Juno Soundtrack

The indie smash hit of 2007, Juno, is an off-beat film accompanied by a perfectly fitting soundtrack. The Jason Reitman film is about a sassy young girl named Juno who is faced with the shocking reality of teenage pregnancy and the bumps that come along with it, while learning about love, life, and growing up. The soundtrack is a lovable cutesy album with a great variety of songs that create a difficult to label, unique sound.

Singer songwriter Kimya Dawson sets the tone of the album with quirky songs by her two bands The Moldy Peaches and Antsy Pants scattered throughout the soundtrack.

Although the variety of artists included in this soundtrack aren't all that related, the CD definitely follows a similar sound. It is easy to say that the songs were each carefully chosen to collectively make a very specific sound. There is a mixture of soft-punk, and mellow head bobbing melodies, along with sweet and simple lyrics.

The soundtrack opens with Barry Louis Polisar's "All I want is You" which immediately sets the child-like vibe of the whole soundtrack. Its sweet lyrics like, "If you were a flower growing wild and free / All I'd want is you to be my sweet honey bee" and "If you were a wink, I'd be a nod / If you were a seed, well I'd be a pod." make up a light-hearted love song for any age.

Following the first song is the first Kimya Dawson song "My Rollercoaster" which again brings the youthful vibe that is so apparent in the actual movie. Besides all the Kimya Dawson songs there are a few unfamiliar songs by more well-known artists like The Kinks, Belle & Sebastian, Buddy Holly, and the Velvet Underground.

A few songs, like the carpenters cover "Superstar" by Sonic Youth and "Sea of Love" by Cat Power, bring out some of the deeper issues in the movie that are somewhat masked by the dry humor and light-hearted songs. One of those songs would also be "All the Young Dudes" by Mott the Hoople, which happened to make it into the official trailer of Juno.

The final song on the soundtrack is a cover of The Moldy Peaches' "Anyone Else But You", sung by lead actors of the film Michael Cera and Ellen Page themselves. The song is actually sung in the final seen of the movie, giving the whole soundtrack and film a satisfying ending.

The feel good songs with their catchy melodies have an addictive quality to them. I personally could not stop listening to the soundtrack for weeks, which I bought immediately after seeing the movie in the theatre. This is definitely one of my favorite soundtracks because of the rawness of Kimya Dawson's songs, mixed with some of my favorite artists like Cat Power and Belle & Sebastian. I think it was very successful in capturing the mix of emotions and quirky mood of the movie.

















1. Barry Louis Polisar – All I Want Is You
2. Kimya Dawson – My Rollercoaster
3. The Kinks – A Well Respected Man
4. Buddy Holly – Dearest
5. Mateo Messina – Up the Spout
6. Kimya Dawson – Tire Swing
7. Belle & Sebastian – Piazza, New York Catcher
8. Kimya Dawson – Loose Lips
9. Sonic Youth – Superstar
10. Kimya Dawson – Sleep
11. Belle & Sebastian – Expectations
12. Mott the Hoople – All the Young Dudes
13. Kimya Dawson – So Nice So Smart
14. Cat Power – Sea of Love
15. Kimya Dawson and Antsy Pants – Tree Hugger
16. The Velvet Underground – I'm Sticking with You
17. The Moldy Peaches – Anyone Else but You
18. Michael Cera & Ellen Page- Anyone Else but You

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