"You gotta hear this song -- it will change your life; I swear." At one point in your life, you've probably uttered these words or something very similar after hearing a song that totally rocked your world. Unfortunately for most of us, we don't have the opportunity to put together a movie soundtrack to share our favorite songs like Zach Braff got to with his movie Garden State. Written by and starring Zach Braff, Garden State is a movie about staring down your past and coming to terms with becoming a grown-up. The main character Andrew (played by Braff) returns home to New Jersey to attend the funeral of his mother, while dealing with the guilt that has weighed upon him from accidentally paralyzing his mother years earlier and his estranged relationship with his psychiatrist father. Years of heavy medication had left Andrew detached and indifferent to the world around him, that is, until he crosses paths with Sam (played by Natalie Portman), an eclectic free-spirit who changes Andrew's world forever. The soundtrack to the movie is filled with songs that Braff had been listening to while writing the screen-play, and has now become a cultural phenomenon. It's won a Grammy, and was even discussed in a skit on Saturday Night Live as a character played by Braff pleads for the Garden State soundtrack to be the theme for prom. The Garden State soundtrack is filled with some acoustic gems from singer-songwriters like Colin Hay and Iron & Wine's hugely successful cover of "Such Great Heights." Alexi Murdoch's song "Orange Moon," was also featured in the movie, but didn't make it unto the soundtrack due to some licensing issues with Fox's show The OC. However, the band to benefit the most being featured the soundtrack was The Shins, as they found themselves garnering lots of attention after the movie's release. So go ahead and give these tracks a listen, it just might change your life.
