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Haven't seen Bandslam; am sure there can be a touching movie about teens who care deeply about shitty music. And sometimes when you see bad songs in use - movies can do this - you discover that they're not bad. Sometimes. So anyway, my thoughts on the soundtrack LP, which may have little to do with the music heard in the film, though [livejournal.com profile] hoshuteki assures me that "Everything I Own" is as dire on film as on disk.

David Bowie "Rebel Rebel": Yes, I love this song, though I have always questioned the veracity of "she's not sure if you're a boy or a girl." As for this being on a movie soundtrack: Whatevs.

The Velvet Underground "Femme Fatale": Whatevs. There are at least a score of better VU songs that are worse known. Whatevs.

Nick Drake "Road": Had never heard Nick Drake! This song is pleasant!

Wilco "What Light": There are scores of Wilco songs and I think I'd heard three before and this is one of them. I gave it a 5 out of 10 on the Jukebox, unless I gave it a 6. Or a 4. Pretty tune, dumb lyrics, I grade the singing meh-PLUS, would give the track a 6 today. Or a 5. Whatevs.

Bunch of indie and not-quite-as-indie songs by bands I've never heard of: Two are good, the Burning Hotels' "Stuck In The Middle," horror glam that's half-frantic like Franz Ferdinand; and the Daze' "Blizzard Woman Blues," like Jack White fronting the Blues Explosion, fractured jump-the-rails no-wavish funk. Would listen to more by these two.

I Can't Go On, I'll Go On f. Aly Michalka "Amphetamine": Original is by Steve Wynn & the Miracle 3 and it is good and so is this; Aly can push across a hard rock song. Slam dunk, yippee! (Steve Wynn is formerly of the Dream Syndicate.) This track is the only possible reason to pay money for the soundtrack.

I Can't Go On, I'll Go On f. Aly Michalka "Someone To Fall Back On": Superb job by Aly on neo-standard show-tune schmaltz. She talks words easily, sings with nuance, raises her voice without blaring, the accompaniment being mid-volume rock that never gets goopy. However, I hate this song no matter who's performing it.

Aly Michalka "I Want You To Want Me": Disparate energy, band clatters around, no impact. I've heard three different versions of this in the last month, and all others are better.

I Can't Go On, I'll Go On f. Vanessa Hudgens "Everything I Own": Yes, Bread fans, that "Everything I Own." Nasal-voiced Vanessa has promise - in fact achievement - as a sub-Cover Girls freestyle-lite emoter. That is not what this track is, however. It's a rock-soul-reggae amalgam, is wrong for her, she is wrong for it, they should never have gotten together in the first place, even counseling won't save this match.

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Frank Kogan

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