Anyone who has ever attempted to explore the infinite abyss of satisfying movie soundtracks knows that buying one can be an extremely risky endeavor. Thankfully, director and executive soundtrack producer Zach Braff eliminates the guesswork by providing fans of ?¬Garden State?® with a CD that elicits flashbacks of the movie?s most poignant scenes while also standing on its own as an exceptional compilation.
Usually, purchasing a soundtrack is a high-stakes risk, with losses to the tune of $14.98. When the idea of including ?¬Songs Inspired by the Movie?® became an acceptable practice, it spelled trouble for the street cred of all soundtracks to come. Even if an album does stick to songs that are featured in the movie, the tracklist often consists of tracks that played unobtrusively in the background for a few seconds before fading out.
?¬Garden State,?® however, does everything right. Save one Alexi Murdoch tune, all the songs in the movie are actually included on the soundtrack. Zach Braff?s directorial ingenuity went a long way in shaping the soundtrack. After selecting the songs he wanted to include in his film, Braff sent his film to the artists. Upon seeing the movie, these musicians agreed to give their tracks for atypically low sums.
Braff continues on this path of righteousness by choosing incredibly appropriate songs. While watching ?¬Garden State,?® the viewer is often struck by Braff?s impressive knack for song selection and placement. Each song is carefully chosen and seems to slip into that cinematic moment with ease, always complementing the scene rather than over-powering it.
As does all movie music, the songs in ?¬Garden State?® set the mood. However, by repeatedly highlighting the selected songs in scenes when there is no dialogue, Braff goes one step further. He actually allows the music to advance the plot, filling silences while also allowing the viewer to focus on the lyrics and message of the songs.
One of the more striking occurrences of this is Braff?s use of former Men at Work frontman Colin Hay?s song ?¬I Just Don?t Think I?ll Ever Get Over You.?® At a time in the movie when the main characters? feelings for each other have not been articulated, Hay?s lyrics ?¬If I lived ?til I was one-hundred-and-two/I just don?t think I?ll ever get over you?® imply the increasingly romantic nature of the characters? relationship without a word of dialogue being spoken.
In another scene, when the main character takes ecstasy at a friend?s party, Braff expresses the experience through the music. He juxtaposes ?¬Fear and Loathing?® camerawork with Zero 7?s ?¬In the Waiting Line,?® a slow techno track, creating a serene overtone to the character?s drug-induced daze. The lyrics ?¬Everyone?s saying different things to be/Different things to me?® help explain the character?s emotional state during his stupor.
Besides being astutely placed within the movie, the songs of Garden State also exist in a sort of mix tape fashion on the soundtrack itself.
The soundtrack combines old (Nick Drake, Simon and Garfunkel) with new (Frou Frou), mainstream (Coldplay) with obscure (Bonnie Somerville), and acoustic (Iron and Wine) with techno (Thievery Corporation). The songs appear in the order in which they are played in the movie, and by following the ups and downs of the film, the soundtrack also adheres to the key tenets of mix tape construction.
The soundtrack is not without flaws. The final track, Bonnie Somerville?s ?¬Winding Road?® seems as though it would be more at home as the closing song in a Freddie Prinze Jr. movie than here in Braff?s story of development.
At times the songs seem like frustratingly obvious choices, straight out of an indie rock playbook. Music snobs will cringe at the product-placement interaction between Braff?s and Natalie Portman?s characters when she giddily claims that the Shins song she?s listening to will ?¬change your life.?®
Yet, while it?s possible that none of the songs on the album will significantly alter your current trajectory, the soundtrack is nonetheless an impressive mix of styles, artists, and perfectly poignant songs.
The CD, which broke into the Billboard Top Twenty list this week, is a must-have for anyone who has seen the film as well as a charming blend of tunes for those who haven?t.
If you happen upon a spare moment while organizing your Desert Storm trading cards, this soundtrack, while perhaps stopping short of changing your life, will in the very least be a positive addition to your music collection.
