New Music Lists

1. Pony (It's OK) Erin McCarley
2. Don't Give Me A Hard Time The Locarnos
3. Take What You Take Lily Allen
4. One Day Jack Savoretti
5. What Happened To It The Bird And The Bee
6. Main Titles Christophe Beck
7. Always Where I Need To Be The Kooks
8. The Queen And I Gym Class Heroes
9. Turn Back Around Lucy Schwartz
10. Happerman & Browning Christophe Beck
11. Wake The Sun The Matches
12. Brand New Day Joshua Radin
13. Si Seńor Control Machete
14. I Say I Go Kevin Drew
15. Ryden & Adam Christophe Beck

Add to the growing body of noteworthy soundtrack albums released by the legendary ABKCO Records label (including "The Darjeeling Limited" and "I Love You, Beth Cooper," in addition to ABKCO's classic album catalog starring the likes of Sam Cooke, Rolling Stones and Phil Spector) that of the upcoming "Post Grad," starring Alexis Bledel and Zach Gilford.

In keeping with the young adult comedy, the soundtrack boasts established new artists like Lily Allen ("Take What You Take" is a lively leftover from her "Alright, Still" debut album) and Gym Class Heroes ("The Queen and I," lead track from the group's hit album "As Cruel as School Children"), along with such noteworthy newomers as Nashville-based singer-songwriter Erin McCarley, whose lovely "Pony (It's OK)" is the soundtrack album opener, and Cleveland folk-rocker Joshua Radin (his "Brand New Day" no doubt fits into a key "Post Grad" scene).

But Lucy Schwartz really wrote "Turn Back Around" for "Post Grad," and the International Songwriting Competition award winner not only turns in the set's best song, but likely the most relevant.

In August 2009, the movie Post Grad explores the life of Ryden Malby (Alexis Bledel - Gilmore Girls), recent college graduate. She thought her life perfect - loft apartment, perfect job at the city's best publishing house, and so on. Unfortunately life throws her a curve ball as it so often does. Her college nemesis, Jessica Bard (Catherine Reitman), gets the job and Ryden is forced to move home to figure out what's next. However, her eccentric family provides a strong motivator to find a job, a relationship, and figure out what to do with her life. The movie has an all star cast with Jane Lynch as Ryden's Mom, Michael Keaton as her Dad, and Carol Burnett as her Grandmother. As far as the soundtrack goes, we've had great luck with movie music with our summer films. So far we've had I Love You, Beth Cooper, which deals with the end of high school, (500) Days of Summer, which deals with all the phases of a relationship, and now Post Grad dealing with the period between. I Love You, Beth Cooper and (500) Days of Summer both have amazing soundtracks, so why should Post Grad be any different? Chrisopher Beck (who also pulled together the I Love You, Beth Cooper soundtrack) has pulled together a great mix of tunes and added some original compositions for the score as well. He manages to mix styles and artists to create a landscape worthy of a college graduate trying to find herself again when things don't quite go according to plan. Each song deals with a different aspect of that self-discovery process - denial, acceptance, and moving on... In the beginning, the tracks all revolve around simply accepting that things didn't work out. First convincing herself things will be okay ("Pony (It's Ok)" by Erin McCarley) and dealing with the grief she gets from others ("Don't give Me a Hard Time" by The Locarnos). Then later she wonders why it happened to her ("What Happened to It" by the bird and the bee). By the middle of the film, she's figuring out that maybe this happened for a reason ("Always Where I Need To Be" by the Kooks) and sees that maybe she can make things work out for herself ("Turn Back Around" by Lucy Schwartz). And by the end, she's seeing the world in a new light ("Wake the Sun" by the Matches and "Brand New Day" by Joshua Radin) and ready to tackle life again ("I Say I Go" by Kevin Drew). Overall this is a terrific mix of music that works to reinforce the themes of the movie. The variety of styles is refreshing and makes this another great summer party CD. It includes everything from light pop and acoustic tracks to punk and rap! My only complaint (similar to my review of the I Love You, Beth Cooper soundtrack), though I liked Beck's score pieces, I have to wonder if it would have been better to have the score as a separate album all together. Be sure to check out the Post Grad Soundtrack at your favorite online or brick-and-mortar retailer. when it arrives on August 18, 2009. And check out the movie at a theater near you on August 21st!

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