For his first-ever film score, Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails fame was eager to have a bevy of new toys at his disposal. Perhaps a string section? Perhaps a full orchestral suite? Yet "The Social Network" director David Fincher put an instant end to such film music tropes.

"We got the idea from David that he wanted something that was not orchestral and not traditional," Reznor said recently. "He referenced 'Blade Runner' and Tangerine Dream. He mentioned sounds that were a synthetic landscape of sorts. Then we just spent a couple weeks with no picture and no input and were thinking of how we could create a world of sound."

Reznor, working with frequent collaborator Atticus Ross, will vie with film composer heavyweights such as Hans Zimmer, Danny Elfman and A.R. Rahman, among others, for best original score at this Sunday's Golden Globes. It's illustrious company for Reznor's first film (Ross last worked on the film "The Book of Eli"), and the music of "The Social Network" couldn't be more atypical than the kind of orchestrations awards voters typically fawn over.

It's taut, largely digital, and minimalistic in its mournfulness, decorated occasionally with a piano. Whereas electronic maestros Daft Punk brought enough orchestral grandiosity to their "Tron: Legacy" score to stage a Fourth of July fireworks celebration, Reznor and Ross went the opposite route. Instead of adding to their synth-driven repertoire, the pair were taking away.

"We spent time in advance setting up rules," Reznor said. "If we were working orchestrally, we’d have these sounds and this kind of voicing to us. We adapted that to a world of modular synthesizers and an acoustic piano, and a general aesthetic of X,Y and Z."

So how does Gwyneth Paltrow sound with a Nashville makeover? That’s likely the first and most obvious question when it comes to the soundtrack to tearjerker “Country Strong.” On a 13-track album with a number of Nashville stars, be it Faith Hill or A-list songwriters such as Tom Douglas and Hillary Lindsey, Paltrow is the clear outsider.

Yet all’s well. When it comes to carrying a tune, Paltrow is on par — and heck, even better — than a number of blond-haired country starlets. Whether that says more about the talents of the actress or the quality of Nashville pop would make for another debate, but she’s go-getter tough on “Country Strong,” punctuating the last word with an ever-so-slight snarl, and she sounds even better hushed and wounded on “Coming Home.” If she’s not the next Reba McEntire, Paltrow could certainly hold her own with a Hillary Scott.

The rest of the soundtrack is a capable snapshot of what could pass for above-average country pop in 2010. Sara Evans has a pretty yet nondescript ballad, and likewise Hill plays it safe. Better is Ronnie Dunn, who faithfully tackles the classic drinking ode “She’s Actin’ Single (I’m Drinkin’ Double),” and Lee Ann Womack, who needs little more than a fiddle to slay on “Liars Lie.”

— Todd Martens

"Country Strong”
Various Artists
Sony Music Entertainment
Two stars (Out of four)

In his last movie, “Slumdog Millionaire,” director Danny Boyle showed a sophisticated sense of how music and image can intertwine and intensify each other. With his latest, “127 Hours,” he proves his skill again, reenlisting composer A.R. Rahman, who won two Academy Awards for his racing, kinetic score to Boyle’s violent fairy tale set in Mumbai, India.

The majority of “127 Hours” takes place in a claustrophobic canyon in Utah, where James Franco’s character, mountain climber Aron Ralston, is trapped with a boulder pinned on his arm, left to little devices but to examine his life. The music reflects the dual notions of the movie: an introspective mood fraught with anxiety and the same high-energy lust for experience that fired the engine of “Slumdog Millionaire.”

About half of the soundtrack is devoted to original music from Rahman, especially his three “Liberation” explorations — at turns tense, wondrous and hallucinatory with parched guitars. But the secondary music beautifully captures the tone too. Sigur Ros’ “Festival” is a nine-minute flight that starts as a hushed prayer and builds to an exalted soar.

— Margaret Wappler

A.R. Rahman
“127 Hours”
Interscope Records
Three and a half stars (Out of four)

Carter Burwell’s long been a Coen brothers collaborator, and his evocative, moody and subtly atmospheric scores for the enigmatic filmmakers have essentially been ignored by Oscar voters. The same fate awaits “True Grit,” which has already been disqualified for Oscar contention, as portions of Burwell’s work contain re-interpretations of 19th century Protestant hymns.

A shame, as Burwell’s work on “True Grit” is some of his grandest to date. Eschewing the traditional brassy triumphs that mark many a western score, Burwell opts to focus instead on lovely, albeit slightly sorrowful, piano arrangements. It allows for “True Grit” to work equally well for big-screen vistas and solitary contemplation.

