"Battleship" Soundtrack Lyrics

"Battleship" Soundtrack Description

FAQ

• Is there an official soundtrack album?
  Yes — Battleship (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) by Steve Jablonsky. Physical release on Varèse Sarabande (May 8, 2012) and a digital release under Back Lot Music.
• What song blasts when the USS Missouri steams into battle?
  “Thunderstruck” by AC/DC, used as the hype needle-drop for the veterans-powered montage into the final fight.
• What’s the bar song early on?
  “Interstate Love Song” by Stone Temple Pilots — it’s playing in the bar during Hopper’s chaotic meet-cute.
• End-credits tune?
  Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Fortunate Son” rolls over the credits.
• Who composed the score, and were there rock cameos?
  Steve Jablonsky composed the score; Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine) contributes guitar; Rick Rubin advised on the music approach.

Additional Info

• Jablonsky sampled MRI machine noises to craft the aliens’ sonic identity — industrial menace baked into the score’s DNA.
• Producer Rick Rubin served as a music advisor; Tom Morello laid in featured guitar on key action cues.
• Physical CD came via Varèse Sarabande; streaming/digital carries a Back Lot Music imprint.
• Classic-rock needle-drops (AC/DC, CCR) sit beside indie and jazz cues — a deliberate texture clash.
• Fun echo: Cher’s infamous “If I Could Turn Back Time” video was filmed on the same battleship (USS Missouri) decades before this film roared it back to life.
• Jablonsky later picked up a BMI Film Music Award for the score.

Overview

Genres & Themes

• Arena rock (AC/DC, ZZ Top): grit, steel, and “let’s go” swagger — the Navy-as-classic-car vibe.
• Industrial-hybrid score (Jablonsky + Morello): metallic timbres and sampled machinery for alien tech; ostinatos as targeting locks.
• Indie melancholy (Band of Horses): human scale and pause — a breath between barrages.
• Classic protest rock (CCR): end-credits irony; victory with an asterisk.
• Jazz caper (Mancini): playful counterpoint during Hopper’s burrito “heist,” signaling we can laugh at him before we rely on him.

Key Tracks & Scenes

• “Thunderstruck” — AC/DC
  Where it plays: Non-diegetic needle-drop for the late-film montage as veterans and crew ready the USS Missouri and charge into the showdown.
  Why it matters: It’s the film’s purest fist-pump — classic-rock voltage translating into naval momentum.
• “Interstate Love Song” — Stone Temple Pilots
  Where it plays: Diegetic, in-bar early on when Hopper’s life is still a mess.
  Why it matters: Sets character temperature: swaggering exterior, zero discipline — the starting line for his arc.
• “The Pink Panther Theme” — Henry Mancini
  Where it plays: Non-diegetic gag during the “chicken-burrito” convenience-store break-in.
  Why it matters: A sly musical meme that invites the audience to laugh at Hopper’s caper instincts before the story gets serious.
• “Fortunate Son” — Creedence Clearwater Revival
  Where it plays: Non-diegetic; end credits.
  Why it matters: A knowing, culturally loaded sign-off — triumph scored with a Vietnam-era anti-establishment bite.
• “Everybody Wants You” — Billy Squier
  Where it plays: Over a veterans-hospital sequence, juxtaposing peppy radio-rock against the film’s human cost.
  Why it matters: The dissonance reads as commentary — image and music pulling in different directions.
• “Super Battle” — Tom Morello (featured on the score album)
  Where it plays: Non-diegetic cue underscoring the climactic engagement.
  Why it matters: Morello’s guitar bites through the orchestral wall, giving the final stretch a serrated edge.

Music–Story Links (characters & plot beats)

• When Hopper scrambles through the burrito fiasco, Mancini’s caper theme frames him as chaos in human form — the punchline that sets up later responsibility.
• “Interstate Love Song” paints the bar’s swagger; the same ego soon collides with chain-of-command reality once the Regents arrive.
• As the Missouri wakes, “Thunderstruck” and the We Have a Battleship cue fuse legacy hardware with present-tense urgency — honoring veterans while goosing the tempo.
• Credits rolling under “Fortunate Son” refract the rah-rah finale through a song that historically questions who pays for war — a last-second tilt of the lens.

How It Was Made (supervision, score, behind-the-scenes)

• Composer & palette: Steve Jablonsky built a hybrid: orchestral muscle, processed percussion, and sampled machinery (yes, recorded MRI sounds) to voice the alien tech.
• Rock inputs: Tom Morello tracked featured guitar; Rick Rubin advised to keep the musical spine more “bad-ass rock” than pure synth.
• Who wrangled it: Music supervision by Rachel Levy; Nick Glennie-Smith conducted the Hollywood Studio Symphony; Alan Meyerson mixed.
• Where it came together: Recorded at the Newman Scoring Stage (Fox) and Remote Control Productions in Santa Monica.

Reception & Quotes

“Battleship is an intellectual wasteland of rehashed action.” — Filmtracks

“Jablonsky’s score thumps and drones away with nary a pause.” — Variety

“A blaring score… nobody’s taking things too seriously.” — The Hollywood Reporter

“Jablonsky rocks the robot-things again.” — Assignment X

Technical Info

• Title: Battleship (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
• Year / Type: 2012 / movie
• Composers: Steve Jablonsky (score); featured guitar by Tom Morello
• Music supervision: Rachel Levy
• Notable placements (selected): AC/DC “Thunderstruck”; CCR “Fortunate Son”; STP “Interstate Love Song”; Henry Mancini “The Pink Panther Theme”; Billy Squier “Everybody Wants You”
• Album release: May 8, 2012 — Varèse Sarabande (CD); digital/streaming under Back Lot Music
• Recording / mix: Newman Scoring Stage & Remote Control; mixed by Alan Meyerson
• Film release context: World premiere April 3, 2012 (Tokyo); U.S. release May 18, 2012
• Awards: BMI Film Music Award (2013)
• Availability: Widely streamable; physical CD availability varies (catalog/collector market)

October, 01st 2025