By Various Artists, 2002

The medically minded Scrubs is an eccentric affair, populated by a zany cast of residents saving lives while learning life's little lessons in the process. Though lacking the show's oddball humor, its soundtrack is undeniably earnest, with a rich understanding of the pleasures and hardships faced by the hospital workers. The show's theme song, Lazlo Bane's quirky banjo twanger, sighs "I'm no Superman," as an uncharacteristically subdued Guided by Voices track cautions to "Hold on Hope." Ex-Men at Work frontman Colin Hay lends his sage advice with acoustic renditions of "Beautiful World" and the chestnut "Overkill," while Eels' "Fresh Feeling" begins with a tuning orchestra and turns into a tripping beatfest.

The highlights, though, belong to Francis Dunnery, sounding uncannily like Peter Gabriel on the high-tea string elegance of "Good Life," and the Shins, with "New Slang," a humble campfire song. Puttering along pleasantly, Scrubs, while a little bland, is nevertheless a life-affirming collection that's as hopeful as the aspiring young doctors on the show. --Annie Zaleski

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