C'mon C'mon (soundtrack)

"We went through a long process filled with exploring places that ultimately didn’t work, but we had to kind of find this gentle sound, this particular melody and set of chords that really holds the specific emotional world, the energy of the music becomes gentle, cloud-like, intimate."

— Mike Mills

Mills had directed the short film I Am Easy to Find that accompanied as a visual album to The National's 2019 album of the same name. Both Aaron and Bryce, were onboard for C'mon C'mon when Mills was writing the screenplay, he read the one line of an uncle raising his orphaned nephew and share their moments, that linked their real life moments in Aaron's life; ^[1] they shared a good rapport with the director, the latter claiming him as a "musical and collaborative" person and felt that "[scoring his] film was almost like having a band with him". ^[2] They did some of the basic sketches of the film score, while simultaneously working on Cyrano (2022). ^{[3] [4] [5]}

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Aaron who was in France, and Bryce in New York, had to interact virtually as well as conducting the scoring process through Zoom for both the films. Comparing with Cyrano which was a periodic, baroque score, C'mon C'mon was more experimental by comparison and more impressionistic. The film had "this elusive ambiguity to it that has a lot to do with how Mike makes films. There’s an improvised nature to his filmmaking that I think he also wanted to capture in the score. So anytime we were too composed he would push us off our axis." ^[2] Mills praised their "subtle, minimalistic and gossamer kind of style" that they had implemented in the score. ^[5]

The score preceded with the single "I Won't Remember?" released on November 6, 2021. ^{[6] [7]} The album was released through A24's newly formed music label, A24 Music as their first release in their catalogue on November 12, a week before the release of the film. ^[8]

C'mon C'mon (Original Motion Picture Score)
Film score by Aaron Dessner and Bryce Dessner
Released	November 12, 2021
Genre	Film score
Length	33:09
Label	A24 Music
Producer	Aaron Dessner Bryce Dessner
Aaron Dessner and Bryce Dessner chronology
All of This Unreal Time (2021) C'mon C'mon (2021) Cyrano (2021)

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Here They All Come"	2:39
2.	"Who's Taking Care of Jesse?"	2:04
3.	"The Orphan"	2:31
4.	"Happy Sad Empty Full"	2:24
5.	"Kids of New York City"	2:34
6.	"Why Can't I Just Sleep With You?"	1:48
7.	"I'm Not Fine And That's A Totally Reasonable Response"	2:20
8.	"The Orphan Returns"	1:23
9.	"Kids of New Orleans"	3:30
10.	"You'll See A Lot Of Bad It's Beautiful"	3:19
11.	"I Won't Remember?"	2:41
12.	"Hopper's Theme"	2:30
13.	"Be Funny When You Can"	3:26
Total length:		33:09

Reception

David Ehrlich of IndieWire and David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter complimented the score as "twinkly" and "shimmering". ^{[9] [10]} Richard Lawson of Vanity Fair wrote "A score of murmuring pianos and other sweetly plaintive sounds, by the National’s Aaron and Bryce Dessner gives the film an extra dimension of cozy ache." ^[11] Jessica Kiang of Los Angeles Times wrote "Aaron and Bryce Dessner’s glistening score swells — is as magical and romantic a vision of Los Angeles as we’ve recently seen." ^[12]

Accolades

Award	Date of ceremony	Category	Recipient(s)	Result	Ref.
Hollywood Music in Media Awards	November 17, 2021	Original Score — Independent Film	Aaron Dessner and Bryce Dessner	Won	[13]

References

1. Tangcay, Jazz (November 21, 2021). "Crafting the Sights and Sounds of 'C'mon C'mon'". Variety. Archived from the original on November 25, 2021. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
2. Havens, Lyndsey (November 19, 2021). "How Scoring Two Oscar Contenders Helped The Dessner Twins Stay Close In the Pandemic". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 16, 2021. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
3. "Composer Series: Aaron and Bryce Dessner on Cyrano, C'Mon C'Mon, and Jockey". Below the Line. December 17, 2021. Archived from the original on March 4, 2023. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
4. Kreps, Daniel (November 5, 2021). "Aaron and Bryce Dessner Preview 'C'mon C'mon' Score With 'I Won't Remember?'". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on November 5, 2021. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
5. "The National's Bryce and Aaron Dessner Detail C'mon C'mon Soundtrack, Share New Song". Pitchfork. November 5, 2021. Archived from the original on December 6, 2021. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
6. Robinson, Ellie (November 6, 2021). "The National's Aaron and Bryce Dessner drop 'I Won't Remember?' from 'C'mon C'mon' soundtrack". NME. Archived from the original on November 21, 2021. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
7. "The National's Bryce and Aaron Dessner share new C'mon C'mon track "I Won't Remember?"". The Line of Best Fit. Archived from the original on November 7, 2021. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
8. "'C'mon C'mon' Soundtrack Album Details". Film Music Reporter. Archived from the original on November 7, 2021. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
9. Ehrlich, David (September 3, 2021). "'C'mon C'mon' Review: Joaquin Phoenix Goes Back to Normal in Mike Mills' Sweet and Shaggy Mood Piece". IndieWire. Archived from the original on August 22, 2023. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
10. Rooney, David (September 3, 2021). "Joaquin Phoenix in Mike Mills' 'C'mon C'mon': Film Review | Telluride 2021". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on November 21, 2021. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
11. "Joaquin Phoenix Endears in the Poignant Parenting Drama C'mon C'mon". Vanity Fair. September 4, 2021. Archived from the original on September 24, 2021. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
12. Kiang, Jessica (November 18, 2021). "Review: 'C'mon C'mon' is a joyful, compassionate reminder Joaquin Phoenix can play nice guys too". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on December 31, 2021. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
13. Grein, Paul (November 4, 2021). "Ariana Grande, Beyonce & More Vie for Hollywood Music in Media Awards: Complete Film Nominations List". Billboard . Archived from the original on November 9, 2021. Retrieved February 10, 2022.