Though the Nonesuch score is largely a collection of orchestral fragments, it’s not a jolting set. The temper is downbeat, a musical universe in which a slight pat of a tom-tom drum is menacing. Yet even at its most damning, Burwell casually circles back to strings that provide an emotional lift and a piano that longs to be adorned with a symphony. It’s music for after the adventure, when reflection and loss play a larger role.

— Todd Martens

Carter Burwell
“True Grit”
Nonesuch
Three stars

Hans Zimmer scored one of the biggest films of the year in "Inception." His 2011 slate includes "Rango," a highly anticipated animated feature from Gore Verbinski and Industrial Light & Magic. He's already begun exchanging ideas with director Christopher Nolan for the conclusion of the filmmaker's Batman saga, "The Dark Knight Rises." 

Yet the only thing Zimmer really wants to discuss is an iPhone app. In an interview set up to chat about the award-season chances of "Inception" for The Times' Envelope, Zimmer was eager to postpone the matter at hand. "There's an in-built German disdain," Zimmer said of Oscar season. "There goes art." 

Instead, Zimmer encouraged this reporter to play with one of his recent musical acquisitions, a guitar fashioned out of old dynamite boxes. It was a gift, Zimmer said, from Verbinski. When the musical session was done, Zimmer handed over his iPhone. Zimmer's Santa Monica-based Remote Control Productions, working with technology from developer RjDj, has released a free iPhone app, one that boasts so-called augmented sound. In short, one's surroundings are folded into Zimmer's score, with the intent to create a dream-like sensation while walking around.

"It scores the room," Zimmer said. "I’m not kidding. It takes a second. Just to explain the principal: It’s not just a phone, it’s a clock. It knows what time it is. It knows where you are, due to whatever you call the direction-finding doodad. For instance, at 3 p.m. in the afternoon, if you’re in Mombasa, you can hear the track entitled ‘Mombasa.’ " 

Terms such as "Quidditch" and "Muggles" have essentially become part of everyday lexicon due to the "Harry Potter" series. Yet the weirdest and most unexpected addition to the world-o-Potter, one with magic schools, talking photos and violent trees, may very well be something as simple as a song.

Midway through "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows -- Part 1," the characters Harry Potter and Hermione Granger share a dance. The music for the movement comes from an artist whose work has been steeped in lechery, sin and redemption, characteristics not necessarily associated with a holiday-season family blockbuster. Yet there was "O Children," from Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, playing a dominant role, with Cave's baritone of heartache at the fore.

How and why music supervisor Matt Biffa came to Cave's "O Children" is relatively simple, and no doubt similar to how many have discovered Cave's fire-and-brimstone rock and darkly haunting ballads: A breakup.   

"I was separating from my wife at the time," Biffa said Tuesday from his London home. "I came across ‘O Children’ in 2004 and I hoarded it. I knew it would be a great song for something, but I didn’t know what. I had forgotten all about it and started listening to it because I was splitting up from my wife. I was really terrified that we were going to hurt our little boys, who were 1 and 3 at the time. So it was like a love letter to my kids."

Lyrically, "O Children," which is featured on the 2004 album "Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus," largely plays out like a song of atonement. The moment it comes in "Deathly Hallows" is one in which Harry and Hermione are struggling to carry on with the quest, looking for some sort of strength to emerge from their friendship. Cave's songs have an ability to walk a line between numerous emotions, and cuts such as "Into My Arms" could work equally well at a wedding or a funeral. 

"Exactly," said Biffa. "There was something really uplifting about that 'O Children,' with lyrics like 'rejoice / lift up your voice,’ and all that stuff. I was thinking of my kids. The lyrics are saying, ‘Forgive us for what we’ve done.’ It started out as a bit of fun, but then there’s weeping. It was horribly on the nose for me. At the same time, it was giving me hope. It’s not the same as writing a song for my children, but this is the closest I can get." 

Selling it to director David Yates wasn't much of challenge, although the filmmaker still had his music supervisor jump through numerous hoops. Remembered Biffa, "David called and said, ‘I think this song is just right, but is there anything better?’" 

Oscar's best song category sometimes feels like the field that gets no respect. Two years ago, only three songs were nominated, and the prior year much of the music recognized by the academy came from one film, Disney's "Enchanted." And this year, a long-standing tradition was done away with, as the contenders for best song did not perform on the telecast.

But what feels like a lack of attention from the academy isn't reflected in the films themselves. The likes of Randy Newman, Christina Aguilera, Cher, Carrie Underwood and John Legend are among the many who have lent their vocals and musical talents to films this year. Below is a small sampling of some of this year's contenders.

