Like a great mix tape, the soundtrack to High Fidelity feels like it was assembled by a true music fanatic. Interspersing selections from cult favorites both old (Love, the 13th Floor Elevators) and new (Smog, Stereolab), it provides a window into the mind of the film's main character, a record store owner who's better able to express his love for a rare 45 than for his longtime girlfriend. --Steven StolderNick Hornby's novel about a middle-aged, obsessive record-store owner and his struggle with growing up in an adult world indifferent to the finer points of soul music was a sharp commentary on life, love, and a decades-long affair with popular music.
If any movie has to have a decent soundtrack it's this one. And it does. Perhaps a little light on soul (Stevie Wonder is a hip pick, but how about Arthur Alexander or even Otis Redding?), it specializes in cult and indie bands that should be familiar to many.
The Velvet Underground, Love, the 13th Floor Elevators, and the Kinks honor the old school, while Royal Trux, Stereolab, and Smog represent the newest wave. Elvis Costello appears with a strong pick from an odd era (early '80s), and his greatest imitator, John Wesley Harding, is featured as well. This probably should have been a box set--you end up wanting more.--Rob O'Connor
The music is an essential character on this movie - it helps John Cusack tell us the story of his life and his endless top five lists. Great Soundtrack.