We Bought a Zoo

We Bought a Zoo (Music from the Motion Picture) is the soundtrack to the 2011 film of the same name directed by Cameron Crowe. The score for the film is composed by Jón Þór "Jónsi" Birgisson, lead singer of the band Sigur Rós, released on December 13, 2011, by Columbia Records to critical acclaim. Background In August 2011, it was announced that Icelandic musician Jón Þór "Jónsi" Birgisson, the lead singer of the band Sigur Rós, would be composing the music scores for We Bought a Zoo. Crowe confirmed the same on Twitter when he was promoting his documentary film Pearl Jam Twenty. Crowe shared a long history with the band as the they licensed their first pieces of music for use in a film, allowing the former to use selected songs: "Svefn-g-englar", "Agaetis Byrjun" and the live version of "The Nothing Song" in Vanilla Sky (2001). He admitted playing the band's music constantly which inspired it to become the "DNA of his own film". Crowe selected a mix of tracks on his playlist, which includes three songs from Jónsi's studio album Go (2010). He said that the album to him "was so intoxicating and positive while still being complex" like "bringing joy and positivity with equal measures of truth and depth with the music". When the album was played on set, Matt Damon and the associates responded to the music immediately, which intended Crowe thinking that "he would be the right musical voice, if he scores for the film". During the same time, Jónsi mailed Crowe after watching Almost Famous (2000) on television, agreeing to be a part of the film. In a November 2011 interview to Uproxx, Crowe recalled that he thought on asking his associates to have Neil Young or Eddie Vedder (both artists were featured on Crowe's playlist mix given to Damon) to score for the film, but ultimately felt Jónsi was the right choice. He described the choice as "only natural", since "Jónsi has been a part of the making of We Bought A Zoo from the very beginning".