The Virgin Suicides (score)
The Virgin Suicides is the score composed by the French electronic duo Air for Sofia Coppola’s 1999 film of the same name. It was released on February 23, 2000, by Virgin Records and runs about 40 minutes. The music blends ambient, chill-out, electronic, and pop-influenced styles.
The album features the well-known track Playground Love, released as a single on January 17, 2000. The score received positive attention, earning a nomination for Best Soundtrack at the 2001 Brit Awards. It’s listed among notable French and international soundtracks in later rankings, including the French Rolling Stone’s 100 essential French rock albums, NME’s 2014 list of greatest film soundtracks, and Pitchfork’s 2019 Top 50 movie scores of all time. Air performed the full score live on June 3, 2010, with Hot Rats in Paris.
To celebrate the film’s 15th anniversary, a deluxe edition was released in June 2015 as a two-disc set and a premium super deluxe box. The two-disc edition added studio outtakes and unreleased live recordings, while the box set included red vinyl versions, a picture disc, the Playground Love EP on red vinyl, a CD edition, a booklet with an interview, a film poster, a VIP pass replica, and a download card.
Recording the score happened quickly. At first, Air aimed to synchronize the music with film scenes, but they eventually created songs that could also be enjoyed on their own.
Critically, The Virgin Suicides scored well. Metacritic reports a 77 out of 100 average from 16 mainstream reviews. NPR reviewer Paula Mejía, in a 2020 look back, praised the music for capturing the teenage spirit and noted its enduring resonance.
All tracks are written by Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoît Dunckel, with “Playground Love” credited to Gordon Tracks, Godin, and Dunckel.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 15:33 (CET).