If this CD were to be put in a time capsule to be opened in a hundred years, it would give musicologists of the future a pretty fair idea of commercial-minded pop circa 2005. Rarely has a TV show so captured a certain musical zeitgeist as well as The OC has, to the point that the series has become one of the best ways for smallish bands to break through. Collecting songs that have appeared in seasons 2 and 3, this CD is remarkably consistent in its aesthetics: Obviously in 2005 cool kids have been listening to a lot of very danceable rock and pop (Kasabian's "Reason Is Treason," LCD Soundsystem's "Daft Punk Is Playing at My House," Gorillaz's "Kids With Guns," Kaiser Chiefs' "Na Na Na Na Naah") tempered by a smiden of articulate, sensitive songwriting (Shout-Out Louds' "Wish I Was Dead Pt. 2," Stars' "Your Ex-Lover Is Dead"). The tracks here aren't innovative, but they are remarkably easy to like--even love. The real gems are actually tucked in at the end of the album: Phantom Planet's wistful reworking of the show's theme song, "California 2005," and Imogen Heap's dreamy, Vocoderized Kate Bush-like "Hide and Seek." --Elisabeth Vincentelli
- Format: Soundtrack
