Garden State

Recording information: 2004.
Zach Braff, cast member of the quirky TV sitcom SCRUBS, follows his show's lead by using eclectic music for the soundtrack to his film GARDEN STATE. The writer, director, and star of this acclaimed movie, Braff also served as the executive music producer, compiling an excellent mix of contemporary indie-rock, with a few older selections added for good measure.
For this tale of an estranged son returning to his New Jersey hometown for his mother's funeral, Braff taps the gamut of emotions appropriate to such an awkward homecoming. There's the twee pop-rock of the Shins ("Caring Is Creepy") and the melancholy musings of Coldplay ("Don't Panic"), along with the burnished regret of Men at Work's Colin Hay ("I Just Don't Think I'll Ever Get Over You") and Bonnie Somerville's wistfully nostalgic "Winding Road." Equally effective are Braff's soft electronica choices, ranging from Zero 7's ethereal and rich "In the Waiting Line" to Thievery Corporation's exotic, Middle Eastern-flavored "Lebanese Blonde." Also featuring the spare, acoustic sounds of Iron & Wine and Nick Drake, GARDEN STATE is a disc destined for permanent residence in many listeners' record collections.