"Inherent Vice" Soundtrack Lyrics

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"Inherent Vice (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)" – Album Guide to Tracks and Key Scenes

Overview

What soundtrack fits a stoned noir that keeps slipping through your fingers? One that floats between a lush, romantic score and needle-drops that feel like found postcards. Jonny Greenwood’s orchestral writing (with sly electronic shimmers) gives Paul Thomas Anderson’s Inherent Vice its heartbeat, while period tracks—Can, Minnie Riperton, The Marketts, Neil Young, Les Baxter, Chuck Jackson—paint the sun-bleached edges.

Nonesuch released the album December 15–16, 2014. The program interleaves Greenwood cues (“Shasta,” “Meeting Crocker Fenway,” “Shasta Fay”) with source cuts like Can’s “Vitamin C,” The Marketts’ surf instrumental “Here Comes the Ho-Dads,” Riperton’s “Les Fleurs,” and a reworked Radiohead oddity, “Spooks,” performed with members of Supergrass and featuring Joanna Newsom’s spoken word. The film’s title card famously slams in on “Vitamin C,” a placement that became its calling card (as noted in festival/press coverage).

Questions & Answers

Who composed the original score?

Jonny Greenwood (Radiohead). It’s his third collaboration with PTA after There Will Be Blood and The Master.

What label released the soundtrack and when?

Nonesuch Records; mid-December 2014 (digital and physical editions).

What’s the track with Supergrass and Joanna Newsom?

“Spooks” — a Radiohead sketch reworked by Greenwood with Gaz Coombes and Danny Goffey (Supergrass); Newsom contributes spoken word.

Is “Vitamin C” on the retail album?

Yes. Can’s “Vitamin C” appears on the album and underscores the early title card in the film.

Who handled music supervision?

Linda Cohen is credited as Music Supervisor on the release.

Where was the score recorded?

Abbey Road (recording/mix), performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under Robert Ziegler; sessions spanned Dec 2013–Feb 2014.

Notes & Trivia

• The album blends Greenwood cues with licensed tracks by Can, The Marketts, Minnie Riperton, Kyu Sakamoto, Neil Young, Les Baxter, and Chuck Jackson.
• “Spooks” was issued as a single (Dec 9, 2014); it’s a witty surf/pastiche take on an old Radiohead live fragment.
• Critics/awards bodies saluted the music: LAFCA co-winner for Best Music Score; Boston critics cited Best Use of Music.
• Not every film-used song made the retail disc (e.g., additional period singles heard in scenes).

Genres & Themes

Orchestral noir with electronic prickle → memory vs. paranoia. Greenwood’s strings sway, then tighten; small synth textures nod to proto-network tech subplots.

Psychedelic/Krautrock & surf → movement and misdirection. Can’s lock-groove and The Marketts’ glide turn LA freeways into rhythm tracks.

Orchestral pop/soul → empathy and ache. Minnie Riperton and Chuck Jackson give Doc’s misadventures a pulse of genuine feeling.

Tracks & Scenes

Representative placements cross-checked with label/press credits and scene write-ups; timestamps vary by cut.

“Vitamin C” — Can
Where it plays: Early—Shasta walks away, and the title card punches in under Can’s groove (non-diegetic; ~first 10 minutes).
Why it matters: A jolt of precision in a hazy world; the beat telegraphs that Doc will chase the rhythm more than the facts.

“Shasta” — Jonny Greenwood
Where it plays: Opening mood-setter and recurring memory motif (non-diegetic).
Why it matters: Lush, almost old-Hollywood strings that keep slipping into uncertainty—a thesis for the film’s tender core.

“Here Comes the Ho-Dads” — The Marketts
Where it plays: Beach-adjacent drives and sun-dazed transitions (non-diegetic/source flavor).
Why it matters: Surf cool that sells Doc’s California; the case keeps intruding on a vibe he’d rather not lose.

“Les Fleurs” — Minnie Riperton
Where it plays: A rare, generous breath between scrapes (non-diegetic).
Why it matters: Orchestral soul as counterpoint to the conspiracy fog—brief grace, then back into the maze.

“Spooks” — Jonny Greenwood feat. Gaz Coombes, Danny Goffey, with Joanna Newsom
Where it plays: Kinetic montage as threads tangle; Newsom’s voice rides the track in wry asides (non-diegetic).
Why it matters: A playful accelerant—surf-garage pastiche that keeps the plot whirring without pretending to resolve it.

“Any Day Now (My Wild Beautiful Bird)” — Chuck Jackson
Where it plays: Melancholy connective tissue around longing and near-misses (non-diegetic).
Why it matters: Bacharach/Hilliard craftsmanship reframes Doc’s sentimental streak as something real, not just chemical.

“Ue o Muite Arukō (Sukiyaki)” — Kyu Sakamoto
Where it plays: Source-like ambience in a quiet interior (diegetic/room tone).
Why it matters: A classic pop standard that tilts the scene toward memory and distance.

“Journey Through the Past” — Neil Young
Where it plays: Reflective interlude when the case blurs into personal history (non-diegetic).
Why it matters: Folk-sorrow clarity; the title could be Doc’s mission statement.