The Disney factor

Alan Menken is a veteran when it comes to delivering music to Disney films, but for "Tangled," he had to retrain himself. A snappy digital update of the classic princess fairy tale "Rapunzel," "Tangled" is a musical that isn't song-driven. That meant few long expository songs with grand landscapes and colorful characters.

"Marrying the contemporary tone of the book to a classic Disney fairy-tale score was a challenge," Menken says. "There was a tendency to want to put the kitchen sink in every song."

With eight Oscars to his name, including awards for "Beauty and the Beast" and "Aladdin," Menken is one of the company's most decorated musicians. "Tangled" shows off his more stripped-down side, as Menken turned to folk heroes of the likes of Joni Mitchell and Jackson Browne for opening number "When Will My Life Begin." "Tangled's" younger fans can be forgiven, though, for hearing more Taylor Swift than Mitchell in the peppy acoustic guitar number.

"I wrote five numbers for the opening scene," Menken says. "The one we used established a song reality, but it was compatible with the scene. It didn't carry the scene. On a gut level, '60s folk rock felt like a fresh, interesting place to go to."

The meditative one

A.R. Rahman can do celebratory. American audiences saw a glimpse of his talents with "Slumdog Millionaire's" "Jai Ho," a festive and rousing Bollywood number. Working with director Danny Boyle once more for "127 Hours," the Indian superstar was again called upon to marry song with a moment of triumph. Although his "If I Rise," a collaboration with English pop artist Dido, strikes a more meditative tone this time.

As a character on the verge of falling victim to the elements, James Franco's Aron Ralston summons a final burst of courage, turning recent memories of new acquaintances into dreams of better days to come. "Somebody was offering him something of a future," Rahman says. "That gave him a hope and the energy to liberate himself."

Light and ambient, "If I Rise" builds delicately, with Dido's soft voice lending an angelic presence. With layer upon layer of guitar, the song has a magical feel, as it's grounded in real instrumentation but not exactly organic, either.

Boyle, says Rahman, had one request.

"Danny said, 'I want your voice too,' so I had to put my voice on it," Rahman says. "I initially wanted it to be just Dido, but the main character is a male voice. It's a very simple tune, very innocent, very much from the heart."

The duo is inspired by Wendy Carlos, who scored ‘Tron.'

Daft Punk's mission in creating the music score for “Tron: Legacy” is doubly imposing. First, the French electronic music duo is charged with creating soundscapes to help director Joseph Kosinski guide audiences convincingly into the inner dimensions of virtual reality. In doing so, Daft Punk members Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo also face the challenge of delivering a worthy successor to the work of one of their key influences and one of the true pioneers of the entire field of electronic music: Wendy Carlos.

“Creatively, we all wanted the same thing,” Kosinski recently told KCRW-FM program director Jason Bentley, who also is the music supervisor for “Tron: Legacy.” “I knew we wanted to create a classic film score that blended electronic and orchestral music in a way that hadn't been done before.”

That's what Carlos did when she composed and performed the score for the original “Tron” film in 1982 for director Steven Lisberger, bringing to the project her technological and compositional innovations that in the late 1960s and '70s significantly helped transform electronically generated sounds into bona fide music.

The score for “Tron” featured a trailblazing integration of traditional orchestral music with the sweeping, atmospheric synthesized sounds Carlos had introduced to much of the world in 1968 with her groundbreaking “Switched-On Bach” album.

“It was a chance to work with a big orchestra and a fairly big electronic ensemble and wed the two together before synths had gotten to the stage where they could be used in the same room with the orchestra, being played along with, like the way … a lot of others do now,” she told Film Score Monthly magazine several years ago.

Those unnerved by the advent of computer-composed classical works should breathe easier: The robots of Daft Punk have written a film score, recorded with the help of an 85-piece orchestra. If the machines are taking over, then the future of composing is in capable LED-lit hands.

Over their long career, Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter have stood apart from their dance-floor peers for their meticulousness in sculpting long-form tracks that deploy brainy means (virtuoso filter work, interplay between sonic compression and wide track dynamics) to joyful, primal ends. In a genre all about timbre, there’s no production duo that sounds as good.

This system works just as well out of the club and in the concert hall with the “Tron: Legacy” score. From the crackling main synth theme on “The Grid” to the distant timpanis on “Disc Wars,” the duo seamlessly grafts its phosphorescent ambience onto the orchestra’s dystopia-dripping arrangements. The band is unafraid to let its technical wizardry take a backseat to its compositions on tracks such as “Adagio For TRON” and “Flynn Lives.” But the propellant, digitized stutter of “Derezzed” and the melancholy smears of “Solar Sailer” show a Romantic streak in Daft Punk’s heart of wires and microchips.

