Last summer, a friend of mine kept saying things like, "Have you ever heard of the Soundtrack of Our Lives? Apparently, that's what all the English kids are listening to!" and, "Man, I keep hearing that the Soundtrack of Our Lives is fucking awesome!" In hindsight, my friend was either overzealous or a covert street-team shill, but at the time I was curious, and why not? It was supposed to be great!
After an exhaustive search-- during which I discovered that Soundtrack of Our Lives are not English, but Swedish (and who isn't these days?)-- I stumbled upon a $40 import of Behind the Music at my local record store. There was no way in hell I was dropping that kind of money on an unknown record, but I gladly gave it a listen. First impression: baffled at how under-whelming it all was. I thought that either a) my friend was wrong, b) the English still fall for any band that sounds like Oasis, or c) I might need to listen to the album more than once to let it sink in.
Republic/Universal brought the Soundtrack of Our Lives' Behind the Music (their third LP) to America in September 2002, significantly paring its price tag, but from what I'd heard of the album, $15 still felt steep. Hedge as I might, somebody up there wanted me to hear this record, and via Pitchfork, a free promotional copy arrived at my doorstep some weeks later. I didn't pay a dime for this, and I still I feel ripped off.
I spent a week with this album, and kept telling myself, "Hey, Kyle, don't judge this against hype; take the music for what it is." I tried-- I listened without prejudice-- but realized the first two of my initial hypotheses were correct. Behind the Music is derivative and bland, and though the former quality isn't always a bad thing, the Soundtrack of Our Lives are in large part a classic rock cover band; their derivation is tedium.
Take the greatest bands of all time, and excise any quality that could scare listeners off. Take the Rolling Stones, remove their sexual power and soul, and you have Behind the Music's "Sister Surround". Dispatch Pink Floyd's mystique and experimental bend, and you'd be listening to "Broken Imaginary Time". For all the kids who lied when they said they understood Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts' Club Band, listening in mental stasis as it drifted over their heads, may I present the Soundtrack of Your Lives.
Noel Gallagher proclaimed Behind the Music "the best album to come out in the last six years." Unless Noel's figured out the secret reason Be Here Now is worth owning, we'll assume he's dating from OK Computer. But of course he isn't-- which is just Noel's idiocy-- but yes, if you wake up every morning craving a slice of "Magic Pie", he's right: consider yourself a potential Soundtrack of Our Lives fan.
Not to crucify these mostly harmless Swedes, but it's high fucking time people stand up to over-hyped exports. I'm not going to tell you I change the station every time Coldplay comes on, but if I ever hear the Soundtrack of Our Lives' "Tonight" accosting me in a store, I'm walking out. There's nothing behind this music, and at the end of my days with it, my only impulse was to crank Exile on Main Street for the millionth time. I'm not asking for comparable heroes, but Christ, throw me a bone, Sweden!
