Music isn't just background noise in Marc Webb’s 2009 indie darling; it is the entire nervous system of the film. Most movies use a score to tell you how to feel, but the songs in 500 Days of Summer actually dictate the reality of the characters. When Tom Hansen (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is falling for Summer Finn (Zooey Deschanel), the world is a literal musical. When he’s crashing, the music turns brittle, ironic, or painfully silent. It’s been well over a decade since the film debuted at Sundance, yet the soundtrack remains a permanent fixture on Spotify playlists for the chronically heartbroken. Why? Because music supervisors Randall Poster and George Drakoulias didn't just pick "cool" indie tracks. They picked songs that represent the dangerous way we use pop culture to self-medicate our own romantic delusions.
The Elevator Scene: Where It All Went Wrong
You know the one. The Smiths' "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" playing through Tom’s headphones. Summer says, "I love The Smiths." Tom is hooked.
Honestly, this is the most important musical moment in the movie because it highlights Tom’s fundamental flaw. He mistakes a shared aesthetic for a shared destiny. Just because a girl likes the same miserable British indie band as you doesn't mean she’s your soulmate. Morrissey’s voice becomes the catalyst for a 500-day spiral. It’s a brilliant use of a song because "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" is inherently melodramatic—"To die by your side is such a heavenly way to die." Tom takes that lyric literally in an emotional sense. He is willing to let his entire identity die for the sake of being near Summer, even though she tells him upfront she doesn't want a boyfriend.
The Smiths weren't just a random choice. The band represents a specific kind of 1980s sensitive-guy melancholy that Tom has adopted as his personality. By including this track, Webb isn't just setting a mood; he's flagging a warning. If your entire foundation for a relationship is a 1986 B-side, you’re probably in trouble.
Hall & Oates and the Great Expectation Gap
Compare that Smiths moment to the "You Make My Dreams" sequence. This is arguably the most famous scene in the film. Tom has finally slept with Summer. He walks out of his apartment, and the world is perfect. There’s a marching band. Han Solo winks at him in a reflection. It’s pure, unadulterated Hall & Oates.
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It works because it’s ridiculous.
The song is upbeat, infectious, and deeply "80s pop." It represents the peak of Tom's projection. He isn't actually in a stable relationship; he’s in a montage. The contrast between this high-energy pop anthem and the later, silent scenes is what makes the film’s structure so effective. When things fall apart, the absence of a soundtrack is deafening.
Later, we get the "Expectations vs. Reality" sequence, set to Regina Spektor’s "Hero." This is where the songs in 500 Days of Summer shift from being a celebration to a surgical tool. The song is beautiful but haunting, with Spektor singing about someone who "never ever learned to read the lines." As the screen splits, showing the party Tom imagined versus the lonely evening he actually has, the music bridges the gap between his fantasy and the cold, hard floor of Summer’s apartment building. "Hero" is a rhythmic, almost nervous track that mirrors Tom’s anxiety. He’s trying so hard to play the part of the cool ex-boyfriend, but the music knows he’s failing.
The Deep Cuts You Might Have Missed
While everyone remembers Hall & Oates or The Smiths, the soundtrack is littered with tracks that do heavy lifting in the background.
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- The Temper Trap – "Sweet Disposition": This track plays during the architecture montage. It’s soaring and anthemic. It represents the "Spring" of their relationship, full of potential and wide-eyed optimism.
- Wolfmother – "Vagabond": A grittier, more folk-rock sound that appears when Tom is in his "I hate the world" phase. It’s a sharp pivot from the polished pop of the earlier months.
- Carla Bruni – "Quelqu'un m'a dit": This French folk song adds a layer of sophisticated longing. It plays during a period of transition, underscoring the bittersweet nature of Tom’s memories.
- The Black Lips – "Bad Kids": Used during the copy room scene, providing a chaotic, garage-rock energy that mirrors the impulsive, messy nature of their physical connection.
Each of these choices serves to ground the film in a specific "hipster" reality of the late 2000s. It was an era of Zooey Deschanel-led "adorkability" and the rise of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl trope—a trope the movie actually tries to deconstruct, even if many viewers missed that point.
Why the Soundtrack Is Basically a Character
Music is Tom Hansen’s job, or at least his passion. He works at a greeting card company, but he lives in his record collection. This is why the karaoke scene is so vital. When Summer gets up and sings "Sugar Town" by Nancy Sinatra, it’s charming, a bit aloof, and totally non-committal. When Tom gets up and drunkenly belts out "Here Comes Your Man" by the Pixies, he’s trying to be the indie-rock hero he sees in his head.
The Pixies are the ultimate "cool guy" band. By having Tom sing them, the film shows us his ego. He wants to be perceived as the guy who knows good music. He uses his taste as a shield and a lure. The songs in 500 Days of Summer are effectively a curated list of Tom’s attempts to curate himself.
The Bittersweet End: Mumm-Ra and "She's Got You High"
As the film winds down and Tom meets Autumn (Minka Kelly), the music changes again. "She's Got You High" by Mumm-Ra plays over the credits. It’s a catchy, upbeat indie-pop song that feels very similar to the music from the beginning of the movie.
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This is a bit controversial among fans. Some people think it’s a happy ending—he found someone else! Others see it as a cyclical tragedy. Tom hasn't learned anything. He’s just putting a new song on the turntable and starting the process over again. The upbeat tempo of the track suggests a fresh start, but the lyrics hint at that same dizzying, dangerous intoxication of a new crush.
The Impact on Music Supervision
Before 500 Days of Summer, movie soundtracks were often just collections of hits or orchestral swells. This film, along with others like Garden State, helped usher in the era of the "curated vibe." It proved that you could use relatively obscure indie tracks to create a massive emotional resonance with a mainstream audience.
Randall Poster, the music supervisor, has worked with Wes Anderson and Martin Scorsese. He knows how to pick songs that feel like they belong in a specific universe. For 500 Days, he picked songs that felt like they were pulled directly from a 24-year-old’s bedroom in 2009. There’s a sincerity to it that’s hard to fake.
Actionable Steps for Your Next Rewatch
If you’re going back to watch the film or just diving into the soundtrack, here is how to get the most out of the experience:
- Listen for the Silences: Notice when the music stops. Usually, it’s when Tom is forced to face reality without the buffer of his "soundtrack."
- Analyze the Lyrics vs. the Action: Often, the lyrics of the songs are directly commenting on Tom's inability to see Summer for who she actually is.
- The "Morning After" Contrast: Watch the Hall & Oates scene again, then immediately skip to the scene where Tom is buying orange juice after the breakup. The visual and auditory difference is the entire point of the movie.
- Check out the "Bonus" Tracks: Songs like "Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want" (The Smiths cover by She & Him) weren't in the theatrical cut in the same way but add layers to the "Summer" perspective if you listen to the full album.
The songs in 500 Days of Summer aren't just a playlist. They are a map of a broken heart and a warning against romanticizing the people we love until they become nothing more than a lyric in our favorite song.