The Best Movie Soundtracks (Indie Music’s Version)
500 Days of Summer, I Saw the TV Glow, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and Jennifer’s Body all have iconic soundtracks.
Movie soundtracks are the emotional heart and soul of films; they can inspire, disturb, energize, depress, comfort, and just plain entertain you. Indeed, the right soundtrack can take a good movie and make it a great one. Music feels especially entwined with filmmaking of late — Sinners, the (arguable) favorite for Best Picture at the Oscars this year, is a film that explicitly interrogates the history, culture, and impact of African-American music and has been heralded for its score and original soundtrack.
Ryan Coogler’s Sinners will compete with other heavy hitters like Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another at the 98th Academy Awards on Sunday, and so we’re rolling out the red carpet a little early by looking back on some iconic movie soundtracks of years past, particularly those that feature indie artists.
Check out Off the Record staff’s picks for the best movie soundtracks below.
I Saw the TV Glow
Brooke Shapiro, Music Extras Co-Editor
A queer allegory disguised as a psychological horror film with a ’90s nostalgia aesthetic, A24’s I Saw the TV Glow is meta, but it's subtle about it. The 2024 movie follows a tween Owen after being introduced to the uncanny late-night TV show “The Pink Opaque” by classmate Maddy, and the fracturing reality that ensues years later. It may make your head spin, but I Saw the TV Glow is an understated masterpiece, made even better by its carefully curated soundtrack.
Composed of original songs by 15 different indie artists, the soundtrack encapsulates the themes at the heart of the film, from melancholic and ethereal atmospheres to gut-wrenching metaphors for gender and sexuality. On “Starburned and Unkissed,” Caroline Polachek sings, “This isn’t how to be / Naked of charms / In your sleeve / A bitter little seed;” The honey-dipped croon of Florist’s Emily Sprague lays the perfect foundation for a voiceover by Owen in “Riding Around in the Dark”; Phoebe Bridgers and Sloppy Jane even appear as themselves in the film, performing “Claw Machine” is a tiny music venue. With its cohesion and indie star-studded tracklist, the soundtrack could stand on its own — but as a film, I Saw the TV Glow would feel incomplete without its original soundtrack.
Watch the music video for “Kiss With A Fist.”
Jennifer’s Body
Claire Cole, Photographer
“Hell is a teenage girl.” This is the opening line to the cult-classic film Jennifer’s Body, and now a popular mantra championed by misunderstood teenage girls and adopted by their loving but perhaps misguided parents. Those five words inspire the rest of the movie and inform the film’s soundtrack, which acts as the perfect time capsule of 2009. Jennifer’s Body may have started as a campy horror film about killing boys, revenge, and toxic friendship, but in the 17 years since its release, it’s become an unmistakable period piece for the early aughts.
The movie plays a host of early-to-mid 2000s hits, reaching uncharted levels of angst between the two main characters, Needy (Amanda Seyfried) and Jennifer (Megan Fox).
“Kiss With A Fist” by Florence + the Machine and “Teenagers” by Hayley Williams make standout appearances as bodies begin to pile up and the small town of Devil’s Kettle transforms into hell on Earth. However, the most notable song from the film doesn’t actually play during the movie, but rather as the credits roll: Panic! At the Disco’s “New Perspective.” It is what sticks with the audience as they process what exactly they just watched: a box office flop or a smart, misunderstood critique of the hell teenage girls are put through? It’s really all about perspective.
Juno
Ana Marks, Contributor
After the titular Juno (Elliot Page) falls pregnant at 16 years old, she decides to give her baby to a (somewhat) aspiring rockstar and his wife. The film is an excellent time capsule of middle America quirkiness, from the dialogue, courtesy of screenwriter Diablo Cody, to the incredibly on-brand soundtrack.
Juno highlights a plethora of alternative hits from late 2000s indie greats such as Cat Power’s “Sea of Love” and Belle and Sebastian’s “Piazza, New York Catcher” and features songs from rock legends Sonic Youth and The Velvet Underground. However, Kimya Dawson’s songs on the soundtrack take the lead in highlighting the tone of the entire film. The soundtrack for the film prominently features Dawson, with the main theme song being “Anyone But You” by her former band, The Moldy Peaches. Both Juno and the father of her baby, Paulie (Michael Cera), give their own rendition of the track at the end of the film, capturing the heartwarming essence of their entire story.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Elena Cabigas, Contributor
Watch the music video for “Heroes.”
Few movies capture the intensity of adolescence quite like The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and its soundtrack plays a major role in making it so unforgettable. The movie explores coming of age, confronting past trauma, and experiencing emotions with the overwhelming intensity that often defines being a teenager. Throughout the movie, music becomes a vehicle for those feelings, turning ordinary moments into something infinite. Featuring artists like New Order, The Smiths, David Bowie, and Cocteau Twins, the music in The Perks of Being a Wallflower does more than accompany the story; it transforms it.
One of the most iconic moments comes when Charlie rides through a tunnel with the wind rushing past him as “Heroes” by David Bowie blasts through the speakers. For this scene alone, The Perks of Being a Wallflower deserves a place among the best movie soundtracks. The moment captures something quintessential about being human and hearing a perfect song for the first time.
The soundtrack also features alternative and new wave standouts like “Pearly-Dewdrops’ Drops” by Cocteau Twins, “Asleep” by The Smiths, and “Temptation” by New Order. The soundtrack is cohesive and deeply consistent with the film’s exploration of coming of age, making it one of the best movie soundtracks.
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
Jane Flautt, Music Extras Co-Editor
Much like the movie itself, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty’s soundtrack is underrated and full of pleasant surprises. The 2013 comedy-drama follows its titular character, a Life magazine employee with a severe penchant for daydreaming who’s on the brink of being fired, as he makes a series of spontaneous decisions that have him chasing clues around the world — from swimming with sharks off the coast of Greenland to negotiating with warlords in the Himalayas.
Perhaps one of the most memorable music moments from the film is when Walter (Ben Stiller) daydreams that his crush, Cheryl (Kristen Wiig), is serenading him with David Bowie’s “Space Oddity,” a moment which pushes him to impulsively hop in the helicopter of a drunk Nordic pilot. But the other songs featured on the soundtrack are equally central to Walter’s physical and emotional journey, often playing over scenes of him running, biking, and even skateboarding while on his adventures. Indie rock and folk lovers will appreciate the filmmakers’ choices: Arcade Fire’s “Wake Up,” Of Monsters and Men’s “Dirty Paws,” and multiple original tracks by José González.
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty’s gentle, folky soundtrack underscores the film’s tender message about the power of imagination and the importance of living authentically and courageously, making it a worthy, if unexpected, addition to this list.
500 Days of Summer
Jackie Fortis, Music Review Editor
500 Days of Summer is a film that follows the love story, or relationship failure, of two characters, Summer and Tom. What you initially believe to be the perfect couple ends in heartbreak, but how do they first meet? Music. The bonding medium of The Smiths’ “There Is a Light That Never Goes Out” sparks their love story in an elevator meet-cute, and the film continues that indie rock soundtrack alongside their relationship, featuring songs like “You Make My Dreams (Come True)” by Daryl Hall & John Oates, “Bookends” by Simon & Garfunkel, and “Sweet Disposition” The Temper Trap. This classic romantic drama comedy makes perfect use of its soundtrack to mirror the romantic rollercoaster Tom experiences in loving and losing Summer, from the euphoria of infatuation to the bitter sting of rejection.