"SEA OF LOVE" CAT POWER (2000)

Exceptional soundtracks can make good movies great. They can also take on a life of their own, becoming a greater highlight than their respective films. In this series, I’m selecting some of my favorite soundtrack songs. While quite a few are well-known recordings, I’m also including a few that have flown under the radar over the years.

In 2007, Juno made its mark with an endearing, coming-of-age film that put the story of an unplanned pregnancy at the forefront of cinematic culture. For its soundtrack, it leaned on the quirky, yet somewhat languid music of Belle & Sebastian, Kimya Dawson and others. And the banner song was Cat Power’s cover of Phil Phillips’ “Sea of Love”.

In 2000, Cat Power released an album of cover songs that proved she could create a new mood and aesthetic to just about any type of song. “Sea of Love” is probably the most well-known of the batch. The original lived in a barbershop quartet universe. It was full. It was grand. It had pacing. But when I listen back to Cat Power’s version, I’m struck by the starkness. It’s a simple, beautiful recording consisting only of Marshall’s vocals, lazy guitar strums and an aura of Saturday morning in bed with your favorite cup of coffee.

“Come with me my love to the sea. The sea of love.”

"DEAR CATASTROPHE WAITRESS" BELLE & SEBASTIAN (2003)

Leave it to Belle & Sebastian to write an eccentric letter to an eccentric character. The album of the same name had more well-known B&S staples like “Piazza, New York Catcher” and “If She Wants Me”. But “Dear Catastrophe Waitress” rises above them because it just did its own thing. Unusual time signature. Unusual melody. And unusual musical embellishments that weren’t standard fare for the band.

“You'll soon be leaving this town to the clowns who worship no one but themselves.”

"FENCES" PHOENIX (2009)

Back in 2009, a second wave of synth pop bands was rising. The bands that were leading the charge were Phoenix and MGMT. Their songs made you dance. They made you feel young again. You don’t over explain songs like “Fences”. You just have fun with them. But I will say this. Phoenix, with these delicious pop songs, found their own brand of rhythmic hooks, lifting spirits with their pregnant pauses and tempo shifts.

“Once remembered now forgotten.”

"ROSE QUARTZ" TORO Y MOI (2013)

Toro y Moi has always surprised me with what he’s able to accomplish with a synthesizer, extracting sounds and arrangements I’ve never heard before. “Rose Quartz” is maybe one of the best examples of his experimental side. It explores. It grooves. The synth orchestration washes over you in one instance and delicately brushes past you in another. It’s one of those tracks that defies genre labeling because there’s simply nothing like it.

“And if I fall into the sea, don't let me go.”

"RABBIT HEART (RAISE IT UP)" FLORENCE + THE MACHINE (2009)

The vocal performance, tempo shifts and slippery meanderings of the harp make “Rabbit Heart” one of my all-time favorite Florence anthems. The band stormed onto the scene in a hurry with one of the best debut albums in years. “Rabbit Heart” was one of many tracks that made Lungs the amazing album it is, but it was the one song that gave us a peek into Florence’s mindset amidst the band’s newfound success.

“The looking glass so shiny and new. How quickly the glamor fades. I start spinning slipping out of time. Was that the wrong pill to take?”

"SLEEP THE CLOCK AROUND" BELLE & SEBASTIAN (1998)

Belle & Sebastian’s better known tracks are the ones that paint portraits of some pretty eccentric characters, both real and fictitious. “Lazy Line Painter Jane”, “Seymour Stein”, “Piazza, New York Catcher”, “Judy and the Dream of Horses”, and the list goes on. But “Sleep the Clock Around” did a 180, penning an ode to the listener. I like how it took B&S’s signature 60’s nostalgic sound and smashed it together with a galactic, experimental mood.

“And the moment will come when composure returns. Put a face on the world, turn your back to the wall.”

"SONG FOR ZULA" PHOSPHORESCENT (2013)

When I first heard “Song for Zula” playing over the speakers at a Jose Gonzalez show, I thought it was gorgeous. With the melodic cadence of Bette Midler’s “The Rose”, but much more atmospheric and expansive. But when I heard it again later, I had time to examine the lyrics and realized this wasn’t a typical love song. It’s a song written by someone who’s been burned. “Song for Zula”, in its quiet introspection, is one of the best ballads of the 21st century.

“You see the moon is bright in that treetop night. I see the shadows that we cast in the cold clean light.”

"EX'S AND OH'S" ELLE KING (2015)

This was a song that was impossible not to tap your foot to underneath your office desk. In 2015, “Ex’s and Oh’s” came in fast and furious. New artist. New voice. New sound. Elle King crossed country with alternative, blues with rock, the literal with the figurative. It was a new, clever take on old lovers. It was infectious in its lyrics and its attitude. And it’s a song that flipped gender roles on its head.

“I get high, and I love to get low. So the hearts keep breaking, and the heads just roll. You know that's how the story goes.”

"SEASONS" FUTURE ISLANDS (2014)

How many bands sing and play with all their soul? How many bands put everything they have into the music because it’s all they got and it’s all they live for? Probably not many. But Future Islands is certainly one of them. They’re proof that synthesizers can still have soul. Proof that you don’t have to act like or look like a rock band to make some noise in this industry. But if you absolutely love what you do, you can make people love it, too. “Seasons” is strangely contagious and utterly ambitious. Hands down, one of the best songs from the last 10 years.

“Seasons change, and I've tried hard just to soften you. The seasons change, but I've grown tired trying to change for you.”

"INTRO" THE XX (2009)

Here we have one of the greatest instrumentals of the 21st century. Written by The XX, who were pretty much just kids at the time. Deliberately simple. Monochromatic in its sound. This was the song that set the tone for a strong debut album. I never heard anything like it before. “Intro” was a powerful introduction to a band that mastered minimalism. This is clean, stripped down musicality with mood.