The
indie film boom of recent years has not only been a force unto itself, but has
also ushered in a love for the indie film soundtrack. Quite often these
collections are part-complilation, part-original work, and they're almost
always something you can put on in the background on a rainy Sunday
afternoon. Here are five of the most notable indie movie soundtracks from
the past half-decade.
Juno (2008) -
Although this film may not be considered part of the indie vibe anymore given
its raging commercial and critical success, Juno did bring
much-deserved attention to the work of Kimya Dawson, whose voice is dotted
throughout the soundtrack album. Adorably cute or disgustingly cute,
depending on your point of view, this soundtrack fits well with the film, and
the Sonic Youth track alone is worth the price of the CD.
500
Days of Summer (2009) - Another cutesy film featuring the sometimes
unbearably twee Zooey Deschanel, 500 Days of Summer reins
itself back in from cute overload with a stellar compilation soundtrack that
combines pop hits of old (Hall & Oates) with more recent indie gems (Carla
Bruni). Even if you found the movie to be too much, the soundtrack is
still a worthwhile buy, and is great to put on shuffle when you have friends
over for dinner.
Away
We Go (2009) - Scottish songwriter Alexi Murdoch created a
folk-heavy soundtrack for this film about two lost souls looking for a place to
start a family, and wandering around the United States in search of a perfect
home. Sam Mendes directed, which may seem a little incongruous considering he
has now gone on to direct a James Bond film.
Complementing the original Murdoch tracks on Away We Go are
contributions from legends like George Harrison and Bob Dylan, lending a heavy
nostalgic feel to this quirky and emotional film.
Submarine (2010) -
Alex Turner (of Arctic Monkeys fame) delved briefly into the world of
soundtrack writing with Submarine, a bizarre-yet-charming film
about a young man trying to get some romantic action while keeping his mother
from the same. The album (or perhaps EP is a better description) only has
six tracks, but in those six tracks Turner shows that he really has a talent
for blending sound with story.
Greenberg (2010) -
As much as this movie was a dark horse for comedian Ben Stiller (who usually
opts for more obvious comedy like Little Fockers, the soundtrack was also a
departure for LCD Soundsystem frontman James Murphy. Ditching the dance
beats for a more piano-based feel, in many ways this is Murphy's most
interesting work, and gets surprisingly little recognition from LCD Soundsystem
fans.
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Brynn lives,
breathes, and geeks out over all things music. When she's not hanging out at
shows or figuring out her summer festival schedule, she writes about bands,
performances, and musicians for authoritytickets.com.
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