Music from the O.C. Mix 5

 Review

Common Sense Media says

Less quirky, less interesting than past mixes.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Parents say

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Kids say

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What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this is some pretty cleaned-up indie rock, with just a touch of bad-boy sensibility.

  • Very subtly sexist, as hardly any female artists are represented.
  • Just a bit of violent imagery...one song is called "Your Ex-Lover is Dead."
  • Just a little innuendo.

What's the story?

It's still the most interesting TV soundtrack music around, but the latest compilation from The O.C. TV show is way less quirky, and therefore somewhat less interesting, than past offerings. After a strong beginning (The Subways' "Rock & Roll Queen" followed by "Reason is Treason" by Kasabian, leading into the wistful-sounding "Wish I Was Dead Pt. 2" by Shout and Loud, slam-banging into "Daft Punk is Playing at My House" by LCD Soundsystem) things start verging on tedious.


Is it any good?

 

For one thing, most of the groups' lead vocalists are male, and sound almost interchangeable. There's that heartfelt nasal whine in the voice, the emotive catch in the throat, the "sensitive guys get more dates" sensibility on nearly every track. Where are the girls? What happened to the edgy post-punk dance party? Even walks on the beach with your sweetie can get boring if you never do anything else -- and after Track 4 this CD pretty much never does anything else.

The most refreshing change of pace is offered by LCD Soundsystem. "Daft Punk is Playing at My House" sports a funky rhythm section (think "Love Shack" meets David Byrne) and a cool cowbell solo -- and is the only track on the CD with anything like a sense of humor. Most of the other tunes are well-performed and sincere as can be, but unless you are in one of those gooey, sentimental moods the word "drippy" comes to mind. A little more variety and a lot more female energy would do wonders.


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What families can talk about

Families can talk about why almost all of the songs feature similar-sounding male vocalists -- what happened to the girls?


This review was written by Kathi Kamen Goldmark

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This review was written by Kathi Kamen Goldmark
Artist:Various Artists
Release date:November 15, 2005
Label:Warner Brothers
Genre:Soundtrack
Parental advisory:No

This review was written by Kathi Kamen Goldmark
 

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About our rating system
ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.

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