Smallville: Music from the Talon

The WB television network struck oil again with their comic book-cum-teen melodrama Smallville. A show that features a teenaged Clark Kent unearthing various mysteries of his hometown, it uses his discoveries of his "Superman" powers as a metaphor for puberty and nascent manhood. The shows is similar in theme and structure to Buffy The Vampire Slayer (which the network lost to UPN after a well-publicized contract dispute), a show that used vampires and demons to comment on the traumas, cruelty and horror of growing up a teen in modern America. While both programs show young actors with unearthly good looks battling against evil forces with aplomb, and sounding unabashedly mature and clever while doing it, they also treat their audience with a vast amount of respect, intelligence, and humor, which flies in the face of MTV bikini-clad stupidity.

WB network execs seem to understand well that teenagers do, in fact, have brains as well as a strong grasp of irony, and this soundtrack seems to ultimately embrace that philosophy. It is crafted to entertain a broad, but smart, young audience and is filled with music that is as refreshingly "geeky" and offbeat as its show's protagonist (although not quite as hunky). Subtitled "The Talon Mix" it embraces intelligent pop (no, not an oxymoron) and leaves the cheese and the chintz to shows like American Idol.

The soundtrack surely would not be complete without its current theme, Remy Zero's searing and dramatic "Save Me" (which finds the band sounding more like U2 than ever.) The Flaming Lips have often been hailed as the unofficial kings of geek rock (along with Weezer, whose "Island in the Sun" is also featured). And for those who are unfamiliar, their textured and melodic "Fight Test" is a fun introduction to one of the best and most well-loved progressive rock bands of this age. Ryan Adams, a singer who may just prove to be as prolific as Bob Dylan, croons along with slide guitars in the roots-rock/alt-country flavored "Nuclear." Phantom Planet, a band who has nearly perfected their brand of jangle college rock, contributes the loveable and endlessly pleasing "Lonely Day" Listeners will also undoubtedly recognize Five for Fighting's huge hit "Superman," a song that had to be included for its title alone.

For listeners that like discoveries, relative newcomers (so far, they only claim a self-titled EP) AM Radio and their deliciously mournful "I Just Wanna Be Loved" is a nice find. A couple of Gen-X favorites have been revamped, including Sixpence None the Richer's saccharine version of "Don't Dream it's Over," and an equally syrupy redux of "Time After Time," courtesy of Eva Cassidy. While these are far from the collection's best songs, clearly every teen drama has a need for a couple of uber-dramatic ballads. The CD has the flavor and the fun of the good old days of mixed tapes (hopefully, at least 10% of the viewers of Smallville are old enough to remember making one). Kudos to music supervisors Jennifer Pyken and Madonna Wade-Reed for putting together a soundtrack that ultimately frees itself from sounding canned or corporate. Simply put, this is a fun and refreshing listen.

By Rachel Parker