“Simba” — Les Baxter
Where it plays: Lounge-leaning segue in a liminal space (source feel).
Why it matters: Exotica gloss; the movie knows the sheen is part of the con.

Score anchors — “Meeting Crocker Fenway,” “Shasta Fay” — Jonny Greenwood
Where they play: Business with the heavy hitters; Doc’s unresolved romance (non-diegetic).
Why they matter: Pizzicato nerves and romantic swells—two rails the film rides at once.

Music–Story Links

Greenwood’s cues track Doc’s inner weather, not the case file. When the story turns procedural, songs lead: surf and Krautrock keep him moving; orchestral soul lets him feel it later. The Radiohead-adjacent “Spooks” is a wink—this detective story accelerates but refuses to straighten out. That’s the joke and the charm.

How It Was Made

Greenwood wrote and produced the score; recording/mix ran at Abbey Road with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Robert Ziegler. The album sequencing—by Nonesuch with Greenwood—folds licensed period cuts between cues. Music supervision on the release is credited to Linda Cohen, whose brief bridged crate-digging with PTA’s specific needle-drop taste.

Reception & Quotes

The music drew strong notices: critics praised the way Greenwood’s romantic drift offsets the deadpan chaos, and the eclectic source picks sharpen the film’s tone.

“A woozy mixtape where Hollywood strings slow-dance with CAN and Neil Young.” album coverage

“That ‘Vitamin C’ title hit locks the movie’s pulse in one bar.” festival/press notes

Additional Info

• Label: Nonesuch Records; release mid-December 2014.
• Album highlights: Can “Vitamin C”; The Marketts “Here Comes the Ho-Dads”; Minnie Riperton “Les Fleurs”; Neil Young “Journey Through the Past”; Greenwood’s “Shasta Fay”; Chuck Jackson “Any Day Now.”
• “Spooks” single dropped Dec 9, 2014 (Greenwood + Supergrass; Joanna Newsom spoken word).
• Awards: LAFCA Best Music Score (tie); Boston critics Best Use of Music in a Film.
• Not all film-heard songs appear on the retail album; some period cuts remain film-only.
• Trailer images use official WB trailer ID listed below.

Technical Info

• Title: Inherent Vice (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
• Year: 2014
• Type: Score + licensed songs
• Composer/Producer: Jonny Greenwood
• Music Supervisor (album credit): Linda Cohen
• Label: Nonesuch Records
• Recording: Abbey Road Studios; Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; sessions Dec 2013–Feb 2014
• Selected notable placements: Can “Vitamin C” (early/title card); The Marketts “Here Comes the Ho-Dads” (surf-tinged transitions); Minnie Riperton “Les Fleurs” (lyrical breather); “Spooks” (montage accelerator); Neil Young “Journey Through the Past” (reflective interlude).

Canonical Entities & Relations

Subject	Relation	Object
Inherent Vice (film, 2014)	directed by	Paul Thomas Anderson
Inherent Vice (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)	music by	Jonny Greenwood; various artists (licensed)
Nonesuch Records	released	Inherent Vice (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Linda Cohen	music supervised	soundtrack/clearances credit
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra	performed	Greenwood’s score
Can	song featured	“Vitamin C”
The Marketts	song featured	“Here Comes the Ho-Dads”
Minnie Riperton	song featured	“Les Fleurs”
Neil Young	song featured	“Journey Through the Past”
Chuck Jackson	song featured	“Any Day Now (My Wild Beautiful Bird)”
Joanna Newsom; Gaz Coombes; Danny Goffey	featured on	“Spooks”

Sources: Nonesuch album page & credits; Wikipedia (film & soundtrack entries); Pitchfork news/review items on release and “Spooks”; Vanity Fair noting the “Vitamin C” title hit; Discogs technical credits; YouTube official trailer.

From the very beginning, even before viewing, the picture pleases with plenty of famous names in the list of actors. But as it turned out, the actors to whom we used to are not the guarantee of the good movie. This motion picture surprises by its style, which was absent, perhaps, since the days of the legendary "The Big Lebowski". All the screen action can be described in two words – California and seventieth. The time-inherent atmosphere that could hardly be confused with something besides. Flared pants, constant usage of drugs – light or not – is not so important; round sunglasses and a complete separation. If the film wouldn’t have such huge quantity of tightened dialogues actually about anything – maybe it would look better. Abundance of humor pleases us, but a director’s work is very frustrating: you want quality and a good level of the film, but instead the impression received that the director constantly looks himself. Quite another thing is that the audience, including us, is absolutely confident that he found himself already along with his quite unique style years back when he shoot his most high-qualitative motion picture. As for the soundtrack, it pleases with its diversity in terms of performers – almost no one of them presents two songs, with the exception of Can, who has exactly two songs here in the collection – Soup and Vitamin C . The album of nineteen tracks is opened with The Tornados with the song Dreaming On A Cloud. It should be noted that the selection is fairly monotonous, but the overall style of this is pleasant and unhurried melodies do not make you bored until the very last notes. This music can be listened to hours day by day without noticing how one melody goes after another.

November, 11th 2025

"Inherent Vice" profile on IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes

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