Customer Reviews

Juno [Vinyl]

5 star:		(119)
4 star:		(41)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

Juno is a gentle, sweet, smart and moving comedy. It's a teen flick that works for adults, and an adult flick that works for teens. The soundtrack is the perfect background (and sometimes foreground) to what goes on in the film, but it also stands alone quite nicely. Most of the songs on the album are quiet, indie, folkie, and acoustic, like the Kimya Dawson songs (three of 'em) which are idiosnycractic and wonderful. Kimya Dawson (formerly of the Moldy Peaches who are also represented here) reminds me ALOT of the Be Good Tanyas (which is intended as a compliment), especially on Tire Swing. There are, however, also some great classic oldie songs from the Kinks and Buddy Holly and Mott the Hoople which are not acoustic-y folkie, but more raucous and energetic. Go out and enjoy the movie and I'm betting you will come back for the music.

The songs in the soundtrack to Juno fit perfectly with the movie. They are soft, folksy, slightly eccentric, and capture the emotional aura of the film's story, characters, and message. I will comment on each of the songs.

* All I Want is You: A delightfully zany song about love; uses analogies ("if you were the wood, I'd be the fire") to get the point across. It's folksy, using the harmonica and guitar.

*My Rollercoaster: A lyric-less song, with the artist just singing "doo-doo-doo." Still, with its whimsical feel, it definitely is in keeping with the spirit of the rest of the album.

* A Well-Respected Man: A nice "soft-rock" song about a well to-do man. It reminds me of Simon & Garfunkel's "Richard Corey," but without the tragic ending.

* Dearest: Buddy Holly. Need I say more?

* Up the Sprout: A short guitar piece that is soft, yet has some "edgy" measures.

* Tire Swing: Kimya Dawson is really a revelation. Her soft-spoken eloquence really shines through. This is another soft-rock song that discusses the writer's experiences with her boyfriend. It includes a canon, which adds spice to the song.

* Piazza, New Catcher: A song about a baseball catcher, who struggles with love and life. This one's fast-moving and has several minor chords.

* Loose Lips: An apt title for the song; Dawson speaks freely. This one's pretty fast-moving, so pay attention.

* Superstar: Definitely the edgiest song on this album, from Sonic Youth, no less. It has a bittersweet feel.

* Sleep: An instrumental song, with humming by Kimya Dawson. Another soft, folksy, sweet song.

* Expectations: A fast, fairly sad song. It's a nice contrast with the rest of the album.

* All the Young Dudes: A great classic rock song, with hints of soul and jazz. Mott the Hopple belts the lyrics out emotionally.

* So Nice So Smart: Kimya Dawson again. Don't let the sunny tune of this song fool you- it's actually quite dark! The chorus is:
"you're so nice and you're so smart
you're such a good friend i hafta break your heart
tell you that i love you then i'll tear your world apart
just pretend i didn't tear your world apart"

* Sea of Love: A slow, melancholy love song.

* Tree Hugger: Think of this as a folk poem song. To give you an idea:
"The flower said, `I wish I was a tree,'
The tree said, `I wish I could be
A different kind of tree,'
The cat wished that it was a bee,
The turtle wished that it could fly
Really high into the sky,
Over rooftops and then dive
Deep into the sea."

*I'm Sticking with You: A self-consciously corny song, but an enjoyable one. It has the "oom-pah" chords and starts out with piano, though it switches to a regular guitar sound eventually. The song begins with "I'm sticking with you, `cause I'm made out of glue." This is definitely not for all tastes- it depends on what your threshold for cheese is.

*Anyone Else But You: A guy and a girl singing to each other about how they couldn't be with "anyone else but you." The Moldy Peaches aren't the best singers, but they're good enough to keep the listener interested, and the music and lyrics are sweet and folksy. This is Kimya Dawson's old band.

*Vampire: A kind of strange song; the singer compares himself (the singer's a 12 year-old boy) to a vampire and sees herself as a social outcast.

*Anyone Else But You: Michael Cera and Ellen Page sing the Moldy Peaches song. This is sweet, and I think their performance is better than the original.

