Growing up is a mess. It's sweaty, awkward, and usually sounds like a mix of Top 40 hits you're embarrassed to like and indie songs that feel like they were written specifically about your crushing loneliness. When Kelly Fremon Craig released The Edge of Seventeen back in 2016, she didn't just nail the dialogue; she nailed the noise. The Edge of Seventeen movie soundtrack isn't just a background buzz. It is a curated emotional landscape that perfectly mirrors Nadine Franklin’s (Hailee Steinfeld) chaotic, high-stakes internal life.
Honestly, most teen movie soundtracks try too hard. They either load up on "cool" underground tracks to gain indie cred or they just buy the biggest pop hits of the summer. This one feels different. It feels like a real person's Spotify playlist. It’s a collision of Santigold, The 1975, and Anderson .Paak that somehow makes sense because it’s as frantic as being seventeen years old.
The Sound of Feeling Like an Outsider
The movie starts with a bang—literally. We see Nadine contemplating her own existence while "Who I Thought You Were" by Santigold kicks things off. It’s punchy. It’s energetic. It’s also deeply insecure underneath the beat. That’s the magic trick of this entire soundtrack. It uses high-energy production to mask the fact that the lyrics are often about not fitting in or feeling like a stranger in your own skin.
Music supervisor Jason Markey had a tough job here. He had to bridge the gap between Nadine’s retro sensibilities—she’s a girl who wears an old-school blue chore coat and idolizes a different era—and the modern world she’s forced to live in. You hear this tension in the inclusion of tracks like "Ballroom Blitz" by The Struts. It’s a cover of a 70s classic, but it sounds fresh. It bridges the generational gap just like Nadine’s relationship with her teacher, Mr. Bruner (played with world-weary perfection by Woody Harrelson).
You know that feeling when you're at a party and you just want to vanish? There’s a specific song for that. When Nadine is spiraling after the whole "accidental text" debacle, the music shifts. It becomes more claustrophobic. The Edge of Seventeen movie soundtrack understands that silence is just as important as the bass drop.
Why "Hands" and "When Jerry Go" Hit So Hard
A lot of people forget that the score was handled by Atli Örvarsson. Usually, in teen dramedies, the score is just some light acoustic guitar to tell you when to feel sad. Örvarsson went a different route. He kept it subtle, allowing the licensed tracks to do the heavy lifting for the "big" moments while the score provided the connective tissue.
But let’s talk about the standout moments.
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"When Jerry Go" by Phantogram is a mood. It’s dark, synth-heavy, and feels like driving through the suburbs at 2 AM with the windows down because you can't stand to be in your house for one more second. It captures that specific brand of suburban teenage nihilism. Then you have "Hands" by Barns Courtney. It’s bluesy and raw. It’s the sound of frustration. Nadine isn't a "manic pixie dream girl"—she’s a person who is often genuinely unpleasant because she’s hurting. The music doesn't try to make her "cute." It makes her loud.
The 1975 also makes an appearance with "The Sound." At that point in 2016, they were the definitive voice of stylized teenage angst. Including them wasn't just a trend-chasing move; it was a way to ground the film in the "now." It’s the kind of song that plays at the school dance you didn't want to go to but ended up at anyway because your best friend (and only friend) started dating your brother.
The Full Tracklist: A Deep Look at the Roster
If you look at the official release from Lakeshore Records, the sequencing is actually quite intentional. It doesn't follow the chronological order of the film, but rather an emotional arc. Here is the breakdown of what actually made it onto the official album:
- Who I Thought You Were – Santigold (The "I'm fine but I'm actually not" anthem)
- Ballroom Blitz – The Struts (The chaotic energy of a breakdown)
- Am I Wrong – Anderson .Paak feat. Schoolboy Q (The rare moment of genuine fun)
- Bad Decisions – Two Door Cinema Club (Self-explanatory for any teen)
- Psycho – A$AP Ferg (The aggression of feeling ignored)
- Save Me – Aimee Mann (A direct nod to Magnolia and adult-level sadness)
- Genghis Khan – Miike Snow (The jealousy track)
- The Sound – The 1975
- True – Spandau Ballet (The "cringe" but necessary nostalgia)
There are also songs in the movie that didn't make the official "soundtrack" album but are arguably even more important. Take "Dickhead" by Kate Nash. It plays during one of the most painfully awkward scenes in the movie. It’s blunt. It’s British. It’s exactly what Nadine is thinking. The fact that the music team went for Kate Nash—an artist who peaked commercially a few years prior—shows they were looking for character-fit over Billboard rankings.
