Spin.com talked with Alexsandra Patsavas, the music supervisor who was responsible for compiling the music on the New Moon soundtrack.  She is also responsible for the Twilight soundtrack (as well as TV shows Mad Men, Gossip Girl & Grey’s Anatomy).  here is what she has to say about the New Moon soundtrack.

How you go about something like New Moon, which features original songs from so many artists who don’t often appear in projects this high-profile?
The work starts as soon as the script is finished and distributed. Chris Weitz, the director, had a very specific point of view about how he wanted the music to feel. There’s a lot of separation and longing and loss in the movie; the bands and lyrics and sound and arrangements had to reflect that. Some folks, like Lykke Li, the Killers, Grizzly Bear, OK Go, and Anya Marina all came into the cutting room and sat with Chris to watch the movie and talk about their contributions. Other tracks were submitted with the movie in mind. I think it’s very difficult to succeed without any context.

A lot of people were surprised by Thom Yorke’s inclusion. How did that come about?
A Radiohead song ["15 Step"] played over the end titles of Twilight, so we had a relationship. I believe this is the first soundtrack he’s been on in a long time, so that’s exciting. A lot of bands were interested in submitting great material, which helps a lot.

It does seem like music that the characters would actually listen to, which is certainly not always the case in soundtrack tie-ins.
I think the music has to be inspired by the characters’ lives, but it’s not always just used as source material—it’s used to score as well. Chris used the Bon Iver/St. Vincent track ["Rosyln"] and Thom Yorke track ["Hearing Damage"] in spots that would have traditionally been scored. I grew up in Chicago in the ‘70s and ‘80s, so those John Hughes movies were important to me. He created a world but also cleverly introduced mainstream kids to non-mainstream kids.

See the rest of the article here.

Via New Moon Movie