Juno is a gentle, sweet, smart and moving comedy. It's a teen flick that works for adults, or an adult flick that works for teens. The soundtrack is the perfect background (and sometimes foreground) to what goes on in the film, but it also stands alone quite nicely. Most of the songs on the album are quiet, indie, folkie, and acoustic, like the Kimya Dawson songs (three of 'em) which are idiosnycractic and wonderful. Kimya Dawson (formerly of the Moldy Peaches who are also represented here) reminds me ALOT of the Be Good Tanyas (which is intended as a compliment), especially on Tire Swing. There are, however, also songs from the Kinks and Buddy Holly and Mott the Hoople which are not acoustic-y folkie. Go out and see the movie and I'm betting you will come back for the music.

The soundtrack has a soft, indie feel with a few rambunctious songs thrown on there, complimenting the satisfying "not what you expected" feel of the movie. Kimya Dawson is the heart of the album: with a unique, half-adult half-teenage sound that captures the essence of Juno. Throw in Sonic Youth's almost-whispering cover of the Carpenter's "Superstar," Barry Louis Polisar's upbeat "All I Want is You," and Mott the Hoople's "All the Young Dudes" and you've got a well-balanced album of smooth sounds and catchy tunes. (and it's 100% eco-friendly!) An amazing album, A MUST HAVE for your collection. You WILL enjoy it! Personally, I didn't like this particular genre of music before I heard this album. It opened my mind to a new sound. Thank you, Juno. Thank you Kimya Dawson. And thank you color-safe bleach.

If you enjoyed the movie, you will love the soundtrack album. The music enables you to live through the same feelings you had all through and at the end of the movie... If you have not watched Juno, you may still enjoy the energy and the melody for a fun morning or a joyful drive...

"Juno" is the little indie movie that could, for this year -- an enchantingly witty story about a teenage girl who gets pregnant, and the smart decisions she has to make for everyone's sakes.

It's a smart, sweet, poignantly funny little movie, and that gets echoed in the "Juno" soundtrack. Like many a soundtrack over the past few years, it's got a great assortment of artists -- everything from classic rockers to Scottish mope-popsters. It's a warm folky little affair that leaves you with a wistful little smile at the end.

"If I was a flower growing wild and free/all I'd want is you to be my sweet honeybee/And if I was a tree growing tall and green/all I'd want is you to shade me and be my leaves," Barry Louis Polisar warbles over a strummed guitar and spurts of harmonica. For the record, this kind of music usually gives me hives, but the cheerful, fun flavour of it somehow made it palatable.

After a "doo-doo-doo" interlude by Kimya Dawson, the soundtrack bounces into the sprightly Kinks tune "A Well Respected Man." From there, the soundtrack slips smoothly into a series of folky pop tunes -- Buddy Holly's mellow "Dearest," a Mateo Messina song that is basically one minute of strummed guitar, Cat Power's poignant little folk ballad, Antsy Pants' bouncy little pop tunes ("I am a vampire! I am a vampire!"), and the Moldy Peaches' countryish "Anyone Else But You."

Kimya Dawson is the overpowering influence in this soundtrack -- including the "doo-doo-doo" interlude, she contributes five songs of rambling, quirky pop ("I was quiet as a mouse/when I snuck into your house/and smoked roofies with your spouse..."). But there are some more rock'n'roll moments -- the ringing fuzz-folk of Sonic Youth, Belle and Sebastian's trumpety guitarpop, and the Velvet Underground's romantic, gentle pianopop tune "I'm Sticking With You."

And there's a sweet little epilogue to this -- stars Ellen Page and Michael Cera sing a cute little lo-fi duet at the end ("You're a part time lover/and a full time friend..." "Here is the church/and here is the steeple/we sure are cute for two ugly people"). It's as adorable as their onscreen relationship.

A lot of movies -- both major films and little bitty ones -- have indie-rock soundtracks now, usually mingling old favorites with newer bands and artists. But the "Juno" soundtrack is a bit different from the average soundtrack -- it relies on the songs meshing together into a tapestry of folkpop, rather than a string of solid, individual songs.

Most of the songs mostly rely on acoustic guitar -- they can be sprightly, quirky, flickering, countryish, mellow, lazy, caressing or vaguely Spanishy. But some of these artists mix in trumpets, piano, drums, ringing electric guitar and in one Kimya Dawson song, a whistle. And the Mott the Hoople song "All The Young Dudes" has a soaring organ/keyboard combo that really stands out among the softer songs.

