The Vampire Diaries Original Television Soundtrack

Review

Common Sense Media says

Collection of indie-rock songs is tamer than the TV show.
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
 
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What parents need to know

Parents need to know that The Vampire Diaries Original Television Soundtrack is a bit tamer than the TV show itself, featuring much less violence, substance use, sex, and profanity than the show. Like a lot of indie music artists, the ones included in this soundtrack have written songs with lyrics that are somewhat obscure. While parents may want to watch out for impressionable kids spending too long listening to the record's melancholy words and music, the album is generally age-appropriate for teens.

  • Positive messages0
    The messages here are more brooding than anything else, though with the TV show's overarching premise being about death, some of the messages tilt toward the negative. For example, "I do not want to be afraid / I do not want to die inside just to breathe in / I'm tired of feeling so numb / Relief exists, I find it when I am cut."
  • Positive role models0
    Most of the artists featured on this record are fairly obscure and off of the media's radar, making it difficult to tell how well they stand up as role model material.
  • Violence1
    A few violent metaphors, such as "Words can relay nice / They can cut you open, and then the silence surrounds you and hunts you."
  • Sex1
    Some references to sexual situations: "You know, my darling, I can't stand to sleep alone / No sweetheart in the dark to call my own."
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What's the story?

THE VAMPIRE DIARIES ORIGINAL TELEVISION SOUNDTRACK is the first collection of 16 tunes from The Vampire Diaries TV show. Though the album features a couple of more well-known artists like Smashing Pumpkins, Gorillaz, and Silversun Pickups, most of the bands are obscure indie rockers. All of these artists have one thing in common -- they keep their lyrics pretty clean, avoiding graphic language and adult content. While the messages can get a bit brooding at times, the majority of these songs are age-appropriate for teens.

Is it any good?

 

The lesser-known bands on this record clearly outshine the bigger names, with the weird synthesizer tones of the Smashing Pumpkins song "The Fellowship" being the only real disappointment on the album. Other inclusions like "Running Up That Hill" (Placebo's excellent cover of the '80s song by Kate Bush) and the haunting track "Bloodless" by Stateless make this collection an exceptional choice for indie-rock fans seeking a cool new sampler.

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What families can talk about

  • Families can talk about whether this music does a good job of representing the characters on the TV show. Which songs best capture the characters of Elena, Stefan, and Damon?

  • Can you think of other songs that might be even better fits for the show?

This review was written by Stephanie Bruzzese

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This review was written by Stephanie Bruzzese
Artist:Various Artists
Release date:October 12, 2010
Label:Virgin Records
Genre:Indie Rock
Parental advisory:No
This review was written by Stephanie Bruzzese
 

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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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