Music to geek by
After
seeing Juno at the movies, I was blown away by just how
great it was; especially how well the music went hand in hand
with the story. It is very rare for a movie to have a soundtrack
that fits so well, but Juno does it better than any movie
I have seen in a long time. The main character of the movie, Juno,
is a quirky oddball who seems so weird but yet so down-to-earth.
This is exactly what the soundtrack sounds like, quirky, odd,
and so incredibly simple.
When going through this album a few times it felt
so wrong to enjoy the music, but yet it sounded so right. Most
of the material on this album is your typical indie low-fi music
which often sounds fitting for a dysfunctional funeral. A good
chunk of the songs sound as if they were recorded in a garage
without any editing, and I wouldn’t make any assumptions
otherwise. It’s a very unpolished sound but that’s
what makes this soundtrack work so well with the movie. Juno herself
is unpolished.
There are a few known bands/artists on this soundtrack.
Some of the bigger names are Sonic Youth, The Velvet Underground,
The Kinks, Buddy Holly and Cat Power. One of the best tracks on
the album comes from Cat Power. The song is a cover called ‘Sea
of Love’, her vocals are so moving and the passion is just
glowing. They lyrics are simple but yet very touching. Her unbelievable
voice has landed itself on other soundtracks as well (i.e. V
for Vendetta). From The Kinks we have ‘A Well Respected
Man’, a quirky song with foolish lyrics but by the end of
the song you will definitely be tempted to press repeat thanks
to its fun bouncing rhythm. For those who have seen the movie,
this song will take them right to the scene in which it was played.
Also, featured as the final song of the album is
a cover by the two stars of the movie Matt Cera and Ellen Page.
They cover ‘Anyone Else But You’ by the Moldy Peaches,
and actually make it sound better than the original. Both Cera
and Page appear to have better sounding vocals than the Peaches.
For those who want the original, that is included as well.
Kimya Dawson, vocalist from the Modly Peaches has
a large amount of solo work on this soundtrack, six solo songs
to be exact. This material will appeal to those who are into the
indie scene with its sublime sound. The lyrical content is unique
to say the least and her playing style is very straightfoward.
Vocally Kimya rarely tries to change the tone of her voice, it's
almost as if the whole song were sung my someone who was completely
mono-tone. All of these characteristics make her music very charming.
The Juno Soundtrack is irresistible, I
don't understand why exactly I find myself listening to it over
and over again, but yet I am. I almost feel as if I'm not intelligent
enough to understand the music due to its over simplified nature
but it all works, especially in context of the movie.
Jeff Skonieczny
For more of Jeff Skonieczny's music reviews, check
out Imagine
Echoes
