Dull Tool

American singer-songwriter Fiona Apple became involved with the comedy 2012 film This Is 40 after being sent a script by its writer and director, Judd Apatow. The two had met a few years previously during a benefit concert for a family clinic; Apatow was a self-described fan of her music. Some time after sending Apple the script,^[3] film composer Jon Brion told Apatow that Apple had recorded a demo for the film. Apatow later commented in an interview with Pitchfork Media, "I didn't know she would write anything. The song was perfect, and I knew exactly where to put it."^[3] He added that Apple had recorded a second song, but he could not find an appropriate place to insert it into the film; he called this song "equally as great as 'Dull Tool'. It was heartbreaking not to put it in, but I'm sure it'll reach people at some point. It's a beautiful song."^[3] Brion, a long-time collaborator of Apple's,^[4] produced "Dull Tool", as well as every other original song featured on the album.^[5] The second song written by Apple for the film, "Cosmonauts", was also recorded with Jon Brion, but went unreleased at the time, eventually appearing in re-recorded form on Apple's acclaimed 2020 album, Fetch The Bolt Cutters.

"Dull Tool" has been perceived to reference a poorly-ended relationship,^[6] in which Apple begins by discussing the game hide and seek and ends by "launching into a barrage of insults."^[7] Lyrically, various music critics considered the "dense and fevered" song to be the "tortured antidote" or "painful sequel" to "Hot Knife", a song from Apple's 2012 album, The Idler Wheel....^[6][7] Slate noted that the song included Apple's regular "fast-tumbling waltzes on the piano" as well as "an orchestra’s worth of mandolins, violins, electric guitars, and timpani."^[7]

The song appears in This Is 40, but was not initially planned for inclusion in the film's soundtrack.^[8][9] In October 2012, Pitchfork Media reported a supposed conflict between Apple and her record label, Epic Records. Apple had reportedly "lashed out at her label for pulling promotional support from her new album [The Idler Wheel...] in response to her placing a song on a soundtrack" that was being produced by two other music companies.^[10] This led to speculation that Epic did not want the soundtrack to be released.^[11] It leaked online in November 2012, several weeks before the soundtrack debuted in stores on December 11.^[7][12]

In a review of the soundtrack, Rolling Stone called the song "sprightly but vicious",^[13] while the Corpus Christi Caller-Times opined that the album was "smartly assembled" and Apple's song "convincingly echo[ed] domestic frustration".^[14] Though Apple's music has been featured on other film soundtracks, "Dull Tool" marked the first time she could be eligible for an Academy Award.^[2] The Huffington Post revealed that Universal had listed it among other pieces it submitted for consideration to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences,^[15] but it did not receive a nomination for Best Original Song.^[16]