I loved watching "Garden State" in the theaters. The main thing I didn't like about the movie was the music. It felt out of place and awkward. When they say, in regards to a song by The Shins, "You gotta hear this one song, it'll change your life I promise you." I wanted to throttle Zach Braff. I went to the theater to laugh my ass off, which I did, and not get preached to about music.
I wasn't planning on buying the soundtrack. After all, when you see a movie and the thing you hate is the music, you don't even think about buying the cd. However, fate has a weird way of twisting things around. I was at the local CD Warehouse and found a copy that had been traded in. Then I started feeling all nostalgic for the movie. So I went ahead and bought it, using the logic that "It's cheap, and it wasn't the songs themselves that I hated, it was how they were used in the movie."
The overall verdict is "meh." There's some nice stuff and some songs that are forgettable. Most of the songs are listenable. Unfortunately, that's really the best I can say about it. The soundtrack just simply lacks the charm of the movie.
The above quote from the movie may have been awkward and the song may not change your life, but The Shins are definitely some of the best stuff on the soundtrack, and rather than buying the "Garden State" cd, pick up "Chutes Too Narrow" by The Shins.
Article comments
1 - Mark Saleski
i don't 'get' The Shins.
but, then again, i don't 'get' Coldplay either.
2 - Tom
Man, Mark, you are missing out. The Shins are one of those few bands that I think are really wonderful presences in such a dry, hostile, unlikeable music world like we have today. They're like a palette cleanser. As I've seen Zach Braff himself say, The Shins are like a modern day, indie version of Simon & Garfunkle, a comparison that especially bears out on their first album, Oh, Inverted World. Most of all, there's real substance in their music, unlike the sonic fluff that Coldplay is. Come on, you have to at least give them a shot - I totally agree on Coldplay, and you know my tastes in music, so there's gotta be something worthwhile in the Shins' music, right?
3 - SFC Ski
I don't know, if a band has something to say, but sounds crappy trying to say it, am I going to listen? I don't get the Shins either. I bought Chutes Too Narrow on a receommendation and was very disappointed. If indie and lo-fi stand for "sounds like amateur crap" then I guess I will stick with corporate production values.
4 - Tom Johnson
Well, I'm a pretty picky type when it comes to recordings, but the lo-fi vibe of the Shins' albums just endears them that much more to me. Gloss and sheen can do a lot more harm than good when it comes to a band like this (or most bands that are in the biz because of the music and not just the money, really.) I'd rather hear a band that actually has something heartfelt to say do so in whatever means they feel expresses it. If that means capturing the band essentially live and rough in the studio, so be it.
5 - The Theory
The Shins write some catchy-as-hell songs. And I don't mind the recording quality either. Actually, I always found the recording quality to be on the slick side of indie rock...
6 - Mark Saleski
it's the vocals. can't stand 'em.
7 - LIRC
For a more mainstream released movie, this has a pretty above the curve soundtrack. Lofi is exactly what is endearing about the Shins, and I found the song well matched to the emotional moments in the movie. I won't buy the soundtrack, I own all I like off it, and there is a reason I don't already own the others- it is not a Groundbreaker- but better than most of the crap that gets put in movies released to the general public.
8 - Mark Saleski
my favorite movie music in 'recent' memory was the score to American Beauty.
i was so frozen by it that i had to restart the movie at the twenty minute or so point...because i'd missed most of everything else.