— August Brown

Daft Punk
“Tron: Legacy” Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Walt Disney Records
Three stars (out of four)

The actress listens to a lot of soul, hip-hop and classical.

When one asks actress Natalie Portman what she's currently listening to, immediately the memory flashes back to the classic scene in “Garden State.” If you've seen the movie, you know the one: Her character, Sam, is in a doctor's office waiting room when she starts up a conversation with Andrew, played by Zach Braff. Her character is raving about the Shins, and soon we're inside her head enjoying the band too.

Portman, who's generating Oscar buzz for her work as a ballerina in Darren Aronofsky's “Black Swan,” says that she's been looking back in music more than she is keeping up with trends. Currently in heavy rotation, she says, is “nothing new, although of new stuff, I like Antony, and Sufjan Stevens and Deerhunter. I also listen to a lot of hip-hop — but more older stuff, like Tribe and Jurassic 5 and the Roots.

“And I have a lot of soul [music], like Otis, Aretha, Jeff Buckley and a lot of classical. I'm really all over the place.”

—Amy Kaufman

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Photo: Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times

Those awaiting David Lynch to shoot a proper, full-length follow-up to his 2006 film, "Inland Empire," will have to be patient. Right now, the experimental auteur is focusing on his music. 

Last heard on 2009's "Dark Night of the Soul," a collaboration with producer Danger Mouse and the late psychedelic roots artist Mark Linkous (Sparklehorse), the Los Angeles-based artist has released a pair of songs exclusively to iTunes. The tracks -- "Good Day Today" and "I Know" -- couldn't be more different. "Good Day Today" is a trancey electronic cut, while "I Know" goes for a more spooked, atmospheric rock feel.

Lynch has signed with British indie Sunday Best, a label run by DJ  Rob da Bank. The songs were recorded with engineer Dean Hurley, who has worked with Lynch on many of his films. Lynch says the goal is to release a full-length album of original music.

"We're working on a lot of things, and we hope to have an album soon," Lynch says. "All of this to me is an experiment. We were calling it kind of a modern blues -- music based on the blues. It's led to all sorts of different things, but I really want to do a modern blues album."

To get a sense of what Lynch considers "modern blues," sample "I Know" below. The keyboard has a vintage feel, but the manipulated spoken-word-like vocals lend a more warped, Tom Waits aura to the track. Mood-wise, Lynch fans will be in familiar territory, as the track comes complete with cold, frightening effects and mysterious lyrics. "She stopped to sing, since I went and did that thing," Lynch sings with a raspy vocal drawl.

"The advancement in digital things means there's a whole slew of possibilities," Lynch says. "I love organic phenomena. I love the real, rough sound of blues. I love a heavy guitar and great, strong drums. Then there's so many things that can be done to it that will modernize it."

The drama in “The King’s Speech” stems from the inability to communicate. The challenge, then, for French composer Alexandre Desplat was to keep his score from saying too much. 

“This is a film about the sound of the voice,” Desplat says. “Music has to deal with that. Music has to deal with silence. Music has to deal with time.” 

First, the score to the Tom Hooper-directed film could not sound too perfect. The sleuthing skills of Abbey Road’s chief engineer, Pete Cobin, helped Desplat find the tone he needed for the historical drama. Digging through the EMI archives, Cobin, says Desplat, recovered vintage microphones owned by the British royal family.

“At that time, the royal family had microphones made to order,” Desplat says. “We recorded the score with these microphones. It allowed the sound to have a dated feel --  a purely dated feel.” 

Desplat averages between seven and 10 films a year, and his work on “The King’s Speech” may be his warmest and most restrained effort to date. Much of the score centers on a piano, chosen to match the film’s use of Beethoven and Mozart. As string melodies drift and cascade in the background, the piano tends to lag just behind, save for the romantic swing that accompanies Colin Firth’s King George VI as he rehearses in Westminster Abbey.

Desplat wanted a score that would mirror, rather than amplify, the drama of the story. "The King's Speech" is based on the true story of the relationship between Lionel Logue, an Australian speech therapist, and Albert, the Duke of York, who was forced to confront his debilitating stammer in the years leading up to his 1936 ascent to the throne as King George VI.

Says Desplat, “The king stammers, so how can you say that in musical terms without being didactic or obvious? I suggested to Tom that we could maybe give this idea that music is not going forward. How do you do that? I suggested one note, repeated … It’s almost like a sad movement of a Schubert quartet.”