The 20 Best Movie Soundtracks in All of Film History

The "Waves" soundtrack is a contemporary masterpiece that features Tame Impala, Frank Ocean, and SZA.

Although "Waves" is not the best-known A24 film, it has been hailed as an "emotional typhoon" and "a domestic melodrama in an anguished key."

Indeed, the songs that echo the ebbs and flows of these characters are just as important as the decisions they actually make, if not more so. A24 itself has described the movie as "practically a musical."

The "Waves" soundtrack doubles as a modern teenager's playlist, featuring some of the biggest artists working today — many of whom are difficult to convince and expensive to hire, especially for an indie budget.

According to Trey Edward Shults, who directed and produced the film, it took a great deal of coordination, orchestration, and blind hope to put together the soundtrack of his dreams. But he was determined; he had written songs like Kendrick Lamar's "Backstreet Freestyle" and Kanye West's "I Am A God" into the script itself. He even managed to convince Frank Ocean, famously elusive, to clear the use of several songs at a reduced rate.

"I don't know what we would have done without Frank Ocean," music supervisor Randall Poster told the New York Times. "When we were able to get to get those songs, I think we breathed a huge sigh of relief: 'O.K., we have really the emotional spine that we've been looking for.'"

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