)4:01
4."Blue Pieces"Mosseri1:42
5."Cardiac"Mosseri1:49
6."I Made a Duck"Mosseri1:41
7."Lila's Poem"Wolfhard (as Ziggy Katz)2:13
8."We Ate With Our Hands"Mosseri1:31
9."Evelyn Katz's Son"Mosseri3:44
10."These Things Are Separate"Mosseri2:13
11."Naturally Bright"Mosseri1:20
12."Union Made"Jeff Tweedy2:12
Total length:26:04

Release history[edit]

Release dates and formats for When You Finish Saving the World (Original Soundtrack)
Region Date Format(s) Label Ref.
Various January 20, 2023 A24 [8]
May 12, 2023 vinyl

References[edit]

  1. ^ Cahen, Ava. "About When You Finish Saving The World | Interview with Jesse Eisenberg". Semaine de la Critique. Cannes Film Festival. Archived from the original on March 29, 2023. Retrieved May 29, 2024.
  2. ^ Schade, Alessandra (January 20, 2023). "Finn Wolfhard on Playing a Narcissist in 'When You Finish Saving The World'". Paper. Archived from the original on February 26, 2024. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  3. ^ Jones, Tamera (January 16, 2023). "Finn Wolfhard & Jesse Eisenberg on 'When You Finish Saving the World,' Directorial Debuts, and Music". Collider. Archived from the original on January 21, 2023. Retrieved May 29, 2024.
  4. ^ "Finn Wolfhard As Ziggy Katz Performs "Pieces Of Gold" From 'When You Finish Saving The World' Soundtrack: Listen". Stereogum. January 11, 2023. Archived from the original on January 16, 2023. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
  5. ^ Disalvo, Tom (January 11, 2023). "Finn Wolfhard drops new song 'Pieces Of Gold' as his character from upcoming film 'When You Finish Saving the World'". NME. Archived from the original on January 16, 2023. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
  6. ^ Leijon, Erik (January 11, 2023). "Finn Wolfhard Releases New Song "Pieces of Gold" as Ziggy Katz". Complex. Archived from the original on May 29, 2023. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
  7. ^ "'When You Finish Saving the World' Soundtrack Album Details". Film Music Reporter. January 19, 2023. Archived from the original on February 3, 2023. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
  8. ^ a b c "When You Finish Saving the World Original Motion Picture Soundtrack". A24 Shop. Archived from the original on November 29, 2023. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
  9. ^ Bonaime, Ross (January 21, 2022). "'When You Finish Saving the World' Review: Jesse Eisenberg's Directorial Debut Has Family Struggling to Find Each Other". Collider. Archived from the original on April 16, 2022. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
  10. ^ Lee, Benjamin (January 21, 2022). "When You Finish Saving the World review – Jesse Eisenberg's patchy directorial debut". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on January 31, 2022. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
  11. ^ Abele, Robert (January 20, 2023). "Review: There's no saving Jesse Eisenberg 'When You Finish Saving the World'". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 11, 2023. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
  12. ^ Adlakha, Siddhant (January 21, 2022). "When You Finish Saving the World Review". IGN. Archived from the original on September 21, 2022. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
  13. ^ Lanning, Courtney (January 18, 2023). "Review: Julianne Moore shines in 'When You Finish Saving the World'". News Center Maine. WSCH. Archived from the original on January 23, 2023. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
  14. ^ "Strong leads in 'When You Finish Saving the World'". The Arkansas Democrat Gazette. January 27, 2023. Archived from the original on January 29, 2023. Retrieved June 3, 2024.