The brand new season of “The O.C.” has premiered this month and what better way to celebrate than to release the show’ second soundtrack? The O.C. has found an original way to combine good television with good music, all while setting the stage for some of today’ hottest up and coming artists. This album seems to follow up pretty well with the first one, featuring artists such as Jem, Interpol, The Killers, and Death Cab For Cutie. Welsh singer Jem, who is new to the music scene, has signed with Dave Matthews’ ATO record label and has just recently released her new album Finally Woken. On the O.C. soundtrack she beautifully covers Paul Mc- Cartney’s “Maybe I’m Amazed” which, according to Amazon. com, “was specifically recorded for the show.”
The band Interpol is also featured on the O.C. soundtrack with their song “Specialist.” Interpol has a couple of albums underneath their belt including Antics and Turn On the Bright Lights. Apparently, their song can only be found on the O.C. soundtrack and on another rare extended version of their album Turn On the Bright Lights.
One of the more popular bands featured on the soundtrack is Death Cab for Cutie. They have a deep rooted and loyal fan base that dates back to 1997. They also have a handful of albums that they have released in the past, but just recently have become popular, along with many other indie rock groups. The whole album has an indie rock feel to it.
If you watch the show, you will love the soundtrack. The show wouldn’t be complete without music to narrate the drama and show the producers have found a way to add the perfect songs to the show. According to the show’s Web site, “The O.C. has become an in- fluential and ambitious outlet for a type of underground rock that, until recently, was largely ignored by commercial radio.”
In the first season of “The O.C.,” new alternative rock band Rooney was actually featured on the show after their album had already been released for seven months. Once that episode aired, album sales doubled and jumped back on the best-seller charts. Executive producer Josh Schwartz said in an interview posted on the show’s Web site that “he is often unable to write a scene until he finds the right song to accompany it.”
You can catch all new episodes of “The O.C.” Thursday nights on FOX at 8 p.m. You can also get the O.C. Mix 3 that has been released for the holidays entitled, Have a Very Merry Chrismukkah. The holiday album pays tibite to the show’s character Seth, created during the first season so he could help his friends and family try to find a way to celebrate both Christmas and Chanukah together.