And these songs are good choices for other reasons -- Polisar's voice is rather nasal, but the others tend to be mellow and rich. And the song lyrics range from clever ("Your obsessions get you known throughout the school for being strange/Making life-size models of the Velvet Underground in clay") to sweet ("So if you wanna burn yourself/Remember that I love you!/And if you wanna cut yourself/Remember that I love you!").

The soundtrack for "Juno" is a lot like the movie -- sweet, witty and heartwarming. And whether you've seen the film or not, it's definitely worth hearing.

Sometimes it takes a few listens to get into a CD. Other times, right away you know from the first notes, that you'll be listening to the CD a few million times and it will constantly be going in the ol' player (or itunes, car stereo ETC). The soundtrack to the movie "Juno" is one of those cases.

For those who don't know, the film "Juno" is a comedy/drama about a teenager named Juno MacGuff, who finds herself pregnant after sexually experimenting with her best friend, Paulie. We follow Juno, her family, friends, and acquaintances through the nine months of her pregnancy and all the 'Sturm & Drang', that goes with it. This film is quite a rarity, because it is a Hollywood movie comedy about teen prenancy, that actually treats its characters and their situation with both wit, intelligence and respect. And one last word about the film itself...yes the film's characters and humor are quite "quirky". I know this word is waaaayy over used by many reviewers, but darn it, the film is just "quirky".

That feeling of 'quirkiness' seems to extend to the soundtrack. The music seems to portray the same style of humor, wit and intelligence of the characters in the film. One could just imagine that the acerbic teen, Juno, in a mellow moment, might actually listen to this CD (and like it!). Most of the music on this soundtrack could best be described as "anti-folk". This is sort of funny term, that seems to meet with a variety of definitions. To me it just seems to be folk music, that dosn't take itself too seriously, yet still has an attitude. Sort of like a bratty teenager. This is best encompassed on the soundtrack in the music of Kimya Dawson, who performs both solo and with the groups 'The Moldy Peaches' & 'Antsy Pants'. There is just something so hummable, chuckle inducing and addictive about her music. I love songs like "Anyone Else But You", "My Roller Coaster" and "Tire Swing". If you put these songs on in the morning, I can guarantee you'll still be hearing them in your head, while your getting to sleep at night.

The other songs are also great. I really love the precociousness of the songs of 'Belle & Sebastion' ("Piazza, New York Catcher", "Expectations") as well as the cuts from Cat Power ("Sea of Love") and Barry Louis Polisar ("All I Want is You"). Great stuff!! I even like that creepy version of the Carpenter's "Superstar" as performed by Sonic Youth. All these songs go so well together.

If I have but one bone to pick with this soundtrack, is in it's use of 'Classic Rock'. Don't get me wrong, I'm an old fart, who loves 'Classic Rock' (the lack of space in my condo due to my CD collection proves this)! But some of it works (The Velvet Underground, Buddy Holly) while some of it dosn't (The Kinks, Mott the Hoople). These are all great groups performing wonderful classic songs. I love them to bits. But the ones that don't work, just seem to interrupt the mood and flow of the CD. But this is really a small complaint. In the end if you havn't seen this movie, then go see it! After one viewing you'll be buying or downloading this recording. It's that good.

If you loved the flavor of the movie then the music of it fits in perfectly, each track seems to have its own personality making this a must own, especially for fans.

While I was watching the movie Juno I was surprised at how much I noticed the music in the movie. There were certainly a few big name artists like The Kinks and Buddy Holly, but the majority was songs I did not know by people I really had not heard of. What they had in common was that they were unusual, most had a good folksy beat, and almost all of them stuck in my head. So much so that I went out and bought the album. There is also another album, which I saw on iTunes, but can't seem to find on Amazon of B-Sides. These are all songs from scenes cut from the movie. It is a great companion piece and has many great songs as well.

I just watch the movie today and really enjoyed the music throughout the movie so when I got home I bought the album. The entire album is nice to listen to. Probably best to see the movie first. I don't know if I would have thought these songs were so good if I hadn't gone to the movie and heard them through the whole movie.

Go see Juno. It's a great movie with a good ending that left me pleased that I went out to the movies.