The Aimee Mann Connection
One of the most sophisticated choices in the Edge of Seventeen movie soundtrack is the inclusion of Aimee Mann’s "Save Me." If you’re a film nerd, you know this song is the heartbeat of Paul Thomas Anderson’s Magnolia. By putting it in this film, Fremon Craig is signaling that Nadine’s pain shouldn't be dismissed just because she’s a teenager.
It’s an "adult" song. It’s a song about deep-seated trauma and the desperate need for someone to step in and fix things. When it plays, the movie stops being a comedy for a second. It acknowledges that being seventeen is, for some people, a genuine crisis of the soul. It’s a heavy lift for a soundtrack, but it works because the film respects its protagonist.
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Exploring the "Hidden" Tracks
Beyond the big names, there are several artists that got a massive boost from being in this film. "Sky on Fire (feat. Robot Koch)" by Handsome Ghost provides a shimmering, ethereal backdrop to the more vulnerable scenes between Nadine and Erwin (Hayden Szeto). Erwin is the "nice guy" who actually feels like a real person, and his musical palette is softer, more electronic, and infinitely more patient than Nadine’s.
And we have to mention "Ghost" by Sky Ferreira. Sky is the patron saint of "difficult" girls, so her presence here is a requirement. Her music sounds like smeared eyeliner and regret. It fits perfectly.
Then there’s the use of "Help Me Lose My Mind" by Disclosure featuring London Grammar. It’s a sophisticated track that suggests a level of maturity Nadine is trying to reach but hasn't quite grasped yet. This is what makes this soundtrack better than its peers: it uses music to show where the character wants to be, not just where she is.
How to Listen and What to Do Next
The Edge of Seventeen movie soundtrack is readily available on Spotify, Apple Music, and vinyl. If you’re a collector, the vinyl version is actually worth it—the artwork captures the vibrant, messy aesthetic of the film perfectly.
If you’ve already burned through the soundtrack and you’re looking for more of that specific "Nadine energy," here are your next steps:
1. Dig into the Unofficial Playlist
Look for "The Edge of Seventeen Complete" on streaming platforms. The official album only has 12 tracks, but the movie actually features nearly 30 songs. You’ll find gems like "Snakes" by Pixies and "Native" by The Black Keys that give the movie its gritty, rock-and-roll edge.
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2. Explore the Direct Influences
Kelly Fremon Craig has cited John Hughes as a massive influence. Go back and listen to the soundtrack for The Breakfast Club or Pretty in Pink. You’ll hear how The Edge of Seventeen modernized that formula—swapping out 80s new wave for 2010s synth-pop and indie-R&B, but keeping the same emotional core.
3. Watch the Live Performances
Several artists on the soundtrack, like Barns Courtney and The Struts, are known for their high-energy live shows. If you loved the "raw" feeling of the movie, checking out their live sessions on YouTube provides a deeper dive into the sound that defined Nadine’s world.
The legacy of this soundtrack is that it doesn't patronize its audience. It knows that teenagers have complex, sometimes "old" musical tastes. It knows that a 17-year-old might listen to A$AP Ferg and Spandau Ballet in the same hour. It’s honest. It’s messy. It’s exactly what the movie needed to become a modern classic.
If you haven't watched the film in a while, do a "soundtrack re-watch." Turn the volume up during the transitions. Pay attention to what's playing in the background of the classroom scenes. You'll realize that the music isn't just filling space—it's telling the half of the story that Nadine is too afraid to say out loud.
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