Vedder's songs written for the film feature a
folk sound. Thom Jurek of
Allmusic called the soundtrack a "collection of folksy, rootsy tunes where
rock & roll makes fleeting appearances." Vedder is primarily responsible for the songs in the film while film music composer
Michael Brook is acknowledged in the film's credits for composing the film's original music. Vedder said, "Michael made great choices with the way he orchestrated the score...Our pieces of music meshed together pretty well for not having approached it in a way of making sure these puzzle pieces fit. They just did." Vedder's cover of the song "
Hard Sun" (originally written by Toronto-based singer-songwriter Gordon Peterson under his stage name
Indio) features backing vocals by
Corin Tucker of
Sleater-Kinney. Vedder collaborated with singer-songwriter Jerry Hannan on the song "Society", written by Hannan. Both songs appear in the film along with a slew of other folky ballads by Vedder. Vedder's songs help narrate the story of American wanderer
Christopher McCandless. After graduating as a top student from
Emory University, he decides to give up all of his money and travel. During forays into the Western United States and Mexico, McCandless decides to hitchhike to
Alaska to live in the
wilderness with little food and equipment, hoping to live a period of solitude. Nearly five months later, he died of
starvation near
Denali National Park and Preserve. Vedder said that he "realized the songs could now become another tool in the storytelling." On writing the songs about McCandless, Vedder stated, "It was startling how easy it was for me to get into his head. I found it to be uncomfortable how easy it was, because I thought I'd grown up." ==Release==