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Other
dance tracks include standouts Telepopmusik and Cory
Lee. Telepopmusik is a French electronica band that infuses
“Don't Look Back,” a song from this year's Angel Milk,
with a melancholy reminiscent of Portishead. Cory Lee is a
strikingly beautiful Canadian singer and talented dancer of
German and Chinese ancestry who has been performing since
age eight. From her solo debut we get “The Naughty Song,”
a contagiously danceable hit that includes the refrains: “Turn
down the lights and light up the party / I got the ride and
you got the naughty” and “All the boys and the girls that
wanna f*** tonight gotta turn the naughty on.”
The
circuit party on Disc 1 also includes Le Tigre's remix of
“Standing in the Way of Control” by The Gossip. I'm unfamiliar
with the original material they had to work with, but this
dance remix is about 5 minutes and 56 seconds too long, not
to mention altogether too monotonous and repetitive. Unless
that's what you're into.
One
of the collection highlights is Estero's gorgeously ethereal
urban beat track, “I Drive Alone.” Other dance beats included
on the soundtrack are Catlow's “Kiss the World” and Jahna's
“Flower Duet.” The latter is a classical/electronic fusion
of the L.A.-based opera singer's vocals with world beat drums
and synthesizers. Listeners may remember this song from the
Catherine Deneuve/Susan Sarandon seduction scene in 1983's
The Hunger. This is another track that will be performed
live on The L Word.
Both
discs are peppered with grrrl groups, though not
the best examples of the genre. “All Fired Up” by Tralala—yet
another album exclusive—is retro surfergirl pop that tries
too hard to communicate fun. Magenta Lane's “The Constant
Lover” has the driving guitars of a Ramones or Pretenders
song, even if it doesn't live up to those icons. Sister duo
Tegan and Sara lend their grating, bratty sound to two tracks,
one on each disc.
The
first, “Love Type Thing,” will be performed live on the show,
but at less than a minute and a half it is thankfully brief.
“So Jealous” provides more whine, this time with an intro
that fades in and out with a torturous Doppler effect.
But
midway through the first disc, in come veterans Sleater-Kinney
to make it all okay. “Jumpers” (off their most recent album)
is another standout, and another song that will be played
live on the show. Although it's about San Francisco (a suicide
note drifting off the Golden Gate bridge), the lyrics befit
L.A., particularly high-strung (although fictional) residents
like Season 2 Bette: “I spend the afternoon in cars / I sit
in traffic jams for hours / Don't push me I am not okay.”
Compared
to the first disc's crooning and rocking, Disc 2
tends more toward easy listening and includes several jazz/lounge
numbers. Lorraine Lawson's “The Rules of the Game” is sultry
piano bar fare, and Maggie Moore and Yvette Narlock's playful
“The Lady Loves Me” almost makes you feel like you're at a
bar mitzvah. The song was originally sung by Elvis and Ann
Margaret in Viva Las Vegas (1964). Also included
is a rendition of the flirtatious “It Ain't the Meat It's
the Motion” (“that makes your mama wanna rock” the lyric continues)
by Maria Muldour, of “ Midnight at the Oasis” fame.
Finally,
defying categorization, Betty provides one last soundtrack
exclusive, “Jesus.” The sound is no more aesthetically pleasing
than the lyrics, which include the line “Something in the
way she talks to me / Makes me order up another drink so she
can get in my pink.” More bafflement from the ladies responsible
for last season's much maligned theme song.
Overall
the diversity of this collection is a bit more jarring than
eclectic. But there's enough variety here that any listener
is likely to find a favorite track or two, and those with
broad tastes might even fancy the whole lot of them. And for
fans of the show, the album is likely to improve as Season
3 progresses and these songs become associated with specific
scenes and characters.
Get
The L Word Season 3 Soundtrack from Amazon.com
or iTunes
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