Some soundtracks are strictly souvenirs of a particular film or television series, and they aren't terribly meaningful if you aren't a fan of the movie or program in question. But other soundtracks are able to stand on their own two feet. Take the Scrubs soundtrack, for example. Whether or not one is a fan of the NBC sitcom Scrubs, this is a generally likable CD that ranges from adult alternative and alternative pop/rock to adult contemporary and folk-rock. The Scrubs soundtrack is fairly diverse, and yet, there are parallels between most of the songs. As a rule, the material tends to be melodic and laid-back -- nothing terribly forceful, harsh, dissonant, or abrasive -- and a certain tunefulness generally prevails, whether the soundtrack gets into folk-rock on
John Cale's "Hallelujah" or alternative pop/rock on
the Butthole Surfers' "Dracula From Houston,"
Guided by Voices' "Hold on Hope," and
Leroy's "Good Time." Two of the songs are by former
Men at Work singer
Colin Hay, and they show listeners two different sides of the Australian singer.
Hay the solo artist revisits
Men at Work's 1983 hit "Overkill," and he favors a very
Randy Newman-ish approach on "Beautiful World" -- the latter has the sort of sarcasm, irony, and dry humor that
Newman is famous for. When
Hay sings that he called Jesus Christ and was put on hold, his words are right out of the
Newman school of world-weary cynicism. Not all of the tracks are as memorable as the
Hay and
Cale selections, but overall, the Scrubs soundtrack is a pleasant listen regardless of whether or not one is a fan of the NBC sitcom. ~ Alex Henderson