album o' the day!

Josie & the Pussycats
"Josie & the Pussycats"
(Play Tone/Epic)

These days, there's seldom a movie that comes out where the soundtrack is just as crucial as the cast members. Soundtracks have become disposable; cheapened mix-CDs showcasing current hitmakers, whose career highlight is a soundtrack song (i.e. Goo Goo Dolls).

In the case of "Josie & the Pussycats," a film that is inherently all about original music, directors Deborah Kaplan and Harry Elfont enlisted the production skills of Babyface and the vocals of Kay Hanley of Letters to Cleo. The result is one of the best original soundtracks in the last decade.

Both the movie and the music were slightly ahead of its time. The movie, a scathing indictment of corporate sponsorship (marred with irony since it was distributed by Universal and included a promotion with The Bon/Macy's), tanked and all elements of its bold-faced hypocrisy were dismissed.

The soundtrack would've been perfect in 2005, as Fall Out Boy and other pop-punk acts were breaking out of a niche market and were being issued gold plaques.

In the end, the soundtrack serves as a reminder that there was once a time when boy bands ruled the charts and an imaginary pop-punk band fronted by one of the most underrated voices of the 90's were considered the underdogs.