No less a personage than our own Mary Magpie gave "The Perks Of Being A Wallflower", the coming of age in the 1990s for teens of a sensitive nature, her seal of approval. But then again, she is a sensitive teen and, as her mother Helen Bach noted when I had my doubts about it, it was made for people younger than I am.
Perhaps she's right, though how anybody who has seen "Ordinary People" take this look at childhood depression seriously is beyond me. Anyway, I haven't finished the movie and another anyway, this is about the songs on the soundtrack. I guess a generation lost in space could do worse than trance rock, prog rock, twee melodies that hold from time to time and a whole lotta shoegazing.
1. Asleep – The Smith – Draggy non-lp B Side lullaby – Grade: C
2. Scarborough/Canticle – Simon And Garfunkel – Art never more angelic than on this English folk tune dating from the late 1600s feels like a harbinger for the impossibility of the hippies tasks soon to be upon the singers – Grade: A
3. A Whiter Shade Of Pale – Procol Harum – Iconic English psychedelia for people who think they smoked weed but it might have been tea leaves, they aren't sure – Grade: B+
4. Time Of No Reply – Nick Drake – well they got this one right, the Nick Drake revival was exactly in the mid-1990s – Grade: A
5. Dear Pudence – The Beatles – Lennon of course, one of his children's songs for adults (and for Mia Farrows sister) – Grade: A+
6. Where Eagles Dare – The Misfits – Excellent third wave punks with a chorus to die for – Grade: A-
7. Vapour Trails – Ride – Highly melodic drone rock – Grade: B
8. Gypsy – Suzanne Vega – Pretty but not vapid folkie – Grade: B
9. Nights In White Satin – The Moody Blues – Over orchestrated psychedelic pro rock – Grade: C+
10. Daydream – Smashing Pumpkin – Early… how early? Billy isn't taking the lead – Grade: C
11. Dusk – Genesis – Very, very early twee folker… Selling England By The Pound was THREE YEARS AWAY!!! – Grade: C-
12. Landslide – Fleetwood Mac – Over their heads but it sure feels nice – Grade: B+
13. MLK – U2 – Why they're singing about milk I don't know – Grade: C-
14. Smells Like Dream Spirit – Nirvana – Now here is the sound of a generation – Grade: A+
15. Another Brick In The Wall – Pink Floyd – Which one is Pink? – Grade: C+
16. School's Out – Alice Cooper – I've got your revolution right here – Grade: B
17. Autumn Leaves – Nat King Cole – Never has MOR sounded dreamier,or deeper – Grade: A+
18. Broken Wings – Mr. Mister – The definition of everything horrible about the 80s. Rock and roll as toothache of the soul, perfect when Don Johnson is having a soul search on "Miami Vice" – Grade: D-
19. I'm Going Home – Tim Curry – Finaleish song from great and the time warped – Grade: A
20. Could It Be Another Change – The Sample – Woooah, getting a little obscure now. Unassuming folk rock, Dave Matthews would take this sound and expound on it it – Grade: C
21. Tugboat – Galaxie 500 – Very good and also somewhat obscure shoegaze a coupla decades before the term existed – Grade: B+
22. Temptation – New Order- The best synth pop ever made – Grade: A
23. Low – Cracker – Cmon, you know it., "be with you girl, like being low, hey, hey, hey like being stoned" – Grade: B+
24. Teen Age Riot – Sonic Youth – With this song, the producers perfect their search for white trance rock plus melody and only trance rock with melody – Grade: C+
25. Dear God – XTC – At their most prog folkie, Nigel needs new plans – Grade: B-
26. Pearly-dewdrops Drops – Cocteau Twins – Sounds worse than I remembered it – Grade: B-
27. Heroes – David Bowie – My price for the most overrated song ever written – Grade: C-
28. Come On, Eileen – Dexy's Midnight Runners – A crash course for the ravers – Grade: A